This is where you will find tools for the art of divination.
Divination is defined as: the art, act, or practice of foretelling future events, or revealing or obtaining occult (secret) knowledge through omens, oracles, signs, and portents, or through communication with divine or supernatural sources.
All forms of divination allow one to get in touch with one’s higher self (some say one’s intuition) in order to see situations more clearly and obtain guidance in solving one’s problems.
There are many tools used for divination; the most famous is undoubtedly the crystal ball. Other popular tools include pendulums, scrying mirrors, dowsing rods, tarot cards, coffee grounds and tea leaves, and I-Ching coins.
The Pendulum is a tool that consists of an object suspended from a string or chain that allows it to move freely. Pendulums are “read” or interpreted based on their movement. They can be made of wood, metal, or stone. There is no consensus among teachers or users that any one type is better than the others. As with most things magickal and metaphysical, you should pick the one you are strongly drawn to. Wooden and stone pendulums tend to hold energy and should be cleansed regularly. Metal pendulums seem to discharge any energy that they pick up and do not require periodic cleansing. For more detailed instructions on using a pendulum, see the article on the Tree of Knowledge page about divination methods.
Scrying is defined as the occult practice of using a medium, most commonly a reflective surface or translucent body, to aid perceived psychic abilities such as clairvoyance. The media often used to "see" are water, polished precious stones, crystal balls, or mirrors. Scrying has long been used in many cultures as a means of seeing the past, present, or future; in this sense scrying constitutes a form of divination.
Scrying mirrors are typically made of black glass with a smooth, highly reflective surface. They may be either flat or concave.
"Crystal balls" are usually made of quartz and there is significant difference of opinion on whether the sphere (ball) needs to be perfectly clear. One opinion is that the only thing you should see is the reflection of the light source to avoid distractions; another opinion is that the veils or imperfections in the sphere give you a point to focus on thereby blocking out distractions. Only you can determine which is correct for you. Another type of "crystal ball" made of polished obsidian, is very similar to the scrying mirror. It has a black, opaque, reflective surface sometimes with a gold or silver metallic sheen or an iridescent sheen reminiscent of oil on water. The Aztecs used flat plates or "mirrors" of polished obsidian for scrying.
Dowsing is the action of a person using a rod, stick or other device (called a dowsing rod, dowsing stick, or divining rod) to locate such things as underground water, hidden metal, buried treasure, oil, etc. Map dowsers use a dowsing device, usually a pendulum, over maps to locate oil, minerals, persons, water, etc. However, the most familiar figure of a dowser is the field dowser who walks around an area using a forked stick to locate underground water. When above water, the rod points downward. Some dowsers use two L-shaped rods; the rods cross when above water. Dowsing, according to Wikipedia, has existed in various forms for thousands of years. The original may have been for divination purposes - to divine the will of the gods, to foretell the future and divine guilt in trials. Dowsing as practiced today probably originated in Germany during the 15th century, when it was used to find metals. An extensive book on the history of dowsing was published by Christopher Bird in 1979 under the title of The Divining Hand.
The Tarot originated in northern Italy early in the 15th century (1420-1440) and was used to play a card game similar to Bridge. The original name carte da trionfi (cards of the triumphs) was replaced by tarocchi around 1530 to distinguish them from a new game of triumphs or trumps then being played with ordinary playing cards. The first unambiguous evidence of tarot divination as it is commonly understood comes from records of divinatory meanings assigned to tarot cards in Bologna early in the 1700s. The Waite-Smith (also known as the Rider-Waite or Rider-Waite-Smith) deck was created in 1909. A. E. Waite was a prominent member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The deck owes much of its symbolism to that group and represents a departure from the earlier French tradition. The artist, Pamela Colman Smith, contributed her own vision, in the innovative creation of fully illustrated scenes for the minor arcana. For many years, the Waite-Smith deck was the only one readily available in the US, so it became familiar to whole generations of tarot readers. The 78 card tarot deck, as it currently exists, is comprised of 22 cards that make up the Major Arcana and 56 cards that make up the Minor Arcana. There is actually no "definitive" version of the tarot. Cards come in every imaginable theme - dragons, cats, crystals, Halloween, fairy tales, vampires, and countless others. For more information on the history and popular misconceptions about tarot visit www.tarothermit.com/infosheet.htm
Coffee grounds and tea leaves are often read to foretell the future by interpreting the pictures formed by the grounds or leaves that are left on the sides of the cup after drinking the liquid.
