Divination

1. (Spirituality, New Age, Astrology & Self-help / Alternative Belief Systems) the art, practice, or gift of discerning or discovering future events or unknown things, as though by supernatural powers

2. a prophecy

3. a presentiment or guess

It seems one of man's basic drives has been to foretell the future whether from scrying in clouds, fire, cups, ink filled bowels, mirrors, runes, crystal ball, Tarot, by augury or oracle.

I was introduced to Tarot at age 5-6yro by two maiden aunts who were Spiritualists/ For them foretelling the future, speaking with ghosts, having premonitions, flash insights etc. were simple, ordinary things. Their deck was a Tarot de Marseille (TdM) deck.

By the 1970s I had bought my first Tarot deck it was a Rider-Waite deck. I spent the next 5 yrs learning about my deck and getting comfortable with it.

Today we have dozens of decks to choose from but in the 70s there were 4 basic decks Rider-Waite(RWS) Thoth deck (Crowley's deck), the BOTA deck (Case), & the TdM. Each has its own style and voice.

The first 3 decks have their roots in Golden Dawn and similar groups of the 19^th& early 20^th centuries. Waite, Crowley & Case drew upon their own deep esoteric knowledge and talented inspired artists to bring their decks forth.

Waite wanted a fully illustrated minor arcana which had the Grail legend embedded, Case chose a paint your own deck, which infuses and personalizes a deck. Crowley was on a mission to be the prophet of the new aeon.

The 4^th deck, the Tarot de Marseille (TdM) deck use images & symbols found on the great cathedrals, esoteric symbols, myth and from history. It come from a time when paper and hand colored decks of cards were becoming popular and easily produced for popular consumption. Its minor arcana were numeric and NOT illustrated.

There are a number of uses for Tarot decks. You can use it for personal insight, read for others, delve into the archetypes of the unconscious, study the esoteric meanings of the symbols.

I use mine for personal readings, professional readings for others, I've used decks in my healing practice, spiritual & hospice work.

How does Divination work?

Most forms of divination work thru the intuition like other skills use of the Tarot takes practice. I recommend you carry a deck with you everywhere you go - do spreads everywhere, coffee shops, park benches, buses etc. for as many people as you can. Keep a Tarot journal of all your spreads, hits & misses. This how you develop your insight & intuition.

I also use other types of divination including runes [elder futhark & ogham], crystal ball and read live coals.

At Integrated Magic I bring all that I have learned of the dynamics and many uses of the Tarot & divination to your life, would like to learn more about the Tarot, the deep psychology of symbols & archetypes, do Shadow Work or have an in-depth Tarot reading contact me.

References & Links

Arthur Waite - Wikipedia

Lady Frieda Harris(Crowley Tarot) - Wikipedia

Paul Foster Case

Tarot Overview

Tarot History