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Traditional divination—or the study of divine signs—uses objects, surfaces, or symbols to access oracular messages. The night of Halloween, when the veil to the unknown is the thinnest between the worlds, is ripe for practicing the divinatory arts!
The root of “divining” means “of god,” and oracle comes from “to speak,” so divining is listening to what is spoken by the gods. Indeed, many connect these communications as coming from ancestors, spirits, or guides, but the divinatory arts can also increase intuition
and psychological insight.
Divination can help us withdraw information to guide our lives as we ponder questions like: Should I keep dating this person? Is this just my new apartment or is it home? Should I switch jobs or stay put where I work?
Try the methods below to receive messages on All Hallows’ Eve. Arrange an altar with holiday colors, bits of nature, flowers, milk, cakes, beer, and herb bundles to invite in ancestors and spirits.
Scrying uses reflective surfaces and intentional gazing. Throughout time, cultures have used surfaces, crystals, or other reflections to try to access future outcomes. The Druids and Greeks used obsidian tools or crystals, and Scottish Highlanders referred to clear quartz as “stones of power.” It is said Nostradamus used a bowl of water for prophecy.
Scrying can help us become meditative, tap into the unconscious mind, and create self-understanding. It is easy to set up, with relatively little preparation or expertise. All you need are mirrors, glass, or crystals—any reflective surface will work!
Schilke suggests that even if your thoughts or what you see are strange to you, be sure to mark them down. “Scrying can be draining, so only do five-minute readings,” she advises. Short bursts of gazing help maintain your energy and build your skills. She also stresses that scrying takes practice and that receiving messages can be hard at first; reading skills must be cultivated.
Tasseography is the art of reading tea leaves that became popular in the 1600s. In a time when witchcraft was taboo, tea readings became a hidden way of prophesizing. Whether or not you’re a witch, Halloween is a wonderful time to consider what you want to bring into the future.
[Read: “The Good Witch’s Apprentice.”]
Fine, loose-leaf teas are recommended for this Halloween divination, so that there is freedom in the movement and formation of images. Black tea is considered best because of its uniform shape.
Jennifer Billock, a certified tea specialist and writer of the popular Kitchen Witch newsletter, celebrates tea readings as efficient, fun, and mobile. While astrology or tarot readings can require background knowledge and lengthier readings, tea readings offer effective messages. For instance, in a recent tasseography session, Billock says she saw the shape of a plane, “and the person I was reading for ended up needing to fly out to California.”
Billock also appreciates the way tea readings can be paired with other divining tools or done with others. “It's important to remember that all forms of divination are subjective,” she cautions. “You may not see the same thing someone else sees. When I read leaves for people, I always show them what shapes I see so they can have extra clarification.”
Using books to extract divine insight is known as bibliomancy. It originated using religious texts, and Homer’s Iliad and the Odyssey were oft-used. All you need is a book, a stack of poems, or lyric sheets.
Confidence in divination takes time and repetition, just like any practice. Have fun with these as opportunities to gain intuitive muscle. As Danielle Schilke says, “Everyone has it—but it needs to be developed and worked on…you just need to start.”
According to the Pagan Wheel of the Year, Halloween is the new year, and so it is an excellent time to integrate new habits and maybe even glimpse what the coming year holds.
More Halloween divination: Is your feline sending divine signs?
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