Divination of the Future
This is the DIVINATION section of the website. What is divination? The definition for Divination is: “the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge usually by the interpretation of omens or by the aid of supernatural powers.”
In this section of the site you can read about divining the future using oracles such as the Tarot Cards, Runes, Tea Leaves and some more unusual methods of seeing the future. You can also find many more divination techniques in our Psychic Dictionary section where there are links to in-depth articles about unusual divination techniques
DIVINATION TECHNIQUES
Many oracles have used random patterns to tell the future. Oenomancy interpreted the patterns made by wine poured out as a gift to the gods; scapulomancy read the patterns of fissures on the burned shoulder-blade bones of an animal; and tephromancy analysed the ashes of burnt offerings.
Oneiromancy
When the human race has once acquired a superstition nothing short of death is ever likely to remove it.
- Autobiography of Mark Twain
Writings about dreams date back to the earliest times. In many ancient cultures dreams were seen as portents of the gods. The Egyptian priests of the falcon-headed god Horus compiled one of the earliest dream documents. This papyrus dates from c. 1250BC and records over 200 dreams and their prophetic meanings. The art of divination by dreams is called Oneiromancy and has been practiced everywhere in the world and throughout history.
Artemidorus of Ephesus wrote the oldest surviving book about interpreting dreams in the second century. He researched and wrote his book while traveling extensively, and interviewing people about their dreams and the outcomes of the dreams. He is perhaps the father of oneiromancy as he was primarily interested in discovering whether dreams could tell the future
Freud took an interest in the book an I wonder what he made of this dream cited in 5:91 of Artemidorus’s ‘Interpretation of Dreams’: "A man dreamt that he had three penises. He was a slave at the time and was set free. He then had three names instead of one, since he acquired an additional two names from the man who had set him free."
Artemidorus also points out that sometimes a dream can have different meaning to different people. He cites examples of pregnant women dreaming about snakes. For example, a woman dreamed of giving birth to a snake and her son grew to become a great public speaker. Says Artemidorus “For a serpent has a forked tongue, which is also true of a public speaker.”
But six other women he met had the same dream and the destinies of their children were different. One became a hierophant (priest) and in this instance ‘the serpent is a sacred animal and plays a part in secret rites.’ Another’s son became a prophet ‘for the serpent is sacred to Apollo who is the most versed in prophecy.’ A fourth woman’s child ‘turned out to be undisciplined and wanton, and he committed adultery with many of the women in the city. For the serpent slips through the most narrow holes and attempts to escape detection by observers.’ Another’s child ‘was apprehended in a robbery and was beheaded. ‘For whenever a serpent is caught, it is struck over the head and dies in this way.’ A sixth woman had the same dream and her child became a runaway slave. ‘For the serpent does not follow a straight path.’ Yet another woman had the same dream and her child became a paralytic. ‘For the serpent must employ its entire body to travel anywhere, which is also true of paralytics.’
It is interesting that Artemidorus makes the point that there are many ways to interpret prophetic dream images yet his work became the main influence for the dream dictionaries that are still in use today and insist on nailing down specific meanings for specific dreams. Clearly flexibility of interpretation is important.
Signs, Stories, Experiments and Symbols:
Oneiromancy classifies prophetic dream images into the following categories:
SHARP OBJECTS: swords, knives, scissors and so on tell of bad new to come.
ASCENDING: Going up ladders, ropes, stairs or escalators are signs of good fortune.
DESCENDING: Going downhill, falling or descending ladders etc are a sign of reverses or failure.
ENTERTAINMENT: Dreams of being entertained can represent either good or bad fortune. If you enjoy watching television, a concert, film or play then these are indications that happiness lies ahead in your life. But if the entertainment was dull, cancelled or not very good then there are problems afoot.
ABUNDANCE AND WANT: Many dreams will contain symbols of wealth or austerity. For example a full wallet is an auspicious oracle and can indicate forthcoming wealth and the reverse is true if the wallet is empty. Similarly a calm sea or fine weather show easy progress but rough water or stormy skies indicate ill luck. Some images that according to tradition can mean either good or bad luck include: air, banks, barns, bowls, buckets, cages, canals, cellars, clouds, cups, drinks, farms, fields, gardens, glass, harvests, landscapes, letters, markets, paths, plants, smells, streets and wind.
OBSTACLES: Obstacle symbols feature a great deal in the dream dictionaries based upon traditional oneiromancy. An obstacle may have many degrees of misfortune predicted. For example a door that opens easily is considered to be a sign of only minor difficulties. However if it is locked or jammed then it is claimed that insurmountable problems lie ahead. Symbols that are traditionally interpreted as obstacle dreams include: abyss, bolts, canyons, caves, cliffs, crutches, ditches, examinations, fences, floods, gates, handcuffs, hedges, hills, labyrinths, locks, mountains, prisons, questions, rivalry, rocks, struggling, towers, traffic jams, valleys, walls and zoos.
CONTRARY: As well as the examples above some dreams are believed to predict the opposite of what happens in the dream. For example if you dream of having an argument then this can mean that you are going to share affection with someone. And conversely is you dream of giving affection to someone it will mean that an argument is brewing. Could it be that some of the ancient oneiromancers were hedging their bets to cover for dreams that didn’t conform to their categories? Some other common dreams of contrary include: ambition/setbacks, celebration/regrets, criticism/appreciation, crying/happiness, fear/courage, inferiority/superiority, loss/gain, peace/trouble, wealth/poverty. Interestingly the Chinese believe in reversing dream meanings. For them too crying is a dream symbol of happiness and if a group of people are seen crying together then this will drive away malevolent ghosts.
See also: Omens, Tribal Dreams.
Oracles
"For more than thirty years I have interested myself in this oracle technique, or method of exploring the unconscious, for it has seemed to me of uncommon significance."
Carl Jung (Writing in the introduction to the I Ching oracle)
Many of the oracles used by psychics are full of what the psychologist Carl Jung called archetypal symbols. An archetype is what Freud called "archaic remnants", and what Jung thought of as "primordial images". Jungian psychology believes that these universal symbols are passed from generation to generation like biological traits. They are found in myths and religions the world over. In particular the Tarot cards deal with archetypal symbols of the human situation that have an empathy with our own lives that help us better understand ourselves. They are the symbols that appear and reappear in our dreams.
Carl Jung gave wrote and gave many lectures about the use of oracles and meaningful chance. He was interested in the psychological aspects of time, number and methods of divining fate such as the I Ching, astrology, Tarot, runes, palmistry, dice, etc.
In particular Jung was interested in the imagery used in these oracles and how this corresponds with many of the symbols found in dreams. Oracles, and especially the major arcana or trump cards of the Tarot, was used effectively in therapy. Tarot symbols, for example, can be used to stimulate the imagination of the client.
The Tarot Cards contain many of the archetypal symbols of Jungian psychology including the shadow, the anima and animus, and the wise old man. There are also many symbols that represent archetypes of the transformation processes such as the hero, the sacrifice, rebirth, the mother, and the Self. |
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