New To The Craft
Tarot, Tea Leaves, and Crystal Balls (Oh My!)
A witch can use a spell when s/he has a clear purpose and intent foremost in mind. The focusing of the will to bring about needed change is an active use of one’s inner abilities. But there are also times when a more passive ability is called for – when answers are needed. Instead of speaking we need to listen. This is when the time-honored tradition of divination comes in handy, and it is as inseparable from witchcraft as magic.
With divination the practitioner aims to put aside the typical chatter of the conscious mind so that information from the subconscious/unconscious can get through. Though both of these voices operate in us constantly, we identify so greatly with our consciousness alone that most people barely recognize the latter. If we have an open mind we can acknowledge flashes of intuition or precognition as legitimate sources of information, but even then we don’t truly understand why those voices are valid or where they come from. Perhaps we attribute it to the Goddess, or a guardian angel. The rational intellect hates what it cannot analyze with logic, and as a result a greater part of the self is pushed under (sub-) the threshold of consciousness, only breaking through in spurts. Divining can aid us in temporarily removing this barrier so that we can tap the vast stores of wisdom we hold within.
The method chosen to perform divination can vary widely. Systems that use a predetermined symbolic set in layouts or cast as stones include tarot cards, rune stones, and the I Ching. Techniques of skrying are also traditional in witchcraft, and involve methods of softening visual focus and inducing a light trance. Crystal balls, black mirrors, and pools of water are typically used. Other divination methods incorporate focus on randomized patterns. Similar to the way a psychologist would use an inkblot visual, these systems bypass the conscious mind (which can make no sense of random patterns) to get straight to what the subconscious is projecting. Some of these techniques are reading tea leaves and geomancy.
The key to successful divination is learning to understand the language of the subconscious, which speaks in images rather than words. Your intuition will not get up on a platform and say “you need to go do this with your life.” You might get a feeling, or a hint of which direction to turn. Intuitive knowledge falls apart when it is scrutinized. As a metaphor it is almost “seen” better via the peripheral vision; it is “heard” best as a whisper. We want to analyze because we want to understand, but if we can learn to put aside our rational egos and be open to the impressions our subconscious is trying to communicate, we can achieve a greater comprehension than through intellect alone.
Janet and Stewart Farrar have a wonderful analogy for this process in their work The Witches’ Way. They liken the mind to a pet and its human keeper. When the two work together in harmony they draw upon the unique abilities of both for their greater good. And though the conscious mind might like to think of itself as the master, in this case it is actually the pet. The subconscious/keeper has a wider view and understanding based on a greater source of information. Consciousness does not understand why it is being told to do certain things, and if it thinks it’s the one in charge it disregards the subconscious. And yet it is the keeper that knows when danger is immanent, or when something temporarily difficult must be endured for later benefit. It is not particularly flattering to think of your primary experience of self in such a limited fashion, unless of course you realize that the separation is artificial. Selective consciousness serves a purpose in helping us cope with the world we live in, but it is not all that we are.
What is it that the subconscious will tell us when we unlock the door? Psychologists have been exploring this area for decades. The writings of Carl Jung in particular are worth considerable study for his work on archetypes and the concept of the collective unconscious. One of the most popular methods for divination, the tarot, is basically a picture book of human archetypes. Jung and others showed us that certain enduring symbols reoccur across peoples and cultures, indicating that they most likely reflect some deeper level of shared psychological meaning. Joseph Campbell demonstrated much the same through his work in comparative mythology. These are symbolic sets that we can reflect on to learn more about ourselves.
Can divination tell us the future? There are different schools of thought on this, and the quick answer would be it depends. If you are doing a reading on yourself, it is usually to achieve clarification on an issue or choice before you. In that case what you are doing is quieting your mind and reflecting on the tool before you to seek answers within. Your subconscious may know what you want better than your conscious mind can tell you. You determine your future by your choices, so if you find your answers you can predict your course. But using divinatory methods to demand answers from the universe on the future would probably produce few results. The same goes if you seek a reading from someone else only to tell you what to do. Divining will only yield what you put into it. After all it is not the tool that determines the outcome, but rather the willingness on your part to listen to what your subconscious has to say. Once you are listening with an open heart and mind, the answers will come.
Journal for the Month of June:
I can’t believe this is the 12th article I’ve written! Over the past year I have learned so much about Wicca, witchcraft, myself… so much. A lot of my exploration has led me to other paths too, and when everything is so new I find it hard to focus sometimes or find the time to learn everything I want to. I think a lot of solitaries who travel these paths are probably eclectic as I am, but I have to say there is probably something to be said for mastering one way before trying to dive into all the rest. In my case I’ve at least tried to limit myself to a certain extent. Mid year I felt so overloaded and overcommitted that I had to learn to say no, and back away from things that though I enjoyed them I just didn’t have the energy to pursue at that time. But I look forward to pursuing them in the future.
In our day to day lives it can get so hectic that sometimes we may feel as if every hour of the day is scheduled with everything we try to cram in. Then we feel guilty for the 10 other things we couldn’t fit in but somehow expected ourselves to do anyways. But when it seems that we have to rush to do more and more in less time, I’ve realized the only thing you can do is to slow down. It’s not a race! Packing quantity of activities into the day leaves all of them with just a touch less quality. Sometimes we just can’t do all of the things we want to do at once, and that’s ok. As long as we do what we do today with all of ourselves, there will be time to fit in the other things another day. Living every day to its fullest is a commitment best honored by enjoying what you are doing right now, with gratitude and the patience to say “tomorrow is another day.”
Until next month, blessed be! )O(