I was hoping for some positive outcomes, but reading through the list of possibilities was a little frightening. Erin Branham It's still quite true, no matter what science tries so hard to make us believe. Our understanding of the universe and our own roles in it are evolving. Well, honestly, sometimes increasing, but sometimes getting it altogether wrong. The problem is that only by time are we able to make our conclusions, and even then with the reservation of what the future of that future might reveal. The swirling shapes made by pouring melted wax into water were used as a divination tool in both ancient and medieval Europe. One common method was to melt the wax in a brass container, and then pour the liquified wax into a vessel full of cold water, after which the diviner would interpret the shapes floating in the water. A related practice, molybdomancy, used the shapes in molten metal, usually lead. One 19th-century Irish book instructs women curious about the trade of their future spouse to take a small lump of lead and put it under their pillow on Midsummer's Eve. The next day they were to heat the lead until boiling, take a pail of water, and pour in the lead—"take it out, and you will find … emblems of his trade; if a ship, he is a sailor, [if] a book, a parson … and so on." 8. Cledonomancy (Divination by Words Overheard) I (Ching)" in seal script (top), [note 1] Traditional (middle), and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters

a b The *k-lˤeng ( jing 經, "classic") appellation would not have been used until after the Han dynasty, after the core Old Chinese period.Two of the most notable Chinese philosophers, Lao Tzu and Confucius, were familiar with the I Ching by Fu Xi . Some of Lao Tzu’s aphorisms were inspired by it, while Confucius edited and annotated an early version of the book. Fundamentally, the I Ching seeks to expand the reader’s consciousness by teaching a set of qualities while advising against the actions of the ego. The Book of Change I Ching (also spelled Yi Jing) simply means The Book of Change, which refers to a way of looking at the world as a whole. Everything changes, nothing stays the same — that's the only thing we can know for sure. Methods of assessment in daily life may include self-taken measurements or quizzes. As such, magazines targeted at women in their early-to-mid twenties feature the highest concentration of personality assessment guides. There are approximately 144 different women's magazines, known as nihon zashi koukoku kyoukai, published in Japan aimed at this audience. [47] Japanese tarot [ edit ] The “science of the sand” ( ‘ilm al-raml), otherwise translated as geomancy, is “based on the interpretation of figures traced on sand or other surface known as geomantic figures.” [26] It is a good example of Islamic divination at a popular level. The core principle that meaning derives from a unique occupied position is identical to the core principle of astrology.

What was absolutely great about this ceremony was the metaphorical nature of the fortunes—very mysterious and ponderable, which is how it is in most of the divination systems I’ve ever learned about. People sometimes approach divination as if it is giving you information set in stone (if they believe in it) , or as if it is nonsense gobbledygook (if they don’t), but I see it as a way of creatively contemplating reality, which is, to steal some excellent words from David Brooks, “paradoxical, complementary, and unfolding.”

Anyway, among the divination techniques, I've found the I Ching to be one of the most rewarding. I guess it's because the I Ching speaks with words, like our whole species prefers to do. That makes its predictions accessible and surprisingly obvious to us. If you've tried the I Ching, I'm sure you agree.

Divination was a central component of ancient Mesoamerican religious life. Many Aztec gods, including central creator gods, were described as diviners and were closely associated with sorcery. Tezcatlipoca is the patron of sorcerers and practitioners of magic. His name means "smoking mirror," a reference to a device used for divinatory scrying. [35] In the Mayan Popol Vuh, the creator gods Xmucane and Xpiacoc perform divinatory hand casting during the creation of people. [35] The Aztec Codex Borbonicus shows the original human couple, Oxomoco and Cipactonal, engaged in divining with kernels of maize. This primordial pair is associated with the ritual calendar, and the Aztecs considered them to be the first diviners. [36] Golden, R.M. (2006). Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Western Tradition. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-243-1 . Retrieved 2023-05-05.Shaughnessy, Edward (1993). " I Ching 易經 ( Chou I 周易)". In Loewe, Michael (ed.). Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide. Berkeley, CA: Society for the Study of Early China; Institute for East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley. pp.216–228. ISBN 1-55729-043-1. The images on tarot cards may come from images from Japanese popular culture, such as characters from manga and anime including Hello Kitty, or may feature cultural symbols. Tarot cards may adapt the images of Japanese historical figures, such as high priestess Himiko (170–248CE) or imperial court wizard Abe no Seimei (921–1005CE) . Still others may feature images of cultural displacement, such as English knights, pentagrams, the Jewish Torah, or invented glyphs. The introduction of such cards began by the 1930s and reached prominence 1970s. Japanese tarot cards were originally created by men, often based on the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot published by the Rider Company in London in 1909. [48] Since, the practice of Japanese tarot has become overwhelmingly feminine and intertwined with kawaii culture. Referring to the cuteness of tarot cards, Japanese model Kuromiya Niina was quoted as saying "because the images are cute, even holding them is enjoyable." [49] While these differences exist, Japanese tarot cards function similarly to their Western counterparts. Cards are shuffled and cut into piles then used to forecast the future, for spiritual reflection, or as a tool for self-understanding. [48] Taiwan [ edit ]