I share my latest experiment with divination and discuss the protocols of the experiment.
How to learn a divination deck
I share my process for how to learn a divination deck and an exercise you can do each day to learn a card and what it means as it applies to your life.
Scrying for spirit Communication
Picture copyright Taylor Ellwood 2023
One of the ways I like to work with scrying is with spirit communication.
I already have a strong connection to spirits, having always had a natural proclivity toward communicating with them, but what I'm finding with scrying is that this proclivity is further enhanced when working with the right tools.
In my case, the right tools are a combination of candles and black mirror, along with sometimes using additional tools including a pendulum, Tarot, or cowrie shells for divinatory purposes.
I'll also work with specific spirits around specific themes or areas of interest. In the picture above I have a sigil for the goetic spirit Camio that I'm working with for the purposes of enhancing my skills with candle magic and scrying through flame work.
Why it can be good to get a second divinatory opinion
I discuss why it can be good to get a divinatory reading from someone else, in order to confirm details of a situation or get a different perspective and why an unbiased reading can be beneficial if the person doesn't know much about you.
Divination, the observer effect, and results
One of the fascinating aspects of divination is the observer effect, where the act of observation, or in this case divination has an impact on the magical work a person does, or for that matter the mundane realities of a person’s life. In this video I share some of my thoughts on this aspect of divination and share why I use divination as an active form of magical work, instead of for the purposes of getting information.
Magical Experiments podcast: Divination and Tarot Magic with Liz Worth
Liz Worth and I discuss divination and Tarot magic, exploring how to work with the cards and also the importance of taking a grounded approach to your divination readings.
How I calculate probabilities in order to manifest them
Picture copyright Taylor Ellwood 2020
I was recently asked if I have a method of calculating a probability and how likely it is to manifest as a reality. The person wanted to know if I use a divination method or anything else along those lines in order to calculate the probability. As it turns out I have a way that I calculate probabilities in order to determine if I’m going to manifest them. I should also be clear and mention that I’m not interested in predicting world events or things along those lines. My calculation efforts are entirely focused around achieving results.
This recent blog post speaks to my stance on divination and how I use divination to manifest results, but the calculation aspect of divination is found in the presentation and manipulation of information. Any divination technique presents information within specific contexts, and usually the context most focused on is the information itself. But a look at the design aspects of divination can also be useful because of how that design can be used to calculate and manipulate a probability.
For instance, with tarot cards, the design aspect shows up in 3 distinct ways: the art, the spread, and the positioning of the cards. The art, obviously, is the medium by which information is primarily expressed and presented. But for purposes of calculating a probability, I like to look at the spread and the positioning of the cards. I don’t use fixed spreads with my readings, because I find them to be limiting, in no small part because the design of a given spread is used to portray the information of the reading in the context of the spread, even if that context isn’t always applicable to the reading. the same applies to the positioning of the card. I have no real investment in whether a card is reversed or not, unless it’s useful to use that positioning as a way of opening and closing aspects of the reading.
So how I do use the spread and position design to calculate probability?
When I create my own spreads, I create them for each situation and I use the spread to help calculate the probability, because where a card is placed can signify its influence on the possibility, but also the route of least resistance and its that route I’m particularly interested in. If I want to manifest a result, I want to use the path of least resistance, because the less resistance there is, the easier to manifest the possibility. But the calculation of that route is also the creation of it, because the spread isn’t just used to determine the best possible path…it’s also used to create it.
Likewise my use of positioning is really about using the position to determine what information/influences I want to either amplify or minimize. The position of a card either indicates that other cards and what they represent should be applied fully to the path of least resistance or that the information/influence should be contained and mitigated or redirected differently.
I calculate a probability on the basis of what effort and actions will be needed to manifest the probability into a result, and how that effort and action must be aligned with available influences and resources that can pave the way for realization of the result, i.e. the path of least resistance. By using my divination tool to create a path of least resistance and align or redirect relevant information, I’m able to determine how likely a probability could become a result, while also creating an avenue of manifestation that starts the process for turning the probability into reality.
The use of design in this process plays an important role because it contextualizes the information and focuses it toward the specific outcome. This is also true outside of divination. The design of any process of magic has implications about how that process will work and what it will do to help you achieve a result. Studying the design aspects can help you optimize your magical workings, because you aren’t just focused on the information or actions, but also the context in which everything is happening. Using design to turn that context into something that works for you can make your magical work that much more effective.
Perception, filters, and how to divine
In the magical experiments facebook group, one of the members observed that they get better results with divination when they provide themselves a map/model that allows them to filter their perception. The benefit of doing this filtration is that it allows the person to focus in on the information that is relevant, while excluding information that might be a distraction. The question that arises is: Is this the best possible way to get the most out of one’s perception of information, using divination?
It’s an interesting question to ask, especially when considering the medium through which you’re getting the information. Any divination system is already providing a filtering of sorts, because of the limitations that come with that system. If you use a pendulum, you only have so many directions that it can move and only so much information it can provide. With more advanced systems such as runes or tarot cards, more information is available, but there are still limitations because of what is presented, as well as what isn’t presented. And of course there’s another limitation often ignored, but very relevant to this question.
The Problem with Prescience: How Observer Effect muddies up the water
I was recently re-reading Dune Messiah and what fascinated me about the book is how the character relies on prescience to direct his actions, but also how he recognizes that prescience can be problematic. With prescience the character is always scanning the possibilities and trying to choose the best path forward, but the very path becomes the trap that takes away all his choices.
In my own spiritual practice I've used a variety of tools that can have prescient applications. Those tools include Tarot cards, writing, and collages. I've also used meditation as a way to access prescient probabilities.
Astrology, Divination, and Pattern Recognition
A little while back I got a reading done by my friend Erik Roth. He does shamanic astrology, and I highly recommend his services. I've gotten my astrological reading done in the past, and each time what has struck me about the readings has been the accuracy of the description of patterns in my life. It's not so much that the person has read my future but rather has shown me some existing patterns as well as other ones to be aware of. I've found the same to be true with Tarot readings and other forms of divination. What is being read are patterns of information and behavior and from that a person can get a good idea of what s/he needs to anticipate in the future.
Pattern recognition is the recognition of certain patterns of influence in your life. Those patterns of influence originate from both within you and the environment around you. One of the reasons I'm willing to consider the validity of Astrology is that I do think we are effected by the cycles of the planets around Earth. If nothing else there is a gravitational effect of some type and who is to say that doesn't have some influence on us? Even if that isn't the case, being able to look at your life in relationship to specific patterns can be enlightening in terms of what it helps you work on. For example, I've just entered into a cycle with Pluto, which astrologically speaking is the dark night of the soul for me. The recognition of this pattern allows me to prepare for it. The Pluto cycle is about breaking things down, but this doesn't have to be a negative experience. Instead it can be a positive experience, where I plan for and use the cycle of Plutonian energy to my benefit.
The same applies to a Tarot reading. Someone does a reading for you and what it supplies you is an awareness of patterns of information. The cards don't reveal the future but they show you what to look out for. Of course the only problem with this approach is that when you are looking at specific patterns you may not be aware of others. Pattern recognition helps you to be aware patterns, but it also acts as a filter so that you may only see those patterns. This is why although getting a divinatory reading can be helpful, sometimes it can be just as helpful to leave yourself open to experience to see what happens.
I think that what I found most helpful about the astrological reading is that it gave me a general sense of what to be aware of and provided some focus on key areas of my life that may need some work. All of it was accurate and how I knew that was because even without the reading I was already working on the issues and patterns the reading described. In that sense it affirmed my current work and showed I am on the right path. Never hurts to get some confirmation...though as always keep yourself open to whatever comes your way. The obvious perspective can box you in and cause you to miss out on other opportunities.