Studying the shapes of things is a popular means of divination, relying on human pattern recognition abilities. Look at reading tea leaves and coffee grounds, or tasseography, which rely on spotting symbols in the cup. The symbols often hold near-universal meanings (like a ring for marriage), but they can also be deeply personal to the…

Divination is a beautifully varied practice, with a plethora of tools and practices designed to give insight into situations. Practices like reading tea leaves or tarot cards already appear on this podcast. But what about those forms of divination that rely on ‘randomness’ in order to work? You might cast lots, throw dice, or interpret…

Last week, we looked at the use of dowsing to find treasure or criminals. Like water dowsing, this method requires the use of a rod that twitches in the hands when the target is close. But the other method of dowsing involves a pendulum. That is, an item suspended from a chain, cord, or hair,…

Morgan Daimler is a witch who has been a polytheist since the early 1990s. Following a path inspired by the Irish Fairy Faith blended with neopagan witchcraft. Morgan teaches classes on Irish myth and magical practices, fairies, and related subjects in the United States and internationally. Morgan has been published in multiple anthologies as well…

Dowsing is often used to find water, minerals, or even lost items. Where divination usually seeks to provide information, here the information is of a directly practical or tangible sort. Rather than telling a fortune, or providing a prophetic dream that must be interpreted, dowsing relates information about the presence of something the dowser is…