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divination
July 17th, 2020
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A few days ago I coded a shell-script version of the I Ching (Book
of Changes), and made it accessible on Gemini [0]. In the process
I added a note on the Gemini site quickly addressing some concerns
over the use of digital tools for divination. It all felt rushed
and incomplete and I think I have more to say on the subject,
perhaps a lot more. Gemini isn't the place for that, though. This
is definitely a gopher topic.
[0] I Ching Shell Script
I practice a number of forms of divination including consulting
the I Ching, tarot cards, tasseography, cleromancy (whether with
dice, dominos, or runes), and so on. There's a number of forms
I don't practice for various reasons: horoscopy, gematria,
extispicy (ew), ouija, augury, and oh so many more. Someone has
figured out a way to use just about anything for divination.
Before we get too far into this, let me drop some dictionary magic
on you. Here's the definition from two online dictionaries:
Divination:
1. the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the
unknown by supernatural means
2. 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
Seeking knowledge, usually hidden knowledge, by the aid of the
supernatural. Cool. Got it?
So there are a billion forms of divination out there, but why? Do
they all work? Do any of them work? How do they purport to work?
Lets focus on the last bit first. How does divination work? This
is the interesting bit for me at least.
In cleromancy the mechanism of action is some sort of randomness.
Cleromancy is about "tossing stuff" like dice and seeing what
comes up. Some practitioners suggest that the randomness allows
the supernatural to take direct action and influence the results
of the toss. Other practitioners would say that the toss and its
randomness is just that and not influenced by the supernatural,
but the querent (person seeking information) must use their
intuition to understand the results of the toss. That type of
practitioner moves the supernatural action internal to the
unconscious mind and changes its domain of action to the
interpretation alone. But there are still other types! Some see
the unconscious mind as affecting the toss itself in a sort of
blend of the first two. Others shy away from intuition and suggest
self-reflection and psychology allow the interpretation of any
symbol to be helpful as a means of thinking in a new way about the
issue.
Yeesh, that's a lot, and that's just cleromancy! But what about
chartomancy (books & cards)? Is the mechanism of action different?
On the one hand, there are far more established symbols present
in, say, a tarot card than in a rune. Consulting the I Ching or
the Bible likewise greatly increases the available symbols and
interpretations. The act itself is still governed by some sort of
randomness, or chaotic action as I like to call it. Shuffling
cards, separating yarrow stalks, even flipping pages promotes some
sort of uncertainty and allows for the possibility of and unknown.
Does this unknown mean that a supernatural power is guiding the
result? That's a matter of faith and, ultimately, irrelevant. What
about the interpretation? Is that guided by a supernatural power?
Again, a question of faith that has no ultimate bearing on the
value of divination. What‽
Yeah, you read me correctly. I'm saying that it doesn't matter if
there's no supernatural involved at all or if there is. The aim of
divination is to seek to foresee the future or discover hidden
knowledge and divination can succeed in both cases regardless of
the origin of its power.
Lets side with the pragmatic doubter practitioner for a moment and
assume that there's no magic at work here at all. We're going to
go through some exercise that will result in symbols ready for
interpretation. The process we have just taken was designed to
orient our mind to the problem, focus upon it seriously, perhaps
spending a significant amount of time in so doing. We are now
asked to review and interpret these forms which have a variety of
possible meanings requiring we try to apply them systematically
and in various combinations to the problem or subject. That
thought process involves mental judo and an openness to new ideas.
It will inevitably bring insight and... wait for it... hidden
knowledge. It will also undoubtedly influence future actions and
have a major impact on the events to come. BAM! Divined.
Now, allow yourself to take the seat as an individual who has
faith in the machinations of the supernatural. Given even a hint
of influence from that "other", the results gain significance and
their origins may carry more weight, but the interpretation and
internalization of that information is unchanged. It really
doesn't matter.
I really enjoy the processes, especially the lengthy ones with
much ritual like the yarrow stalk I Ching method, or the ones that
are inherently delicious like tasseography (reading tea leaves).
If I have any advice to give on the subject it is to enter into
divination with healthy skepticism, not to undermine the results
but to fully engage with them. Don't take any reading at face
value or you've done yourself a disservice.
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