Prophesy and information by "occult" methodologies. 

By reading naturally produced signs ranging from the shape of clouds to the positions of planets (astrology).

By reading artificially produced signs ranging from tea leaves to the throwing of dice or dominoes.

By reading symbols such as the Tarot cards or the I Ching hexagrams.

By reading visions as seen in Dreams or in Trance.

In each situation, something experienced is interpreted usually by means of long-established rules justified by many years of observation across many cultures. In most cases, these interpretations are supplemented by psychic factors of impressions or intuition naturally arising in either conscious or sub-conscious (trance) states. 

Divination is not a game undertaken for amusement. You should only undertake a divination because of true need for an answer. We ask the question when it become imperative to the questioner, so imperative that it will reverberate in your mind and cause an equal reverberation in the cosmos leading to the answer given in the form of a traditional set of rules or “code” yet to be interpreted.

It is likewise important to make the question concise and clearly worded. There should no ambiguity, and the question should confine itself to earthy, practical matters, unconcerned with issues of morality or judgment. The best question is one that can be simply answered with either a “yes” or a “no.” The simpler the question, the more precise the answer. The more serious the question, the more accurate the answer.

How Divination Works. In some sense, avoiding technical details, the future already exists; but it is also important to know that your future is not fixed. Changes in your current situation can make changes in your future situation. At the same time, in terms of the bigger universe of which each of is a minute part, small changes rarely have much impact on the future.

Nevertheless, it is your future we are talking about without a lot of concern about the world around us. Always there are points of leverage that, if discovered and manipulated with willed intention, can make a difference. But, that’s magic, another subject altogether.

However, most readings are not concerned with changing the future but with answering questions about the present and near future. Please read the following few paragraphs carefully with your full attention.

Each person is surrounded by a field of energy called the “aura.” Your own aura permeates your entire body and represents your feeling, your mind, and your spirit. It’s all about you. 

Every cell in your body contains of all the information about you—not only the present but the past and the probable future. Not only that, but every cell also contains a hologram of the universe; that is, all knowledge is resident within each one of us, and it is ours to retrieve if we know how.

Your aura further permeates your immediate surroundings—out to about three feet—and especially things you touch. Some substances more easily absorb the auric influence than others, and wet tea leaves are especially sensitive to this influence, serving as an ideal medium for our reading. The minute particles, actually right down to the sub-atomic level, of the tea leaves or other materials being used are responsive to your energy field—including the questions and concerns you have at the moment of the reading. The more often you practice this psychic talent, the more able will your aura project the image-forming energy to the sensitive media. 

It is important to realize that all divinatory systems have to connect the Conscious Mind to the Sub-Conscious and thence to the Universal Consciousness. Successful divination and, hence, our personal “psychic empowerment” depends on our abilities to consciously channel our questions to these lower realms and to take the answers into our awakened consciousness for their analysis and application. 

Divination, in contrast to “fortune telling” is not a passive mere acceptance of answers from the “cards” or the “stones” or the “stars” or other objects that are converted into “tools,” but uses those tools in inter-active communication between the Unconscious and the Conscious Mind. The “language” of that communication—ultimately—is symbolism but the symbols themselves are not static but instead constantly evolve in response to “the times.” 

The challenge for the diviner is to use symbols as a frame or vehicle in asking questions, and then to newly interpret those symbols conveying the answers.

Suggested Reading:

Cunningham: Divination for Beginners – Reading the Past, Present & Future

Slate, J. & Weschcke, C.: The Llewellyn Complete Book of Psychic Empowerment – Tools & Technologies, forthcoming in 2011, Llewellyn