In this column, which I hope to be able to update regularly, we will discuss divination, and more specifically Tarot Cards , as this is the manner of divination that I am most familiar with. While I also have used Runes and I Ching, I am not nearly as facile with them. If any one wants, please send me an article on alternative forms of divination, and I'll put them up.

Divination is more than just fortunetelling. While this is a form of divining, not all divinations try to tell the future or fortune of the querent. Divining can also be used, for example, to scry into the actions or motivations of another person, which is beyond the realm of fortunetelling.

Many people of the past put great stock in divinations. The ancient Romans would not do anything if the portents for the day or the project in general were unfavorable. The Aztecs of Mexico were similar in their outlook on the importance of the process. When one divined, they felt, one could find the will of the gods and spirits who would affect everything mortals did. If one would seek evidence of this in modern times, remember that Nancy Reagan consulted regularly with an Astrologer. While I don't know for sure if this is true, Winston Churchill is said to have consulted regularly with noted occultists such a Dion Fortune and Aleister Crowley to divine the course of World War Two.

There are many different forms of divination. Probably the two most common today are Astrology and Cartomancy. Astrology, passingly familiar to any one who reads the daily newspapers, is the art of divination by the positions of the stars relative to the day's date and the birthdates of the people in questions. This is among the most ancient forms of divination, dating back to the earliest times of civilization, and practiced by virtually all of them.

Cartomancy, which is of a more recent lineage, is the art and science of divining through the use of different kinds of decks of cards. While Tarot Cards are the best-known, oridinary playing cards can be used just as well, and there are several types of path working crs that bear no relationship to either one9such as the American Indian oriented Sacred Path cards). This is familiar in poplular mythology as the kind of thing that gypsies in the carnival, or your old and slightly odd aunt might do, but they have become very oplular since the hippie age of the '60's.

Another old standby of the travelling gypsies is Palmistry, divination by looking at the palm of the hand, and reading the lines on it. I must confess, I see this more as a fortunetelling working thatn a form of divination, though I do not dispute it's effectiveness.

Rune reading is a form of divination that originated in the Scandinavian countries. It is based on the sacred Runes that were supposedly won by the God Odin through self sacrifice. While many people now practice Runic divination,it is originally rooted strongly in the Germanic-Norse religion. Because of this,many people are reluctant to take up this form of work. While I certainly would not counsel anyone to go against their feelings, I must also say that I find a great deal of latent energy in the Runes, and would recommend that a potential scryer investigate them before writing them off.

The I Ching, or book of changes, is a form of divination peculiar to China. It has it's roots in the Taoist faith, and consists of either throwing straws and reading their combinations(called the Yarrow Oracle), or throwing three coin 6 times and reading the numbers of heads and tails. This, called the Coin Oracle, is the most common today. Once the hexagram is read, it is refrenced to the book, which provides an oracle for the 64 possible combinations.

These are the most common forms of divination today. Other forms, such as reading the future in the entrails of a sacrificed animal, are no longer widely practiced. While the place of the diviner is not as prominent in society as it once was, it is still widely followed by many, and is a worthy course of study for any student of occult and hidden knowledge.