Divination
Divination is the largest section of the site: Tarot, I Ching, runes, Lenormand, geomancy, dice, coins and Chinese methods: Qi Men Dun Jia, Da Liu Ren, Mei Hua Yi Shu and Liu Yao. Every reading is done right here in your browser, and the meanings of the cards and symbols are covered on separate pages.
Where to start
If you need a quick answer, try the yes or no oracle or the tarot card of the day. If the question is more complex and you want to understand the situation, try a three-card spread or the I Ching.
For questions about feelings people usually choose Tarot and Lenormand; for questions about a decision and what to do, the I Ching and runes.
If you're doing a real reading — with coffee or with wax — the coffee grounds reading and wax reading pages will help you interpret what you see: mark the shapes and where they are, and the calculator will put them together into a single interpretation.
Among the Chinese methods, Mei Hua Yi Shu and Liu Yao build a hexagram for the moment of the question and read it through the five elements, while Qi Men Dun Jia and Da Liu Ren chart the moment itself: which directions and forces are at work in it.
How Readings Work on This Site
Almost all the methods in this section work through your browser's random number generator, not through a server. This means the result can't be rigged, but you also can't repeat it on your next visit. The exceptions are coffee grounds and wax reading: there the random pattern comes from the cup or the wax itself, and the calculator interprets what you saw in it.
The probabilities match the original methods. In the I Ching, the three-coin method gives probabilities of 1/8, 3/8, 3/8, 1/8 — the same as a real toss. In Tarot, cards are drawn at random from the full deck and never repeat within a spread. With dice, each sum comes up with the same probability as with real dice.
How to Phrase Your Question
Three rules that apply to every method.
- Be specific. “What does the future hold for me” is too broad, and the answer will be vague. “Should I accept this job offer” is a workable question.
- One question at a time. A spread for two questions at once is hard to read: it is unclear which question a card refers to.
- Don’t ask again. Asking the same question over and over until you get the answer you want is a way of fooling yourself, not a method.
Frequently asked questions
Do readings come true?
There is no verifiable evidence that these methods have predictive power. What works is something else: a reading gives you a reason to put your question into words and look at the situation from the outside.
Can you do a reading for yourself?
Opinions differ within the tradition. There is only one practical argument against it: it is harder to read impartially for yourself.
How many readings a day is OK?
There is no limit, but the point is lost quickly: after the third spread on the same question you are just hunting for the answer you want.