The Wiccan's Dictionary of Prophecy and Omens. Gerina Dunwich

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      DIVINATION IS THE ART and practice of obtaining knowledge of the future or of secret things by means of omens, organized systems, or prophecy. These methods provide the three main categories into which nearly all divination can be classified.

      Omens are accidental or chance signs which, when properly interpreted, are believed to reveal the future, warn of impending danger, and so forth. The word “omen” derives from the Latin ominosus, which means “foreboding evil,” however, not all omens are necessarily of an evil nature. They can also signify such things as good fortune, love, or the birth of a child.

      Divination by organized systems includes (but is in no way limited to) astrology, cards, dice, lot casting, the I Ching, palmistry, numerology, and the reading of tea leaves.

      Many of the systematized methods were devised by the ancient Chaldeans, Babylonians, Romans, Greeks, and Chinese. They were used by priests, shamans, and diviners not only for determining the future course of events, but also for solving problems, identifying the guilty, resolving disputes, and locating lost persons, objects, and even buried treasure.

      The third and most sacred form of divination is prophecy, which relies on direct communication with divine beings or entities of the spirit world to gain insight into the future, the present, or the past. This is accomplished usually through visions (including dreams), trance states, and possession.

      Under the category of prophecy are predictions made by prophets, oracles, channelers, spiritualist mediums, and any woman, man, or child who “utters by divine inspiration” or who acts as a revealer of the will of the gods.

      The mystical art of divination has been practiced in one form or another since ancient times, in all levels of culture. In modern times, it is an essential part of modern Witchcraft and the nature religion of Wicca appearing in the form of crystal gazing (a Samhain tradition, also known as scrying), Tarot card interpretation, love divination, or other methods.

      Many Wiccans are in favor of performing a divination of some kind prior to casting magickal spells, especially those spells which may be considered to be manipulative in nature (such as certain love spells). The purpose is to discover whether or not the outcome of the spell will have negative or positive effects. If the divination reveals that something bad or harmful will arise out of it, that particular spell is avoided or altered in such a way that its outcome will not in any way violate the Wiccan Rede, the main tenet of Wicca, which states: “An it harm none, do what thou wilt.” (No Wiccan in his or her right mind wants to go against the Wiccan Rede, even unintentionally, and then have to deal with the threefold bad karma that such an action inevitably produces.)

      The numerous methods of divination included СКАЧАТЬ