List of the Main Divinatory Arts (Top 15)
There are many divinatory arts that you can choose to include in your practice of magic and the occult.
Most of the time, when we first become interested in the subject, it can be complicated to find the art that will suit us best.
Every culture on earth has had its own divination techniques. So, there are hundreds (probably even thousands) of different ways of practicing!
It is in this context that this article takes on its full importance: by presenting a list of the main divinatory arts, it will help beginners to see more clearly.
In the end, the only way to know if you are made for this or that type of clairvoyance will be… simply practice.
You can feel attracted to a particular divinatory art but have no convincing results when you try it, and vice versa.
Only practice will allow you to really be fixed.
This is also one of the reasons why we have brought together tools and symbols linked to clairvoyance in the same collection.
In short, let's immediately get to the heart of the matter and discover together fourteen of the most widespread divinatory arts.
Contents :
1st divinatory art: augury, interpretation of the signs of nature
In reality, we designate by the term “augury” any divinatory practice consisting of interpreting the signs sent to us by nature.
Several forms exist but there is clearly one that surpasses all the others: reading in the flight of birds.
For as long as we can remember, man has always assigned a special place to birds.
Sometimes messengers of the gods, sometimes the most visible expression of the air element...
These beings who live between earth and sky have access to truths, things that we cannot see. Some talk about the signs of our guardian angel, others about the energies of Feng Shui. There are some that evoke the mysteries of life and love.
In short, interpreting the flight of birds has always been a separate divinatory art.
And a rather complex art!
Far from using only one's instinct, a good omen must take into account the movement of the birds, their interactions with each other, their speed...
Analyzing all of this in real time is really complicated. You can try to check!
2nd divinatory art: tarology, reading by cards
When you first became interested in divination (perhaps this is the case for you today!), you inevitably came across tarot.
We all have in mind the image of the clairvoyant drawing cards in a dark and mysterious atmosphere.
Even if some practitioners like to create this kind of atmosphere in their office, the practice of tarot is not a mystery.
In fact, the cards you choose (sometimes even without realizing it) will say a lot about you.
The quality of the clairvoyant will take on great importance here, more than for other art forms.
A tarot card reading does not in fact indicate specific elements but rather big ideas, guiding principles.
It will then be up to the professional to put the messages from the different cards drawn into music to create a beautiful melody, a more complex story.
Today we have enough perspective on the question to affirm that, yes, tarology is a divinatory art that works!
Yes, how could an art have survived for so long if it did not refer to something concrete?
If you are interested in the art of tarot, here is a basic deck that will allow you to take your first steps without worries.
3rd divinatory art: palmistry, reading in the palm of the hand
Palmistry brings together a group of people who discover information about a person (their character, their future, their anxieties, etc.) from the lines on the palm of their hand.
Often, this technique is very popular with fortune tellers because it does not require a lot of resources to use. Reading the future without equipment is a plus, that's clear. A pair of eyes and the right knowledge are indeed all you will need!
Like many divinatory arts, palmistry has evolved throughout its history.
Previously, only reading the lines of the hand was used but, as knowledge evolved, some specialists chose to broaden their practice and admit the influence of things like the general shape of the hand, the roughness of the skin and the quality of the epidermis could have their meaning.
4th art of divination: Nordic runes, a bit of the knowledge of the Ancients
Nordic civilization made little use of writing, and had the unfortunate tendency to use a lot of wood...
Unfortunately, today we have little information left about this great people.
In fact, the main sources (besides oral tradition of course) are the writings... of Christian monks whom they regularly plundered!
We might as well tell you that there is a better level of objectivity.
But then, how do we still have knowledge of the art of runes today?
The answer is simple: this divinatory art is mentioned in the greatest collection of Viking legend, a book called the “Poetic Edda”.
Thus, we know that the wise men of the Nordic clans sometimes threw pieces of bone or wood engraved with all the letters making up their runic alphabet (specialists speak of “futhark”).
Concretely, each of these runes has a very precise meaning which, by letting chance arrange them as necessary, can send us messages.
5th divinatory art: bibliomancy, random pages
Of all the divinatory arts on this list, bibliomancy is probably the one that will require the most practice before you see concrete results.
To practice it, you just need to ask yourself a question. Firstly, it should be as clear as possible. More esoteric or philosophical subjects can only come after a certain experience.
Once that's done, you can pick up a book. (Any one can do the trick, but we advise you to let your instincts guide you.)
Next, you will have to close your eyes, open a random page and then place your finger somewhere on that page.
So open your eyes and read: the sentence your finger points to could well provide an answer to your question...
Explained in this way, this divinatory art seems rather easy.
In fact, all the complexity comes from the need to interpret the sentence you have received. Sometimes it may seem to have nothing to do with the subject. It will then be up to you to provide contextual work.
A message about your romantic future could be hidden behind a simple word, while another will contain one about your career.
6th divinatory art: tasseomancy, reading in tea or coffee
We often hear about reading in coffee grounds.
Previously very popular, this clairvoyance technique has fallen somewhat into disuse in recent times.
This does not mean that serious practitioners no longer exist, just that it will be more difficult to find them. If the card draw is a common thing, the coffee draw is much more confidential.
In short, for your future to be read, all you need to do is quietly drink a cup of coffee.
Once finished, there will be grounds at the bottom of the cup which will create shapes and patterns to interpret.
Another variation (mainly found in Asia) is reading in a cup of tea.
A bit in the same way, there always remains a powdery deposit following the infusion of the tea leaves which, too, will form real designs.
To learn more about this type of clairvoyance, here is an article that talks in more depth about tasseomancy.
7th divinatory art: geomancy, divination by sand
Geomancy is the art of reading the shapes of sand.
In reality, this term encompasses very different practices.
In the Arab and Eastern tradition, the wise men had the habit of standing alone in the evening on high ground, observing the desert and its dunes and interpreting the shapes they formed.
They thus received messages which, in a context of survival, could make the difference between the life of the tribe... or its death/
A little closer to us in ancient Rome, it was not uncommon to see clairvoyants take a handful of sand which they let flow slowly from their closed fist, letting it deliver their information.
No matter what form this divinatory art takes, it is always based on the same belief: that of an earthly energy, a vital force which travels across the surface of our world.
It is precisely this force that gives its shape to the sand, which then only becomes a kind of messenger.
8th divinatory art: dowsing, pendulum divination
A pendulum is a relatively simple object.
Take a crystal, a stone and a piece of metal, hang it on the end of a string... and voila, you have a pendulum!
Those which professional dowsers use are a little more complex and respect in particular conditions of balance and energy circulation.
Here is a model that we offer on our site which will be particularly suitable for beginners.
In short, using a dowsing pendulum will allow you to answer simple questions.
Ask a simple question that can be answered with a “yes” or “no”, associate each of your answers with a side (right or left) and wait…
As is often the case in the field of divinatory arts, these are weak and subtle signs that you will need to notice.
A slight jolt, a small vibration: these are the kinds of elements that will form the basis of your response.
9th divinatory art: crystallomancy, reading in a crystal ball
Crystal ball reading, or crystallomancy, is a method of clairvoyance that involves, as the name suggests, the use of a crystal ball.
To practice this art well, you will first need to clear your mind.
Only after being in a state of total inner peace will you be able to see things in your ball. A mage must know how to calm his mind before undertaking any initiatory journey.
Some people think that it is our unconscious that expresses itself to us. Others speak of more mysterious forces, energies or entities that surround us.
Ultimately, the main thing for the practitioner of divination will be to receive information about the future, something which will be accomplished here.
Even if it can sometimes take time to learn how to correctly do the signs that our crystal ball sends back to us, this divinatory art remains one of the most practiced and above all the one which has offered results to almost all those who are tried there.
If you are looking to develop your psychic abilities, acquiring this type of crystal ball is clearly a good idea.
10th divinatory art: lithomancy, divination by minerals
Everyone has heard of the power of stones and crystals.
Their energies have been used to heal and protect us on a daily basis for a very long time now.
But did you know that these minerals can also be used in certain divinatory arts?
In fact, each stone has a very particular meaning. The tarot deck has its major and minor arcana, and lithomancy has its stones and crystals.
A bit like runes, you just have to mix a few (the more the better) in a bag and then draw two or three. So, you will only have to match their respective meanings to get a message.
Very popular with beginners, this divination technique is not very complicated in itself; the only effort required will be the study of rocks and crystals.
You will indeed have to learn the meaning of each of them to practice well!
Even if you can't read the future this way, your work won't have been for nothing...
Lihomancy and lithotherapy (a set of stone healing techniques) being two very similar arts, training in one is necessarily synonymous with a solid foundation in the other.
11th art of divination: astrology, study of the sky and the stars
Astrology is one of the most recognized divinatory arts in esoteric and magical circles. Of all the methods and forms of divination, it is clearly the most practiced.
The subject has generated a lot of ink and we can find information of very different qualities on the internet…
Those that you will find here on the elle.fr site will undoubtedly constitute a good basis. (In any case, they will have the merit of not being influenced by the “New Age” side which has done a lot of harm to astrology...)
Sciences dating from Antiquity (some speak of Prehistory), astrology is the study and interpretation of celestial bodies, mainly stars and planets.
Both the Mayans, the Indians, the Greeks and the Chinese had their own system of astrology.
The one you will most often be confronted with (the one which tells us about the twelve signs of the zodiac in particular) has its roots in the ancient Sumerian civilization which once dominated Mesopotamia.
With all the knowledge and practice accumulated over millennia, it's actually quite easy to get started with astrology these days.
You will indeed easily find books, courses and training that will teach you the basics of this art.
12th divinatory art: numerology, power and influence of numbers
Most divinatory arts around the world have an element of numerology in them.
Typically, some tarot cards carry a number, calculations are made in astrology and the number of birds can have meaning for omens.
However, numerology remains an art in its own right, with its rules and its followers.
To give you an idea, we will give you the basic principle (which, in addition, etc. is relatively simple to understand).
Practitioners of numerology argue that figures and numbers have a deeper meaning than just helping us count.
Some are more powerful than others, but all have their own essence. In a sense, astrology and horoscopes are based on calculations, and therefore on numbers.
When we know that modern science is based on mathematical laws (and therefore necessarily on numbers), this idea immediately seems more convincing to us...
Here is a page from the magicmaman site which offers you a simple calculation based on your date of birth.
13th divinatory art: graphomancy, or automatic writing
Before talking about graphomancy, let's take a look at graphology.
Linked to psychology, graphology is in fact a very serious science which is interested in the link between a person's writing and their personality. It is in particular this science which allows court experts to spot false signatures or false documents.
Graphomancy, also known as automatic writing, is a divinatory art consisting of determining the future (or a present to which we do not have access) via a “let go” in writing making it unconscious, automatic.
For some, it is ghosts and spirits who then guide our hand, allowing them to communicate certain information to us. It is sometimes also a question of angels or demons.
For other mediums, it is about forces and energies which then take hold of them, influencing their gestures and their thoughts. A bit as if their intuition was transformed, marked by a paranormal force.
In short, if we spoke to you about graphology just before, it is in fact because the experts are clear on one point: certain manuscripts created using automatic writing cannot have been written by the person who then held the style...
Intriguing, isn't it?
14th divinatory art: physiognomy, reading on the face
This divinatory art comes to us directly from China.
The greatest masters can apparently discover a person's thoughts simply by seeing their facial features. They can literally read it like an open book.
It's true that our lives and our state of mind influence the way our facial muscles tense and relax.
However, to consciously discern differences of the order of a millimeter, years of diligent practice are necessary.
In short, some psychics manage to analyze each wrinkle, teeth, scars, moles, lines, shapes and spots of color... in short, to analyze your entire face.
They can then talk to you about yourself, your life and your past, but above all about your future.
Often, predictions made in this way later turn out to be strikingly accurate.
Of all the divinatory arts, face reading is undoubtedly one of the most impressive. Cartomancy is quite classic, and mediumship is often done without involvement on the part of the consultant. Here the implication will be clear.
To learn more about this art, we advise you to take a look at the Wikipedia page dedicated to physiognomy.
We have checked them and all the information there seems to us to be correct.
15th divinatory art: omikuji, divination by chance
You can find strange boxes full of numbered sticks in most shrines in the Japanese Archipelago.
For a small donation made to a temple, you will be able to draw one of these sticks at random. A true Japanese-style oracle, many sanctuaries live off this income.
In short, the number written on it will then point you to a numbered drawer in which you will find a piece of paper containing a prediction.
So open your drawer and hold your breath: there is no guarantee that what will be announced to you will be positive.
In accordance with tradition, papers carrying bad omens must be nailed to a tree in the temple, this being the only way to prevent the curse from coming true.
In fact, this divinatory art reminds us of a message that we too often tend to forget...
Yes, the best soothsayer, the one who best knows our destiny... could well be chance itself!
Divination tools presented in this article:
