Divination books
The I Ching is probably the world's oldest continuous divination tradition, but practically every traditional human culture has its own way of divination. Ours in the West is the first to try to sideline this way of understanding. So what is divination? What underlies its success; what are we doing when we divine?
On this shelf
The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of DivinationStephen Karcher |
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At first sight, you could be forgiven for thinking of this as strictly a 'coffee-table' book, the kind that looks decorative and gets dipped into occasionally, but never exactly read. It's large-format, full of colourful illustrations, and it is indeed easy to pick up and dip into. I just find it rather harder to put down!
This book isn't just a hodge-podge of divinatory methods - there are definite ideas behind it about what we are actually doing and asking when we divine. By 'we' I mean all humanity, from prehistoric times to computerised oracles: the Encyclopaedia doesn't just cover those methods that are currently widely used in the West, but also traditions from Africa, Asia, the Inuit… And wherever possible, Karcher will devote enough space to an oracle to give you the chance to consult it for yourself.
The first section of the book is given over to a discussion of divination, entitled 'a lost world of soul'. It's a fascinating insight into what is really happening, beyond the clichés of 'fortune-telling': dissolving boundaries between divine and mundane, opening a world of symbols and deeper meaning, offering the individual a personal connection with spirit (often in defiance of established religion).
From this - and before the reader can get mired in learning any particular method - he moves on to the quality of attention - listening to the signs you're given, which can be as simple as the direction of birds flying overhead, as well as methods of asking for signs. And then to 'Shamans, mediums, seers and guides': vivid accounts of shamans ancient and modern, the way shamanism integrates into modern therapies; seers, wise women and prophets from all over the world; the quality of the speculum, the surface that allows people to see through into another kind of space… It's always possible to 'dip in' and gain startling new insights - reading through, there is almost too much to take in!
The fourth chapter describes 'Opening the Book of Fate': all-encompassing divinatory systems such as tarot, I Ching and runes - but also numerology, Western geomancy, Ifa, and Tibetan Sho Mo. Each is illustrated by real examples. This is the distinguishing quality of Karcher's work: intelligence and lucidity, with a complete absence of meaningless 'new-agey' phraseology, coupled with a profound understanding that divination is for use, for personal help and transformation.
Then comes a chapter on astrology - as you might expect, not only the Western variety, and not only the natal chart. And finally one on dream divination - in ancient Greece, in modern Tibet, in China and among the Iroquois of North America, and not forgetting (nor yet over-emphasising!) Freud, Jung and Perls. As you might expect, this section also includes valuable advice on incubating, remembering and interpreting your own dreams.
The afterword sets divination in its modern context - and concludes:
'Why the interest? All of these phenomena lie well outside mainstream thought and culture. From the perspective of traditional science they are meaningless. But they fill a great need or lack in modern culture, a need for personal contact with the worlds of soul and spirit and a sense of the importance of the individual's journey through life. Divination connects to you directly and connects you with the movements of the worlds of spirit and imagination. …As divination emerges once more from its exile in the shadows, it is a sign that we are seeking to connect with an exiled part of ourselves, an integral part of our spirit and our soul.'
This Encyclopaedia could prove a vital part of that reconnection.