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If I were a "reader", I'd actually would rather not work with any tools of divination at first. But then again, I do like to give out advice, and I'm slightly nosy. So it probably wouldn't be good for me to even try. I'd like to try crystal ball divining, but I cannot for the life of me do a water with a mirror divination so I probably would not be very good at that. I'm not patient enough to wait for something to come up. I'd be expecting something to pop up within the next two seconds of me putting my hand down on the glass.

Probably stems from me using energy and it being sort of instant, and the fact that I've grown up in a world where the instant is perfection.

Heh, definately. You should check out the "Tarot Connection" podcast if you're able. Stuff from that show has given me an awesome working framework for intuitive readings. I still like by-the-book, but knowing the system better really helps. Some of their system info comes out of astrology, some from numerology, some from the elements, some from just the symbols on the card. Lots to work from.

I have used Tarot cards. They belonged to my friend. I liked them. I lacked the ability to put them down. And I'm supposidely pretty good at palmistry. (send me a pic of your hand if you want your palm read)

It's associated with magic. So who knows. I personally chalk it up to one of the mysteries of the occult.

Most divinatory systems discussed in Neopaganism revolve around one of two basic methodologies so I don't see much in the category of 'omens' from the environment around you. How much have any of you worked with omens from the environment, such as the flight of birds, coming of storms... things like that? I get the impression most Neopagans work with oracle systems like tarot cards or scrying systems like mirrors more than omens...

I was really surprised a few days ago, by researching a little bit on Divination in ancient cultures, because our main methods of divination weren't that common in many cultures. Not a word about Tarot cards, for exemple, and runes weren't necesarily used for that.

Palmistry, on the other hand, is quite ancient.

Most methods include bird sight (and whatever was in the sky), every kind of omens, the reading of the internal organs of sacrificed animals, bibliomancy (quite popular among christians, by the way), bone reading, water and poles reading, tea leaves reading, etc.

Tarot cards apparently weren't used for divination, but to teach or transmit occult knowledge. Runes were also "spells" and had many other magical uses far beyond divination.

A few people say that pendulums only work well for reading energy, but fail when used for divination (they're said to answer whatever your inconscious wants to hear).

It's a fascinating topic, anyway, and cultural methods for divination are so varied and colorful, that in the end the method becomes less important than the reader. If you have it in you (a sort of "sight"), you'll find the truth with any method.

I see omens all around in nature, like waking to a pod of dolphins then walking back to my campsite and seeing an unkindness of 9 ravens. That day was a great day all the way back to the city lol. I end up paying attention down to a black widow crossing the street.

For me divination is a part of magic... It's not only using runes in spellwork or rituals, or trying to use a pendulum to find something lost, but also for communication with the deities you're working with.

I'm looking into Tarot, but I'm finding it really confusing, theres so many decks.