divination

Rahu Ketu in numerology

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Someone asked me a question on using numerology and Rahu Ketu’s role in it. Thus this generic post.

In my opinion, numerology is a good way to rapidly assess the individual in sitting in front of you. If you know just his birthday, eg just 25th Sept, even this much is enough to gain a reasonable insight into his personality. And learning about the 9 numbers, their characteristics and planetary associations is a bit easier than learning full-fledged Jyotish. So if you are a beginner, do read up on numerology and see if you can use it in your everyday life. The 9 numbers are obviously from 1 to 9. Technically 0 is not a number in the real sense (who knows what 0 really is?). The double digit numbers from 10 onwards are naturally reduced to single digits.

I have studied numerology also in my journey with Jyotish. I analyse things, test them on the people I know and then conclude. So here are the planetary associations which I have determined to be correct and I use these.

  • 1 = Sun
  • 2 = Moon
  • 3 = Jupiter
  • 4 = Rahu
  • 5 = Mercury
  • 6 = Venus
  • 7 = Ketu
  • 8 = Saturn
  • 9 = Mars

In most numerology books, you will find the numbers 4 and 7 are linked with Uranus and Neptune. However I have observed that 4 and 7 are perfectly in tune with the attributes of 4 = Rahu and 7 = Ketu. Students of astrology already know what forces are indicated by Rahu/ Ketu (I have written a lot about them in my several posts). There are no attributes for Uranus and Neptune in any authoritative reference book, they are not graha as per Jyotish (post here). The western books which are said to be authoritative have been written very recently, in the past 50yrs or so. These cannot be relied upon. Any Art or Science which observes humanity as a whole has to be replicable and valid across several generations, only then can its inferences and results be accepted.

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Suppose your birthday is 23 Jan 2014. Now you can derive 2 numbers from this date. The first one would be 2 +3 =5, let’s call this 5 the birth number. The second number you can derive is 2+3+1+2+0+1+4 = 13. Then you add this together 1+3 = 4. Let’s call this 4 the total number (you can call them whatever you like as long as you remember how you derived them and what they indicate. They are called psychic, destiny, soul, etc whatever)

The birth number will indicate what you personally think, feel, want, expect, choose, desire, etc. It is your personal number, it tells a lot about you as an individual, your aspirations, fears, the things which hold you down and the stuff which propels you onwards. Your self-image. This number will be more active in the early phase of life when you are immature, young and not much concerned about the responsibility of life.

The total number is more about your public image. Your grown-up attitude towards life, the compromises you make, the maturity you develop with your life events. How life polishes your personality and makes you grow as you get older. This total number indicates your pre-determined, in-built subconscious patterns which are karmic in nature and intended to bring some learnings to you. This number becomes more dominant after you get a job or become financially independent or get married or have a child, ie when you suddenly realise that you are a grown-up with adult responsibilities. After this life-altering event you resonate more with your total number.

There is always a distinct shift from your birth number to your total number. In our example birthdate, 23 Jan 2014 the shift is from 5 to 4. In the initial phase of life, this person will be more dominated by Mercury’s characteristics as connected to the number 5. Later, as he matures, the attributes of Rahu as the number 4 will emerge more strongly. You can analyse for yourself, use your birth date to calculate your birth and total number. If you are in your 30s or older, you will be able to notice the change in your life-pattern as you ‘grew-up’. There will be two distinct phases which can be correlated with these two numbers.

In some cases you will get the birth number and the total number to be the same. Eg for birthdate 6th Dec 1995 both are 6. In this case, the person will always strongly resonate with the number 6. But after his maturity event, there will be a subtle difference in the expression of the 6, as the same number gives a slightly different result when working as the birth number and as the total number. eg for the number 6, it works better as a birth number than as a total number.

Another point of interest. A person born on 1st 10th 19th 28th will have the same birth number 1. But each of these persons will express the energy of the 1 in a different manner. ie the person born on 28th will have a subtle influence of 2 and 8 also on his birth number 1, a tip for these 28th borns is to manage their finances and budget sensibly for the future.

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There is a misconception that some numbers are good and some are bad. But the reality is that all numbers have attributes which can be converted to pleasing/ unpleasant experiences. Try to understand your own number’s attributes so that you can use them proactively for your benefit.

Eg the number 8 linked to Saturn is often considered to be rather tedious. As it is linked to delays, loneliness, age, karmic requirements, imbalances in the Vaat element, misunderstandings, humourless nature, struggles in life extreme events etc. But people born with this number are capable of hard work, are serious about life, can handle almost any situation, are persistent, are strong, patient and persevere. These qualities can be harnessed intelligently. If you have a good understanding of the numbers you can use them to turn life as per your wish. Eg again for number 8. You should consciously try to do the following to gain the most of your number’s energy.  Try to make new connections and keep in touch with your acquaintances/ relatives. Get out more and try to be cheerful. Try something new once in a while. Trust your loved ones and people close to you to some extent at least. Arguments are never-ending, so say your point and then remain silent. You will get very little help in life, so do not take on more than you can do yourself. Do not take up too many jobs just for the money angle. Eat food which will help relieve your aggravated Vaat dosh. Spiritual practice is a must, believe in a higher energy, it will help you.

If you observe your friends numbers, you will note that their numbers will be complementary to yours. Eg again for number 8, a long term relationship/ friendship with 3 5 6 numbers will be a good option.

And finally if you open your horoscope and tally your numbers with them you will find that your number will be linked to your ascendant lord or a planet who has very high shad-bala or is very prominent in some way or the other in your chart. Eg my total number belongs to my ascendant lord. My husband’s total number is the planet who owns his birth Moon sign. I have seen so many such examples. You will find some connect between the numbers and the powerful planets in your horoscope.

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I haven’t written anything on numerology till now because I do not use numerology in predictions. I use the numbers only for quick analysis if needed. The test of any divinatory art is its ability to give precise predictions about the past, present and the future. I have not seen a real live example yet where a numerologist predicted the past/ ongoing/ future event correctly, consistently and replicably. Eg If in transit Ketu transits over the 4th house, the results are definitely going to be separation from the mother, denial of home comforts, health issues, unnecessary travelling etc. This sort of prediction is not possible with numerology as it is taught today.

Personally if I have to find out how my current time/ day is going to be, I open the Panchangam, check out the Tithi, Vaar, Karan, Yog, and link it to my Tarabalam and the Choghadiya. Perhaps glance over the instant Kundali. This is automatic as I have been doing this for years now.

But for beginners, numerology is useful for instant analysis as you need just the date to work with. eg if you are stuck in traffic, irritated and suddenly realise that the date today is 8th or 17th or 26th you immediately calm down as the attributes of this number are delays and frustrations. Or if your boss is never willing to listen to you, and you realise that yes, his birth day is 11th Oct, so many 1’s in his date, he is going to be egoistical. Or if you go to the bank on 4th June and the accountant there takes an inordinate time over the details, then yes its the energy of the 4 at work.

So Numerology can give a quick snap-shot of the situation and should be studied.

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How to cast your iChing hexagram

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I am reading a book on Ramal-shastra, it is in Sanskrit. This is the basis of the Arabic and the European ‘Geomancy’. Ramal is a Sanskrit word which means ‘telling the future with dice’. It is a very precise method, you use a special dice to get the images, these are made of 4 lines which are then interpreted. Ramal travelled from India to Arabia to Europe and in this journey it became ‘geomancy’ and lost its precision.

So, iChing! Ramal reminded me of iChing. I use iChing sometimes when I feel lazy and have one single precise question. You use coins to get an image, made of 6 lines, called a hexagram. It is extraordinarily accurate and extremely easy. Everyone can use this system without too much trouble. This post is on getting you started on iChing! It is very easy and won’t cost you anything either.

To start, you need 3 small coins. Any 3 coins will do, just that they should be small and have a properly defined head/tail design. You will need to buy the original book ‘IChing, the Book of Changes’ translated from the original Chinese by Richard Wilhelm. This is the classic authoritative book. The style of writing is a bit different as it is translated from the original Chinese. (If you cannot afford to buy it right now or you want to try it out before you buy, here is a link where the entire text of this book is available.) And you will need a paper and a pencil.

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You basically create this figure of 6 lines called a hexagram. The coins help you get the line pattern. Then you match this pattern from the book and simply read. It is so easy.

  • Face east or north, sit, take a few deep breaths or bring your pran to the Ida naadi if you know how to. Relax.
  • Take your three coins, hold them in your hands for a bit, make a chi-ball, recite a mantra, think of your favourite deity or whatever you want. Your energy should get into the coins.
  • Now deeply think of your question, feel the question entering the coins. Suppose it is, ‘will my project give me money?’.
  • Shake the three coins in your hands and throw them down. Check if they have fallen heads or tails up. The heads are each worth 3 points and the tails are each worth 2 points. Add. Eg if you get two heads and one tail up, it is 3+3+2=8 an even total. Now draw a single broken line like this _ _ on your paper. This is the lowermost line of your hexagram pattern.
  • Then shuffle your three coins again and throw them down together. Suppose you get two tails and one head. So the addition is 2+2+3=7 An odd number. Draw a solid line like this  _    above your first line. So your diagram has 2 lines now, the lowermost is the broken line   _ _   and above this is your second line  _  a solid line.
  • Now shuffle and throw your coins again to get your 3rd line. Suppose this is all heads. 3+3+3=9. An odd number, so it is a solid line. But all the coins were all head up so this makes this line a bit special, so we call it a ‘changing solid line’ and we put a dot against it, like this   _ .   this is your third line which you draw above your second line.
  • These three lines are the first set of the I Ching hexagram. This is called the lower trigram.
  • You shuffle your coins again and throw them down. Suppose you get all tails this time. So you add, 2+2+2=6 . An even number so you draw a broken line, but as all the coins are same, tails up, you call this line a ‘changing broken line’, and you draw a dot against it like this    _ _ .    you draw this fourth line above the third line.
  • You continue tossing the coins to complete your hexagram.
  • Suppose your fifth line is two heads and one tail. 3+3+2=8. Even number, a broken line, you draw it above the fourth line.
  • And finally you toss the coins a sixth time to get your last line, suppose its is one head and two tails, 3+2+2=7 an odd number so a solid line at the very top.
  • These three lines 4th, 5th, 6th are together called the upper trigram.

So remember,

  • one heads = 3 points
  • one tails = 2 points
  • odd total = solid line
  • even total = broken line
  • all 3 heads = changing solid line
  • all 3 tails = changing broken line

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So your complete hexagram looks like this,

_

_ _

_ _ .

_ .

_

_ _

Now to interpret your hexagram. To look up the hexagram in the book or the website, on the first page you have a table. Your hexagram is made of two trigrams. Look up the lower trigram from the left column and the upper trigram from the top row of this table.

In this specific example, the hexagram has the Chinese name ‘Ku’ and is placed at serial number 18. It briefly means that you should ‘Work on what has been spoiled’. Read the text carefully for the interpretation and see how you can apply it to your question. Your question was about your project. With this hexagram, iChing says that you will need to evaluate what could have gone wrong and re-think. Then put in more work/ energy. Pay attention to the project as you start it, be decisive but cautious.

What I like about iChing is that it not only describes your current situation but also tells you what to do very clearly. There is also a very succinct philosophy in it but its eminently practical. IChing was used by Kings, politicians and army generals to plan their actions so has that sense of purpose built in. A tool that has been used for generations over thousands of years gains enormous potency. So it is with iChing, the distillate of the applied wisdom of generations. And it is all in a book, so you don’t need to learn anything by rote.

So back to the interpretations. You get the interpretation of the entire hexagram as a whole first.

Now in our hexagram we had those two special lines where the coins had fallen all heads up or all tails up. We have marked these lines as a ‘changing solid line’ and ‘changing broken line’ and drew them with a dot at the end. These specific lines and their meanings are especially important. So read these explanations extra-carefully and analyse them in context to your situation. While you are interpreting your changing lines, remember that you have drawn the hexagram from the bottom to the top. The first line is at the bottom and the sixth line is at the top. So the third and fourth lines are the changing lines. Their interpretations are also given in the text, I have just applied them to our question about the project.

  • The interpretation of the 3rd ‘changing solid line’ tells us that the project could have failed because of over-energetically compensating for the errors of the past.
  • The interpretation of the 4th ‘changing broken line’, says that the client was too weak to take prompt and appropriate measures for problems which were created in the initial inception of the project. And these problems have just started to come out in the open.

Now to the second part of the reading.

How to use the ‘changing’ lines. If, in your reading, there are no changing lines it means that your situation is quite solid right now and changes if any are less significant. You have only one hexagram to read from. If you get one or more than one changing lines, you have to draw your second hexagram. More lines changing means the rate of change in your situation is quite high.

The rate of change of the factors represented by these two changing lines is very high so the new hexagram adds more meaning to your reading. We will change these lines and draw one new hexagram for our example as above.

  • The broken line becomes a solid line in the new hexagram.
  • And the solid line becomes a broken line in the new hexagram.

_

_ _

_

_ _

_

_ _

Now this hexagram is our changed new one. If you look up the table in the book or the website, you will see this one at serial number 64, its Chinese name is ‘Wei Chi’ and it briefly means, ‘Before Completion’. Here too, you should read the text and apply it to your question like this. The project is going to go through a difficult phase and the client will have to take up quite a bit of responsibility. But there is a promise of success as everyone involved makes a joint effort.. and so on. You will read the meanings of the changing lines at position 3 and 4 to add more to your reading. These lines have changed from the earlier hexagram and are important. Thus you have your complete reading.

IChing is a very easy system of divination. If you can pick up the sense of the book and its writing style, you will be able to give truly extraordinary readings.

There are 64 hexagrams possible. It always seems strange to me that all of life and its experiences can be reduced to such small numbers.

 

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Analysing a single placement

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The Question is most important.

There are just these 9 planets/graha, the 12 houses and the 12 signs, these in all their infinite permutations and combinations will answer anything and everything about life, death and beyond. So always ask what you really want to know. If you have clear questions you will get precise answers. Sometimes I get clients who just want to know ‘what the horoscope says’, there is no real answer to this sort of question.

Analysing a single placement

For example, here is just this one placement – Libra ascendant, Venus in 5th house/Aquarius with Ketu. (Just with this, not considering their house owners and not considering Rahu) What all can you deduce from this one line? See if you can get some of these following answers! With this placement there is a potential for,

  • a highly balanced personality, disciplined, intellectual and fair nature, lucky!
  • Inferiority complex, shy, uncertain in public
  • oval face, fair or light colored hair, shorter than average stature
  • Backache always
  • problems in normal vision
  • can see ‘extra’ things with the eyes, psychic abilities, can be a tantric with significant occult abilities
  • significant access to past life experiences, will have relationships with people known from the past lives, will live in places/situations with karmic connections to the past lives and know it!
  • has no sense of personal self, detached from the personality and the environment.
  • first half of the life will go in a haze, second half (after 48yrs) will be more aware of himself
  • has no personal ‘self-love’, as cannot relate to himself in any way whatsoever, unaware of self, ‘hazed-out’.
  • Odd sense of dress and makeup. At least one thing will be out of place in the dressing style. e.g. maybe mismatched socks always.
  • life is characterised by ‘change’, there is something changing continuously, rate of change is very high
  • can engage in several marriages or affairs, will indifferent to relationships, these will be karmic in nature
  • few real friends, but will be known as a public figure by several
  • education /knowledge /wisdom will be quite impressive but the person is not bothered about his educational qualifications. Will not boast about this. Will have knowledge of the occult.
  • will have gains from various sources, several routes of wealth.
  • is capable of making connections with large numbers of people belonging to like-minded groups
  • Can get into spirituality and practice and can progress quite a lot. If this happens will worship the Devi, the feminine personified Divinity.
  • Marriage to someone significantly older or to someone who is away from home a lot
  • problems in child-birth if female chart. Even if it is a male chart, his wife will suffer during pregnancy and childbirth, surgery or something will occur.
  • Child will also have psychic abilities.
  • Will have few children and will be attached to the child. Child too will be attached to him.

This was briefly, a cursory look at one placement and you have now so much potential information about the person. All these things will happen at some point of the life. But when? And ‘how much’? You will also need to evaluate the intensity of the events. E.g will the person just wear spectacles for his life time or will he be affected by an undiagnosable medical problem to the eyes? Without this targeted reading this all will be too much and perhaps irrelevant.

  1. So the next step would be to look up the Dasha. With the Vimshottari Dasha there will be one peculiarity. Ketu Mahadasha of 7yrs is sequentially followed by Venus Mahadasha of 20yrs. So a combined seamless 27yrs of Ketu-Venus dominated period. A significant chunk of life where these results will be expressed. If the person is in this 27yrs period these above observations will be accentuated.
  2. To fine tune the timing and intensity of the readings look up the transits of Ketu and Venus. How their in-transit position is influencing their original position in the birth chart.

Now if you have the complete birth chart/ physical aspects, the birth moon chart/ psychological context and the navamsha chart D-9/ complete potential, the entire life story is open before you. So you need a definite question!

There is no good or bad placement of the planets/ houses/ signs, they just exist. In the above example, the person would have several problems but then there are so many things which are really good too. The chart is a tool, each planet/ house/ sign is a bundle of energy resonating with you. These do not control you nor do they influence you, They Are You. Unless you understand this you cannot make use of the horoscope.

The other methods of divination, like cards or runes are question oriented. The client will ask a question and you will give a definite answer. I have had clients who didn’t have questions, just a vague sense of unease. For this too, cards/ runes have a solution, there is a way you can access their subconscious mind. But it is only in astrology that you will get ‘just tell me about my chart’ type of clients. To get them to open up, you can look at the current in-transit chart and their birth chart and tell them one interesting thing about their relationship, wealth, profession or health (most clients are quite similar in this respect). And do encourage the client to ask. Help him frame a question which you can then answer. Only then will the session be fruitful for both of you.

For your self-analysis too, ask yourself questions and look for patterns in your chart which indicate the answer. Analysis requires time, a sense of intuition and a habit of reading patterns. So practice.

 

Analysing a single placement

 

Runes for divination a gift from Odin

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Runes for divination a gift from Odin

Runes are another interesting tool you can use to trigger your subconscious. Runes, cards, astrology etc all have 2 basic uses, you can use them to predict the future, i.e. divination and you can use them to access your inner energies for your own spiritual development. Astrology is a long term affair, requires studying and a lot of work interpreting the aspects and planetary strengths and stuff. Cartomancy and runes are more to the point. Cartomancy is more suited for day to day practical questions and Tarot has the ability to decipher the deep as well as the superficial questions but Tarot requires more study.

Now about Runes. I use the Elder Futhark rune set. The ancient Norsemen used bits of bones to draw these runes on but today you can get pretty crystals or wood engraved with the rune symbols online. (Odin is the King of the Norse gods, but I think he is another form of Daityaguru Shukracharya, he too has one eye and had hung up-side down from a tree in deep meditation to achieve Transcendence.) I like Runes.

Runes for divination a gift from Odin

There are just these 24 rune symbols. It is so strange that the entire gamut of human life, society, relations and all can be expressed with a set of just 24 symbols. Some modern sets add a blank stone to the set making it 25, but I have never seen much use for the blank rune. All the questions are completely answered by the set of 24, it depends on how you use them.

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A list of quick divinatory meanings, the basic keywords on which you can expand as you learn and practice more.

  1. Fehu – Good Fortune
    • “Cattle”
    • Moveable property, power in action, livestock, liquid assets, luck, control over wealth, actions that create more wealth, wisdom to use power to increase assets.
    • “You have earned it, enjoy it now.”
  2. Uruz – Strength
    • “Male Bullock”
    • Vitality, determination, perseverance, rain, healing, personal success, wisdom as a resource.
    • “A period of unpredictable power and a test coming up.”
  3. Thurisaz – Security
    • “Thorn”
    • Protection, warning, barrier, power to defend, power to destroy, power to resist unwanted conflicts.
    • “Learn from the events in your past and present.”
  4. Ansuz – Blessing
    • “Breath”
    • Odin’s personal rune. Words, communication, expression, intellect, sound as power, words of power, spells and mantras.
    • “Help yourself before you help others.”
  5. Raido – Travel
    • “Movement”
    • direction, ritual, rhythm, justice, goals in harmony with the natural order.
    • “Focus and choose your direction of travel.”
  6. Kenaz – Clarity
    • “Torch”
    • Illumination, creation, understanding, learning, teaching, perception, health issues.
    • “There is a beacon of hope guiding you.”
  7. Gebo – Generosity
    • “Gift”
    • Exchange, relationships, uniting, connections, mutual honor, balance of energy and exchange, connection between 2 persons.
    • “Give and receive in fair exchange.”
  8. Wunjo – Gain
    • “Joy”
    • Perfection, shared goals, unified force, wishes, happiness, harmony from achieving goals, fellowship.
    • “You will gain through diligence.”
  9. Haglaz –  Destruction
    • “Hail”
    • general bad luck, enduring and overcoming temporary hardships, transformation caused by destruction, illness.
    • “Events not in your control, be careful.”
  10. Nauthiz – Limitation
    • “Need”
    • Distress, necessary actions, problems created by one’s own self, karma, unnecessarily in tension, limited options.
    • “Give a serious thought to your pending commitments.”
  11. Isa – Barrier
    • “Ice”
    • Contraction, stillness, suspension, introspection, restraint, slowed growth, stop and think.
    • “Coldness will create conflict, so act positively to melt the ice.”
  12. Jera – Success
    • “Harvest”
    • Cycles, seasons, time, completion, gains, growing crops, health.
    • “You will reap what you have sown, be patient.”
  13. Eihwaz – Death
    • “Yew tree”
    • Endings and beginnings, transformations, new opportunities, passages and routes, give something away so that new may come in.
    • “Old ways will pass, so that the new can rise.”
  14. Perthro – Revelation
    • “Dice cup”
    • Solutions, bit of luck, using what destiny has given you, independence.
    • “You are lucky, be happy.”
  15. Algiz – Shelter
    • “Elk”
    • Protection, defence, support, luck, sanctuary, resist temptations and move forward.
    • “You have all the protection you require.”
  16. Sowulo – Energy
    • “Sun”
    • Will, strength, victory, vitality, healing, directing power, clarity
    • “You have the magic, so use it.”
  17. Teiwaz – Bravery
    • “Creator”
    • Justice, responsibility, steadfastness, guided to success, victory, nobility.
    • “You are brave enough to face any adversity.”
  18. Berkana – Start
    • “Birch tree”
    • Trees, growth, mother, new beginnings, intuition, Earth Mother, feminine energy.
    • “You will receive what you need to start something new.”
  19. Ehwaz – Change
    • “Horse”,
    • spiritual journey, faith in God, help from elders and seniors.
    • “Be carefree and trust your destiny.”
  20. Mannaz – Inclusion
    • “Human qualities”
    • common sense, understand the human influence in every situation.
    • “Follow the middle path, take everyone along.”
  21. Laguz – Mystery
    • Intuition
    • “Water”
    • Flowing, emotions, psyche, revealing what is hidden.
    • “Have the courage to trust your sub-conscious.”
  22. Inguz – Prosperity
    • “Fertility”,
    • opportunity, resolving problems, masculine energy.
    • “Everything will reach its full potential”
  23. Dagaz – Yin-Yang
    • “Day”,
    • Satisfactory conclusion, final release, two sides of the same coin, balance between light and dark.
    • “Start your new projects but with due caution.”
  24. Othila – Inheritance
    • “Home”
    • Ancestral land, family power and resources, kinships and friendships as treasure, fundamental spiritual values
    • “Use your resources wisely.”

You can make your own rune set. If you live near a park or a stream or a natural area, pick up 24 small rounded stones/pebbles which feel good in your hands. Wash them with sea salt water, clean them and draw these runes on them with a marker. You have your first rune set, and because you made it yourself it will respond to you beautifully. You can also buy the sets. If you buy a set, wash it first in salt-water, rinse them and tell them with all your intention that they are your tools and request their help. Sleep with them next to your pillow for one night and they are ready for use!

There are several ways of using them. The easiest way to start with is this. Take a small bag made of fabric. Put all the rune stones in it. Think of Odin/the universe/your favourite deity/anything that inspires your faith and request for guidance. Now think of your question and shake the bag in your both hands for a bit. When you feel like it, put your non-dominant hand in the bag and pull out 3 runestones. Lay them in the order you pulled them out, this would be a past-present-future sort of flow of energy. Now use the keywords above to interpret them. The best way to practice is to ask ‘How is my day doing to be?’, note the runes you pull out and tally them with how your day turns out. If you think that interpreting 3 Runes together is too much for a beginner, pull out just one Rune and try to interpret it. Keeping a journal is helpful and you will get better with practice.

These are all exercises; runes, cards, tarot, astrology etc. The real magic is your own sub-conscious. You are training your mind to look at patterns. Your sub-conscious knows everything, so by providing it these divinatory tools you are giving it an outlet. You are disciplining it, providing it an orderly means of communication. When you ask questions from your runes you are basically asking the question to your own self. With time and practice you will communicate with yourself better, thats when your readings will become intuitive and accurate.

Runes for divination a gift from Odin

Cards anyone? Cartomancy and Tarot

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Lets learn something fun today. Cartomancy! Specifically how to set up your very own Lenormand card set and use it. Of all the card sets and Tarot sets that I have worked with, Lenormand is a practical and a fun way of divination. No kaballah, no esoteric stuff, no high level words, just plain simple questions and answers. And it is a way of accessing the information hidden inside your own subconscious, a good way of listening to your own self.

Now straight on to the practical stuff.

You can make this card set at home. I think for most of you this will be your first card deck. It is just so exciting to make your own stuff because they then pick up your energy and really become your own.

Cards anyone? Cartomancy and Tarot

Buy a deck of normal playing cards and separate the following 36 cards, write their card names on the playing card using a permanent marker. I have also mentioned a few important keywords for each card. The keywords are quite logical too, eg “child” may actually mean a child, innocence, inexperience, trusting person, small issue, playful person, all the things that we actually associate with a child. So remembering the keywords should not be very difficult.

  1. 9 of hearts is “Rider” – short journey, young energetic man, speed, messages
  2. 6 of diamonds is “Clover” – tiny bit of luck, gamble, small joy, spark
  3. 10 of spades is is “Ship” – long journey, vehicle, departing, adventure,
  4. King of hearts is “House” – family, home, physical building of the home, establishment, privacy, safety, takin care, at home
  5. 7 of hearts is “Tree” – family tree, dynasty, health, spirituality, roots
  6. King of clubs is “Clouds” – difficulties, problems, smoke, misunderstanding, doubt, hidden
  7. Queen of clubs is “Snake” – karma, clever woman, desire, intestines, tubes, lies, knowledge
  8. 9 of diamonds is “Coffin” – ending, death, sadness, sleep, rest, exhaution
  9. Queen of spades of “Bouquet” – happiness, flattery, social interactions, politeness, flowers
  10. Jack of diamonds is “Scythe” – accidents, cuts, danger, sharp weapon, warning, speed
  11. Jack of clubs is “Whip” – exercise, sex, conflict, repetitive activity, arguments, pain, beating, action
  12. 7 of diamonds is “Birds” – conversations, nervousness, gossip, excitement, lots of messages.
  13. Jack of spades is “Child” – child, inexperience, innocent, playful, new starts
  14. 9 of clubs is “Fox” – man of the world, just business, crafty, cunning, be cautious, not trustworthy, tricks
  15. 10 of clubs is “Bear”- power, strength, food, leader, anger, influence
  16. 6 of hearts is “Star” – hope, spirituality, dreams, inspiration
  17. Queen of hearts is “Stork” – possibilities, changes, new beginnings, out of the box,
  18. 10 of hearts is “Dog” – best friends, loyalty, followers, devotion, support
  19. 6 of spades is “Tower” – institutions, big buildings, authority, being alone, ego, arrogance
  20. 8 of spades is “Garden” – social networks, a function, get-together, open areas, fame, happiness,
  21. 8 of clubs is “Mountain” – obstacle, heights,
  22. Queen of diamonds is “Crossroads” – options, opportunities, choice, travel, confusion
  23. 7 of clubs is “Mice” – theft, reducing, disease, filth, rubbish, infestation, flawed, parasites, stealing under your nose.
  24. Jack of hearts is “Heart” – love, forgiveness, romance
  25. Ace of clubs is “Ring” – commitment, marriage, completion, cyclic
  26. 10 of diamonds is “Book” – secrets, education, information available but not yet accessed, research, prescriptions
  27. 7 of spades is “Letter” – documents, communications, information
  28. Ace of hearts is “Man” – any male associated with the question asked, family member, husband etc
  29. Ace of spades is “Woman” – any female associated with the question asked, family member, wife etc
  30. King of spades is “Lily” – maturity, sensuality, wisdom, sex, morals, older woman, serenity
  31. Ace of diamonds is “Sun” – happiness, success, pride, power, heat, truth
  32. 8 of Hearts is “Moon” – night, subconscious, emotions, desires, intuition
  33. 8 of diamonds is “Key” – solutions, achievements, freedom, openness
  34. King of diamonds is “Fish” – finances, plenty, gains, treasures,
  35. 9 of spades is “Anchor” – stability, restrain, foundations, enduring
  36. 6 of clubs is “Cross” – suffering, burden, religious, principles, harsh, duty, bound

lenornmandsprayset

In the Lenormand system, the name of the card is everything, the pictures of the cards have no divinatory meanings as such. The cards are read in pairs and sequences like a sentence. The cards have the same meaning upright or reversed. If you would like a short cut and not learn the above keywords then use the card combination meanings from this site.

Now to to play with your subconscious and your first card deck. Shuffle the cards and focus on a question, eg, “How is my day going to be today”. When you feel like it, stop shuffling and spread the cards out in a fan, with your non-dominant hand pull out 5 cards, lay them face down in a line as you pull them out and then turn them together.

Suppose you get this sequence “clouds scythe rider bear birds”. One interpretation of this could be “cloudy day” “cut sharply” “young man” “food” “conversations”, and it gets fulfilled as your day does not look so promising, confused, then suddenly the doubts get resolved, your boyfriend suddenly turns up and you eat food and talk together. The central card is the focus card around which the interpretation revolves.

Another example, “How is this new guy I met today for me?”, and you get “fox, tower, clover, man, mountain”, so one interpretation can be, “career/business” “office building” “small luck/gamble” “the young man in the question himself” “obstacle”. So you may think he would be a little bit lucky for your business establishment but in the end he will be a obstacle.

So you see for your first deck the Lenormand is perfect. Practical questions with practical answers. Right now you are on baby steps, trying to work around with cards. But Lenormand is definitely not a baby system, there are other spreads and ways to work with it, it is quite powerful and sometimes its answers will amaze you. As you learn the to interpret and learn to put meanings together you can use this system to its full potential.

Even later when you wish to experiment with self discovery, you should really try out Tarot, i.e. Thoth, Raider-Waite or Marseillus decks.

thoth

raider waite

marseillus

I do consider cartomancy as one of the easiest and safest means to start accessing you subconscious. The answers do not come by “magic” but from your internal higher self, the cards are the tools, the medium, the “magic” is you, your own self.

So as a to-do.

Ask the cards this one question everyday, “How is my day going to be”.  Note the combinations in your diary and tally at the end of the day, how accurate they were and how good was your interpretation. Do this for 21 days at least before trying out the other spreads and stuff.

And all the best for your first step into divination.