Helloooooo, October! To celebrate what is arguably the best month of the year, I'll be having an entire MONTH of Samhain celebrations here at Penniless Pagan! So make sure to check back next week to see what Samhain-y goodness awaits you!
To kick off this spectacular Samhain extravaganza, I'm super excited to share a wonderful post from Tiffany over at Moody Moons. If you haven't checked out her site make sure you do! She not only has wonderfully creative ideas, but she takes amazing photos! You know, not that I'm at all jealous or anything. I mean...*kicks at the dirt* I have a camera too..... =P
With the veil growing thinner as we near Samhain, now is the perfect time to try your hand at divination, and she's here to tell you how to get started!
See you next week for more Samhain treats! Ahhh bless you glorious, glorious October!!! 🎃
Autumn Blessings!
Michaela
The Poor Girl's Guide to Divination
Designer, fine art tarot decks.
Runes expertly etched in semi-precious stones.
Runes expertly etched in semi-precious stones.
Inky-black hematite scrying mirrors with richly detailed,
ornate frames.
If you’ve even been interested in the art of divination, you might well (and wisely) been put off by the outrageous price tag of the tools involved.
Don’t be!
Many forms of divination require next to nothing to learn. And even if your most passionate interest depends upon the acquisition of an actual tool (runes, scrying), they can often be bought for little or made for even less.
But let’s start with what won’t cost you anything at all.
An ancient, nearly universal art form, scrying tops the list of cheapest, most budget-friendly forms of divination. While scrying might bring to mind expensive black mirrors of exotic, semi-precious stones or glowing, antique crystal balls, at its most basic level, scrying requires little more than a reflective surface or ambiguously patterned surface, a relaxed, meditative state of mind, concentration and the patience to learn.
In my blog, I discuss at length my personal favorite, totally free scrying method, known aptly as cloud scrying. Air signs tend to find this method especially enjoyable.
In fact, your sign often suggests a form of scrying particularly suited to your disposition.
Fire scrying often draws the interest of (you guessed it!) fire signs. Any flame will do, be it the tiny flicker of a spell candle or the full rage of a roaring bonfire. Either look for messages in the flames directly, or close your eyes and watch the “residual light” as it morphs into different shapes behind your eyelids. I find this especially relaxing with a nice bottle of red wine, but that’s me!
Be creative with elemental scrying. Water signs sometimes see messages in rough ocean surf. Earth signs often possess a unique talent for gleaning insight from the knotty roots of a tree, or by staring at a sand mandala.
Okay, okay. The best things in life are free and all that. But what if you really, really want to learn the tarot? Decks are expensive! New ones run as much as $20-$50----more if it’s out-of-print or collectable. Shelling out hard-earned cash for a deck hurts, especially if you just want to try it.
But even for this expensive habit, options abound. If you decide you like tarot as a divination method, you probably will need to eventually bite the bullet and treat yourself to a real deck. But in the meantime, online sites like LearnTarot.com offer free online course to help you get the basics down.
And when you’re ready for your first real deck, don’t sidestep Ebay, where second-hand decks can be had for as little as 99 cents. Some readers shy away from used decks, fearing “negative residual energy.” But personally, I enjoy a deck with a mysterious history. Used decks have a “soul” that a brand new pack just doesn’t.
Some readers get bored by the same deck after a while. When this happens, selling or trading it is an economical option to keep things fresh.
With their mysterious roots, and their beautiful, strange, magical-looking symbols, Runes appeal to many new to the art of divination---or even to those who worked for years with other tools. Typically, runes are carved or painted on semi-precious stones or metals. Sets range from $12 to $150 or more. But fret not! Making your own is simple, enjoyable. And the end result brims with your personal energy! Polymer clay, wood pieces or river stones all offer ideal, inexpensive surfaces for carving or painting your runes. If you use natural stones from your area, they have the added bonus of being both free and of the land you live on.
I hope these simple suggestions give you some creative ideas to get you started on your divination journey. Blessed Be!
Tiffany is a tarot reader, professional belly dancer, owner of the online pagan shop Magical Moody Moons and writer of the blog, Moody Moons.
If you’ve even been interested in the art of divination, you might well (and wisely) been put off by the outrageous price tag of the tools involved.
Don’t be!
Many forms of divination require next to nothing to learn. And even if your most passionate interest depends upon the acquisition of an actual tool (runes, scrying), they can often be bought for little or made for even less.
But let’s start with what won’t cost you anything at all.
An ancient, nearly universal art form, scrying tops the list of cheapest, most budget-friendly forms of divination. While scrying might bring to mind expensive black mirrors of exotic, semi-precious stones or glowing, antique crystal balls, at its most basic level, scrying requires little more than a reflective surface or ambiguously patterned surface, a relaxed, meditative state of mind, concentration and the patience to learn.
In my blog, I discuss at length my personal favorite, totally free scrying method, known aptly as cloud scrying. Air signs tend to find this method especially enjoyable.
In fact, your sign often suggests a form of scrying particularly suited to your disposition.
Fire scrying often draws the interest of (you guessed it!) fire signs. Any flame will do, be it the tiny flicker of a spell candle or the full rage of a roaring bonfire. Either look for messages in the flames directly, or close your eyes and watch the “residual light” as it morphs into different shapes behind your eyelids. I find this especially relaxing with a nice bottle of red wine, but that’s me!
Be creative with elemental scrying. Water signs sometimes see messages in rough ocean surf. Earth signs often possess a unique talent for gleaning insight from the knotty roots of a tree, or by staring at a sand mandala.
Okay, okay. The best things in life are free and all that. But what if you really, really want to learn the tarot? Decks are expensive! New ones run as much as $20-$50----more if it’s out-of-print or collectable. Shelling out hard-earned cash for a deck hurts, especially if you just want to try it.
But even for this expensive habit, options abound. If you decide you like tarot as a divination method, you probably will need to eventually bite the bullet and treat yourself to a real deck. But in the meantime, online sites like LearnTarot.com offer free online course to help you get the basics down.
And when you’re ready for your first real deck, don’t sidestep Ebay, where second-hand decks can be had for as little as 99 cents. Some readers shy away from used decks, fearing “negative residual energy.” But personally, I enjoy a deck with a mysterious history. Used decks have a “soul” that a brand new pack just doesn’t.
Some readers get bored by the same deck after a while. When this happens, selling or trading it is an economical option to keep things fresh.
With their mysterious roots, and their beautiful, strange, magical-looking symbols, Runes appeal to many new to the art of divination---or even to those who worked for years with other tools. Typically, runes are carved or painted on semi-precious stones or metals. Sets range from $12 to $150 or more. But fret not! Making your own is simple, enjoyable. And the end result brims with your personal energy! Polymer clay, wood pieces or river stones all offer ideal, inexpensive surfaces for carving or painting your runes. If you use natural stones from your area, they have the added bonus of being both free and of the land you live on.
I hope these simple suggestions give you some creative ideas to get you started on your divination journey. Blessed Be!
Tiffany is a tarot reader, professional belly dancer, owner of the online pagan shop Magical Moody Moons and writer of the blog, Moody Moons.
