Social Media Divination and It's Poor Delivery

This is a bit of a rant but it needed space to live and the words were practically begging me to write them. Purely opinion and personal beliefs so thank you for reading and bearing with me. Enjoy <3

Divination incorporates all areas and beliefs within magic. It is an all-encompassing skill, and this value of divination allows it to be a limitless tool. Divination is often the gateway skill that leads to more information. So frequently, the universe sends us signals that it hears our petitions or questions, but the awareness isn't developed enough to receive communication. Divination is a way to help strengthen that awareness. Daily card draws are meant to help the magician grow roots in the magical foundation of their life. Attempting to glean all of that and then summarize it into a limited number of characters for views and likes forces divination to lose all that magic. The magic surrounding the tarot is fragile—a resonating energy and skill system that has never stood on its own very well. Further chopping pieces of what is already so fragile is a terrible disservice. Not only does the author damage the nature of the skill, but the author also shortchanges the audience. The audience deserves more than hand-holding.

When I first began writing for Elemental Witch, I debated the content that would go up for consumption. I needed to bring practical knowledge to my audience that could be applied and understood while eliminating mystical confusion. So, while Elemental Witch was still getting its "legs," I attempted daily tarot posts, but the attempts did not do well. I could never find that avenue that made my posts for divination gain significant traction. The content received little success, and I quickly gave up on divination for the masses. I craved a deeper connection with my audience and felt the topic was too broad to be genuinely personal. I realized I would never be able to deliver sincere and informative advice from the cards across the interweb in a way I felt proud of.

Simply put, readings done on this scale are as shallow as the screen they appear on. I would much rather discuss the mechanics of daily divination—its use, why it's worth making time for, and how it is done. I like to teach the public to glean messages from the cards for themselves, encouraging daily divination as part of a daily routine. I want to teach you to bake; I don’t want to hand you the muffin.

Due to the impersonal nature of daily divination posts, there is a limited range of applications. As a skill and practical tool, divination is supposed to be limitless. There are only 72 cards in the traditional tarot. Those 72 cards technically have a "fixed and generalized" meaning that belongs to them. These explanations help the reader decipher a deck while getting a feel for the cards. The cards are meant to be read with feeling and intuition. The generalized meanings are only there to provide the groundwork. Without the changeable nature of personal life, the posts become repetitive. The descriptions will always mean the same thing, regardless of what's going on or what they were hinting at. Life is constantly changing; sometimes, in a week of daily draws, you can end up with the same card on several days or seven different cards. A random card each time you draw. Yet, if the same card is drawn multiple times in the same week, how is that related to the public? Are they to be scolded for not receiving the "message," so the cards are stuck on repeat until they do? Repeatedly pulling the same card does happen. Anyone who reads tarot often for themselves will verify this. Readers can scold themselves for not listening to the cards, which is why they repeat. The reader can't blame the audience for not getting the hint. The draw for the media post was done without context. There would have to be multiple ways to deliver the same message repeatedly, or the authenticity would suffer.

You can't find or pull context out of thin air. Context is the butter on the bread in divination. What is the context of the situation? What is the nature of the question? Is the audience seeking advice, confirmation, asking a question, or looking for a deeper breakdown of events? The person posting daily tarot has NO IDEA. They aren't talking to the audience directly about why they want answers from the cards. The person making the posts is only concerned with whether or not it looks interesting. Does it sound good when they read it back over, and what tweaks can they do to capitalize on the market?

Summarizing an already generalized meaning for the archetype of a card is only done creatively so many times before the same things are said in a loop. The personal component of intuitive interpretation is the element in divination that opens all possible meanings. No one can draw from a deck of cards and provide deep, detailed meaning for strangers they know nothing about. At least not in a way that does more than encourage the most basic and brief forms of reflection. The art of divination has remained relatively private and secluded because of the personal connection. Divination is meant to provide a broader and more varied perspective—a way to see issues in our lives differently and think outside the metaphorical box. There is a tremendous amount of depth in a card reading or session of divination. Most of it forms within the unseen levels of manifestation. All of this occurs internally through external connections between the person and the card. For readings that give sustenance, the reader and subject must be within touching distance of the cards in most cases. There is a distinct connection between a person and the time a person uses a divination tool. The build of physical interaction between the tool and the person improves reading quality. Most people who practice daily divination have a preferred method, and once discovered, it remains the preferred method for the reader's lifetime.

Divination Decks are usually kept and cherished for long periods due to the intimate relationship a reader forms with their deck. Divination posts on media platforms are done with personal decks or at least a personal deck designated for their media page. The deck is linked to the owner via physical contact, not the audience. Yes, a certain amount of channeling can be achieved, but it doesn't begin to measure up compared to personal proximity with the cards. Because of this, the deck will never read accurately for the audience. There will always be more emphasis on the message for the deck owner than for the audience. The audience is incapable of establishing a physical connection. While intention does a good deal of work in magical content, there are areas where physical connection outweighs everything else. Non-verbal information cannot be transferred, uploaded, or decoded in the cards without physical touch. The forces that assist the cards in delivering a message to the reader need verbal and non-verbal data. Both must be present simultaneously with universal governing forces and the reader's energy to receive detailed suggestions or notifications from a reading. Non-verbal data is almost more important than verbal affirmation of a request or inquiry. Many pieces of information are communicated within a person's energy, and that energy infuses itself with the cards. The cards' energy reads the reader's energy, and the two objects communicate. This communication can not be an "implied" process when considering reading for the masses.

Publicizing daily divination has a far more educational and academic value. While the purpose of assistance is muted and transformed, the essence of the skill becomes more focused. The process can be conveyed with more accuracy and ease. Public divination acts as a positive form of magical dissection—a chance to analyze each part of a card. The central figure, the symbols, and the elements featured in the graphic art, all of these pieces in a card, have connections, leading to one central message. However, each of those pieces also holds meaning within itself individually. More research into the images included within the graphics for each card will lead to more and more external links from multiple systems and sources. Other magicians make different tarot decks and will have slightly altered interpretations, meaning the deck's art will be subtly different. Divination through tarot is a fantastic way to learn how to read information and intuitively recognize symbols. There is history in every card. Every draw of the deck is an opportunity to explore that mysticism. Each card allows the reader to ask questions about the components of the graphical depiction. What are the relationships being displayed? How does each figure, animal, element, or symbol featured relate to the other? How do those relationships help the reader find a solution to problems in daily life? The main reason for practicing daily divination, beyond gaining a deeper understanding of the symbolic meaning within tarot, is to find insight into issues and problems to acquire solutions or resolve them.

The hierophant is a good example. He is a figure elevated in status but removed from the public world. He is arrogant but also cares deeply. The hierophant has a deep governing sense of justice and law because he understands the universe's mechanics. He cares so profoundly because even after being removed from the public world, he is still attached and feels all that everyone else feels. This separation, while remaining part of the whole, is where his arrogance comes from, for he must feel self-important to cope with the sacrifices of his position. All of that is from two facts about the hierophant: one, that he is arrogant, and two, that he also cares deeply. Those two components of his personality are layers of meaning and reasoning. Layers others can relate to easily, others like the outcast or downtrodden or even the highly successful and elite. He has much more to offer anyone who comes across him in their readings. But there is much to be asked in this analysis. Why must he be connected to the masses but separate from them? Why is it not possible for observations and balance to be maintained from within the system? What good comes out of such isolation? Even if done temporarily? These questions naturally encourage reflection and further analysis on a more refined level. In this way, each question leads to an answer and often another question, which is how the cards inspire the reader to discover creative solutions that were not seen before. The cards are not meant to be windows into future events or the replaying of past moments to find the factor that could have changed everything. There is no going backward, at any rate.

The hierophant can inspire a reader, like every card in a traditional tarot can inspire the reader. It is an intellectual and intuitive process that uses math, mysticism, energy, astrology, and physics to help solve daily problems and even the more profound questions in life. The major and minor arcanas are a story of enlightenment, after all. This process is most beneficial to the reader and the student. It is this process of dissection, piece by piece, of a tarot deck that brings understanding—not reading a bullshit breakdown on someone's Twitter feed. Take the time to look at the art, objects, characters, symbols, animals, or letters on a card. Even the color choices have something to tell the reader when they appear in a reading or daily drawing. Each of the 72 minor and major arcana cards has a role in the main storyline and an individual or leading role. Tarot is a graphical representation of the magician's alchemical journey to enlightenment. Each card is a milestone in the evolution of the mind. Beginning with the fool leaving for his quest, along the way, he meets many mysterious figures that hold hidden information, lessons, secrets, and the keys to continuing the fool's journey. The defining separation between those two arcanas is another piece of tarot that can be analyzed and dissected repeatedly in personal readings for deeper understanding. The major arcana cards represent the significant evolutions of the magician on "his" journey to enlightenment. The four suits of the minor arcana represent the actions, dreams, aspirations, and efforts concerning which of the four elements was best expressed through those actions and thoughts.