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Author Topic: Creating a Divination System  (Read 3166 times)

Kylara

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Re: Creating a Divination System
« Reply #15 on: March 04, 2015, 11:25:20 am »
Quote from: SunflowerP;172362
That sounds like the Russian Gypsy Fortunetelling Cards.

Sunflower

Yes, I believe that is the one I got inspired by, though I vaguely recall it being more line-drawing style, so it might have been a deck that was based off of that one.

I don't have pictures of the final products of any of the ones I made (silly me, didn't photo them before I gave them away lol), however I made mock ups of them all to plan it out, and I still have those so you can get the idea of what I did.  The final versions I had bought some card stock scrapbooking pages and used those (so the cards would be more sturdy and have a pretty back)



For the witch cards (as I call them), I used more general symbols for most of them, although like my hand is the Hand of Fatima, and I have Double Happiness (the Chinese glyph), and the Eye of Ra for an eye.  Sometimes when I see a symbol I think of just the general meaning, and sometimes the specific:  so sometimes the eye is just an eye, and sometimes it is the Eye of Ra or something represented by the Eye of Ra.



This one I did for a more introspective and artistic friend.  Each triangle tile is a different zentangle, and I tried to get a variety of feels from the tangles.  So some, to me, felt like different elements, or different energies.  I envisioned them being shuffled and laid out, or even dealt out in different patterns depending on what you felt you needed (so you could lay out four tiles in a triangle, or build an S shape, or 3 in a cup shape).  After I had finished them, I found a small frame stand (one of those wire stands that pictures can be leaned on to display), and included that with them, so they could be used as a focus for meditation or reflection as well.



This one is a stylized Phaistos Disk, an old symbol disk from the Minoan culture.  I took one of each of the different symbols found on the disk and put it on my wheel.  The center is an octopus in the style used in Minoan pottery (my friend is into both Minoan practice and loves octopus')  This one I had thought about cutting into pieces too, but ended up thinking it would be better as a casting board, so I included some shells and different rocks to toss over the board, and then you can interpret where they land (and if she wants to use her own objects, she can gather ones that have meaning and included the meaning of the object in her interpretations), or it could be used as a pendulum board.




The last two I made for friends that I wasn't sure used divination, so I left them as whole pieces.  If they wanted to use them as divination they could be cut into cards, or they could be displayed as art.  These sketches are pretty rough, so apologies about that!

The first is based of Pennsylvania Hex signs that you see on barns.  I tried to get a good variety of meanings, from love to prosperity.  Each of the hex signs is made up of different symbols too, so you could use them as meditation cards, seeing what parts call to you on a particular day and interpreting that for meaning.

The second is the Arabic alphabet with some zentangle thrown in for design (they were just too plain with just the alphabet).  The friend I made this for is very much into linguistics and studying alphabets.  I almost did the Hebrew alphabet because I know that one each letter has many layers of meaning, but I found out the Arabic one does too, and he is more drawn to the Arabic.  The first couple cards at the top, where the pattern completely surrounds the letter, is what I ended up with in the final design.  You could do this with pretty much any alphabet, and even if the letters themselves didn't have multiple meanings, you could use the letter as your divination seed (so if you drew the B, you could think of words that start with B that apply to your question).

One thing I think I learned from making these was that you definitely have to fiddle with things.  I had different ideas for all of them at different points in time.  Some I changed because I thought they would work better.  Some I changed because I couldn't figure out a good way to make it the way I had envisioned.  Some I changed because I couldn't figure out how to draw the things I wanted!  Same for the symbols I chose.  Sometimes I couldn't figure out how to make a good symbol for a thing, so I started my list with common symbols that I knew I could draw.

The great thing about making your own...if you work with it for a while and something isn't meshing well, you can always retune it, and change it up until you get something that works!

((I have no clue why the hex picture is sideways....I have tried to fix it twice but it won't display right!))
« Last Edit: March 04, 2015, 11:28:24 am by Kylara »
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beachglass

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Re: Creating a Divination System
« Reply #16 on: March 04, 2015, 11:50:27 am »
Quote from: Kylara;172377
I don't have pictures of the final products of any of the ones I made (silly me, didn't photo them before I gave them away lol), however I made mock ups of them all to plan it out, and I still have those so you can get the idea of what I did.

 
These are really inspirational; thanks for posting them! I actually like seeing the mock-ups since it gives one some insight into the design process.
"The further we go, and older we grow, the more we know, the less we show."  ~ Robert Smith

Aster Breo

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Re: Creating a Divination System
« Reply #17 on: March 04, 2015, 11:58:11 am »
Quote from: beachglass;172379
These are really inspirational; thanks for posting them! I actually like seeing the mock-ups since it gives one some insight into the design process.

Ditto!

Thanks so much for posting all these, Kylara. They've given me much to mull over.  

You're very creative!
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Fier

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Re: Creating a Divination System
« Reply #18 on: March 04, 2015, 01:50:17 pm »
Quote from: Kylara;172377



 
These are fabulous! Thanks for sharing!

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Re: Creating a Divination System
« Reply #19 on: March 04, 2015, 02:59:16 pm »
Quote from: Kylara;172377



Great to see these, Kylara! And as everybody else has already noted, they're totally inspirational.
The first song sets the wheel in motion / The second is a song of love / The third song tells of Her devotion / The fourth cries joy from the sky above
The fifth song binds our fate to silence / and bids us live each moment well / The sixth unleashes rage and violence / The seventh song has truth to tell
The last song echoes through the ages / to ask its question all night long / And close the circle on these pages / These, the metamythos songs

Aett of Cups

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Re: Creating a Divination System
« Reply #20 on: March 09, 2015, 01:12:58 am »
Quote from: Kylara;172377
Yes, I believe that is the one I got inspired by, though I vaguely recall it being more line-drawing style, so it might have been a deck that was based off of that one.

I don't have pictures of the final products of any of the ones I made (silly me, didn't photo them before I gave them away lol), however I made mock ups of them all to plan it out, and I still have those so you can get the idea of what I did.  The final versions I had bought some card stock scrapbooking pages and used those (so the cards would be more sturdy and have a pretty back)



For the witch cards (as I call them), I used more general symbols for most of them, although like my hand is the Hand of Fatima, and I have Double Happiness (the Chinese glyph), and the Eye of Ra for an eye.  Sometimes when I see a symbol I think of just the general meaning, and sometimes the specific:  so sometimes the eye is just an eye, and sometimes it is the Eye of Ra or something represented by the Eye of Ra.



This one I did for a more introspective and artistic friend.  Each triangle tile is a different zentangle, and I tried to get a variety of feels from the tangles.  So some, to me, felt like different elements, or different energies.  I envisioned them being shuffled and laid out, or even dealt out in different patterns depending on what you felt you needed (so you could lay out four tiles in a triangle, or build an S shape, or 3 in a cup shape).  After I had finished them, I found a small frame stand (one of those wire stands that pictures can be leaned on to display), and included that with them, so they could be used as a focus for meditation or reflection as well.



This one is a stylized Phaistos Disk, an old symbol disk from the Minoan culture.  I took one of each of the different symbols found on the disk and put it on my wheel.  The center is an octopus in the style used in Minoan pottery (my friend is into both Minoan practice and loves octopus')  This one I had thought about cutting into pieces too, but ended up thinking it would be better as a casting board, so I included some shells and different rocks to toss over the board, and then you can interpret where they land (and if she wants to use her own objects, she can gather ones that have meaning and included the meaning of the object in her interpretations), or it could be used as a pendulum board.




The last two I made for friends that I wasn't sure used divination, so I left them as whole pieces.  If they wanted to use them as divination they could be cut into cards, or they could be displayed as art.  These sketches are pretty rough, so apologies about that!

The first is based of Pennsylvania Hex signs that you see on barns.  I tried to get a good variety of meanings, from love to prosperity.  Each of the hex signs is made up of different symbols too, so you could use them as meditation cards, seeing what parts call to you on a particular day and interpreting that for meaning.

The second is the Arabic alphabet with some zentangle thrown in for design (they were just too plain with just the alphabet).  The friend I made this for is very much into linguistics and studying alphabets.  I almost did the Hebrew alphabet because I know that one each letter has many layers of meaning, but I found out the Arabic one does too, and he is more drawn to the Arabic.  The first couple cards at the top, where the pattern completely surrounds the letter, is what I ended up with in the final design.  You could do this with pretty much any alphabet, and even if the letters themselves didn't have multiple meanings, you could use the letter as your divination seed (so if you drew the B, you could think of words that start with B that apply to your question).

One thing I think I learned from making these was that you definitely have to fiddle with things.  I had different ideas for all of them at different points in time.  Some I changed because I thought they would work better.  Some I changed because I couldn't figure out a good way to make it the way I had envisioned.  Some I changed because I couldn't figure out how to draw the things I wanted!  Same for the symbols I chose.  Sometimes I couldn't figure out how to make a good symbol for a thing, so I started my list with common symbols that I knew I could draw.

The great thing about making your own...if you work with it for a while and something isn't meshing well, you can always retune it, and change it up until you get something that works!

((I have no clue why the hex picture is sideways....I have tried to fix it twice but it won't display right!))


Wow.  Cool!
 
Quote from: Aster Breo;172250
When creating a brand new divination system, what are the main considerations?  

If using an image based system (like cards or icons on disks/stones/etc.) are there specific concepts that should be included in the images?

For those who have created a system or are considering doing so, what process are you using?  What are its pros and cons?

 
I tend to think of divination as existing along a continuum of rigidity.  There are closed-symbol-sets with a finite number of recurring images and, on the other end, there are open-symbol-sets with images that might never occur more than once; there are also middling-symbol-sets that are large but not potentially infinite.  Generally, I find that people can already find a closed-end set that works for them (even if it’s an obscure one) or only need an open-end set in one context or limited set of contexts.  In my experience, the impulse to create a symbol-set is often satiated by engaging in the arts (by painting, by writing, by singing, etc.) more often than purely by acts of divination.  But sometimes a new symbol-set actually does need to be born - something with recurring elements that hasn’t yet been codified.

When I help others construct symbol-sets (usually for circle-casting but sometimes for other purposes), I generally talk to them about the symbols that have been important to them in their lives; and I very often find this comes from their experiences with spirit and with the arts (which, in my practice, are very closely tied to spirit).  The key is frequently finding a “story” (a series of events, a progression of tones, a juxtaposition of colors, etc.) that feels balanced to them.  Then I try to help them define the continua that run through the “story” (harmony -> disharmony, happiness -> despair, light -> dark).  If all the important continua are addressed in proportion, the set has balance - for that person, anyway.  If not, the symbol-set generally needs to gain or lose something.  I find this a good beginner exercise for helping others to identify their own symbols rather than follow those prescribed by others (although borrowing in balance is generally an option both for neo-symbology and combining divination methods).
Aett of Cups

Book of Spirals is my author site.
The Sentient Hillside is my blog.
Spiral Tree is an ezine for pagans I co-founded.

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