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Author Topic: How do you tell legit omens from "fake news"?  (Read 1923 times)

Altair

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How do you tell legit omens from "fake news"?
« on: August 07, 2018, 04:07:27 am »
For those of us who believe the gods/the universe sends us messages that can potentially be interpreted--signs, omens, portents--the inevitable problem is this: How do you tell the real thing from nothing? When is a raven flying by just a raven flying by?

I suspect there are no easy answers, but I'd like to hear others' thoughts. I'm of the "let's not read something into everything" school, but then where does one arbitrate the line?

Case in point: I was roused by a weird and vivid dream reminiscent of the one that woke me a few hours before 9/11 happened. Since that 9/11 dream was by far the most terribly prophetic I've ever had but I failed to recognize it at the time, I've spent this morning a bit on pins and needles, determined not repeat my mistake, waiting for something big to happen...yet so far, nothing. I went birding and had a close encounter with a pair of wild boars (I'm on vacation in Europe), but while that was cool (and a bit frightening, as I hear they can be dangerous...I was half convinced my dream would prove to be a premonition of my own mauling death by boar)...but I didn't consider that an omen at all. A few minutes later, I spotted a pure white cat sitting absolutely still in the middle of the lane, staring at me. It struck me as a definite sign, but I have no idea of what.

Save me from all this fake news! What are your guideposts for a legit Sign of Something Important?
« Last Edit: August 07, 2018, 04:09:23 am by Altair »
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Re: How do you tell legit omens from "fake news"?
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2018, 06:52:09 am »
For those of us who believe the gods/the universe sends us messages that can potentially be interpreted--signs, omens, portents--the inevitable problem is this: How do you tell the real thing from nothing? When is a raven flying by just a raven flying by?

I've never been any good at omens -- because I can't tell an omen from a random event 99% of the time. Fortunately, when Athena wants to tell me something, she does so in a dream. And dreams "with meaning" for me are very noticeable. They are more intense and seem to be more real than the real world -- if that makes any sense. It's hard to describe. Also, I remember them in great detail when normally I barely remember more than random bits of dreams. If I even remember dreaming. Of course, the message in the dream may be clear as mud, but at least I know there is most likely a message to be found.

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Re: How do you tell legit omens from "fake news"?
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2018, 09:06:29 am »
For those of us who believe the gods/the universe sends us messages that can potentially be interpreted--signs, omens, portents--the inevitable problem is this: How do you tell the real thing from nothing? When is a raven flying by just a raven flying by?

I suspect there are no easy answers, but I'd like to hear others' thoughts. I'm of the "let's not read something into everything" school, but then where does one arbitrate the line?

 

It has to be something totally and utterly out of context for me to pay attention. Ravens are 10 a penny here so ravens do not an omen make for me. Now if a bald eagle turned up in my vicinity.... (and even then I'd be checking for any mention of an escapee).

I've never had a prophetic dream so I don't know if I'd recognise one if I had one other than with hindsight. I do however have a sort of inner voice which, when it speaks, which is rarely, I do pay heed to. Times in the past when I've ignored it I have always regretted.

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Re: How do you tell legit omens from "fake news"?
« Reply #3 on: August 07, 2018, 09:36:59 am »
Case in point: I was roused by a weird and vivid dream reminiscent of the one that woke me a few hours before 9/11 happened. Since that 9/11 dream was by far the most terribly prophetic I've ever had but I failed to recognize it at the time, I've spent this morning a bit on pins and needles, determined not repeat my mistake, waiting for something big to happen...yet so far, nothing. I went birding and had a close encounter with a pair of wild boars (I'm on vacation in Europe), but while that was cool (and a bit frightening, as I hear they can be dangerous...I was half convinced my dream would prove to be a premonition of my own mauling death by boar)...but I didn't consider that an omen at all. A few minutes later, I spotted a pure white cat sitting absolutely still in the middle of the lane, staring at me. It struck me as a definite sign, but I have no idea of what.

Save me from all this fake news! What are your guideposts for a legit Sign of Something Important?

Well, in my own working theory, dreams are (often) "echoes" of timelines which your consciousness has chosen not to follow. These "echoes" may originate from points of departure years, even decades, in the past...or from so close to "now" that you quite clearly see events common to both futures. As an example, the dream that I've spoken of before where Jessica met and kissed me...the setting was the backyard and vicinity of the house that I lived in when I was 3 years old. The dream actually occurred in April 1999...32 years later. I think that there is a 'shadow timeline' where Jessica was physically in my life from the time I was 3 years old, but for whatever reason I have actually chosen to follow the past 50+ years as I have experienced it. Another was a dream I had where I was still at the U. S. Naval Academy...I was separated for "military performance (the upperclassmen didn't like me)" in the spring of '85. But the board's decision was close, very close...it could have gone either way. I see that dream as the "echo" of where I would be had the decision been different, but again for whatever reason I see the current sequence of events as preferable.

In your dream about 9/11, it looks as if the "point of departure" was so close to the actual event that you saw echoes of things which would have happened either way. That they happened was NOT your choice, but rather due to the choices of some rather perverted men. I would encourage you to look further down the "track"...while the immediate events played out as you saw, it may be that there was something, quite likely something personal, farther down the sequence of events which either you made the choice to avoid...or that there is something awaiting you further down this track which you ultimately made the choice to embrace.

You see, I don't think that I "lost" Jessica or the Naval Academy by not living out those dreams. I think that some day they'll be given back to me, fully formed and with all the bells and whistles. But what these decades of waiting has allowed me to do is reach out to others, make additional connections, and follow even more paths which will make the ultimate outcome even better for everyone concerned. Quite likely including you.

So I would take note of this dream, since it seems to have left an impression upon you. If the adverse outcome occurs, face it as manfully as the situation allows with the hope that a positive resolution on the far side of it is possible. If it does not, keep it in your mind as one of the many things which "could have been" and reach for what is good and right and highest and best from this day forward.
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Re: How do you tell legit omens from "fake news"?
« Reply #4 on: August 07, 2018, 09:43:09 am »
A few minutes later, I spotted a pure white cat sitting absolutely still in the middle of the lane, staring at me. It struck me as a definite sign, but I have no idea of what.

Oh, sorry, forgot to address this. While I've really gotten past the point of asking for "signs" (the next sign I want to see is the checkered flag!), there are a number of private hints, mostly number combinations in my case, which I take as being akin to a "thumbs up" sign...on course, on schedule, next waypoint coming up soon! Confirmation bias, I know...still, I see these far more frequently than mere chance would suggest is possible. Perhaps your cat is simply an echo of the physical manifestation of a Spectator.
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Re: How do you tell legit omens from "fake news"?
« Reply #5 on: August 07, 2018, 12:06:34 pm »
Save me from all this fake news! What are your guideposts for a legit Sign of Something Important?

My basic principles are:

1) Is this actually an unusual or notable thing?

Ravens showing up where ravens are common is expected. A dream that is totally out of the norm for me is more notable, though there are other explanations possible than 'major omen, pay attention'. Boars in their native habitat: not weird. White cat: not weird. Cat dancing on its hind feet: weirder.

2) What's the context?

Have I asked for a sign or omen recently? Have I done magical work that means one might reasonably occur? How does this fit with other experiences I've in the past? Is there Big Stuff going on in the world that I might pick up on? Why me, right now?

(For example, I have flashes of extremely strong intuition about other people's relationships from time to time - annoying and awkward, usually, rather than helpful - but they've proven out. These days, if I get one, I'm more likely to say "Ok, that gets a little more weight, maybe." because it's proved true in the past.)

3) A single piece of information is a point, not a line.

And a single point only tells us so much. It may be suggestive of things, but it's not the One True Shining Answer and Only Possibility. If I get a point, I go look for other points. Meditation, ritual, prayer, divination, taking it through with friends with relevant backgrounds or skills. It depends on the original experience, what I think it might be related to.

4) Perspective

I also think there's some stuff where we get information, but it's not really because we're supposed to do anything with it, we just pick it up because we happen to skim through that station. They're meaningful information, but the information isn't useful, we don't have enough to make a change in action or behaviour.

(As a side note: wild boar are dangerous, but mostly because they're the kind of stupid that charges at things they think are threats, and sometimes that ends badly. People are not usually threats by themselves. When I was in Italy, I worried more about vipers.)
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Altair

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Re: How do you tell legit omens from "fake news"?
« Reply #6 on: August 07, 2018, 06:52:53 pm »
What are your guideposts for a legit Sign of Something Important?

Hanging this here to say thanks, all, for the helpful replies. Now that my day is done I'm mildly disappointed that my precognitive prowess is shot to shit, but much, much more relieved that no epic disaster befell either my life or the globe.
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

ehbowen

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Re: How do you tell legit omens from "fake news"?
« Reply #7 on: August 07, 2018, 07:20:16 pm »
Hanging this here to say thanks, all, for the helpful replies. Now that my day is done I'm mildly disappointed that my precognitive prowess is shot to shit, but much, much more relieved that no epic disaster befell either my life or the globe.

You know, when I composed my earlier reply I neglected to recall one key fact: You live in New York City. Just possibly, what you were being warned of/chose to avoid was a set of circumstances which might have had you, personally, in the World Trade Center that morning. No data on what that might be...but it's not hard to speculate. Different job/career; same job but company working out of different offices, etc.

I've rolled the idea of one's life "flashing before one's eyes" into my working theory to account for circumstances such as this. IMO, when you come to a "break point" where your physical life might very well end, your earlier decisions "flash" before you with a chance for you to answer the question, "Are you sure you wanted to make this choice?" If you are, you break on through to whatever awaits you on the other side. If you are not, you wake up in a cold sweat thinking, "Man, that was a bad one!"

Oh, by the way, even though we have our very clear differences...I'm glad you're here to participate.
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Re: How do you tell legit omens from "fake news"?
« Reply #8 on: August 07, 2018, 10:09:01 pm »
What are your guideposts for a legit Sign of Something Important?

On a very small number of occasions I have dreamt events exactly as I've seen them. Problem is, far as premonitions go, they're not useful. The events are never momentous, and I don't remember the dream until I'm experiencing it. Then I think, "Hey, I dreamed this." Then I remember dreaming the dream. Bizarre.

Although, there was this one time back in the mid-aughts. I remember standing in a line at the store, a thought struck me, unbidden: I'm going to lose my job. Creeped me out, but I brushed it off as just my mind being creepy. A week later, I was unemployed.
Again: bizarre.


« Last Edit: August 07, 2018, 10:10:57 pm by MadZealot »
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Re: How do you tell legit omens from "fake news"?
« Reply #9 on: August 08, 2018, 01:37:16 am »
On a very small number of occasions I have dreamt events exactly as I've seen them. Problem is, far as premonitions go, they're not useful. The events are never momentous, and I don't remember the dream until I'm experiencing it. Then I think, "Hey, I dreamed this." Then I remember dreaming the dream. Bizarre.

Although, there was this one time back in the mid-aughts. I remember standing in a line at the store, a thought struck me, unbidden: I'm going to lose my job. Creeped me out, but I brushed it off as just my mind being creepy. A week later, I was unemployed.
Again: bizarre.

I have had both of those type of events fairly often,  actually.   Enough to develop a feel for which to trust.  Once, I was looking at a pregnant friend, and the thought came "She's going to have a miscarriage.".  Of course I couldn't tell her such a thing, so I just kept quiet. When she did have the baby, I  thought I had been wrong after all, but the following year,  she did indeed miscarry a second child and was quite distressed.
« Last Edit: August 08, 2018, 01:38:51 am by Ashmire »

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Re: How do you tell legit omens from "fake news"?
« Reply #10 on: August 08, 2018, 01:37:31 pm »
I have had both of those type of events fairly often,  actually.   Enough to develop a feel for which to trust.  Once, I was looking at a pregnant friend, and the thought came "She's going to have a miscarriage.".  Of course I couldn't tell her such a thing, so I just kept quiet. When she did have the baby, I  thought I had been wrong after all, but the following year,  she did indeed miscarry a second child and was quite distressed.

My experiences are rather the opposite: A friend was excited that her sister was pregnant, and I said, "it's going to be a boy, and they're going to name him Jonathan." I made her promise not tell her sister anything, and sure enough, that's what happened.

The second was even weirder. I was at a party where I didn't know anyone; I was a little tipsy. This woman and I struck up a conversation; she was excited because she'd just found out from her daughter in England that she was about to become a grandmother.

"She thinks it's going to be a girl, but I think it will be a boy."

"It's going to be a girl," I said, "and they're going to name her Annabelle."

She blinked. "The name they want for a girl is Arabelle."

We both were weirded out and poured ourselves another round. I don't know how that one turned out.
« Last Edit: August 08, 2018, 01:39:14 pm by Altair »
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

keen

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Re: How do you tell legit omens from "fake news"?
« Reply #11 on: August 08, 2018, 07:47:01 pm »
Save me from all this fake news! What are your guideposts for a legit Sign of Something Important?

I'm terrible at reading omens, and I'm terrible at having dreams, let alone deciphering them. In many ways it makes me a very difficult spirit worker to... work with!

Most of what I experience out in the world are synchronicities - little blips that are more like text messages from the otherworld than full-on dissertations. Like the time I was driving through the town of Baker, and just beside us as we passed the city limits sign, was a commercial truck for a company that had "Baldwin" featured very prominently in the name. My late grandfather's name was Baldwin Baker. To me, that was just a little wave and a smile, a reminder that he's still around in some capacity.

I've mentioned elsewhere that I seem much more readily wired for what I call 'autoaugury', that is, reading myself for omens and messages. (I really should start a thread on it.) For one reason or another, that's just how the spirits in my life have chosen to communicate most effectively with me: tricking me with false sensory information (like the smell of particular incenses, minor visual abnormalities, 'exploding head syndrome' and so on), making me ill in response to certain things, or, as I used in my other example, doing things like giving me nosebleeds at very obviously auspicious times.

I feel like this all started happening after getting some devotional tattoos, so literally "putting their images under my skin" may or may not have had anything to do with it. I'm not sure. I'm in good health as far as I know, no history of brain problems, no chronic illness or chronic mental illness. And so far, my interpretations are proved right more than they're proved wrong, so it works.

Time, though, is always my great decider. If something is unclear, I'll file it away unless it keeps reoccurring, or unless I get another, stronger message via divination or some other omen, or unless nothing comes of it, in which case it's left behind. Sometimes this process takes weeks, sometimes years. YMMV!
« Last Edit: August 08, 2018, 07:49:16 pm by keen »
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Re: How do you tell legit omens from "fake news"?
« Reply #12 on: August 11, 2018, 02:47:57 pm »
For those of us who believe the gods/the universe sends us messages that can potentially be interpreted--signs, omens, portents--the inevitable problem is this: How do you tell the real thing from nothing? When is a raven flying by just a raven flying by?

...

Save me from all this fake news! What are your guideposts for a legit Sign of Something Important?

Ooh this is a good one. Growing up I've had numerous instances where I would dream about a test, and see the score I would get (before the teacher even announced a test); then would get the test back and it was exactly that. Another instance was when I was at work and almost collapsed due to a sharp stomach pain (think punch in the gut... with a knife). I later found out (after I was sitting down) that our dog had been put down and my parents didn't even fucking tell us (I'm still livid about that).

To answer your question: I honestly gauge my surroundings and just screen out the mundane. If I see something that I feel or even downright know is unusual, that's when I really pay attention and figure it out. For example: seeing a group of butterflies and they're behaving erratically is a sign from my husband's (dead) uncle.  Usually he stays with hubby, but there are times where I've felt his presence (even though I've never met him). Same with my grandmother - there are times where I can smell cigarette smoke, or - very rarely - taste the Caffeine-free Diet Coke she usually drank. When I get those signs... something is about to happen.
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go

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