Occult lore
Divination
Direct answer
Divination is the attempt to gain hidden knowledge, guidance, or prediction through signs, omens, tools, spirits, patterns, or symbolic systems.
Divination means seeking hidden knowledge through signs, tools, or mantic systems.
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At a glance
- Found in
- Spells & Occult Terms
- Related
- Spell, Grimoire, Discernment, Spiritual Warfare
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What sets Divination apart
The Latin divinatio carried two kinds, in Cicero's On Divination (44 BCE): the natural, where a god speaks through dreams or frenzy, and the artificial, where a trained reader interprets signs such as the flight of birds, the liver of a sacrificed animal, or lots. The Bible forbids several of these in Deuteronomy 18:10 to 12 and yet records lots, the Urim and Thummim and Joseph's cup. Astrology was counted among the arts by some ancient writers and defended by Ptolemy as a natural study.
- Latin source: Cicero, De Divinatione, 44 BCE, divides natural from artificial divination
- Deuteronomy 18: lists diviner, soothsayer, augur, sorcerer, charmer, medium, necromancer as forbidden, 18:10 to 12
- Lots: Proverbs 16:33, and Acts 1:26 for the choosing of Matthias
- Roman offices: augurs read birds; haruspices read the entrails, a skill of Etruscan origin
- Mesopotamia: omen collections such as Enuma Anu Enlil on the sky; Shumma izbu on births
Often mistaken for something else: The prophet of Deuteronomy 18:15 to 22 speaks what God gives; the diviner seeks an answer by a technique. The Bible sets them against each other.
The story behind Divination
Britannica describes divination as a widespread effort to obtain knowledge about practical concerns through special procedures or signs.
The spiritual meaning of Divination
Spiritually, Divination asks whether uncertainty is being met through trust and wisdom or through forbidden knowledge-seeking.
Divination in the Bible
Scripture repeatedly warns against divination as a substitute for trust, wisdom, prophecy tested by God, and faithful obedience.
Why Divination matters
Divination matters because it is one of the oldest and most persistent forms of religious and magical practice.
Sources and editorial method
This entry summarizes the tradition in the Almanac's own words; where no source is listed, it is an editorial summary rather than a primary text, and symbolic readings are named as the tradition's, not as fact.
Recorded here as history and lore. No rite is taught on this page.
- Source
- The Great Almanac Dictionary
- Category
- Spells & Occult Terms
- Last updated
- 2026-09-26
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Related terms
More in Spells & Occult Terms
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- Justice Spell
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- Solomonic Magic
- Theurgia-Goetia
- Ars Goetia
- Ceremonial Magic
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Common questions
What is divination?
Divination is the attempt to gain hidden knowledge, guidance, or prediction through signs, omens, tools, spirits, patterns, or symbolic systems.
Where does divination come from?
Britannica describes divination as a widespread effort to obtain knowledge about practical concerns through special procedures or signs.
What does divination mean spiritually?
Spiritually, Divination asks whether uncertainty is being met through trust and wisdom or through forbidden knowledge-seeking.
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