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Peek Into the Future

Absolute Key to Occult Science. The Taro... (by Papus)
The Illustrated Key to the Tarot, The Ve... (by De Laurence, L. W. (Lauron William))
The Compleat Psychic (by Brown, Ruth)
Light from Beyond, as Taken Over the Oui... (by Harry Houdini Collection (Library of Congress) DLC)
The New Black Magic and the Truth About ... (by Raupert, J. Godfrey (John Godfrey), 1858-1929)
St Augustine (by Jacques Chabannes)
A Complete Refutation of Astrology : Con... (by Moody, T. H)
The Guide to Astrology, By Raphael (by Robert T. Cross)

The winter solstice in late December commonly gives rise to thoughts of lengthening days thereafter and one’s future. Indeed, a popular New Year’s Day tradition is the setting of resolutions to improve one’s future, the most ubiquitous being related to losing weight. Humanity, however, doesn’t confine its longing to know what’s coming and to determining some way to manipulate the future in its favor to the new year. Around the planet, the desire remains the same; the method for telling the future varies.

Tarot. Originating as a European card game, the earliest surviving tarot decks come from early 15th century Italy, specifically Milan, Ferrara, and Bologna. The suits vary by region: French, German, and Italo-Portuguese. Experts debate on whether the tarot itself arose from Egypt; however, playing cards likely did migrate from Egypt to Europe. Regardless, scholars state that no documented evidence exists of using the tarot for the purpose of divination before the 18th century, with cartomancy growing in popularity in the 19th century.

Occult tarot decks consist of 78 cards split into two distinct groups: the major arcana (22 cards without suits) and the minor arcana (56 cards divided into four suits). The terms “major arcana” and “minor arcana” are only used in reference to occult decks. Traditional tarot suits include swords, batons (a.k.a. wands, rods, or staves), coins, and cups. The suits in occult decks also vary and may add pagan symbolism. Read The Illustrated Key to the Tarot, the Veil of Divination, Illustrating the Greater and Lesser Arcana, Embracing: The Veil and Its Symbols (1868) by L. W. De Laurence for a thorough explanation of the occult tarot deck and the meanings of the cards. For an instructional guide in how to use the tarot, read The Compleat Psychic (2014) by Ruth Brown.

Ouija. Although the use of spirit boards exploded after the American Civil War, Elijah Bond introduced the first commercial ouija board, in 1890, as a parlor game. Not until American spiritualist Pearl Curran began using it for occult purposes did the ouija board become popular as a divination tool. Famed magician Harry Houdini’s fascination with the occult helped to popularize ouija boards and interest in the paranormal. He wrote about his experiences and insights inspired by use of ouija in Light from Beyond, As Taken Over the Ouija Board (1919).

The 1920s saw publication of many books of inspired by use of the ouija board. Most common use of the ouija board focuses on connection with spirits of the dead. Its use for occult purposes has been condemned by several Christian denominations. In The New Black Magic and the Truth About the Ouija Board (1919), author J. Godfrey Raupert conducts a critical examination of ouija and states “The most skeptical person, lease inclined to believe in spirit-activity in connection with these experiences will, on reflection, be constrained to admit that an external mind must be admitted to be at work where an incident is related by the board which is taking place at a distance and the truth of which is established on inquiry, or when a message is conveyed in a language which the experimenter has never learnt and which, on being translated, is found to be consistent and intelligible” (pp 210-211).

Astrology. The practice of astrology as a tool for divination dates back at least to the 2nd millennium B.C. and has been independently employed by cultures in Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Hemispheres. Although consistently debunked by 20th century scientific study and refuted as early by the logic of such noted scholars as Cicero, Plotinus, and Saint Augustine, astrology nonetheless remains popular as a method for divination. Arguing against the legitimacy of astrology, T. H. Moody wrote A Complete Refutation of Astrology: Consisting Principally of a Series of Letters, Which Appeared in the Cheltenham Chronicle, in Reply to the Arguments of Lieut. Morison and Others, in Which Its Principles Are Proved to Be Unphilosophical: With Additional Remarks, Notices of the Royal Nativities, and an Introduction: Also Observations on the Weather Prophets, and Anecdotes of Several Astrologers (1838).

Astrology combines astronomy with the paranormal in that it studies the movement of celestial objects and assigns meanings to them which then influence human lives and events on Earth. In an attempt to demystify astrology and in rebuttal to the naysayers, Robert T. Cross wrote The Guide to Astrology, by Raphael (1877).

By Karen M. Smith