Many witches have a calling to some form of divination. For me it was Cleromancy. There are so many forms of divination and I've dabbled with quite a few of the more commonly known ones such as runes, tarot and oracle cards and more recently Tasseography (tea leaf reading). I enjoyed them all but my forte and most accurate form of divination has to be Cleromancy. So, I thought in this issue we could delve a little deeper into the background of Cleromancy and give a bit of an insight into how I divinate this way and ideas you could try yourself.
As always the views, opinions and magical workings in this article are my own. Some, all or none of this may apply to your own path and individual beliefs. With that in mind let's begin.
I've been practising Cleromancy for a few years now and have refined how I divinate from it. You may be asking right now what is Cleromancy? To simply put it, it is divinating messages from small tossed items also referred to as casting lots.
It is thought many ancient tribal communities including Norse Pagans used a form of Cleromancy. Evidence of this can be found in Gautreks saga where by casting lots Odin divinated that he was to make a human sacrifice of Harald's son Vikar.
It’s also mentioned many times in the Bible, as lots were cast to make important decisions.
“Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh in the presence of the LORD, and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions.” Joshua 18:10.
I love that there is a deep rooted history of this form of divination in many cultures. Although, quite recently at the end of a reading I was carrying out, someone quite amusingly made the connection to the film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves where the witch tossed items into a metal plate of blood. I'd very much like to think of my Cleromancy craft as not quite so dramatic and gory.
I've spent a lot of time putting together my mix of items, each one is special to me and carries its own meaning that I assigned to them. They can be read differently depending on the way they land and what items they fall next too.
My set currently includes:
A small clear quartz point - Bought at the start of my witchy journey I see it as a sign of clarity and a true path.
A blue howlite stone- given to me by my eldest son it represents family.
A small toy pterodactyl golden egg - Given to me by my youngest son it represents a childish energy or children.
A broken charm of lapis lazuli and a skull and crossbone- given to me by my middle child it represents a male energy. When faced down it's a male energy who has passed.
A broken necklace charm in the shape of a Russian doll - Given to me by my grandma it represents female energy. Again, when faced down it's an energy that has passed.
A small aura quartz - a sign of a loving energy or relationship.
A broken golden bumble bee brooch- symbolises finances, money and abundance.
A small ammonite - a sign of issues relating to health.
A small toy bat - things that are hidden unbeknown to us.
A small stone skull - ill intentions, negative energies, death.
Old Key- Yes answer.
Coffin nail - given to me by a very magical friend it symbolised a no answer.
Coffin nail with a black ribbon wrapped around it - given to me by the same friend represents magic at play.
Roe Deer Toenail - A sign of divine feminine energy.
Dice - an indication of numbers or time scales.
Broken keyring charm with sweet peas pictured - links to the past face down negative links to the past.
Old coin - if thrown heads it represents singular, thrown tails many.
Small wooden pumpkin - represents the person I'm divinating for.
Ruby in Zoisite cube- represents me.
A stone with a white line around it - a wish.
Metal bead - A charity or kindness.
Bronze Owl Charm - A decision to be made.
Faced down, a hard decision.
When I started to collect my items I had no clue what they were for. I simply started to keep small items in a hessian bag that I thought were objects that I could not let go of as if I had some kind of attachment to them. It wasn't until I saw a video online of another witch using cleromancy and then things started to fall into place.
I throw my items onto a fabric matt that I purposefully handmade. I consider this now a very sacred place to throw my bones. To make it special to me I hand embroidered a circle onto it with a witches knot in the middle. Between each throw I cleanse my items in the bag with my own blend of alcohol infused with cleansing herbs, spices and flowers. I then anoint the bag with a special oil I made with the intention to give them protection and power.
I divinate the objects that land in the centre of the circle to be of the most importance in a reading, the further out in the circle can represent a time scale. Objects that fall outside the circle are items not related to the reading.
I really enjoy using my items to divinate, and love how messages come forward in them. For example, if the pumpkin fell next to the ammonite this would divinate I was reading for a person who has health issues. Or if the Russian doll fell face down and was laid next to the bumblebee this would signify a female energy who has passed comes with messages to do with financial issues.
If you are thinking of making your own Cleromancy set I would start by collecting small items you are drawn to. Try not to think about it too much. I found my items just called to me. I know there are a lot of people out there selling Cleromany item sets and mats but really I believe this should not cost money, your items will find their way to you and you can like me assign your own meanings to them. Making your own mat is much more special if it's made from recycled materials that are personal to you and hand made with your own magical energy.
Before I carry out any readings I always like to ask two important questions to ensure the person I'm reading for gets the best out of the messages. The first question I ask is do they take the reading with love and light in their heart knowing the messages in the reading come from my ancestors and theirs with love? This helps if the reading has some uncomfortable messages within it. My second question is do they take the reading with honesty in their spirit, understanding that the messages in the reading may require honest reflection? This really helps when the messages are unclear to them at the time. It is a total joy when I get people contacting me after a reading which has been misunderstood to confirm they now know what it meant.
I hope this has been a good insight into the skill of cleromancy reading. Feel free to reach out to me at Hedge Witchery UK for more information. Until next time.
Claire - Hedge Witchery UK
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