Divining in Darkness: Winter Divination Customs
by Keziah Zibelmann
Winter. The word evokes a sense of chill, of cold, crisp air, and of dark, long, quiet nights. Darkness is often seen as a symbol of confusion or unfamiliarity, of uncertainty, of not knowing the way forward, but darkness can, indeed, be a powerful ally in the art of divination. Darkness can be the backdrop for some of the oldest and most varied forms of divination still known to us, and it can also be a tool itself, a key player in our divinatory practices. Two such realms of divination that rely on darkness in their own ways will be explored in this piece, two schools of divination that are perfect to welcome into our winter practices and traditions.
BY FIRE
As a backdrop, darkness serves its purpose in divination in many ways. For those who look to use fire as a divinatory tool, it is in the depths of darkness that fire is most useful to us, to ward off the chill of winter, as well as to brighten the space we inhabit.
Divination by fire is called pyromancy – from the Greek πῦρ / pyr (meaning ‘fire’) and μαντεία / manteia (meaning ‘to divine by’ or ‘divination by means of’). Fire is held as sacred in many cultures, partly due to the importance of fire as a means of survival. Fire is seen as a powerful element, a conduit of pure energy, a force of destruction, a symbol of purification and renewal, and, in many cultures, a symbol of life. It finds a vital role in many religious and magical rituals, and, just as there are many ways to use fire in ritual, there are just as many ways to use fire in divination.
Pyromancy is a great method of divination to include in your winter practice, and there are some amazingly simple ways to do so.
Basic Pyromancy
Pyromancy in its most basic form is the act of divination by the observance of flame. One way to do this is also called fire scrying — when one stares into flame to see what symbols or images appear to them there. This can be either a physical event, in that the shape, symbol, letter, etc. appeared in the dancing flames; but it can also be a symbol or image that is mentally received, that forms in the subconscious or psychic mind whilst one is focused on their scrying.
Fire scrying can be done with just candleflame or with a larger fire, such as in a fireplace or campfire.
Another easy way to divine by fire is by using the sounds of fire instead of scrying for images. With a fireplace or campfire, one can divine by the sounds of the pops that the burning wood makes. Some practitioners will speak questions to the flames either aloud or in their minds, taking the pops sounding off after the question as their answer. One can assign meaning to these sounds — for example, one pop means yes; a series of pops or crackling means no; and silence means that the answer is inconclusive.
Candle Scrying & Ceromancy
[by Jarl Schmidt]
Observing the behavior of a candle flame is a wonderful way to use fire in divination. Some methods can be as simple as speaking or thinking questions to the flame and then watching the flame for a response. One interprets as they will — perhaps a still, sturdy flame indicates a negative response while a wildly flickering flame indicates a positive, or vice versa. The ways these responses are interpreted is purely personal and up to each individual reader, and different behaviors the flame may exhibit have different associations from one culture, region, or tradition to the next
Another method of using candles in divination is ceromancy (alternatively spelled carromancy) — divining by use of candle wax. There are many ways to perform ceromancy. One of the simplest forms is to light a candle and let the wax drip down, observing the wax as it melts.
Does it accumulate more in one area than another? Does the accumulation form a distinct shape or symbol? Does the wax instead melt smoothly, burning into a puddle at the base of the candle? Does the wax drip steadily?
Study the wax and interpret it as you will, as interpretations vary from culture to culture, creed to creed. For example, in some practices, piles or mounds of accumulated wax are said to signify a strong, sturdy footing one stands on, while in others these mounds may instead symbolize a roadblock or obstacle in one’s way.
[by Mariola Grobelska]
A well-known method of ceromancy calls for heating wax until it melts and then pouring the melted wax into cold water. The cold water will solidify the melted wax once more, and the ribbons of wax will form shapes or symbols in the water. These shapes, along with the movements of the wax in the water, can be used to divine.
A variation of this method calls for holding a lit candle sideways over a bowl of cold water, so that the melting wax drips directly into the cold water. Observe the behavior of the wax as it falls into the water, as it solidifies, and it drifts or sinks into the bowl below. What can you see in the wax and its movements? What do the shapes it forms mean to you? What does the behavior of the wax say to you?
Capnomancy
Another form of divination connected to fire or to burning is capnomancy — divination by smoke. Capnomancy can be performed with any smoke but is commonly done with the smoke of a campfire or pyre, the smoke of a candle (either an extinguished candle or by the smoke around a particularly active flame), or the smoke from incense, which is called libanomancy.
One reads the ribbons of smoke. Perhaps symbols or images or letters appear in their curls, or maybe the behavior of the smoke speaks to you.
Some methods interpret the posture of the smoke – curling smoke being read as a bad omen and straight, upright smoke being read as a good omen.
Other methods interpret the thickness and volume of the smoke – a strong, thick pillar of smoke and a lot of smokiness is said to be a good omen, with a weak plume and little smoke being a bad omen.
With libanomancy (the burning of incense for divinatory purposes), certain incenses are preferred over others. To name just a few —
Frankincense has long been used for divinatory purposes through the ages and across many cultures and religions.
Cinnamon is a powerful multi-tool when it comes to witchcraft, and its connection to divinatory skill is but one benefit this powerful herbal ally provides. It is believed that cinnamon can strengthen one’s psychic skill, promoting psychic and subconscious awareness and awakening the psychic within. It can also be used in protection magic, money and prosperity spells, love spells, cleansing work, and healing spells, and is known for its association with good fortune and fertility, thereby being a handy tool to utilize in any divining surrounding questions of love, financial matters, and health.
Hibiscus can be used in incense for divination, especially for divination pertaining to dreams or spirit communication.
Likewise, jasmine incense is good for divining via communication with spirits and ancestors, as well as divination for further clarity in the realm of our dreams.
Camphor incense is not only associated with strengthening one’s gifts for prophecy, but also for cleansing a space and one’s energy, which is ideal for divination.
SCRYING
As a tool itself, darkness is essential in many forms of divination, though perhaps in none more so than scrying, which often relies on darkness as a focal point to steady ourselves, to open our minds, and to clear our minds of any unnecessary clutter that stands in the way of deeply productive divinatory practice.
Scrying is an ancient and beloved divinatory method which involves gazing into a surface or area (often a reflective surface or into darkness in a room, sometimes at the sky or even at the backs of one’s eyelids) and opening oneself to receive visions or images implanted upon the subconscious or psychic self. This is often done via entering a trance or meditative state, though some scryers find they need not fully induce a trance state to receive images or messages. Scrying, like fire divination, is a great method to include in our winter practice because of how available darkness is to us during this time of year.
Using Dark Windows
Many scryers like to use dark, reflective surfaces to scry in. This can be a black bowl filled with water, a pane of glass against a black background or with black paint upon the backside of the glass, or any other dark, reflective surface. Using windows at night, particularly if you live in an area where there is not much light interference from streetlamps or neighbors or the headlights of passing cars, can be a very accessible method of scrying, though this method can also be easily disrupted by situational circumstance outside of one’s control.
That being said, should the darkness of your window remain undisturbed, it absolutely can be a tool for scrying. With the nights of winter longer and darker than the rest of the year, winter is the perfect time to give this method of scrying a go.
Using Ice
For those of us who live in areas where winter means ice, ice scrying is an accessible and fun seasonal method of divination. Though, you don’t have to use ice that has occurred naturally, and we’ll go into an easy at-home method of ice scrying in just a moment.
As said before, scryers often like to use reflective surfaces. Sometimes, ice isn’t reflective. In fact, usually ice is reflective when either there is only a thin layer of ice atop a body of water that hasn’t yet frozen underneath, or when ice is beginning to melt, leaving a thin layer of water atop ice. So, either of these circumstances provides a great, natural scrying surface. However, for those who don’t necessarily need an extremely reflective surface, ice can still be an especially useful scrying tool.
[Black ice on a frozen lake; by Thomas McKinnon]
Water is a powerful, natural ally in divination and witchcraft. Often associated with spirit work, spirit realms, spirit communication; with change and growth; with slow, stalwart strength; and with adaptability, water can be used a great deal in divination, an art with which water's spirit and energy often aligns. Ice being water in a frozen state gives us an opportunity to utilize water’s energies in new ways.
Water scrying is quite common. Ice scrying less so. But that doesn’t mean that it is necessarily any less effective. In fact, some scryers may find it easier for them to enter the state of mind they need for scrying using ice — something still and solid — instead of moving water.
For an easy at-home ice scrying session, try filling a bowl with water and freezing it just enough so that at least the very top layer is ice. Then, you can use your bowl of icy water in a dark room with one or two candles lit nearby. The dim light of the candles helps provide a shine atop the partly frozen bowl of icy water. Sit before the bowl, staring into its dark, icy surface, and do whatever feels right to you to enter the state of mind you need for scrying, whatever best enables you to receive visions, messages, and images.
Both divining by fire and divining by scrying are a great way to broaden and deepen our connection with the winter season, as well as being a way to help link our practices to the seasons and the natural cycles of time. For those of you who choose to take up any of these methods of pyromancy or scrying, I wish you the very best in your endeavors. Happy winter!
SOURCES & FURTHER READING: While this brief piece was written based on the prior experiences of the author, the pieces below feature relevant information about these same or similar divinatory practices. The reader is welcome to read for themselves and come to their own conclusions.
Demonologia; or, Natural Knowledge Revealed; Being and Expose of Ancient and Modern Supersitions, Credulity, Fanaticism, Enthusiasm, & Imposture [...] (1827); Forsythe, J.S.
Divination for Beginners (2003) Cunningham, Scott
Encyclopædia of Supersitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World: a Comprehensive Library of Human Belief and practice in the Mysteries of Life Through More Than Six Thousand Years of Experience and Progress (1971); Daniels, Cora Linn and Stevans, C.M. (Prof.)
The Fortune Telling book: Reading Crystal Balls, Tea Leaves, Playing Cards, and Everyday Omens of Love and Luck (2000); Kemp, Gillian
Greek Nymphs: Myth, Cult, Lore (2001); Larson, Jennifer Lynn
