My Path to Divination

For as long as I can remember I have sensed meaning in seemingly random patterns. As a child, the white noise and “snow” between TV stations, the dappled sunlight beneath trees and the strange dance of colors and patterns before my closed eyes on the way to sleep suggested something like language. I could “see” music and experienced shapes as friendly or menacing, a phenomenon known as synesthesia which I intuitively connected with the sense of meaning in random patterns. When I was about four years old, my father introduced me to a neighbor who informed me that these experiences were communications from the “astral realm”. This experience made a strong impression on me and led to all manner of psychological and spiritual experimentation during my adolescence.

When I was 18, I was introduced to The I Ching. I was told that this oracle was based on the intermixing of Yin and Yang. I was familiar with these ideas from reading Alan Watts at my neighborhood library. I spent a few years trying to understand why the chapters of the I Ching: Mountain beneath the Earth, Water repeated, Fire on the Mountain, etc. had their specific applications to life. In time I came to see that the only way to gain this understanding was to actually CONSULT the oracle. This was my introduction to divination. Finally, I had a way to connect “random” patterns with language, a message. Thus began a long relationship with as ancient oracle that continues to this day.

While studying philosophy in university I became interested in the way stories about reality both build a bridge to and keep us separated from that reality. I kept encountering the same idea in many different places. Lao Tzu taught that “The Tao that can be spoken of is not the true Tao, the name that can be spoken is not the true name”. Thomas Aquinas believed that the mind of God was so far beyond the mind of mortals that he frequently speaks to us through metaphor. Jaques Lacan taught that THE REAL was literally unknowable, appearing to us only through the symbolic relationships between imaginary objects. Everywhere the message seemed to be that our only access to the world beyond our self was through some kind of story.

Yet I never sank into solipsism, I always believed that, even if we had no direct access to the world, the OTHER beyond our self, I still BELIEVED in them. Gods are more than archetypes, our ancestors are more than our memories, other people are more than projections of our hopes and fears upon them. The world, as a whole and in its smallest parts, is alive and has something to say to us – but to hear it we must share a language. Divination, in its many forms, is such a language.

More than 2500 years ago, Thales of Miletus claimed that “All things are filled with Gods”. Astrology confirms this saying. At any given moment, the “wandering stars” occupy some definite position relative to one another and the background of the zodiac. The birth of all people and the moment of each event, corresponds to some configuration of these wandering stars. This is what the birth chart reveals. Everything has a boundary that makes it distinct from the rest of the cosmos. We have Saturn, the maker of boundaries and limits to thank for this. All things strive toward some good and answer to some judgement. This is the power of Jupiter. Some things attract one another while others combat one another (Venus and Mars respectively). All things wish to be clearly seen (The Sun). Have a continuity, a history, ways of doing and being that characterize them. We have the Moon to thank for this. All things need a means of comprehending one another given us by Mercury, messenger of the Gods. This is just one way of understanding the spirits that animate things. Divination gives voice to these spirits.

It is from this perspective that I read Tarot Cards and the omens in the stars. I would love to share this conversation with you. Book a reading. Lets see what the Gods have to say.

Divination Services

3 Cards / $20

This reading provides insight into the current situation, what will assist and what one must adapt to in order to move forward.

7 Cards / $40

In addition to the three cards described above I add two cards for the past and two for the future. The cards of the past show the origin of the present situation and the path one has taken to arrive here. The cards of the future show the path one might take forward and where it is likely to lead.

Partnership Reading / $60

This is another seven-card reading. Although I developed it for couples, it should be applicable to any collaboration between two people. Once again, three cards illustrate the present moment, what will help and what one must be adapted to, but in this case, these cards describe the state of the partnership as a whole. The other four cards describe each partner, what they give to the other and how that gift is received.

Live Astrology Reading / $80

In this reading we will examine your birth chart together. We will look at issues like natural gifts and talents, love and friendship, potential career path and family history and karma. It is best if you come with some question in mind and know your specific time and location of birth.

Schedule readings with the contact form below. Readings can be done via Zoom or in person if you are in the greater Knoxville Tennessee area. Virtual readings can be paid via Venmo or Cash App. In person readings via Venmo, Cash App, Credit/Debit card or cash. All payments will be collected at the time of reading. No advanced payment options are available at this time.

Once you have submitted the contact form below I will respond with a Zoom Meeting link if you choose the virtual option or a few options for in person reading places if you choose that option.