Divination Skills: asking the right question

Increase accuracy, understand conflicting results, and get to the root of what we are truly seeking ~ without stumbling into common pitfalls

a collection of items used for divination on Juliette’s desk

Whether we are reading cards, casting bones, looking in our tea cups, performing a frith, checking our pendulums or assessing how the smoke curls or wax drips, a main component of divination that few people seem to talk about, is how to ask the right question.

I like to say that asking the right question is more important than the answer!
For if we are inadvertently asking the wrong questions, our interpretation of the answers become unreliable.

The best example I have to demonstrate with is the common question of, “Is __insert name of love interest__ the right one for me?” or, “Should I date this person?” or even, “Is pursuing __so and so__ in my highest good?”

Let’s assume for a minute the signs all point to Yes or indicate going ahead with it. As is often the case, perhaps the relationship is cut short, turns sour, or the querent experiences a super horrible coupling, maybe even to the point that they wished it never occurred. Looking back, one may begin to doubt divination as a practice, or even doubt themselves as a reader. Why would all signs indicate it was a positive situation to enter if it wasn’t so? How could the cards/pendulum/stones/tea or other divination system be true and dependable yet ultimately end with such unexpected results?

Keeping with the sample questions above, how Spirit interprets¹ what is our highest good can be very different from what we expect. What we think we want may not always be what we need most for our soul to evolve. Yes.... this potential suitor may be the "right" person to date as they are going to teach you all about personal boundaries, encourage you to stand up for yourself, and show you exactly what you do not want in you life. Very valuable lessons indeed! What wasn't asked however, was what most enamoured folks are truly hoping to know, “Would a relationship with this person fill me with a sense of love and safety?” “Would this be a harmonious match?” or “Will I feel respected and supported?” 

You can see from this example just how important it is to carefully formulate the right question. Without the right question, we are receiving an answer that is perhaps not relevant to what we are actually wanting to know. A useless question gives a useless answer. (Okay not really, ‘cuz there is learning in everything right? but you know what I mean.) Over the years, I’ve become a bit of a stickler around phrasing our questions, along with intentions, soul-level contracts, even promises; and those who work with me know this all too well * wink * I’m always looking at the different angles Spirit might take to (mis)interpret our query or if we are really truly asking what we think we are asking - and I invite you to do the same.

How to find, then craft, a well worded question

There are a few steps that I take to support the powerful question discovery process, whether it’s for myself, or co-created with who I’m divining for.

1. First off, we (or the querent we are divining for) need to spend a little time getting to the very heart of the matter at hand. Much like the example above, we are looking to the deeper feelings behind what we are wanting more information about.
   
   We might do this through a few moments of self-reflection, journal writing, embarking on a spirit journey, meditating or dreaming on it, having someone as a sounding board to explore with you, but the idea is to keep looking a little deeper, a little simpler, and little more succinct or a little more important, until we get to the very root and can’t take it any further. In cases similar to the example above, one might begin with a query focused on the other person, “Are they the right one?” and work their way down to the root of a deeply personal yearning at the heart of it, “Will I feel loved?”

2. Focus on the wording itself and check for any ambiguity. Is the question truly asking what we are intending it to? Do the words match the feelings behind them?