Fortune-Telling vs. Divination: What’s the difference?

Is there a difference between prognostication and spiritual exploration?

The difference between “spiritual work” and “spiritual exploration” is a common point of confusion, and more than one reader has raised the question.

While there’s certainly some similarity between the two concepts, they are in fact subtly different things.

• “Divination” is the use of spiritual or mystic techniques to acquire information about that which is unknown or difficult to know.
• “Fortune telling” is a subset of spiritual exploration, and pertains specifically to understanding future events or outcomes.

Where the two categories differ is in the types of questions which are being asked.

Both prognostication and spiritual exploration share many similar techniques. These techniques include dozens of well-known spiritual practices including tarot reading, pendulum reading, I Ching, astrology, rune casting and more.  Where the two categories differ is in the types of questions which are being asked.

What is spiritual exploration?

Divination is a broad category of spiritual techniques designed to gain information about the unknowable. While spiritual exploration may involve questions about the future, it does not necessarily have to.

Put another way, spiritual exploration is the use of spiritual practices to “divine” knowledge which is unknown to the person asking the question. As A.E. Waite, creator of the Rider-Waite tarot wrote, spiritual exploration is a means to see “behind the veil” — a general allusion to that which is hidden to our normal senses.

Example spiritual exploration questions

(The following are examples of questions which are spiritual exploration but not prognostication)

• Is my ex still thinking about me?
• Why didn’t I get the job I interviewed for?
• Did my cat die or run away?

NOTE: Divination can also include questions about the future, and very often does. Divination is a broad category which includes prognostication.

What is prognostication?

Fortune-telling is a subset of spiritual exploration which specifically involves questions about future events or future outcomes. If a spiritual exploration question involves a future date, it’s prognostication.

Likewise, if a question involves the outcome of a current trend, relationship or endeavor, it’s prognostication.

Example prognostication questions

• Will we get married one day?
• Is next month a good time to travel?
• What can you tell me about next week? (See example)

Are all questions either spiritual exploration or prognostication?

It’s important to note that not all questions directed to tarot cards, the I Ching or other oracles are necessarily prognostication or spiritual exploration. A large third-category is self-analysis questions.

Many non-spiritual thinkers have appreciated this aspect of tarot reading, including the famed psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Jung saw tarot as a reflection of the subconscious mind, and even went so far as to say that its ability to unlock the past and the present could form the basis for making very educated guesses about future events.

You don’t need to be mystic to read your own tarot cards. Try a free online tarot reading now and see how tarot can be a fascinating tool for self-analysis and self-discovery.

Many tarot-readers today use tarot as a primary means of self-discovery and personal insight. Questions which ask about ones’ own feelings or social dynamics are often not intended to gain knowledge through spiritual means, but through meditation and psychological insight.

Example self-analysis questions

Some examples of questions which are not necessarily spiritual exploration might include:

• Help me understand my feelings for (someone).
• How can I do better at work and avoid conflict?
• What’s the source of my current stress levels?

Many fans of tarot cards and other oracles prefer to use tarot as a means of self-discovery because it doesn’t require a belief in the spiritual or the presumption that one has spiritual depth. Many of the best online mystics openly admit that a small percentage of their readings are based on non-mystic inputs, and may at times include elements of psychoanalysis and empathic reading.