Having taught Wicca for quite some time now, I’m still shocked by the number of people (even those who label themselves as long term Wiccans) who don’t seem to understand the difference between the tools of divination and the tools of Wicca. This is a real problem because using tools of divination doesn’t automatically make you a Wiccan and in fact being Wiccan doesn’t automatically assume you’ll use tools of divination either! These tool sets, while being supportive of one another, are mutually exclusive. Let’s separate them out first and then let’s look at why they don’t have to go together in your Wiccan “toolkit”.

Let’s take divination tools first and these include all manner of objects that help you see the world and events and people’s lives more clearly. They include things like;

• Runes
• Tarot cards
• Crystal balls
• Angel cards
• Scrying mirrors
• Pendulums
• Witches runes
• Crystals

Divination tools are those objects that help you clear and use your third eye or help you focus more selectively on events or people through another plane. They are the simple tools that enable you to see what you might not be able to otherwise see about yourself, about other people or the world in general.

Wiccan tools on the other hand include things like;

• Athame
• Wand
• Chalice
• Censor
• Boline
• Bell

There’s heaps more tools of course and depending on the tradition that interests you, there may be some you ‘must have’ and some that are simply not necessary but might be nice to have. These tools are not used for divination and in truth are the artefacts of the religion. They’re the tools that enable you to focus more clearly on your connection with the Gods and Goddesses. They help you get into a state of connection with the Lord and Lady and while they’re not absolutely necessary to being Wiccan, they can often help with your religious practice.

So given then that divination tools help you see into different planes and Wiccan tools help your religious practice, can’t they be all put together in the same toolkit? Well yes they can but they don’t have to be. Let’s see why.

There are many types of Wiccans. There’s the very traditional Gardnerians and Alexandrians, the more flexible eclectics, solitary Wiccans, coven based Wiccans, Wiccans who are vegetarian, Wiccans who eat meat, Wiccans who use Tarot cards, Wiccans who explore numerology, Wiccans who prefer herb lore than tarot and so on. Just because you’re Wiccan doesn’t mean you also have to use Tarot cards, crystal balls, pendulums and so on.  Many Wiccans prefer to follow their religious pursuits without the need for Tarot, start signs, numerology or whatever. They’re perfectly happy just being Wiccan without also having to be ‘fortune tellers’.

By comparison, there’s a bunch of people out there who do love to use (some of whom are scamming you and some of whom are genuinely very good at what they do) Tarot, scrying mirrors, star signs or whatever to help you get a better insight into who you are, what your future may hold, what it may hold for others, what connections you have with Sprit world and so on. But those folks are not necessarily Wiccan, neither do they have to be. Many follow no faith whatsoever. This doesn’t make their gift any less effective, it just means they’re using the practices of divination outside a religious framework.

The simple fact is that you do NOT have to have a cupboard full of mystical looking crystal balls, rows of Tarot decks and star sign charts to be Wiccan. It’s not a necessity of the practice but it’s an add on. It’s like a vegetarian doesn’t have to eat carrots to be a vegetarian. They probably do but they do so because they like carrots and not because it’s fundamental to being vegetarian.

So if you thought all Wiccans had to be ‘fortune telling’, all seeing, mystical and prophetic geniuses then think again. Wicca is a religion, not a practice of fortune telling. It’s about connecting with the Lord and Lady and honouring our beloved planet and those around us. If you’re also gifted and able to use divination tools, then so much the better but it’s not a pre req to being Wiccan.

Smiles and blessings, Amethyst