For me, and for many diviners (especially cartomancers), readings are a normal part of the day. You draw a card in between getting coffee and brushing your teeth. You do a reading for a client in your PJs and with a comfort watch on the TV.
But burnout can ruin even the most casual things. When that happens, it may be time to make that thing more ritualized to bring it a stronger foundation and make it special. Not romanticized, necessarily, but ritualized, to make it important and worth connecting to in a different way.
I am not a big ceremonial magician. There are some things in my practice that have become ritualized, because that’s the process that works best for me. Mostly, I save the ritualized and ceremonial bits for my religious practice. As a secular witch, my spell crafting and magic casting is entirely separate. My altars are over there and my workspace is in another direction. In a perfect world, I’d have my altars in a separate room (or at least an alcove with a door) from my workspace.
For me, divination is not inherently the same as witchcraft. I’ve always been something of a seer, with visions and psychic insight, and perhaps that’s why scrying is so easy for me and tarot is not. In fact, most of the time, I don’t use tarot at all, I use oracle cards because they often have less traditional symbolism behind them. That’s a me-specific thing though and something I’m working on. But I think it’s also part of the problem. I don’t use ritual in any of that. I scry in windows and cereal bowls of water. I scry in fancy mirrors and polished stone. It’s just ordinary to me.
That isn’t to say that divination can’t be central to someone’s witchcraft practice or religious practice. Divination is used in many religions and spiritual practices without the witchcraft element. There are many Christians who are very against witchcraft but may also use divination, such as Bibliomancy, where they use the Bible to divine some sort of answer.
For me, personally though, my divination is a third, separate category. It’s a bridge that can be used in my witchcraft and my religious practices, but it’s also a stand-alone thing. I can use my cards to foretell my plans for the week, a perfectly mundane question, but I could use the same deck to channel a deity or cast a spell. (Probably not the same deck. I’m… odd about using cards for spellcasting. I have decks set aside exclusively for that purpose, but I digress.)
For years, as a professional witch, one of my main avenues of income was readings. I used a lot of methods, but card readings, cartomancy, was the mainstay. Until I burned out of it. I started to actively dislike it and then I simply… didn’t. The few times I would use it, for beloved clients or myself, I’d be happy to get back into it. But it wasn’t something that I adored anymore. I couldn’t just sit on my couch and read cards. It didn’t work for me anymore. I just wasn’t connecting, even with my most vocal of decks.
Until I ritualized it.
I started to darken the room, so I could focus. I know my brain will allow my attention to drift if there’s something it can see, but if all there is to see is the cards, a lamp, and my laptop, then that’s what I have. I knew this worked for me, because that’s how I focus when I need to complete a computerized task. Doing this for readings got me through the bad times and the crunch times. Falling onto it as a default setting for any reading worked for me.
Then I added a scarf. I don’t veil often, but I do for readings. I have a gauze and lace infinity scarf I use as a hood and veil during readings. Sometimes, I even drape it over my eyes in addition to my head, so all I can see is what I’m typing, the divination method in front of me.
That didn’t fix everything, though, so I started listening to nature sounds or, even better for me, drumming sounds. An hour long loop of drumming with headphones on blocked out everything. It was perfect.
Now, my ritual consists of setting up a comfortable seat, putting on darkness friendly lighting and lamps, if needed. I will sometimes light candles or LED candles, for a bit of something different.
Putting my phone on do not disturb and playing a drumming song. I have water, tea, and crackers to keep me going. I swear a warm shawl, because I get very cold when doing readings, and my head scarf. I have a lap desk for my laptop to sit on. I remove all chances of distraction and just sit and do the readings. For me, this works perfectly.
I was trying so hard to get back into readings like I use to be, casually doing the work as a part of my day. Just doing readings at my desk. But that didn’t work for me now, so I tried new things until I hit on something I like.
So if you’ve been struggling to get back into an aspect of something you love, like divination or spellcasting, or prayer or even a hobby, try to ritualize it differently. Make it a special event, add something to it to make it important and dedicate time alone to that task.
Or, alternatively, if you’re struggling because of the ritual, drop it or simplify it for a while. It might help break through that blockage.
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