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Divination has been practiced from ancient times, it was, as we have already seen, one of the abominable practices of the Canaanites, condemned by God. It has been regularly practiced throughout the ages in almost every culture. One of the oldest forms of divination is the use of a rod and pendulum, which can be traced back six thousand years318. The second oldest form is Astrology, about five thousand years old, and then palmistry, which goes back four thousand years319. Divination is widespread in Australia and the Western world in our day. It is not uncommon to find various types of diviners in shopping centres.
Divination is the art of forecasting the future by supernatural means. The one who practices this is known as a fortune-teller or diviner.320
Palmistry: Palmistry is a form of divination in which the diviner reads the palm of the person and foretells their future. It is related to Astrology as Kurt Koch says,
"The fact that palmistry is related to astrology is evident from the division of the palm into seven planet mountains. From the index of the finger to the little finger occur the Mercury mountain, the Apollo mountain, the Saturn mountain, and the Jupiter mountain. Below the thumb is the Venus mountain and the Moon mountain. In the lines of the hand, four main lines are distinguished: the heart line, the head line, the life line, and the line of destiny. According to this system, one can speak of intuitive palmistry and suggestive palmistry." 321
Kurt Koch goes on to give the following example of the actual practice palmistry,
"My informant is a Christian woman with a university education. Her cousin lives in Rugen. One day a gypsy woman came to him and read his palm. "Your father," said the gypsy, "will win a great sum of money one day. Then he will die at the age of sixty." The young man laughed, and then she said: "And you will have to die at the age of twenty-seven." One day the young man received a letter telling him that his father had won DM 50,000. Then, on the father's sixtieth birthday, a telegram arrived to say that the father had a fatal accident. The son became anxious. He was afraid that he would die when he was twenty-seven - and that is what happened. Here we have a genuine example of prediction of the future."322
Never let it be thought that these diviners have no real power - they do - but it is from the devil. However, as noted before, the devil may often make accurate predictions of the future, but his predictions are not always accurate since he is not omniscient and on many occasions has failed to anticipate what wonderful things God would do.
Crystalmancy. This is the practice whereby a fortune teller will look into a crystal ball in order to see the future.
Tea cup reading. Some diviners look at the tea leaves left in your cup after you have finished your tea in order to make predictions about your future. This is akin to the ancient practice of observing the motion of water and fire to divine the future.
Cartomancy. This form of divination uses tarot cards to predict a person's future. This is a particularly popular form of divination today.323
Numerology. This is a form of divination that uses numbers to determine the future. Messrs. McDowell and Stuart quote the Harper's Encylopedia of Mystical and Paranormal Experience:
Numerology is a system of divination and magic based on the concept that the universe is constructed in a mathematical pattern, and that all things may be expressed in numbers, which correspond to vibrations. By reducing names, words, birth dates, and birthplaces to numbers, a person's personality, destiny and fortune may be determined.324
Psychometric Clairvoyancy. This method of divination involves the diviner in taking hold of an object for a few seconds and then giving information about the circumstances surrounding the object. The writer has heard of Clairvoyants who take hold of an article of clothing of someone who is lost and they have been able to find the lost person.
Some people consider divination as nothing more than a clever con-game. There is evidence which would suggest that this is not so. However, whether it is or not is really immaterial, since it is forbidden in the Bible. Any attempt to divine the future, by whatever means, is clearly condemned in God's word. God has in certain instances seen fit to declare a person's future before-hand, as in the case of Jesus' prediction of Peter's denial. However, in that instance God took the initiative to reveal the future. It is sinful for anyone to attempt to predict the future by divination. Christians need to be careful that they do not practice divination innocently. The writer has personally heard a member of his church, admit to a form of divination which was used to determine the sex of an unborn baby. This was done, by tying a ring to a piece of string and observing which direction it span. This Christian was ignorant of the sin of her practice. God forbids the practice of divination and Clairvoyancy.
318Kurt Koch Occult A.B.C Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids Michigan, p. 70
319ibid. p.70
320Josh McDowell & Don Steward op cit p.41
321Kurt Koch op cit p.70
322ibid p.71
323Josh McDowell & Don Stewart op cit p.55
324ibid p.59