{"id":24995,"date":"2024-05-23T23:54:44","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T17:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/fivefoldlaw\/?p=24995"},"modified":"2024-06-19T19:05:41","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T13:05:41","slug":"reading-is-funny-and-mental-divination-gone-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/fivefoldlaw\/2024\/05\/23\/reading-is-funny-and-mental-divination-gone-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"Reading Is Funny and Mental: Divination Gone Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
I never doubt I\u2019m good; I always have those killer gym teacher readings<\/a> when I have moments of wondering, but sometimes, everything just stops working, and it\u2019s pit of the stomach time.\u201d \u2013Deborah Lipp<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so Doctor Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home.\u201d<\/em> \u2013Deborah Pratt<\/em><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
A friend of mine was finishing up medical school and waiting to find out where he\u2019d be placed for his residency. He hoped to remain in Houston, and there was a very good chance that he would. But the ultimate unknowability of the situation was starting to eat at him, so he set his rational, scientific outlook aside and dropped by the store<\/a> for a reading.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill I be happy with my residency placement?\u201d he asked, as we sat criss-cross applesauce on the floor of the stock room<\/a>.<\/p>\n
I gathered up my lithomantic stones<\/a>, gave them a hearty shake, tossed them onto my casting cloth, and was immediately like, \u201cWow, yes, you will be very<\/em> happy.\u201d Jupiter, Mercury, and the Sun created a tight formation next to the Indicator, letting us know that everything was in place for the situation to work out beautifully for him.<\/p>\n
The only ripple in the otherwise clear reading was the Home stone, which bounced its merry way across the cloth, finally coming to rest high above and far to the left of the positive cluster.<\/p>\n
The face I make when I\u2019m determined to look on the bright side. (Image courtesy of Dean Lewis<\/a>.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n*
** \u201cHuh,\u201d I said mystically.<\/p>\n
** \u201cIs there an issue?\u201d he asked, concerned.<\/p>\n
** \u201cNot really,\u201d I said. \u201cIt\u2019s just that since the reading is so auspicious and shows you getting what you want, I would\u2019ve expected Home to land near all the other good stuff. Taken at face value, this would mean that you\u2019re going to be happy, but not in Houston.\u201d<\/p>\n
** \u201cBut if what I want<\/em> is to stay in Houston\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
** *\u201cThen\u2026 well, maybe it\u2019s just out of place,\u201d I suggested. \u201cOr, since the Home stone is physically right in front of you, it could mean that you\u2019re not going to be leaving the area anytime soon.\u201d<\/p>\nI know the latter sounds like a rationalization, but there is precedence. I once read for someone who wanted to know what obstacles were holding them back, and when I threw the stones, Saturn<\/a> rolled aggressively off the cloth and lodged itself under her foot. Point being, sometimes the actual, real-time location of a given stone in relation to the querent themself tells us everything we need to know.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the stones are saying that my residency will be in Houston.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. Probably. I think so. Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay. Cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was not entirely sold, but I also couldn\u2019t deny that the reading was flashing a favorable outcome. Plus my friend was satisfied: He wanted to stay in town, my tentative interpretation was that he would stay in town, end of story. I went ahead and rattled off my standard disclaimer<\/a>, though, just to manage his expectations and remind him that when it comes to divination, nothing is set in stone. So to speak.<\/p>\n
Although the magic rocks were as anxious as I was for results to come in. (Image courtesy of Dean Lewis<\/a>.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n*
** Two weeks later, he texted to let me know that residencies had been announced.<\/p>\n
** He would be attending school at the Houston-based institution he\u2019d picked as his first choice and swearing fealty to me as the mightiest of soothsayers<\/del> in Austin.<\/p>\n
** *To say I was humbled is an understatement. I mean, logically I know that readings are rarely if ever 100% accurate, but to have one turn out so opposite of correct was a terrible blow to my confidence. And if I\u2019m not confident in my ability to read, I won\u2019t be able to read, period.<\/p>\nAnd while I normally adhere to the philosophy that what other people think of me is none of my business<\/a>, I was worried how the experience might color my friend\u2019s opinion of me. He knows me as a witch, and as someone with a side hustle as an online oracle<\/a>, and I don\u2019t need him (or anyone else) to validate my beliefs, but I also didn\u2019t want him thinking, \u201cThumper just takes money to tell people whatever they want to hear<\/a>.\u201d Like, it wouldn\u2019t bother me if he saw me as a nutjob, but it would cut deeply if he wrote me off as a fraud.<\/p>\n
I brought this up when we hung out a few days later, and he assured me that his estimation of me had not changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s the thing,\u201d he added. \u201cOut of all the schools I visited, Austin was my favorite, and overall, it\u2019s going to be the best fit for me. I just\u2026 really didn\u2019t want to have to deal with moving.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWait a second,\u201d I said. \u201cThat means the reading was right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was,\u201d he confirmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut my impression of the reading was wrong, because I was working under the assumption that your happiness was contingent on you staying in Houston.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOH YE GODS I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER NOW.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I suspected you would.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which means we\u2019re both psychic. Who knew?<\/p>\n
Now, one could make the argument that my friend was not entirely forthcoming with his inquiry, and there are methods of divination that will totally call querents out<\/a> on that. But lithomancy is not one of them. Instead, it skips judgement in favor of providing answers to questions exactly as they are pitched: My friend asked if he would be happy, and the magic rocks were like, \u201cYes. Elsewhere. Et voila<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is no clever caption here: I just really like this picture. Lithomancy! (Image courtesy of Dean Lewis<\/a>.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n*
** Had a more unambiguous question been floated, a more unmistakable answer would\u2019ve appeared \u2014 but that\u2019s my hurdle to navigate, not his. And it\u2019s my duty to present the details I divine as-is. If a querent doesn\u2019t ask what they actually want to know, that\u2019s really not my problem. And it\u2019s also solely up to me to remember that.<\/p>\n
** And I am in fact remembering it! And I am proud of myself for that, since I am at heart a people pleaser who hates breaking bad news. But I have learned to stand my ground and keep my boundaries braced for impact \u2014 so when a client at the last psychic fair I worked clearly<\/em> knew what she wanted to hear, I was able to read the stones objectively and handle the whole situation with tact and aplomb:<\/p>\n
** \u201cDoes he still love me?\u201d<\/p>\n
** \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
** \u201cWill he ever apologize for what he did?\u201d<\/p>\n
** \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
** \u201cWill I ever see him again?\u201d<\/p>\n
** \u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
** \u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n
** \u201cBut if you do, you\u2019ll be in such a different place emotionally and financially that he will no longer matter to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
** \u201cOh. That\u2026 \u201d [a long pause, then a sigh]<\/em> \u201cOkay. I needed to hear that.\u201d<\/p>\n
** *Which was fine by me. It was literally all I could share.<\/p>\nLike what you\u2019ve read? You ca<\/em><\/span>n<\/span> buy me a coffee<\/a><\/span> about it. (CashApp<\/a><\/span> and Venmo<\/span><\/a> are always options as well.)<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\nOh, more discord, you say? But of course! Follow Thumper Forge on Amazon<\/a><\/span>, Bluesky<\/a><\/span>, <\/span><\/em><\/span>Etsy<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/a>, <\/em><\/span>Facebook<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>, <\/span><\/em><\/span>Instagram<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>, <\/span><\/em><\/span>Mastodon<\/a><\/em><\/span>, Threads<\/a><\/span>, and <\/span><\/em><\/span>TikTok<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n*The exit is right through the gift shop<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"*******
** *******Logically, I know that readings are rarely if ever 100% accurate, but to have one turn out so opposite of correct was a terrible blow to my confidence. And if I’m not confident in my ability to read, I won’t be able to read, period. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4491,"featured_media":25485,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[488],"tags":[7088,1438,7118,1145,7122],"class_list":["post-24995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-divination","tag-dean-lewis","tag-deborah-lipp","tag-deborah-pratt","tag-lithomancy","tag-medical-school"],"yoast_head":"\nReading Is Funny and Mental: Divination Gone Wrong<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Logically, I know that readings are rarely if ever 100% accurate, but to have one turn out so opposite of correct was a terrible blow to my confidence. 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