Everything Under the Moon

If your mind is anxious enough when using divination, can the anxiety of your concious mind come through in your readings instead of your subconcious? And if so, how do you know when you know when youve done a proper reading?
Last question I will be posting regarding divination. Thank you

Anxiety can come through and ruin the accuracy of any form of divination, especially a pendulum or divining rods. It doesn't matter which part of the mind it originates in. You'll feel anxious and your reading will "feel" wrong and your results will conflict with reality. You can use your gut feeling. You just need to practice the Craft in as many experiences as you can. As you do more in the Craft you'll learn the feel of it being "right". It just takes time and experience. In this case patience really is a virtue.

You observe the outcomes of numerous divinations over a period of time. Then you compare what you felt in the one's that worked that was different from the wrong one's. You learn, improve your skill, and do better. Nothing comes instantly just because the divination process looks easy.

I was told recently that if you're concious mind is scattered it's too confusing for a pendulum to read and therefore it may answer wrong because it has no idea how or what to answer to. I think I personally would do better with runes or something else more straightforward.

That shows you've given it heaps of productive thought.

Andi, I've read some of your other posts on your issues with pendulum divination, but not had a chance to respond. Frankly, just using a different form of divination won't solve your problems. Runes and tarot can be just as anxiety-producing and difficult to read.

If you're having trouble with divination, then my first suggestion would be to get a second opinion. Reading for yourself runs the risk of getting only the answers you most want or most fear -- which, depending on your question, can be very illuminating by itself. Everyone also has "blind spots" in their divination. That's why it's always great to ask someone else you trust to do divination for you (I like to tell them as little as possible about my situation so that their reading is unbiased). They are able to see into your blind spots in ways that you can't.

There's no completely foolproof way to do divination, but the best you can do to make sure you're getting the "right" message is to confirm a message from multiple sources. Generally speaking, you should never make big life decisions based on divination without taking all the steps to confirm that it is true/right. Does the message ring true to your intuition? (that's the feeling that Planewalker mentioned). Have you ruled out all other possible sources of the message, like your anxiety or other mental health issues? Have other diviners confirmed the message and who it's from? If the message is asking you do something, is the action ethically sound?

The message did not ring true to my intuition, that is for sure. When i got the message, my gut sank- it felt so wrong. And as for mental health issues, intrusive thoughts and depression are a daily battle for me. I was doing the divination out of pure anxiety. I was not clear-minded. I believe the dreaded P word was answering more to my anxious concious thoughts more than anything. If a P accesses the info of the subconcious mind, how can it even reach your subconcious when you are anxious and your mind is racing? How can it interpret your own inner feelings if someone is constantly imbedded with fear and doubt? Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, something I struggle with, is also called the "disease of doubt". When that doubt is internalized, it can infect even your subconcious as well. Thats how deep the fear spreads. This also leads to giving me disturbing nightmares. You know I am so afraid of my husband and I ever parting that I dream about him leaving all the time? And I feel that fear even in my sleep? I had also been diagnosed with Sexual Orientation OCD which is a form of intrusive thought ocd. My fear was so deep of my husband leaving me that for a couple months I thought what if I turned gay overnight and he'd have to leave me? I asked the P both questions relating to these fears when I was in the thick of my obsessive thoughts. I know now that I must be extremely careful to clear my mind whenever I next do divination or a spell.

Andi, thanks for sharing. To be honest, it might be best to just take a break from divination for a while (including getting a second opinion). It's just one more thing that can cause anxiety and dread.

I remember when I was learning the Tarot and pulling a card a day, if I drew a "negative" card like the Tower or Death, I'd find myself anxious and fearful the whole day waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'd be thinking, "Is this it? Is this what the Tower meant? Or is the worse yet to come?" It got so overwhelming that I realized I had to take a break and focus on accepting the uncertainty in life. These days, I generally avoid doing divination except on special occasions.

A little foresight can actually be worse than knowing nothing, sometimes. Mythology is rife with examples of people who learn about a prophecy and work as hard as they can to avoid it, which inadvertently makes the prophecy come true.

Is there any witch here that does not trust the accuracy of a pwndulum?

I don't accept divination as an authority over my life. Period. Divination is for gathering tips and info to assess a situation so I can take better informed action. Divination of any kind is always subject to change, subject to my personal bias and subject to misinterpretation from my inability to see the bigger picture.

Might explain why it answered yes to irrarional questions....lol ive learned my lesson