Tehron Gillis is a Westchester based slam poet and writer, a voodoo initiate and rootworker. Practicing magic and tarot for over a decade, Tehron works towards exploring LGBTQ and ethnic themes in the craft. We are honored to feature his thoughts on divination.
When did you start divining? With what method?
I started doing divination when I was 14 years old; it was with the Vampire Tarot deck my sister Amanda got me.
What method do you use most often now?
I use the New Orleans Voodoo Tarot deck now. By combining tarot with numerology spreads I do my best to arrive at accurate answer to my clients question. So if someone asks me a question I would draw as many cards that correspond to the nature of the question as based on the Lwa/Orisha that rule that domain or place on Quabbalist tree of life. I’ll then listen out for any ancestral spirits that want to communicate to their descendants.
How important is the choice/phrasing of the question?
I think the question is very important. If there is a reason that you come to a diviner its probably front of mind and urgent to you. Its highly unlikely that a client will be able to fully use any other information I have to give you. I also do not assume to know what is best for you. If you think your love life is the most important thing, I would find it condescending to tell you about your finances. Inevitably these things will come to light if they are dire… but first things first: What do you want to know?
Do you have a yes/no method of divining you recommend?
I use I ching coins for yes/no with yang being yes and yin being know. I also use Crowley’s tarot yes/no, and a pendulum.
Is there any advice you have for newcomers when using divination?
Keep the little white booklet! I know, I hear readers screaming all over the blogosphere but hear me out. We would like to believe that interpreting tarot, runes, and other oracles is a purely intuitive process. There is an idea that this little booklet is counter conducive to reading because it offers preconceived, prepackaged meanings to our oracles and makes it somehow less authentic. But we cannot divorce our intuition from our intellect no more than we can live without either brain or heart. The images and symbols we interpret are filtered through a lifetime of socio-psychological experiences that influence everything that we do. We are little white booklets and our mediums, our oracles are a way to communicate to others. By reading the little white booklet you don’t only gain knowledge on the oracle but also how other people, namely the creator and sometimes artist, view it. This is especially useful in developing your oracle as universal tool for understanding other ways of life. It would behoove the novice to ingest as much literature on their oracle, learn its history, see where its been. Just don’t stop there, sleep with your oracle(for at least three nights) and individual cards or runes or whatever, record your dreams, meditate with them. Become familiar with them and most importantly have fun!
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In