The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Divination
Stephen Karcher
Barnes & Noble
Nonfiction, Folklore/Magic
Themes: Encyclopedias, Occult
****+
Description
As long as humans have had a concept of time, they have sought methods to divine the future. Cast stones, cloud readings, oracles, sacrifices and more have been used by cultures around the world. This book lists all sorts of divination methods used throughout history, with brief descriptions of their basis and practice.
Review
This one is great for those who, like me, need a little inspiration for fantasy stories; fortune-telling and divination practices make for nice plot devices and worldbuilding elements. Beyond that, it's fascinating to see the intricate methods people devised over the centuries to give shape and structure to the unknowable. Personally, I wished that Karcher went a bit more in-depth on some of the methods described, but I can't complain - the range of divination methods described outweighs the lack of precise detail. As for how much I actually believe in it... I'm willing to keep an open mind on many things, since I'm not exactly sold on the idea that Western science has all the answers (neither does Eastern science, for that matter... aren't we humans an arrogant lot for thinking so?) The author presents his information with a similarly open mind, or at least not blatant skepticism. Overall, this is an interesting overview of Mankind's obsession with knowing the unknowable.