Life is a journey, like any trip you or I might make on a daily basis. We know (more or less) where we are starting from and where we hope to end up. This is, of course, true of our lives, as we know we are born, we exist, and then we pass away into the indefinable realm of death.
Sadly from this point on the analogy starts to become less reliable. We do know at least an approximate route for our daily journeys…. we know which roads to take and the waypoints we must pass through to get to our chosen destination. Yet despite knowing where it will end, we never know quite where life will take us next.
This is because, while we are conscious of the beginning and end of our journeys, we only see the start of our life in retrospect and very few of us are truly aware of our impending death. So it is no surprise that mankind has constantly looked for some kind of reference to pinpoint where he “is” and a map to help direct the journey onward.
Inspiration and guidance have been sought from a hugely diverse range of sources. Some are from within the individual; others are from nature—most frequently from objects that surround our lives.
So from fire, water, the stars, and even his own body, ancient man found a 1000 ways to interpret his world, give himself some sense of context, and try to “see” what might lie ahead for him.
In the last 400 years or so, and certainly since the late 19th century, there has been a clear divergence and the relevance and used of mystic arts. On the one hand, certain people, such as magicians and psychics, began to create sheer wonder an incredible theater by defying the laws of nature and science, purely for the sake of entertainment. In parallel, the belief in fortune telling, psychics, and the like became less acceptable to the establishment but found growing favor among the masses.
In the last 50 years, the world of fortune-telling has become big business, with psychics available 24 hours a day. With the advent of the internet or low-rate phone lines (888-472-5103), many are charging reasonable fees for personal readings. Just look at how many clairvoyants and mediums are now huge media stars.
I’m not sure this is such a good thing, but what our ancestors found in their early oracles was a chance to reflect on their lives and make decisions after lengthy contemplation. The chosen device for seeing the future was simply a tool. Nowadays it appears that people are only too willing to let others direct their lives for them; it seems we have lost the ownership of our own destinies.
