It dawned on me that people who happen across my site might not be familiar with the concept of omens. The intent of this post is to share my general understanding of the practice and a little about why I find it interesting and helpful.
Simply stated, an omen is a message. In the context of a neo-pagan experience, they are often delivered using a divination tool like runes, ogham, tarot, bones, tea leaves or the like. In some traditions, a message could be delivered during a ritual by a person in a state of trance.
For some, divination is just a random selection of symbols. For others, they may be messages from our ancestors, the spirits of a place, or one or more deities.
Regardless of what one believes about the source, these messages can be a useful tool in thinking about a question at hand from a perspective that may not have been considered.
I use a set of animal tiles that I painted. They are based on the Druid Animal Oracle Deck. I like the images, and drawing meaning from animals is more intuitive for me than some of the complex and esoteric divination tools used by others.
I take omens weekly on my big Saturday hike. I use that time to reflect on the events of that week, decisions that will be made in the coming week and to immerse myself in nature. I find the practice to be creative, meditative and insightful.
