Druid Sticks


A very simple method of divination


Thanks to my friend Seamus for introducing me to these in Dennys one night after medieval dance practice... Gotta love those Celto-Viking Classics majors...

Druid sticks are an oracle that is both cheap and easy (unlike, say, tarot or hand-carved rose quartz runes... DOH!) Go get a stick about as big around as a finger. Whittle it flat on 2 sides and cut it into 4 pinky-lengths. On one side of each carve one dot. On the other side, carve two dots.

To cast the sticks just roll them between your hands and toss them gently on a flat surface so that they fall roughly parallel to each other, arrayed so that the column of dots has a clear "up" and "down."

Now, knowing math as we all do, we see that there are 16 possible configurations that our new Druid sticks can fall into. Each has a Latin name (Druids transmitted their wisdom by word of mouth--the written record is second-hand from the Romans), and a meaning that makes sense if you look at the simple picture that the dots make. Now for fun with text art.


POPULUS: people. Either in general, specific groups, or just interactions with others.
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VIA: road, or way. Actual physical travel, or a mental, emotional, or spiritual journey. One's self, aloneness.
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FORTUNA MAJOR: success, completion, happiness. A goblet which has been filled in celebration.
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FORTUNA MINOR: potential. The same goblet sitting on a shelf, ready for the celebration once the goal is achieved.
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LAETA: happiness, joy, abundance. An open trough. Good things flowing freely.
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TRISTUS: sadness, obstacles. A blockage in the trough that keeps happiness from you.
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ACQUISO: material or financial gain.
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RELINQUO: loss, chiefly material.
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INCARCER: imprisonment, being trapped or bound up, frustration.
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CONJUNCTO: union, a coming together.
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ALBA: white fire. Focus.
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RUBEO: red fire. Passion.
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CAPUT DRACONIS: head of the dragon. Beginnings, conception.
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CAUDA DRACONIS: tail of the dragon. Endings, decline, degradation.
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PUELLA - girl. Can refer to a female person. The feminine principle; creative, nurturing, emotional.
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PUER - boy. Can refer to a male person. The masculine principle; action, responsibility, intellectual.
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