Witchy Insights: Divining Everyday Omens
How to begin the practice of interpreting signs as a form of divination
From a young age, I heard stories from my Granny, my uncles, and other family members of seeing things every day that held deeper meanings. Things that were unusual for a given time and were interpreted as omens or signs from our ancestors, or the spirits, of something to come.
An example of this from my family’s own beliefs is birds fluttering upon the windows, indicating a warning from our ancestors of danger to someone within the family or tribe.
There was an instance of my great-grandmother Sylvia interpreting this and knowing my mom was in danger, at the time my mom got into a fatal car accident and miraculously survived.
Something we, my family, knew better of, for my great-grandmother was a gifted woman who knew more than she led on. She was a cunning woman who passed on this knowledge to her children, one being my grandmother, and then to my mother, and eventually me.
Apantomancy, or the practice of interpreting omens and signs
This divination style is called apantomancy but I don’t call this form of divination apantomancy, I found that name recently to give a name to what we learned to do from a young age. I call it what it is: interpreting omens that one happens upon by chance.
As Romani gypsies, our story is one of hardship and movement, persecution for being different from others. We had to be weary and on the lookout for danger and be on the move to avoid trouble. As the Romanis traveled, and our families passed down the secrets of various signs, we learned what omens to look out for and their meanings.
I’m not going to define what individual signs mean, for it is unique to each person. It takes knowing what certain events, animals, or things mean to someone to interpret what the universe is saying to them.
Interpreting omens: observing the movement of animals, such as birds, to the quick and erratic movement of the wind upon trees, and other unusual or coincidental patterns within our waking life. It simply is a combination of our intuition coupled with unusual circumstances. It is to see beyond seeing, to hear beyond hearing, and to acknowledge that feeling of knowing from deep within your gut. To do so is one such example of our romanipen, our gypsy way.
Romanis are known to be witty and clever, and unfortunately due to racist stereotypes, they have been misunderstood to be very crafty (ie. deceptive). It isn’t a well-kept secret, we pay attention to our environments, to what goes on behind the scenes in our mundane reality to what lies beneath. A world that contains spirits within everything, spirits that will gladly speak to you and guide those who listen carefully and look with unfettered eyes.
To practice this ancient art of the gypsies do the following:
- Know yourself; What things mean to you intuitively: Modern-day occultists will refer to what’s called a psychic dictionary: what common things symbolically mean for you, your culture, and its relation to one’s environment. Such as, to be funny, seeing a dog on the roof. It stands out and makes you second-guess what you’re seeing, gives you a good laugh at the ridiculous nature of it, or feel extremely concerned for the animal. It can be interpreted in a hundred different ways by each person.
- Trust your intuition: Which, if I’m being honest can be tough but it’s crucial. Go with your gut, trust your instinct and have faith in your inner knowing. If seeing the sudden arrival of dark ominous clouds, when the forecast said there was no chance of rain, is a cause for concern then maybe it could mean difficult times are coming ahead.
- Regularly communicate with your spirit team: For me, it is the deities I work with, my ancestors, guides, or familiars. To practice the interpretation of omens on demand give a shout-out to your spirit team for a sign, open your mind and interpret what happens during the day.
- Record Omens: If something important happens and you don’t know what it means, immediately record it. This can be done on your phone or something nearby, and later meditate on the meaning.
- Cultivate common-sense and critical thinking: Don’t overthink every little thing. With the rise of new age spirituality comes the concept of such things as angel numbers or the like. It has fostered a misunderstanding of omens by which many people now see meanings in every minor detail in life. This is impractical and can drive anybody crazy — this is a form of divination like any other and interpreted in a similar manner. You wouldn’t be reading the cards over a dozen times a day, that is unless you do, and if you do that’s totally okay.
- Begin a regular meditation practice: It allows a person to be comfortable with their unconscious and develop a clear mind. To interpret anything divinatory it is extremely important to have clarity, to separate what is being presented from one’s own biases. It has also helped me develop my own intuition and psychic abilities immensely — and I can’t forget to mention the health benefits, like seriously guys learn to meditate.
This practice has been used for generations by my family and I’m sure other Romanis to survive and know what lies ahead of them, for better or for worse.
It’s a tool for your mind to glean information when you have no other means to do so. I can’t recommend this style of divination enough for it is versatile and practical for those moments when you don’t have your tools around and wish to divine an answer.
