Simple Magic: Coin Divination

Simple tricks employed for oneself are the best and most efficient, though nothing impresses others more than complex and symbol-laden rituals.

May those who understand profit.

Here's a nifty trick for children, or adults with younger minds. More precisely, this as a simple divination method. As with any form of the art, this can be modified to suit one's taste, or adjusted for better results. I notice better results from (my taste)ful approaches.

Summary:

Three tosses of one coin to determine a yes or no, either/or question. Three consecutive heads or tails indicate a definite answer, while mixed results may indicate a less definite answer, a state of flux, or the need to wait.

Hard Conditions:

Person flipping coin cannot know question, thus necessitating two parties.

Coin should be of highest value available; gold and silver are not typically found in people's pockets in a typical situation requiring an answer, so a quarter would be ideal if no silver dollars are present.

The "determinant", or person interpreting the answer according to the flip, should have an understanding beforehand of which side of the coin will represent the two options, though heads is generally "yes", "male", "yang", "solar", etc., and tails is the seeming opposite. If no clear distinction into these polarities can be made, then another method should be sought, as this ability to sharply contrast and distinguish the options into opposites is critical to the game.

Soft Conditions:

Anything which disturbs the continuity of the three flips may or may not be seen as inauspicious, e.g., dropping the coin, interruption from outside source, forgetting the result of the last flip.

I once taught this trick to a few young people without going into elaborate theories or explanations. In fact, they think it's just a remarkable parlor trick. Of course, they're astounded at how consistently accurate their answers are, which makes perfect sense to someone who understands how incredibly powerful (yet unfocused) the magical abilities of most kids are.

I really admire those kids' success with what I taught them, and as a tribute to them and the real magic they perform, I won't even bother to expound on this method any further.

Abracadabra,
J.M.

Notes on the Earth

The earth element which represents the Jungian mode "sensation" is in turn represented by the pantacle.
Sensation typically refers to how we process information through our sense-organs, as opposed to how we analyze information with our minds, thus we are given the idea of body connected to earth. Or perhaps the connection between what we perceive as "us" and everything else. All of this is easier to understand symbolically than logically.

The pantacle is traditionally a disk with symbols engraved upon one or both sides. These symbols represent a magical perspective of the earth, the universe, a particular space which the magician has set aside, or even the magician himself, or may be a combination of any or all of these.

The pantacle is distinguishable from the pentacle which is a symbol- that of the five pointed star contained within a circle. The pantacle is an actual physical object.

In the Tarot, the pantacle is often seen, or at least represented, in the minor Arcana suit which is also represented by discs, coins, rocks, and in the common U.S. playing card decks as the diamond.

Within various magical systems, it is either derided as gross material substance which must be tolerated and transmuted, or, as in the case of Satanism, venerated as representing our sole known existence.

Crowley straddles somewhere between, and has a very interesting take on the symbolism of the pantacle in his BOOK 4:

"All Pantacles will contain the ultimate conceptions of the circle and the cross, though some will prefer to replace the cross by a point, or by a Tau, or by a triangle. The Vesica Pisces is sometimes used instead of the circle, or the circle may be glyphed as a serpent. Time and space and the idea of causality are sometimes represented; so also are the three stages in the history of philosophy, in which the three objects of study were successively Nature, God, and Man.
The duality of consciousness is also sometimes represented; and the Tree of Life itself may be figured therein, or the categories. An emblem of the Great Work should be added. But the Pantacle will be imperfect unless each idea is contrasted in a balanced manner with its opposite, and unless there is a necessary connection between each pair of ideas and every other pair."

It is interesting to note the mention of a glyphed serpent representing the circle. Many and far-flung cultures utilize the circle which is comprised of a serpent devouring its tail- to the point where it is an archetypal symbol in its own right. The Gnostic Ouroboros and the Scandinavian world-serpent number among interpretations which are found throughout Europe, Africa and North and South America. The Church of Satan's iconic Baphomet, which derives partly from the legend of the Knights Templar features a unique set of five Hebrew letters encircling the five-pointed star which translate to "Leviathan", the serpent of the watery abyss. It should be noted that the letters run counter clock-wise, the same direction which these serpent motifs typically seem to run, from tail to head.