+ 17 - 4 | § ¶Psychic Crime Solvers

Since the debut of NBC's TV show "Medium" psychics who help the police have been a subject of conversation and debate. Can psychics help the police solve crimes?

There seems to be no hard and fast answer to that question. Organizations as diverse as the LAPD and the University of Arizona have attempted scientific studies of the subject. The conclusions are…inconclusive.

One main stumbling block is that often the police or law enforcement department involved will not admit to using a psychic.

In fact, the real life psychic who is the inspiration of the TV show, Allison DuBois, claims to have begun her career when she was consulted by the Texas Rangers for help in finding the body of a missing child. The Texas Rangers deny having ever consulted a psychic for help with any crime.

Another is that often the information the psychic provides, although proven to be correct later, is not such that it will help. For instance, the psychic may describe the location of the body in such a way that it is not of assistance in finding it, although they are clearly describing it to the best of their ability.

For example, in a case in 1961, psychic Gerard Croiset described the following location as where the body of a missing child would be found; "a tall building with a billboard on top, near an elevated railroad and a river". The next day, after given materials he had requested; a photo of the child, map of New York, and item of the child's clothing, he refined his description; "The building has, I think, five floors. On the second floor I get a strong emotion". He also mentioned the color gray was important.

While this seems like a fairly detailed description - we are talking about New York City!

However, six hours later as a part of an unrelated search, the police did find the child's body in a second story room in a gray building near an elevated railroad and the Hudson River.

In this case, Mr. Croiset had also described the murderer. When the police located the tenant of the room he fit the physical description, including some details about his clothing and he was indeed eventually found guilty of the child's murder. However, Mr. Croiset's description was also incorrect in certain small details. He described the man as being from South Europe when in fact he was from England, the building was four stories tall rather than five, and there was no billboard.

Another problem is, that no matter how clear and exact the information provided by a psychic, it is not currently admissible in court, nor can it be used to get a search warrant for a location.

It is clear that often psychics either volunteer information about crimes, or are consulted (if discreetly) by some law enforcement agencies, and often by the families of crime victims. But the skepticism of the general public and the courts encourages a sort of "hush hush" about the use and value of their information.

Until that is eliminated, it will be impossible to do a serious and informative study of their actual effectiveness in helping to solve crimes.

Summer

+ 13 - 6 | § ¶Methods of Divination

Humans have always wondered what the future holds for them. Divination is as old as mankind. It has been used by kings, U.S. presidents, medieval peasants and brides of every age of the world, and practiced by witches, psychics, seers, alchemists and prophets.

There are almost as many methods of divination as there are diviners. Whatever method is used, the success is determined as much or more by the ability of the diviner to interpret what they are sensing and to communicate it with the questioner.

Below is a list of well over 60 different methods of divination, many of them overlapping. Many diviners use more than one method to find the answers they seek.

Aeromancy - by atmospheric phenomena; weather predicting

Alectromancy - by a cock picking up grain

Amniomancy - by a caul

Anthroposcopy - by facial features

Astrology - by planets and stars

Augury - from the behavior of birds

Austromancy - by the winds

Axinomancy - by a balanced axe, or by a stone on a red-hot axe

Belomancy - by arrows

Bibliomancy - by random passages in books

Bletonism - by currents of water

Botanomancy - by herbs

Capnomancy - by smoke

Cartomancy - by cards

Catoptromancy - by mirrors

Ceromancy - by molten wax dropped in water

Cheiromancy - by the hands

Clairaudience - by hearing things inaudible to normal hearing

Clairvoyance - by seeing things invisible to normal sight, second sight

Cledonomancy - from chance remarks or events

Cleromancy - by dice or lots

Coscinomancy - by sieve and shears

Crystallomancy - by a crystal

Dactyliomancy - by a finger-ring

Dowsing - by means of a divining rod

Geloscopy - by a person's way of laughing

Genethlialogy - from the stars at birth

Geomancy - by dots on paper, marks on the earth, or particles of earth

Gyromancy - by whirling round until dizziness causes a fall

Halomancy - by salt

Haruspicy - from the entrails of animals

Hepatoscopy - from the liver of an animal

Hieromancy - by observation of sacrificed things

Horoscopy - by planets and stars

Hydromancy - by water

Ichthyomancy - by fishes

Lampadomany - from the flame of a candle or torch

Leconomancy - from the shape take by oil poured on water

Lithomancy - by stones

Margaritomancy - by pearls

Moleoscophy - by moles on the body

Myomancy - from the movements of mice

Necromancy - through communication with the spirits of the dead

Numerology - by numbers and names

Oenomancy - from the appearance of wine poured in libation

Oneiromancy - by dreams

Onomancy - by the letters of a name

Onychomancy - by the finger-nails

Ophiomancy - from the behaviour of snakes

Ornithomancy - by the flight of birds

Palmistry - by the hands

Pegomancy - by fountains

Pessomancy - by pebbles

Phrenology - by the head

Phsiognomy - by the face

Psychometry - by handling an object

Pyromancy - by looking into a fire

Rhabdomancy - by a wand or divining rod

Scapulomancy - by the shoulder blades of animals

Scatoscopy - by inspection of excrement

Sciomancy - by shadows, or ghosts

Scrying - by a crystal

Sideromancy - by the movements of straws placed on a red hot iron

Sortilege - by drawing lots

Spodomancy - from ashes

Stichomancy - from random passages in books

Tephromancy - from sacrificial ashes

Theomancy - by oracles, and by persons inspired by a god

Uromancy - by urine

Xylomancy - by dry sticks

Zoomancy - from the behaviour of animals

+ 15 - 7 | § ¶Present or Future

Just a feeling or a feeling of knowing...

Some people are blessed with a gift of looking into the future. They can tell the future, they can see things that may happen to someone and are able to tell others of those experiences. To me I truly believe that this is a possibility and there is one time that really stands out for me when I knew that something had happened to a family member.

I had been in hospital after suffering a miscarriage along with complications after surgery went wrong. The day I suppose was like the other days that I had spent in there, trying to recover when something strange washed over me.

It was a really weird feeling and I found the need to call my parents. There was something wrong and I knew it had to do with my sister. I knew that there was a problem...

I convinced the nurses that I could walk down the hall to the telephone and I really needed to do this by myself without anyone with me. I'm not sure why, but the need to call was urgent and I didn't want people thinking I was loony or something.

Nervously I took a deep breath and I can still remember to this day what happened next. I slipped the money into the slot and dialed...

The first thing I asked my mother when she answered the phone was if my sister was ok. I knew that there had been an accident but I didn't know all the details.

What she said shocked me... because up till then I wasn't sure if I had really known or whether it was my thoughts going crazy from all the meds the doctors had me on. But she told me that there had been an accident... telling me what I already knew...

I told her it had been raining and my sister had slid through the round-a-bout in a small place in northern New South Wales on the way to see mum....

I was astounded that everything I told mum had happened... and it had happened when I felt the need to call my mother to see if my sister was ok...

When my mother assured me that everything was ok, that my sister was safe and the car was not as good as it could be, I felt relief that I had felt what I had and knew to call... My mother was shocked that I had already known and could even tell her the time of the accident. I'm not sure if that is looking or being able to tell the future but it certainly was something that I had felt happen in the present...

Toni

+ 14 - 7 | § ¶Focusing Our Subconscious Mind

Why Do Spells Work?

I believe that spells work by focusing our subconscious mind. This is the same reason meditation works, affirmations work, positive thinking works, and prayer works. I truly believe we have unlimited power to change the world around us, to create and to destroy, to draw good events and people to us, or bad events and people.

There is a spark of the power of life in everyone of us. Call it the soul, the God Force, the Goddess. Scientists cannot quantify it. Medical doctors cannot call it back once it has left this earthly body. It is what makes us what we are, it makes us alive.

All "things", people, rocks, storms, have a spark of this power, and this is why we can affect them and they affect us. We are all one. Some of us are in closer contact with that spark and wield it more effectively. We can all learn to use it.

Because we are so powerful, it is our responsibility to take care with that power. Never cast a spell, no matter how good it may be, for or on another person unless they have asked you to do it for them, or if you have gotten their permission to do it for them.

Before casting any sort of negative spell, such as binding or banishing, think about what you are doing very carefully. Why are you doing it? And how can you phrase it so that it is for the good of all.

I had to do a banishment of a neighbor once. She was threatening me in a very real way with real harm. I conceived the belief that she was so negative because she was not happy where she was. In my spell work I focused on her leaving and going to a place where she was much happier.

Through mutual friends I learned some months later that she left (and she did leave) because she had a new boyfriend, and he took her to live in a place in the country. She liked it much better, and was very happy there!

And she was out of my space and no longer causing me problems!

Always be careful what you ask for - for you may receive it.

An acquaintance did a spell to lower her debts. Shortly after things happened that caused her to lose her home and her car and other things she was making payments on. She was out of debt, alright, but certainly not better off!

Summer

+ 14 - 3 | § ¶Inspiration

There is no man upon the earth, no foolish man or wise,
No man of high or humble birth but somewhere in the skies,
Can find a star to lead him on if he will lift his eyes.

~ unknown~