>>294
I feel different methods are better for different queries. Nowadays, I usually use tarot because it's best for most of the queries I get, even though it's my latest divination method. Let me give examples that I do commonly. The most common queries are love queries, so let's start with those as an example.
>Tarot:
If the querent wants to know how a relationship is going, I pull cards to outline forces in the relationship.
>Scrying:
If the querent wants to meet someone new, I give them a choice for cards to make improvements or for me to scry their next opportunity. Why the scry? Well, some readers are good enough with cards to describe attributes and situations with them, but I might stare at a meeting spread and make no sense of it, or I could do a quick scry and give a description of the person and how they meet, more accurately than I could with tarot, with a small fraction of the effort.
>Runes:
Conceptual readings? Runes. I started with runes and used to use them for all queries, but it's really hard to get specific information from them, and reading between them is an art that requires something other than just knowledge of the runes. But, there is no denying that runes are extremely good for outlining major forces influencing a situation. Think of them as being more similar to the Major Arcana, in that they represent broad concepts.
>Bibliomancy:
Just need a theme on which to grab? Bibliomancy. I started by using “Human, All Too Human” by Nietzsche, as I know the text well, and I can derive some insight from the combination of the aphorism drawn, the sentence on which my finger fell, and the relative position of the aphorism in the text. Later I branched off to using my entire eBook collection, so I can feasibly get some interesting things going with bibliomancy, but I still prefer it merely for themese and small tidbits of insight that might be more helpful for the querent's consideration than for my interpretation.
>Combined Methods:
Sometimes I combine methods in a single reading. I remember a certain querent who essentially asked me how to stop being a cunt to her loved ones, so I used bibliomancy to uncover the reason for her behavior, then I scried for the solution. Also, I used to have a single format for my readings when I started, in which I would trance before pulling runes, and the two formed a cohesive whole, with the runes helping to give context to what I saw or heard while in trance.
Oh right, the trance. Well, I slip in, and things just come to me. It's a form of chresmomancy, and it was really hard to keep focus at first, but I eventually managed to get solid voices and visions, which I later used to learn scrying.
And, because I'm a speshul snoeflake,
>Voice Readings
I use this to find things about people that are hidden. The querent can ask my to focus on something, but I usually just get what I get. I originally developed this to learn about personality and magical potential, so these are the kinds of things I can learn best. An actual query is hard to read if there are any external forces involved, and it gives very little meaningful information if a third party is involved.
Others:
>Spirit Readings:
I have no idea why people ask for these other than novelty. Spirits have a hard time communicating with us, and it's hard to make sense of what they show or say. I don't do this unless by special request.
>Necromancy:
Nope. I've done it before, but I really hate doing it, especially since it's so difficult to know you're not being messed with. Just...nope.
>Mindscapes:
Double nope. These are immensely draining, and the vast majority of querents cannot make any sense of the reading in any meaningful way. This is one of those novelty things, but I refuse to appeal to novelty for this: only very very special request.
I've tried other methods before, but I haven't practiced them enough to include them in my repertoire for whatever reason.
