Description: Lithomancy is a form of divination which many people are aware of, although they may not know it by name. Using nothing more than stones from the garden or your favorite crystals, you can uncover the secrets of your subconscious, understand the past, and divine the future.

Verdict: As noted, Lithomancy is the practice of performing divination by reading stones. In some cultures, the casting of stones was believed to be fairly common – a bit like checking one’s daily horoscope in the morning paper.

However, because our ancient ancestors didn’t leave us a lot of information about how to read the stones, many of the specific aspects of the practice have been lost forever.

One thing that is certainly clear, though, is that the use of stones for divination has been around for a long while. Archaeologists have found colored stones, likely used for foretelling political outcomes, in the ruins of a fallen Bronze-age city at Gegharot, in what is now central Armenia.

Furthermore, researchers suggest that these, along with bones and other ritual items, indicate divinatory practices were critical to the emergent principles of regional sovereignty.

It is generally believed by scholars that early forms of Lithomancy included stones which were polished and inscribed with symbols – perhaps these were the precursors to the rune stones we see in some of the Scandinavian religions.

Indeed, in modern forms of Lithomancy, stones are typically assigned symbols connected to the planets, as well as to aspects of personal events, such as luck, love, happiness, etc.

Here in Jessica Howard’s fascinating read Pagan Portals - The Art of Lithomancy: Divination with stones, crystals, and charms, she describes, and in such great detail that you immediately know that she is wholly dedicated to her cause, how anyone can create their very own set of Lithomancy stones, how to go about collecting and choosing the right ones and, importantly, how to keep them magical.

Inclusive of the chapters: What is Lithomancy, Getting Started, Preparing for a Reading, Performing a Reading, The Chakra Stone Set for Healing and Final Word, Howard expertly, and in layman’s terms throughout, details guides the newcomer into her world, initially through divining, but most assuredly into Lithomancy soon thereafter.

About the Author - Jessica Howard has been a practicing witch for twenty years. Her craft is an eclectic mixture of Celtic and water witchcraft, with a dash of kitchen witchcraft thrown into the mix. She lives in Potters Bar, UK.

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