The 28 Best Divination Tools To Improve Your Craft

Last Updated: September 6, 2022

There are many different types of divination, and each one has its own set of tools. Some divination methods use cards, some use crystals, and others use sticks or coins. In this blog post, we will explore 28 of the most popular divination tools.

I even review some of the best quality value ones for under $10! If you’re looking for tools of divination for tarot readings, pendulum dowsing, astrology, or astragalomancy, we’ve got you covered!

Types of divination

For each method of divination, its category almost dictates a necessary tool to go with it, and this is why I wrote this blog piece for you – to have more preparedness for any divination rituals. If you’re practising pyromancy, for example, then having matches, lighters, and candles all make this method that much more practical.

If you’re using a pendulum, a pendulum board or a divination board make it so much clearer for those who are just starting out. If you’re using water, a divination tea cup or a protected sigil bowl makes your practice feel more complete.

What are divination tools?

Divination tools are supportive of your practice – if you had a tarot deck, then a tarot cloth to protect your cards or a tarot guidebook would be a great tool to support your understanding. A divination tool doesn’t have to be a physical object that you can touch, it could be an app on your phone, a website you often visit or even just a specific place in nature that you love to spend time at when you need some guidance.

With divination as a strong part of my practice I have a ton of experience with tools, and clutter. I think this list helps because it ensures you have what you need, and helps you realise what you don’t need. It would be amazing to always have that witchcraft aesthetic you see on social media, but that’s just not real life at times, is it?

So one of my hopes here is to help ease the pressure of spiritual capitalism, ease the feeling of “YOU NEED TO HAVE EVERYTHING TO BE A WITCH OR PRACTICE DIVINATION!” and generally make it a nicer place for you to enjoy your divination practice. If you would like to know more about tarot-specific tools please click here for a whole separate totally in-depth article!

Mythology anthologies

These are incredibly handy when you work with deities, want to deepen a connection to ancestry or you need to reference something for your own knowledge; the amount of times I’ve looked up “Is it Apollo or is it Artemis for belomancy practice?” has been absurd. (It’s Apollo, btw.) So pick a couple of open practice pantheons, yes even the ancient Egyptians, and keep them handy for your development. Bonus low-budget tip? Pick up a copy or two from your local library.

Bestiary or Book of Local Animals, Wildlife

A mix of zoomancy (animal divination) and apantomancy (complete chance divination), sometimes certain animals or wildlife swing by unexpectedly at times you are looking for some guidance. Having a book to identify them takes you one step closer to working with them and your insight further.

Herbiary or a book on local plants, flowers and herbs

Similar to above, floromancy with flowers or dendromancy with trees can provide a lot of insight. On the days you feel completely tired and drained, you may stumble across a strong oak whose trunk allows you to rest and relax a moment. Having a book to identify plants and herbs nearby also makes for some excellent kitchen witchery, as well as you can make your own divination oils too.

Herb garden

It doesn’t need a ton of space, as a herb garden can be a small windowsill filled with your favourite culinary herbs, but having a selection makes it easier for witchcraft and divination. Dry herbs for smoke cleansings and enjoying some capnomancy, use herbs with your teas for home brews and tasseomancy, and intuitively work with them in the kitchen when you feel something is “off” to help aid any blocks to insights.

Witchy coffee

Using coffee grounds has long been used for tasseomancy too, but did you know that you can use coffee grounds for protection and for strength in your divination rituals? Add them to candles with cinnamon when you’re practising flame scrying, also known as a form of pyromancy.

Witchy teas

As well as tasseomancy, I would love to share the benefits of warm drinks when you’re setting up for a ritual, or cleansing down from one. It’s a great way to have you physically feel “between worlds” due to its multisensory benefits as well as tea can have many health benefits too – you can’t read with divination if you’re poorly!

Incense

Perfect for setting up your rituals with, for adding another layer of magick to rituals and for sessions of libanomancy! Incense smoke reading divination is a great way to work with divination if you’re still getting used to it, or as an extra layer of insight for more experienced diviners.

Intention candle

You can use this divination tool for a lot of things, and you don’t even need to light it. If you’re feeling called to work with a certain element in your divination, or there’s something niggling that you feel needs attention, write it down on a piece of paper and roll it up. Anoint the candle with a divination oil, and as you do, see the issue or element in your mind’s eye being drawn up to the candle. Once it reaches the wick, let it go – and watch to see if the candle self-extinguishes or if it continues burning.

Long matches

Divination through burning wood (xylomancy) has long been a practice, too long to even date, but you can find that matches are a practical tool for the divination witch as we can use them for lighting candles, incense, igniting sigils, sealing spell jars with wax, and even using the ashes for painting with, for protection salt or for divination as it’s own method (spodomancy).

Divination coin

So helpful alongside tarot spreads for yes or no questions, quick for those who don’t have as much time for getting out their divination boards, and useful addition to rituals – especially if you’re unsure of outcomes or purpose.

Divination dice

Alongside astragalomancy (dice divination) you can use them to build upon your tarot and oracle readings, when you are looking at astrology, or when you are needing to add further dimensions to a pendulum dowsing session.

Crystals

Lithomancy is a crystal divination method (but also for minerals and rocks that you find interesting). You can use this on its own but I like to use crystals for cleansing tools, for charging spaces and to build upon my intuition with them close by to boost the energy.

Mirror

Mirrors in magickal practices are for divination, self-reflection (which is excellent for developing your intuition), as well as for space clearing. There have been times when I’ve used a mirror as a table for spellwork or for divination rituals too.

Scrying bowl

Scrying is divination using a reflective surface, and you can use any still water for this. A black bowl just makes it easier on the eyes when you are looking into the water’s surface.

Moon water

Moon water is the liquid you’ve charged under a full moon or new moon for the energy to align with a purpose. For divination specifically, I would recommend using dark moon or new moon water, which can be tap water with a sprinkle of salt if need be, and a charge with clear quartz next to it to boost the energies. Moon water is especially useful to water element-loving witches for bath rituals, water scrying, and for cleansing divination ritual spaces and tools.

Divination Oil

Whether it’s store-bought, lent from a friend or homemade – divination oil for anointing tools, for putting in an oil burner or for anointing yourself with can help make your rituals multisensory experiences that are much better for building up your intuition. My favourites to use are Frankincense, Vanilla, Jasmine and Sandalwood as a combination!

Pen or Pencil

One of the most important tools (I feel) in divination is a pen or pencil to write down any intuitive thoughts or downloads you receive. It’s so necessary to document our growth and our symbolism for further research as sometimes we forget details that may not come back to us later, and by writing things down you can utilise the free mental space with even more divination delights!

Not only this but there have been times when I needed to save a place in a book and a bookmark just isn’t to hand (I refuse to bend the corner of the page) so a pen has been incredibly handy.

Ink

Encromancy is the divination method utilising ink, and it is one of the divination tools I am most excited to explore further. The most common way to utilise ink for divination is with coffee, however, you can also use it with water, tea, soy sauce, vinegar or wine.

Ink is handy as you can not only use it for divination, but you can use it to create additional tools or resources for divination. Print fingermarks onto paper to practice chiromancy or palm reading, and create the runes for candles and sigils in journals as part of your practice.

Salt

This is a great divination tool to have on its own or with others. You can use salt in protection magick around the home, you can use it to cleanse and charge your tools and you can use it for alomancy, the divination of salt patterns, using a divination board.

Cardholder

For our oracle lovers and tarot amores, a cardholder is more than just for cartomancy. We can use them to hold the corner of a page in a ritual book, we can use them to help us with rhapsodomancy (poetry divination) to create blackout poetry, and even as somewhere to place the crystals or the athame or additional tools in your rituals, so that you know where to look to find it for clearing down afterwards.

Sacred text (whatever this means to you)

With traditional bibliomancy, practitioners love a good Bible or Qur’an. For me, it’s books of crystal meanings, books of divination symbolism, and books of dream meanings. Sacred means different things to different people, secular included.

As I write more now than I have ever used to, even a thesaurus is becoming sacred. They’re useful for not only describing the divination we do but for divining the meanings of words and their origins.

Book of poetry

I spoke briefly about rhapsodomancy but as a form of divination, it’s a book variation of oracle cards. There are no specific books here you should have, but what aligns with you best is an amazing version to carry for support.

What I mean here is that if you have an affinity for darker shadow aspects, then prose by Edgar Allen Poe or Anne Rice may help. If you have a love for ancient greek mythology, then Greek Goddesses by Nikita Gil may be perfect to keep nearby.

For me and my fiery, Aries-motivated, Capricorn-empowered self… it has to be anything by Amanda Lovelace, but especially “The Witch Didn’t Burn In This One”. Every individual’s style is different, and this is the same for poetry.

Divination Notebook or Journal

A space to document your divination experiences, symbolism, meanings and thoughts. This divination tool is so important for growth, to look back on old readings and see how you’ve developed, as well as a place to keep track of your thoughts if you need to refer back at a later date.

I also like to use mine as an inspiration board of sorts, so that if I’m ever feeling creatively blocked I can go back to where I’ve already been. I actually call mine a Book of Intuitions, and I can’t wait to share with you what that looks like for a secular witch.

Astrology App

Whether you use one for moon phases, for what transits are happening in the constellations, or to plan ahead for future divination rituals, astrology apps are so much more accessible than full ephemeris saving you time and energy you may not have.

Colour Wheel

I love a colour wheel! Choose one that has not only the shades but the emotions or the purpose attached to them, include zodiac signs (Scorpio for Burgundy, for example) and include space in the middle so you can use a pendulum too. Useful for divination of colours that come to you in visualisations, but also helpful for magickal correspondences and for intent too.

Divination Board

Using a pendulum, or using a planchette, you can use a divination board to provide clearer answers to you. Whether you have a very specific one (looking at you, Ouija lovers) or you create your own board for each divination session (different answers in different angles etc) then you know the powerful support a board can bring as a tool to your practice.

Divination Pouch

This will store not only your crystals, cards and runes inside to keep them safe, but they can be useful for travel and for easy storage. My own divination pouch has a crystal grid space on one side and a divination board on the other to make it as accessible as possible for witches with small spaces, with small tools, or with lower budgets.

Your own intuition

The most important tool of divination is you. Your intuition, your connection to the divine, your willingness to engage with these divination tools and explore what they can do for you. Trust yourself and trust your process, as that is when the divination magic really happens.

There are so many divination tools available to us, that it can be overwhelming trying to figure out where to start. I hope this list has given you some divination toolspiration (I’m sorry, I absolutely couldn’t help myself) and that you’ll find the perfect ones for your practice.

Divination Tools List under $10

Essential Oils Kit

Having some basics to start with is a delight. I always recommend lavender, peppermint and an orange/lemon/citrus one. This amazon set has six to play with, find one that works best for you, and have fun enjoying creating your own blends for anointing, cleansing and for your own at-home aromatherapy. They are available on Amazon.

Long Matches

Did you know you can get coloured matches? I know that it’s short-lived, but I love that attention to detail. Long stems on them make it easier to write things on them, and it keeps it safer for you if you need to whisper an intention whilst lighting your candles. They are available on Amazon.

Background Music

I’m a big believer that solfeggio frequencies or binaural beats make a difference in our practice. It adds layers to our experiences and helps us tune out one world for another. Check this song from Amazon Music.

Compact Trash Can or Small Bin

Hear me out; ash gets everywhere, petals and leaves, even receipts from new notebooks. They need to go somewhere. Having a small space you can collect the “rubbish” can be more useful than having it on your shelves or on your altar.

If you need to reuse anything for your practice then, such as scraps of paper or small tealights that weren’t completely used, you can find them in one place. I suggest one like this that can hang on the side of a shelf or cupboard door out of the way. They are available on Amazon.

Organiser Storage

I don’t mean a book or diary! It’s a place for all the small tools, like coins or dice or crystals or rollerballs of oil to be placed safely and securely so you can easily find them when you need them. Here’s a top-reviewed one for use! Available on Amazon.

I’m sure this list has given you a lot to think about with your divination practice and maybe even a sort-through of the tools you have at home already! Wishing you all the best in your divination practices, and warmest wishes always.

Until next time xox