Charm Divination
casting trinkets to harness your intuition
emerald lotus
Charm Divination: Casting Trinkets to Harness Your Intuition Copyright © 2026 by Emerald Lotus. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd., except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems.
First Edition
First Printing, 2026
Book design by Donna Burch-Brown Cover design by Shannon McKuhen
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ISBN: 978-0-7387-8096-2
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UPI-2M PLUS d.o.o., Medulićeva 20, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia matt.parsons@upi2mbooks.hr
For Z—the Answer and the Question, the Emperor to my Empress. Beyond every horizon, in every lifetime.
For K—who knew before I did that my name would belong on the spine of a book.
For G—who taught me to follow the clear sky, in weather and in life.
For L—who first placed charms in my hands and, in doing so, opened a door I would never close.
Introduction 1
Contents
Chapter 1: Starting Out 5
Chapter 2: Connecting with Your Intuition 17
Chapter 3: Building Your Charm Kit 27
Chapter 4: Enchanting and Using Your Charms 39
Chapter 5: Preparing to Read Charms 57
Chapter 6: Deepening Your Interpretation 83
Chapter 7: Reading Your Charms 101
Conclusion 113
Charm Meanings and Symbol References 115
Colors 116
Food & Drink 119
Flowers & Plants 142
Weather 150
Seasons 153
Zodiac Charm Associations 160
Hearts 162
Working with Deities 165
Characters 172
Animals 176
A–Z Miscellaneous Charms 212
Bibliography 297
Introduction
I’m so glad you’re here. Charm Divination is an introduction and guide to the art of charm casting, a form of divination that uses small symbolic objects to uncover insight, guidance, and clarity. You’ll learn everything you need to begin your own charm casting practice, including how to build a charm kit, develop your meanings, choose casting methods, read and interpret your casts, and create your own personal rituals.
I’ve been using and teaching charm casting for several years, offering readings to hundreds of clients in that time. Through this journey, I’ve come to love its blend of intuition, symbolism, storytelling, and synchronicity. My goal with this book is to share what I’ve
learned so you can develop your own approach, one that feels personal, empowering, and meaningful to you.
My own spiritual journey began when I was fifteen years old. Over the years, I’ve explored mediumship, dreamwork, crystals, reiki, and other intuitive practices, all of which deepened my connection to the unseen. I began reading tarot in 2015, discovering the power of symbols and storytelling in divination. In 2020, I was introduced to using charms as a form of divination. Since there was no clear guidance at the time, I created my own approach to charm casting, one that combined intuition, symbolism, and personal meaning in a tangible, creative way.
In the world of divination, there are often discussions about where these messages are coming from. Some who are very spiritual believe that messages from divination readings, including charm casting, are direct communications from spirit. They might see themselves as channeling the divine, receiving guidance from spirit guides or angels, or connecting with ancestors. Others prefer a more scientific perspective. They may view these readings through the lens of psychology, subconscious processes, or probabilistic thinking. In this view, the messages in a reading can reflect subconscious beliefs the querent wasn’t consciously aware of but that exist nonetheless. Projection is another logical perspective. In these cases,
the reading serves as a mirror for the querent’s inner thoughts and feelings.
Regardless of whether you interpret charm casting through a scientific lens or a spiritual one, it will work for you. For many who enter the world of divination with a scientific mindset, it only takes a few unmistakable, irrational, yet highly synchronistic and accurate readings for that lens to begin shifting ever so slightly.
I consider myself a holistic charm reader. I see plenty of rational and psychological explanations for what comes through in my readings. For example, if I see a plane charm during the summer, it’s a logical assumption the person might be planning to travel, since that’s such a common time for vacations in the US. However, after reading for so many clients, I can’t deny that many of my charm readings are inexplicably accurate in ways I can’t rationalize. As someone who believes in the divine, the mystical, and the spiritual, I’ve been honing my intuitive abilities for years. At this point, I can physically, emotionally, and spiritually discern when I’m receiving messages from outside myself. Of course, no one can be 100 percent certain these types of messages aren’t coming from the subconscious, but I choose to believe they come from something bigger than myself.
At the end of the day, I stand firm in my conviction that whatever you believe is all that matters. And if you aren’t sure where the messages come from (or simply
don’t care), that’s okay too. Charm casting will work for you whether you feel connected to a source outside of yourself, within yourself, or nowhere at all.
In this book, I’ll guide you through the entire process step by step so you can learn how to build your charm kit, create your meanings, cast, read, and interpret. By the end, I hope you’ll feel confident enough to try this form of divination and make it truly your own. Whether you dive deep into regular practice or pick it up only when you feel called, the story is unwritten and waiting for you to explore.
Chapter 1
Starting Out
Charm casting using small pendants and charms is quite a new practice in the world of divination, one that started in the early 2010s with users around the globe slowly introducing small pendants and charms into their divinatory readings. However, the concept of casting has existed for thousands of years. It’s what we’re casting that has changed and evolved over time. Charm casting itself is a relatively easy concept. Let’s look at what both those words mean individually in this context:
Charms: Any small item—pendants, hair clips, coins, and so on. Charms can be chosen for their personal significance, traditional symbolism, or intuitive appeal to the caster.
Chapter 1
Casting: Throwing, placing, shaking, or dropping items to spontaneously land on an intended area.
The art of charm casting is quite basic at its core. With our collection of charms, we allow any number of charms to be tossed on a designated cloth, tray, or flat surface. Once the charms have spontaneously landed on their designated casting surface, they are ready for the caster to intuitively interpret them. Charm casting readings can be used in a similar fashion to other divinatory tools. Love readings, career insights, soul purpose, mediumship readings, and so much more can be accomplished through charm casting readings.
Why Choose Charm Casting?
Many people are drawn to charm casting because it stands out against other divination tools and methods. It’s highly personalized, flexible, and unique. Charm casting is a wonderful method because it is:
Tactile and interactive: The tactile nature of charm casting makes for an engaging sensory experience. Charms can be shaken, held, moved around, picked up, and played with. The endless possibilities for how they may be arranged on a casting surface makes them incredibly interactive and engaging for both querent and reader.
Starting Out 7
Customizable: You have the freedom to customize and create your own charm casting kit, using any charm you feel connected to. You can curate your collection to include objects that resonate with your personal energy, spiritual path, or specific goals. Unlike many other divination tools, each charm can mean something specific to the reader or the querent. Since the charms don’t follow strict traditional meaning there’s a lot of room for interpretation and customization.
Layered in symbolism: Depending on where the charms fall on your casting space, their color, size, material, grouping, and more can all determine how you interpret the messages. Not only can you read a charm for its standalone interpretation, you can read it based on numerous additional factors that may stand out to you intuitively. This layered symbolism allows for an incredibly rich and fluid tapestry to be woven in a reading. This complex reading style is something we’ll explore further in this guidebook.
Accessible for beginners: Unlike many other divination systems that require extensive learning, charm casting can be practiced by anyone of any skill level. Beginners can start with a small collection and expand their kit over time. Beginners can
Chapter 1
also read the charms more literally and gradually integrate layered symbolism, intuition, and deeper interpretations as their experience increases.
A showcase for your personality: Charm casting is a blend of divination and creative expression. The charms you decide to add to your collection can reflect your aesthetic or artistic tastes. For example, your charm kit can be colorful or completely neutral; it can include mostly natural elements or be completely comprised of metal charms. Depending on your style, intention, and aesthetics, you can customize your charm kit to show your personality and aid in self-expression.
History of Divination
Divination is the practice of seeking insight, guidance, or knowledge through spiritual, symbolic, or intuitive means. At its core, divination is about connecting with the unknown, whether that’s the subconscious mind, universal energies, or unseen forces. The purpose of divination is to gain clarity about life, make a decision, or see what the future holds in general.
The history of divination itself is complex and farreaching. Many cultures and groups around the globe have practiced unique forms of divination spanning thousands of years. I’ve tried to research extensively to provide some pinpoints in the timeline of divination; however, it
Starting Out 9
has been quite challenging to find those key points due to divination being so far-reaching and rather elusive. For many years, divination was a hidden art, a secret, something taught to another through word of mouth and kept from public view.
An interesting thing to note about the ancient view of divination is that it wasn’t often used for finding one’s next romantic partner, which item to buy, or exploring how to heal one’s inner child. Divination in ancient times was often reserved for decisions that affected the group or society as a whole. Large and important decisions were placed in the hands of a trusted seer or mystic who would use divinatory practices to offer guidance. These mystics would divine to decide if a tribe should go to war, predict how weather patterns would affect the crops, or learn how to cure illnesses.
For example, ancient Sumerians worshipped a pantheon of multiple gods and believed that these gods provided opinion and insight on every area of their lives. To keep in communication with their gods, the Sumerians used the divination practice of extispicy, which involved examining the entrails of a sacrificial animal (particularly its liver). This form of divination was used to determine the priestess for their largest city.1
1. Julius K. Muthengi, “The Art of Divination,” African Journal of Evangelical Theology 12 (1993): 91–104.
Chapter 1
One of the reasons that divination can be so challenging to spot throughout history is that a lot of divinatory practices were oratory. You would teach someone through speaking and doing rather than through recording and writing.
However, we do see glimpses of divination being recorded throughout history. One example is in ancient India, where the Vedanga-Jyotisha was assembled in 1400 BCE by Lagadha Muni, one of the earliest known Hindu mathemeticians and astronomers. It aimed to serve as a calendar tracking Hindu rituals, and today is “considered the emblematic text of Indian astronomy and astrology.”2
In ancient Egypt and Greece (2000 BCE), one of the most common forms of divination was through dream oracles.3 Interestingly, the English word theory comes from the Greek noun theoria, which referred to a sacred pilgrimage, or journey to a distant land, to consult an oracle.4
Charm casting can technically fall under the category of cleromancy, a type of divination that involves using
2. Paulo Martins, “A Concise History of Hindu Astrology and Indian Spirituality,” Scholars Journal of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences 11, no. 2 (2023): 33. DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2023.v11i02.003.
3. Patrick Curry, ed. Divination: Perspectives for a New Millennium (Routledge, 2016), 11.
4. Barbara Tedlock, “Toward a Theory of Divinatory Practice,” Anthropology of Consciousness 17, no. 2 (2006): 62–77. DOI: 10.1525 /ac.2006.17.2.62.
Starting Out 11
chance to determine an outcome, such as by casting lots of stones, sticks, beans, or other small objects. This type of divinatory practice dates back incredibly far. In 700 BCE China during the Zhou dynasty, seers used a divinatory technique “involving a random drawing of yarrow stalks in order to obtain numerical values (cleromancy).”5
In the oldest civilizations we find methods of predicting the future and communication with the supernatural by way of various methods. Although called by different names, countless shamans, priests, seers, mystics, sorcerers, and witches have practiced divination across the globe, spanning thousands of years.
Divination was traditionally used to predict future events and lift the veil between the seen and unseen, revealing supernatural, divine, or magical influences that would otherwise go unnoticed. However, as our understanding of psychology and self-awareness has deepened, divination has evolved into a more holistic practice. Today, divination is not solely about foreseeing the future, and some practitioners choose to avoid prediction in their readings altogether. Many readers use divination as a tool for self-reflection and treat it as a window into the soul and a psychological guide for navigating life.
5. Matthias Hayek, “The Eight Trigrams and Their Changes: An Inquiry into Japanese Early Modern Divination,” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 38, no. 2 (2011): 331. https://www .jstor.org/stable/41331490.
Types of Casting
Divination comes in many forms, from tarot and astrology to pendulums and tea leaf readings. Each divination practice offers a unique way to interpret signs and messages. As for casting lots in particular, let’s explore some divination practices that are still commonly used today.
Bone casting (Osteomancy): Bone casting, also known as osteomancy, is one of the oldest forms of divination. At its core, osteomancy involves interpreting the way bones fall when cast. Practitioners examine markings, shapes, and cracks on bones to gain spiritual insight. This practice has deep roots in shamanic traditions, indigenous spirituality, and ancient ritual work. Variations of bone casting are seen across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
Rune reading: An ancient Norse method of divination, rune casting involves stones or other materials inscribed with runic symbols, which are then cast or drawn for guidance. The oldest known runic alphabet is the Germanic Elder Futhark, which has been adapted over time into different variations. Runes can be inscribed or drawn on pebbles, stones, wood, or crystals.
I Ching (Cleromancy): An ancient Chinese form of divination, the I Ching (or Book of Changes) dates back as far as 1000 BCE. This method involves casting coins or yarrow sticks multiple times, interpreting the way they land to form hexagrams, which are then analyzed for guidance. The I Ching offers deep wisdom, insight into the future, and philosophical reflection.
Dice casting (Astragalomancy): Also known as dice divination, this is the ancient practice of casting knucklebone dice to gain insight into the future. This method dates to the civilizations of ancient Greece, Rome, and Mesopotamia, where it was used to seek divine guidance. Traditionally, astragaloi (small bones from hoofed mammals) were marked and cast so their landing positions could be interpreted. Over time, the method evolved to use numbered dice, making it one of the earliest forms of random lot divination.
Fire casting (Pyromancy): This ancient divination practice interprets flames, smoke, and burning patterns to reveal insights. Ancient Greeks, Romans, and Celts used variations on this type of divination, as fire was considered a bridge to the divine. Methods include observing the
Chapter 1 movement of flames, the way objects burn, and the colors of the fire.
Seashell casting (Conchomancy): This form of divination involves casting shells and reading their positions and listening to the sounds within a conch shell for guidance. Practiced in coastal regions and spiritual traditions such as West African, Afro-Caribbean, and some Indigenous cultures, shells are believed to carry messages from nature, ancestors, and the spirit world.
Origins of Charm Casting
It is not exactly clear when charms specifically came into play as a form of divination. The Magpie Oracle, created by Carrie Paris around 2014, is one of the first instances found of selling charms for divination. However, this oracle’s charm kit follows the Lenormand card divination system, so it could be considered half-Lenormand/half-charm casting because it doesn’t allow for the complete personalization and customization that charm casting does.
I was first introduced to charm casting in the 2010s when my mother-in-law showed me her Magpie Oracle charm kit. I just had to have it, but as I looked to purchase it, I saw Carrie was no longer selling the kits. My motherin-law asked her if she had any left, and Carrie graciously sent me a random charm kit. With the charms in front of
Starting Out 15
me and no direction, I started creating my own journey of charm casting.
Casting lots has existed for centuries. I don’t believe I’m the first person to practice charm casting or that I’ve done anything revolutionary. I’ve simply taken my interest in divination, symbolism, and psychic readings to create the practice as it exists for me today. All the tips, opinions, and guidance offered in this book are methods and practices developed through my own journey. In the grand scheme of things, I believe the history of charm casting is still in its early stages.
“An intuitive, playful, all-encompassing guide to the modern divination practice of charm casting.”
Pythian Priestess, founder of Pythian Mystery School
Create a Divination Practice That Is Utterly Personal and Endlessly Adaptable
Guided by Emerald Lotus’s warm and inviting presence, this book illuminates how everyday charms—be they sentimental trinkets, found objects, or simple baubles—can transform into potent vessels for meaning, insight, and magic. Relatable stories and step-by-step techniques help you build a customized charm kit, create sacred spaces, interpret symbols, and develop intuitive clarity.
With a focus on accessibility and inclusivity, every lesson honors the diversity of backgrounds and traditions that readers bring to their practice. This guide reimagines charm casting as both a living artistic expression and a meaningful tool for self-discovery—rooted in ancient wisdom, yet wholly open to individual creativity and modern adaptation.
EMERALD LOTUS is a widely recognized divination educator whose viral charm casting videos and intuitive guidance reach hundreds of thousands online. She’s a longtime spiritual practitioner, teaching accessible and empowering divination through workshops, courses, and social media. Learn more at EmeraldLotusDivination.com.
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