How to prophesise.
Alright, little fucks. I have lost my patience with the fake oracles on the Internet. THIS is how you do it. If you can’t, you’re fooling yourself.
Potentially 18+ article, in case you’re sensitive about curse words.
This is one of those articles that begins with a big sigh. I wish I didn’t have to write it. No, you won’t find training here, I’m just talking about common sense — both for the “oracles” who think they’re receiving something other than their own bloody ego, and the innocent seekers who don’t deserve to get conned.
Obviously, this does not apply to everyone offering oracular services. It’s just about the con artists. Every profession has fake opportunists in search of prey, and divination is no different.
Another thing worth remembering is “every villain has a backstory”. Yes, I know, people who con have unresolved trauma and wounds and a myriad of other personal problems they’re externalising in their interaction with other people. Nobody was born “evil” for funsies. We know that pretty fucking well. REGARDLESS, they are undeniably hurting others. And when you’re hurting others, sweetie, that’s where we draw the line between you deserving empathy and your wrongdoings getting enabled. So in case anyone gets butthurt at this article, wear the fucking shoe and walk out of here or I’ll kick you out myself. MERCILESSLY. With a dash of humiliation as a cherry on top. By all means, TRY ME, MOTHERFUCKERS.
On to the article:
First of all: yes, FYI, there is a bare minimum standard for prophetic inspiration regardless of what tradition (if any) you follow.
I’m saying this, because you don’t need a tradition in order to give oracles. Traditions help with training, routine, and wellbeing, but that’s that. The fact is that for some unknown reason, there are people in every culture who “randomly” develop the skill. If you know them, you know. My own grandmother was one. There are people who monetise the skill, and there are people who don’t and are okay with just casually doing it once in a while — and then there’s a third crowd who have the gift, think it was born ready, never introspect or commit to any kind of self-discipline, and go mad, like the motherfuckers in my lineage. (Yes, I’m bitter because I could have had elders guiding me but they were too goddamn immature to care. But that’s a tangent).
…But the above is all referring to the genuine oracles-to-be. Today’s article isn’t even about that! (which would be an interesting topic). Instead, it’s about self-centered cucks on the internet playing superhero while their customers get harmed. Ya know, something entirely preventable; but somehow, people MANAGE to be scum of the scum.
Rant aside, allow me to introduce the bare minimum standard to you:
Oracular messages feel like a surprise.
I’m not saying they should necessarily contradict your train of thought; But they do feel like a surprise. They’re sudden, definitely external, and catch you off guard.
This can be subtle — and that’s why oracular training, and traditions, and all that jazz, are useful — because sometimes the surprise element doesn’t make your chin drop or your heartbeat accelerate. It just makes you go “oh” for a split second, similar to how you react when you’re talking to someone else and the person says something you weren’t anticipating.
For example (I’ll use the conversation metaphor above, I think it works)
Sarah is talking to her co-worker John. She had been looking forward to this lunch break because she’s starving. She can already feel the aroma of freshly prepared food in her imagination when she opens her mouth to tell him she’s going to the restaurant down the road. Meanwhile, John, who was also preparing to leave the office, tells her he was looking forward to a break, too. That’s when Sarah becomes certain that John will say, “oh, let’s go have lunch together then”; But instead, he says, “ya know, I need to go and collect this parcel that arrived for me but I wasn’t home to receive it”. This is when Sarah, being the adult that she is, simply smiles and says “right. See you soon” — but inside her head, she’s like “oh” (surprised). “I really wasn’t expecting that. Interesting”.
Shitty fiction writing there, I know, lol. But my point doesn’t need interesting characters or a decent plot to be illustrated. I’m simply showing you how we’re always making assumptions, even during these humdrum everyday unremarkable interactions. We project onto others what WE, OURSELVES are already anticipating (like I showed you with the sensory description above) — or, to be more precise, what our individual egos are already anticipating — instead of being open-minded to receive unpredictability from the other person.
You see, oracle work creates a bit of a paradox for the practitioner: at the same time that you’re dealing with “predictions”, in order to receive them, you need to be open to surprises — A.K.A, the very opposite of predictability.
I know it sounds confusing, but this paradox is necessary because of a very simple oracular principle, without which you can’t do it at all: how the fuck are you going to receive a message, if your mind is already “crowded” with things your ego anticipates?
In order to receive, you need to make room.
Just like in order to add a new piece of furniture to a room that is fully furnished, first you need to do away with something old. Otherwise, it simply won’t fit.
So, this is what the oracle, themselves, should be looking out for. Now I’ll talk about what the oracle seeker should be paying attention to:
When you’re citing or paraphrasing someone else’s words, do you ramble and ramble and ramble about what this other person meant with the words?
No.
Anyone who has been to Academia (or even secondary school, to be honest) will agree with me here.
We might cite other people’s words in order to make a point, but we don’t go like, “oh, Socrates said this. So, he definitely meant XYZ because I know what was on his mind”. No. Instead, what we might say is, “Socrates said this. It supports the point I’m making here because [insert reasons]”.
“…the point I am making here”.
I am making.
I.
Me.
Not somebody else. Me. The point is taken from my own goddamn ego-mind.
That’s NOT prophesising. I don’t care what tradition you’re on, if any, that’s not prophesising. It never was, never will be. The moment your ego-mind comes into the playing field, you can consider whatever oracle you delivered finished. And now you’re just commenting on it from your own limited human perspective — just like a researcher cites some sage’s words, and proceeds to comment from their own less educated arse. Valid analysis? Sure! I’m sure a student always has good points. But is it on par with the source? No. Objectively, no. And it never will be.
It takes humility to see that. It takes admitting that you’re small, compared to the source where you got the oracle from.
And you know which demographic struggles with that? The self-aggrandising, insecure motherfuckers who overcompensate their crippling self-doubt with a fake image of I-know-it-all. The same ones who sometimes SELL oracular services when in fact what they’re offering is 1% oracular content (IF you’re lucky) + 99% their own limited, close-minded, ego-driven, speculations.
Although you’re not inside their bodies and you can’t “feel through them” to see whether or not they’re reacting with surprise internally to the message that is on their mind… As a seeker, you can still detect a con artist by employing one simple trick:
Pay attention to how self-righteous and overconfident this “oracle” sounds.
I’m not saying a good oracle is insecure; no! Far from that! But a good oracle knows their lane. They don’t “run over” their source’s messages with their own ramblings like a derailed locomotive.
And perhaps more importantly, a good oracle does not feel personally offended if a seeker doesn’t like the message received. Maybe you’re wondering why. Am I saying a good oracle is totally selfless and has a “superhuman ability to deal with hate”? No, karen. We are human too. We have insecurities too. But you know what we don’t have? OWNERSHIP OF THE GODDAMN MESSAGE.
It’s not ours. It can’t offend us because it’s not ours. It’s a motherfucking citation.
Seriously.
If you’re an oracle working for Apollo, and your seeker doesn’t like the message delivered, well guess what, they’re disapproving Apollo’s work. Not YOUR work. Your knee-jerk reaction will be to just shrug and think “well, that’s between them. I already did my job here”.
Same with Hermes, Zeus, Pan, take your pick. (Sorry, I’m a Hellenist, but translate that to your pantheon of preference).
The only reason why an oracle would feel personally offended if someone doesn’t like the answer to their question is if it IS personal; because it’s your ego who “wrote” this message inside your mind, and secretly you know it, your unconscious mind knows it, otherwise it wouldn’t react with defensiveness over the message it authored; but perhaps you won’t admit it, it’s easier to pretend it all came from a higher power and disavow responsibility and avoid growth. You can get mad at me for saying that, but you can’t deny it’s true.
And I’m not saying that every person who does that, doesn’t have a real gift. Sometimes they have! But they’re letting their ego take too much space — a common mistake humans make. Welcome to being human. That said, I’ll repeat: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It doesn’t matter how much of an innocent angel you are deep down; you don’t relate with people’s depths. You relate with what they’re bringing to the fore. And this is a two-way road. So, regardless of your understandable reasons for making this huge mistake, it is a huge mistake. Let’s not excuse it or paint over it with a rose-tint and sparkles just because you wish you were perfect.
Let’s take some accountability, because I’m sure the “oracles” making this mistake are ALWAYS THE FIRST to tell others — sometimes very harshly, like an angry dad giving the child a lecture — to take accountability; but won’t listen to their own advice. They can dish it out, but they can’t take it. Funny how that goes. Interesting double standard.
Alright. The theory ends here. On to an illustrative example from my life. Feel free to skip if you’re not the target public.
This article was something I already had in the works for a while, but what really inspired me to finish and publish it now, was the last straw. A recent episode I witnessed… Something I can only describe as an “oracle” streaming their own mental breakdown full of reactivity to rejection and attempts to defend themselves, and calling it an inspired message people “need to hear”. This is a person whose services I used (because UNLIKE SOME MOTHERFUCKERS, I don’t have notions of grandeur about myself, I don’t think I’m the only goddamn oracle out there and I’m willing to support other people’s work). And I could sense some insecurity and defensiveness in this person’s words when I consulted, but there was also a bit of authentic channelling, so I acted supportive. Eventually, this person started lecturing me about my indecision with a specific question, patronising me for daring to worry about a family thing (oh, how dare I? Sorry, maybe I should be a psychopath and take all decisions with cold blood, my bad), and saying “if you don’t know, neither do I” with an angry tone, as if it was a crime to ever be indecisive and open-minded in life, oh no, what a tragedy, I should always have certainties all the time. How dare I have this problem, how embarrassing (?) I’m actually laughing here. Seriously? Shame me for having a problem? What do you expect me to do? Hide it for politeness’ sake? And besides, every “problem” has a light side to it. Open-mindedness is bad? Indecisiveness is bad? Oh, okay, let’s all jump to decisions now. Let’s fire nuclear weapons at the first sign of war, let’s text the ex, overeat, over-exert, assume things about people before asking… mistake ego-thoughts for oracular messages. What could POSSIBLY go wrong?
“But I never implied any of that”, maybe the person is saying. THEN WATCH YOUR TONE. Display the empathy you say you have. You’re dealing with people getting vulnerable in front of you. They didn’t sign up for a lecture by a motherfucking drill sergeant. When someone bleeds in front of you, the last thing you should do is pierce them with a fucking dagger so that they bleed some more. That’s barbaric. (I hope the metaphor makes sense). Even the most intense “healing” work comes with a balsam. It’s not barbaric butchery all the way. I know you have your wounds, but don’t bleed all over us. Some professionalism goes a long way.
I left with a bad taste in my mouth, but still acted courteous and left the person to deal with their own mental “stuff” without my help. This is a psychologist, as well as oracle, by the way. A common pattern, isn’t it? Psychologists these days are people who are trying to heal themselves, instead of already having healed the worst of it and just taking an interest in the subject-matter from a detached stance. Not saying it’s wrong to “jump” into a profession without first addressing “the thick” of your own stuff, but… It has pros and cons. Let’s just say that. And I’m giving them more grace than they’ll ever give ME, because I’m sure they judge the fact I took years and years of my life to learn the oracular craft before I offer a service. When you’re guilty of hurrying and over-exerting, of course you judge the easy-going folks.
Anyway.
Days, weeks went by. Sometimes I caught myself “automatically” thinking about the person. Every time, I said to my mind, “hey, I know it was a weird interaction, but let’s move on”. Little did I know, these thoughts weren’t mine, I was just picking them up like an antenna. I had moved on already! The person had been sending energy my way — as well as other customers’ way — perhaps accidentally, for days on end, because they were “mad” at us, as seekers, for not corresponding to the ideal they had in mind. Like oh, excuse me, you choose to work as an oracle and you don’t want imperfect seekers? What do you want, dear? Ease and comfort on a golden plate?
Sorry, I know “they” in this case creates a bit of confusion with plural/singular (since it’s the tale of one person against a lot of people — the seekers they’re complaining about), but I really don’t feel like disclosing gender; or background; or vague whereabouts; or anything. If the person wants to out themselves, they can feel free here, and it will have been THEIR decision, not my problem. But I don’t want anyone to send hate their way. Even psychic hate, without literally hunting the person down. That’s why I’m being so vague. I’m using the story to illustrate a point, because it isn’t the first time I see this kind of thing, it isn’t the second, it isn’t the twentieth or even the fiftieth. LITERALLY. This problem, of mistaking ego for oracular messages, and slowly getting more and more hurt as a result, is rampant in the world, and we need to look at it. We need to address it.
Am I looking for sympathy? Playing victim? Well, no, but if anyone wants to think that, honestly feel free. I don’t care.
I wasn’t going to publish this now. I’m just doing it because I can’t unsee what I saw. When I saw it, not only was I concerned for the person’s health and safety (they often mention oracle “drains” them — well, NO WONDER, you idiot. This is tough love, it isn’t just an insult. I’m calling you idiot because you’re doing something dangerous to yourself. You’re drawing from your ego the energy that should instead come from a deity. That’s like self-vampirising, of course it drains anyone who does it! For fuck sake. You feel the “urge” to say your opinions all the time, you don’t silence your mind enough during readings to MAKE ROOM for an actual message. It doesn’t matter how right you are or how pertinent your “parentheses” with your own commentary might be, STOP IT. That’s your ego-mind. It’s not always bad, but it does always drain you. For the sake of your health, for the sake of your safety and wellbeing, and of all that is sacred, stop it. “Oh but other tarot readers comment too”, maybe you wonder, and yes, they do, WHILE READING THE GODDAMN CARDS. And taking pauses in silence in between statements to receive some more. Precisely what you DON’T do when you’re shooting passionate comments one after the other like a machine gun. That’s your EGO, for god’s sake). And I hope I don’t see the same thing again soon. I am appalled at the state of the spiritual community. I hope the people in it find the healing they need.
This article is about addressing a general problem; and in the specific example of the real-life story I brought you here, it’s also about giving someone’s ego some much-needed confrontation — because if they aren’t gonna brave it, someone external has to do it. And if it has to be me, so be it. Nothing happens by chance. We never meet anyone by chance. And not all encounters are only learning opportunities; Sometimes they’re teaching opportunities. Even if, ironically, you were expecting to be the learner and paying for it. This takes us back to the central message of this article: surprise! Life takes unexpected turns.
By the way, in case you’re an “oracle” whose ego has gone a bit out of control, and you tell oracle seekers to go to therapy instead of looking for oracle, maybe you’re projecting. Because in the end of the day, that’s performative humility. That’s not being truly humble. When you’re truly humble, you accept the person who came your way without “picking and choosing” or bitching about the fact the person isn’t up to your standards. And then, you offer the alternative advice, IN CASE THEY ASK. If they don’t ask, you keep your mouth shut. “Oh but they need”, okay, that might be true, but are you the arbiter of when and where they should receive it? Oh, really? You’re a deity now? You weave people’s fates? No you’re not. You’re a human. Get OFF the pedestal.
Also, not everyone who seeks oracles is desperate. Oh, I know, mind-blowing, but true. Some are learning oracle, and that’s why. Don’t student psychologists go to therapy? Don’t student filmmakers watch other people’s films? Well, there you go, you’re welcome. “I didn’t imagine you weren’t desperate, Lucy”, maybe they’ll say (I could be wrong, who knows). In that case, yes, precisely. Your EGO-mind did not imagine it. It’s limited. It’s not a deity.
Again:
Get off the pedestal.
ACCEPT that you’re a mere mortal, working with deities because these deities felt like lending you a hand. They’re still above you, they’re still bigger than you. And they’ll ALWAYS be bigger than you. Now, drop this hubris, because I’m not writing about this topic twice.
And if any attacks come my way as a result of this post, I hereby declare that they’ll all be returned; Because narcissistic people might assume that what I’m doing here is attacking — of course they do! Anything that isn’t “their own idea” is an attack! God forbid they receive any help from the outside ever! Oh no, the shame! — but decent people (luckily, the majority) know what I mean.
I hope this was helpful, and I’m sorry to the onlookers for the tone — it’s directed at the person I mentioned, as well as the other examples I don’t feel like mentioning here, because they are people I already tried to be nice with, and already tried to hold space for them to come to their own conclusions, but they STUBBORNLY KEEP AWAY FROM GROWTH. So, this is my attempt at holding them accountable. If it doesn’t work, ok, someone else in the future might pick up where I left here. This isn’t personal. Just business.
