Compendium of Magical Things: Communicating with the Divine to Create the Life of Your Dreams

I’m very aware that this is the type of book where you might be tempted to just hop around from chapter to chapter all willy-nilly. And to an extent, you could do that. That being said, I placed each chapter in a specific order for a reason, and I rather think that reading this book in sequence will give you the broadest understanding of each Divine language touched upon in this compendium. If your personal, spiritual guidance leads you to read it in a different order, then of course I encourage you to do that.

However, it’s especially important to read this chapter (and the introduction) before playing hop, skip, and jump within this book. This will give you a brief understanding of what to expect and some basic information on oracles that’ll help tie everything together and make sure you don’t become a lost ball in high weeds from the start. (Why, yes, I was born in the southern United States. How’d you know?) Chapter 1 also gives you some information about who I am and what my belief systems look like. So if this is our first meeting, then howdy-do! I’m very pleased to meet you.

Alrighty then. If you didn’t read the introduction, go do it now. Go ahead! I’ll wait for you here while you read it . . .

First, let’s get this one thing settled. I consider God, Source, the Divine, the Universe, Goddess, the All That Is—all these words and more—to just be a bunch of different names for the same thing. So no matter which word I use in this book, know that to me they’re all synonyms. If you have a word you like better than the one I used, then pretend I used that word. Just change it in your head as you read. Deal?

Okay. Now what was I saying? Oh, right! God is BIG! I mean like, really, really big.

The Universe is an amazing, awesomely powerful place where a million magical things can happen every minute. In fact, we could change that to a bazillion magical things every second, and we’d still be underestimating the power of the Divine.

So when someone says something like “God can perform miracles, but pendulums or oracle cards can’t be real,” that just makes me chuckle. When someone believes that God created the Earth in a certain number of days but doesn’t believe that astrology has any viable effect on our lives, I just grin and quietly shake my head.

Have you ever noticed that human beings have a tendency to want to put God in a box? You know . . . a nice little place where what they believe is “all there is,” and anything outside of that box isn’t real. It’s a very human thing to do. Quite understandable. But you have to remember that the Infinite is just that: infinite. Quite beyond our comprehension. When we refer to Source, we’re just trying to put words and thoughts around something we can’t fully understand so long as we’re in these human bodies. Once we are no longer in the physical realm and have crossed over into spirit, things become very clear. But here’s the scoop: God doesn’t fit in a box. God doesn’t fit in a building or even on the biggest planet you could fathom. Because God . . . is . . . BIG!

Source is perfectly capable of joyfully making any and all belief systems work simultaneously. The Divine relishes talking to you through tarot cards, runes, meditation, or just good old-fashioned prayer. There’s no limit. There’s only the language of the Divine that resonates the best for you. If runes aren’t your thing, then leave them be. But cast aside the belief that because they don’t work for you, they must not work for anyone. That’s just putting God in a box.

By the way, even though some of these divination tools are referred to by practitioners as fortune-telling, that’s a term that’s never sat right with me. The term seems to indicate that something is fated or can’t be changed. To me, this flies in the face of the concept of free will. We can always change where we’re headed. That is one of our most magical gifts from the Divine.

Why do you think there are so many and such varied spiritual paths? Why are there New Agers, Christians, Pagans, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and people reaching out in a bazillion other ways to the Divine on planet Earth?

The reason is simple: we are all different. We are all magical, amazing, and unique children of God or Goddess or Source or the Universe . . . whatever name you want to give it. There is no one “right” way to find your path to the Divine because there is no one way to be human. No one way to exist. No one way to be.

Sure, it’s possible that there is just one way for you in this lifetime. But it is incorrect to presume that just because there is one way for you this time around, it must therefore be the only way for everyone else. It may not even be the right way for you the next time around!

This dogged “my way or the highway” approach is where some religions get us into trouble. This is where some religions fail us.

We come to earth to grow. To learn. To evolve. To express our unique nature in unique ways. The lessons we seek to master are different with each incarnation. While in spirit, we tailor our next earthly experiences to give us the most evolution and joy! Think of it this way: you can take the same class over and over, but after a few times, you’re not really gonna learn that much from taking that class again. The same concept is true of our spiritual paths.

Beyond that, we were given free will. At the time of this writing, there are 7.5 billion souls on this beautiful world. To give them all free will and then say “you must act in this one way” is basically giving a gift only to immediately demand that it be relinquished.

I have no right nor frankly any desire to judge your path. In my opinion, no one has that right. I have no idea what amazing, magical things you have planned for your current incarnation on this beautiful planet. I will admit that I’m quite curious! I love hearing your stories and your perceptions. But I do not judge your path because to do so openly invites you to judge mine.

I consider myself a spiritual teacher. That’s my job, and I love it! My life purpose, I’ve realized, is to give you spiritual things to think about without any fear. I want to open your mind to the notion that everything that can possibly exist does exist! Fear-based concepts in spirituality are human constructs that have virtually nothing to do with Source. More than anything, I want to set you free so that you can joyfully communicate with angels (more on them in Chapter 2), fairies (more on them in Chapter 3), and anything else that puts a smile on your face and a feeling of happiness in your heart.

One of the things I love so very much is when I teach something at a seminar or in front of a large crowd and then people tell me afterward that what I spoke about really made sense to them. The words that the Universe put in my mouth that day made a difference in their lives—wow! That makes me so happy.

If what I believe provides you with inspiration, gives you insights that feel “right” to you, eases your journey, or awakens your understanding of your own path toward joy, then I’d be deeply humbled. Gosh darn it, I’d be downright overjoyed! I would also be equally as humbled to have been of service if what I teach doesn’t quite resonate with you but in some way still awakens you to what would work on your journey.

You see, many spiritual teachers have brought me great inspiration. What they have taught, I keep close to my heart. But here’s the thing. (And this is important. I really want you to get this.) Any given teacher may have helped me understand what it means to be a spiritual being while having a human experience; in the end, however, the understanding happened within me. Likewise, if what I teach leads you to an awakening, then the credit for that goes to you. A teacher helped you find your path, but the finding of the path was your brilliant work, not mine—or anyone else’s.

One of the things I want to caution you about as you start this part of your journey is something I call the comparison trap. This is when we compare ourselves—our accomplishments, beliefs, or spiritual paths—to others. When we make such comparisons, we almost always find ourselves lacking. In trying to judge our own successes as compared to others’, we stop following our own life purpose and begin trying to mirror someone else’s. This rarely turns out well, and I highly recommend you don’t do that. Yes, be curious! Yes, learn, respect, and support. But in the end, your path is perfect for you, and it matters not one iota that your path is different from the paths of the people you learn from.

People sometimes place spiritual teachers on a pedestal. We put God in a box and human spiritual teachers on a pedestal. Isn’t that crazy? Nevertheless, I see this happen all the time. The problem with this is that it gives your power away to another person.

When I travel and meet people before or after events or in book-signing lines, I hug everyone. I look them in the eye and ask their name and laugh with them. The reason I do this is that I don’t want them to put me on a pedestal. What I want is for others to see me as Radleigh—as someone who’s approachable and won’t judge their path or have an agenda about their beliefs. Going along with my desire to be open and approachable, I communicate with my students every single day on social media. My Certified Angel Tarot Reader and Certified Angel Card Reader students talk about serious issues, but we also joke back and forth with one another all the time. And I love them!

Another problem with pedestals is people can fall off them. If you’ve placed your faith in a particular person as the source for all your answers and spiritual guidance, then you may find yourself feeling lost, confused, or even devastated if they can’t live up to the expectations you’ve placed upon them. And the truth is people are human. They make mistakes. They change.

Here’s how I see things: If you find that walking along with me on this spiritual path brings you guidance and epiphanies, then that’s wonderful! Let’s walk together! You can learn what the angels have shared with me, and I’ll learn what Source has shared with you, and both of us will hold each other up with love.

And both of us will be fully empowered with our own magical piece of God in our hearts where it belongs.

Please also remember that the teacher is not the teachings. When I write or speak in front of crowds, the Divine wisdom that comes forth is often as much a surprise to me as it is to anyone listening. Often, I’m learning as I’m teaching, because Spirit and the angels just speak through me. I learned a long time ago that trying to write out or plan what I’m teaching onstage isn’t just a waste of time, but it’s actually detrimental to the message. I might have an outline just to make sure I don’t miss an important point, but that’s it. To me, trusting what comes through feels like putting my metaphorical Rad-car in neutral and letting it go where Source wants it to go. I’m aware that I’m talking, and I’m experiencing the thought and the next thought and the thought after that queuing up in my head, but it’s only partly me.

I love to make people laugh. I feel that the best way for people to experience their own revelations is poignancy through laughter. So the jokes? Those are me. The epiphanies? Those come from the angels and the Divine.

Do you see what I’m saying here? That’s why I say the teacher and the teachings are not the same thing. I say that because if at some later date I were to “fall off a pedestal,” you can know in your heart that the things we learned together in my writings or in my teachings are still valid. They’re still real. The joy and the blessings have always come from the Universe. Radleigh was just a (hopefully) funny and always sparkly spokesperson for the Divine. (Why sparkly? Well, I wear a lot of sequins.)

Nothing can take your beliefs away from you, so long as you don’t put me or anyone else on a pedestal. Keep your power!

Life is magic. I say that all the time. But what does that even mean? Where does the magic come from? And what makes divination tools work anyway?

You can think of it this way: Imagine a big fountain. Make it one of those really big ones you see in Europe or at public buildings, the kind that people in romantic comedies dance around in. The water in that fountain is the Divine. Now, imagine that the fountain turns on and water sprays into the air. Those little drops of water? They’re us: you, me, everyone you ever knew, and everyone who ever lived.

That’s right. We’re all magical little manifesting pieces of the Universe. While we’re on the wild ride of being forced up into the air with all the others who are currently having a physical existence, we can forget our Source, where we came from. God is that huge pool of water beneath us, and we’ll eventually return to that pool, because there’s nowhere else for us to go. But while we’re “separated,” we forget just how magical life is. We forget that as tiny, miraculous drops of the Divine, we have that same Divine magic within us to create a heavenly experience—or we can create the opposite.

On that note, the “opposite” is just a miserable, unmagical experience. Just so you know, I don’t believe in hell. Hell is simply a human construct to make God small and petty and to control people. The only hell that exists is the one that we create for ourselves during any given lifetime.

Here’s another analogy. (Be warned: I love analogies.) Imagine that the little spark of the Divine within you is a small battery—maybe a button cell battery, or a AAA battery, or whatever small size is available in your country. This battery isn’t very big or powerful. But imagine if the billions of little batteries on earth now were put together with every person’s battery who’d ever lived on earth. Imagine how much energy that would be—it would be enormous!

At any given moment, the reality you’re experiencing is a combination of what your little battery is giving energy to and what we as a world are focusing on together with our batteries. To take the metaphor one step further, if you put your battery in a toy car, then there’s energy given to the car. The car is reality to you. But if you take the battery out of the car and place it instead in a mechanical talking animal, then the energy is now fueling something new. The car without batteries will not move, and it will fade from your attention and eventually be forgotten. Your reality has shifted to where you have devoted your energy.

Most of our batteries in the world are focused on the sky being blue and the grass being green and whatever big news story is currently scrolling in our social media feeds or on our televisions. And so we make it real.

That’s how the Universe works. And this is also what fuels divination tools. Over the centuries, people have focused their energy on these ways to communicate with God. They’ve believed in them. And in doing so, they gave them true life. The energy they gave is still there. So when you lend your energy and attention to them, you’re actually connecting with those same energetic lines to Source.

When you do divinatory work, the messages you receive are coming to you from various sources. Each time you interpret such messages, that process is called a reading. As you learn from this compendium about all the different ways to do readings, you might choose to learn to do them for yourself. Or you might decide you love the idea of the readings, but you’d like to consult a professional. Personally, I do both. I read for myself via tarot and angel work, but I go to professionals when it comes to astrology, even though I do know a lot about it. It’s all about personal preference and whatever you’re comfortable with.

The reading itself comes from, first and foremost, your connection with the Divine. That little bit of Source energy that is within you is eternally connected to the “all that is” of the Universe. This connection is made of Light; it’s like an invisible fiber-optic cable. If you choose to work with guardian angels or archangels, then the information you receive may come from them as emissaries of God. (We’ll talk more about that in Chapter 2.)

Another place that the information may come from is your subconscious. Sometimes the Divine may answer your prayers or requests for information by triggering your subconscious to give up one of its many mysteries. It comes as an aha moment, when suddenly you’re awake to your own actions or motives. This kind of moment often feels like your own revelation—and it might be. But if it comes while working with an oracle or a divination tool, it more likely came from your connection to God and the seeking you were doing at the time.

Keep in mind that talking to the Divine is good for you! It clears your energy, and you’ll feel better and more confident. Life will seem easier and more joyful. You’ll become more optimistic.

Within all of us, there’s an annoying little voice called the ego. It’s the voice that tells you that you “can’t do this” or you’re “not smart enough to do that.” It’s also the primary thing that gets in the way of doing divinatory or revelatory work with oracles. It’s the nagging little voice that’ll tell you tarot cards are dumb and astrology couldn’t possibly work. Even if it does allow for these things to be real, it’ll assure you that you have no such Divine gifts to allow you to be able to get information from any oracle.

Messages that you receive from any divinatory tool that are mean-spirited, unkind, or in any way not empowering or uplifting aren’t coming from the Divine. They’re coming from your ego.

That isn’t to say that a heads-up of impending challenges is false. It may be true! I always appreciate information I receive that allows me to take action to avoid undesirable outcomes. However, true messages from Source that provide opportunities to avoid unwanted outcomes will always be delivered with kindness and compassion. It won’t be a message of “Everything is ruined!” Instead, it might be a message that says, “You’re headed somewhere you don’t want to go, so you might want to make changes.” Or you might hear, “We know things are unhappy right now, but here’s the way out!”

I live in a magical (and metaphorical) placed called Synchronicity City. You won’t find Synchronicity City on any maps—at least, no map I know of. (Maybe I should Google that.) Synchronicities are a big way that the Universe talks to us. Some people mistake them for coincidences, but time and experience have dispelled the myth of coincidences for me.

When magical things happen in parallel to one another, that’s a sign from the Divine. Seeing particular sequences of numbers or seeing the same number repetitively are common signs. The number 444 is largely associated with the message “Angels are with you.” So if you wake up at 4:44 A.M. and your latte costs $4.44 and the license plate on the car in front of you ends in 444, and then you get out of your car at work and step over a white feather (another sign of angels) lying on the ground, that’s not coincidence. That’s synchronicity. That’s Source (and the angels) trying to get your attention.

Many oracles use synchronicities to validate their messages. So you’re sure to be visiting Synchronicity City as you work through this compendium.

In fact, while writing this book, I was amazed to see the exact same messages show up as I worked with different divination tools, which validated the accuracy of each of the methods! In cross-referencing messages from the oracles, incredible clarity and epiphanies were given to me. I never stopped being completely awestruck when each oracle would back up the other.

As I moved from one oracle to another, I would call a dear friend of mine even more than usual to share all the exciting news. I would become so excited every time an oracle would perfectly explain a situation I was asking about. Or when the Runes would validate what the I Ching said. Or when tarot and the Lenormand would practically hold hands and sing the same song to me. I thought, It’s almost like all of these oracles are connected.

And that’s when it hit me: Of course they’re connected! They’re all just lines of communication reaching out to Source and back again.

I’ve been living in Synchronicity City for months now, and let me tell you, it’s an awesome place. I love it here!

There are four primary ways people tend to receive information through oracle work. These ways are the “clairs,” which always makes me think of Aunt Clara on the TV show Bewitched. I just loved her! (I bring up Aunt Clara only in the hopes that the connection might also help you remember the term clairs.)

The most commonly known clair is clairvoyance. People tend to use that word as a general term for psychic gifts, but that’s a bit like using the brand name Kleenex to refer to all tissues or Coke to refer to all soft drinks. It’s not correct, but it’s very common. Clairvoyance actually refers to receiving psychic information in a visual way. This usually involves getting Divine messages through mental images in the “mind’s eye.” This is also how most people “see” angels and fairies. Clairvoyance is often highly desired in the intuitive community, but I believe all the clairs to be a blessing and equally as beautiful.

It’s possible, but exceedingly rare, for someone’s clairvoyance to manifest as seeing an image through their physical eyes in a psychic reading. After 30 years of studying this type of work, I’ve only known two people who said they literally saw things. Frankly, it’s not something I would ever want for myself; it’d probably scare the bejeezus out of me or make me certain I was losing my mind!

The next clair is clairsentience. This is when psychic or intuitive information comes from someone’s emotions or through physical feelings. A clairsentient person will feel the presence of angels or feel wary if someone is lying to them. They may feel sad for no reason they can put their finger on because someone near them is feeling sad. They might experience a tightness in their chest when in the presence of someone who has a heart condition. People with this clair should especially be careful to remove energetic attachments to other people and keep themselves shielded. (I’ll talk more about the topic later in this chapter.)

Clairaudience works very much like clairvoyance. People with this gift hear things inside their mind rather than out loud as one might listen to music or hear a loved one ask a question. This isn’t the same as “voices in their head,” which would indicate an emotional challenge; this is the ability to tune in to messages from the Divine or the angels in an auditory way. This is one of my abilities, but as I usually receive Divine information through another channel, this is what I would refer to as a “secondary clair.” My angels have sometimes communicated to me through this gift so that it actually does sound like someone has spoken to me out loud, but only in times of great importance and when I wasn’t really listening in a spiritual way.

Finally, there’s claircognizance. Cognizance is a sense of knowingness. This is my primary clair and also the rarest form of clair. It’s when you just know something, like who’s calling on the phone or that someone isn’t being truthful. It can be the trickiest of the clairs to navigate as it takes time and practice to learn the difference between your thoughts, your ego, and Divine communication.

There are additional clairs that involve things like smell (clairalience), taste (clairgustance), and touch (clairtangency), but they’re extremely rare.

Two skills imperative to intuitive work are shielding yourself from and severing unwanted energetic connections. Frankly, I think of these two practices as just basic stuff I need to do each day whether I’m engaged in intuitive work or not. It’s sort of like brushing my teeth or combing my hair.

Energetic connections (sometimes called energy strands or cords) are the connections we make on a daily basis to people, things, and even beliefs. Imagine these cords now, linking you to things around you. Usually, the longer they’ve been around, the larger they are, so imagine them as ranging in size from fine fishing line all the way up to thick fire hose. These connections form naturally whenever you have an interaction with anyone. You can also form energy connections to inanimate objects because energy runs through everything on the planet. These connections can drain your energy, adversely affect your health, and just generally bring you down. That’s why it’s so important to keep them cleared away. Fortunately, this is relatively simple to do.

Because I work so closely with angels, my usual method is to ask Archangel Michael to clear away all energetic connections that aren’t serving me or are draining my personal energy. I envision him using his sword of Light in front of me, behind me, on either side, and above and below me—clearing away all energy connections except those that are to the Divine. Because these connections occur constantly, it’s a good idea to ask Archangel Michael to clear them away daily. Consider adding this to your routine when you get up or before you go to bed.

There are many other great ways to clear away energetic connections. I highly recommend picking up Energy Strands by the amazing Denise Linn; it’s the best book I’ve ever read on the topic.

Once you have removed unwanted energetic connections, you’re going to want to shield yourself from acquiring new ones! When it comes to shielding, I once again turn to Archangel Michael, the amazing angel of protection who resonates to a deep royal blue color. Ask him to place a shielding bubble of that blue around you every morning. This will keep other people from forming an energetic connection to you as you go through your day. On particularly challenging days, I’ll ask Archangel Michael to place a titanium steel ball of energy around me! Of course, you can also ask for the same sort of protection from Source, God, or whoever you reach out to for Divine protection. And that’s all you need to do—ask.

There are seven important things to do to set yourself up for success when it comes to doing an oracle reading.

1. Oracles that you hold in your hand—such as tarot and oracle cards, pendulums, and runes—require clearing and consecration before you work with them.

There are many effective clearing methods. One of the most common is to envision white light coming down from heaven, through the top of your head (your crown chakra), down into your dominant hand, and then letting that white light leave your hand and fill up the oracle.

Other methods are to leave the tools in the moonlight for a night (weather permitting) or to smudge them. To smudge something, you burn a bundle of sage (known as a smudge stick), and allow the smoke to surround all sides of the object. Some items can be placed briefly in salt and then washed off, so long as the material it is made of won’t be damaged by the salt. For example, some pendulums and runes are made of delicate crystal, so you might want to choose methods other than salt for clearing.

As for consecrating or blessing your divination tools, a simple prayer to whatever higher power you resonate with will suffice. I recommend a prayer that is heartfelt and indicates your desire to commune with the Divine in a way that brings you closer to your own life purpose and be of service to others. As an example, here is a prayer I use to bless and consecrate my cards:

Mother, Father, God. Thank you for love and thank you for Light. Thank you for magic, and wonderment, and awakening, and knowing, and believing, and seeing. I ask that you bless these cards. I ask that the readings I do with them be of value and of service. I ask that the messages that they bring to me and to others be crystal clear and easy to understand, leading to healing, to transformation, and to happiness. And so it is.

Of course, you can create whatever type of prayer feels right to you and gives you a sense that you are connected with the oracle through Divine Light.

2. Know that other people’s energy can affect your readings, so you’ll need to clear and consecrate your oracles regularly.

Whether you’re doing readings for yourself or someone else, there are other things you need to keep in mind. First of all, there’s no consensus on whether you should let other people handle or touch your oracles. Some say absolutely not! Others say it doesn’t matter or even that it helps with the reading. (I’m in the “absolutely not” club.)

Whatever you believe, if you do let others touch your divination tool, which is more common with cards and runes, you’ll need to clear them before doing a reading for someone else. Otherwise, the energy of the person who last touched them can show up in the next reading and really confuse everyone!

Even if you haven’t let someone physically touch your oracles, others’ energy might seem to linger. If your readings seem to become muddled or difficult to decipher, then clear and consecrate your tools again in order to bring them back into full alignment with your personal energy.

I use the following prayer before doing readings. If you like it, feel free to use it! Or you can create your own prayer or meditation to use before your readings.

Archangels Uriel, Haniel, Jeremiel, and Raziel, I ask that you be with me for any readings that I do today. Let these readings be of value, be of purpose, be of meaning. Let them really make a difference in people’s lives; let them be of service. Let me see, hear, feel, and know the words of Spirit so as to convey the words of Spirit in such a way as to enlighten, to inspire, and to heal. I ask that Archangel Gabriel give me the perfect words for these readings so that their meaning will be clear to the recipient. And so it is.

Choose a calm place to do your readings—preferably somewhere that is set aside specifically for prayer, meditation, and oracle work. You might want to light a candle or some incense. Do whatever makes you feel at peace.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it’s best to do readings with your feet and legs uncrossed. I prefer to have my feet firmly on the ground so that I’m completely—well—grounded! Crossing your legs or feet blocks off the energy from you to the other in a reading—or even from yourself and Source. While it doesn’t completely cut you off, it definitely muffles the messages.

The Universe is literal. How you phrase a question is very important when working with an oracle. Many oracles don’t handle “or” questions very well. Asking your oracle “Should I buy the blue car or the red car?” will more often than not get you an answer that doesn’t make sense. Instead, ask the oracle, “Should I buy the blue car?” and wait for your answer. Then ask, “Should I buy the red car?” and wait for the next answer. If you get a favorable answer to both cars, then you can’t lose! If you get a negative answer to both cars, then keep shopping.

Really think about a question before you ask it. If someone asked you the same question, would you find aspects of it confusing or incomplete? Could the question be interpreted to mean multiple things? Be specific. Be crystal clear.

Trying to get answers from oracles when you’re emotionally charged can be a challenge. When people are upset while doing a reading, their egos can take over. A card in tarot that means “wish come true” can seem like certain doom if you’re in fear.

Of course, when our emotions are running high is often the very moment we want our oracles’ help! If you can’t reach a state of calm, ask a friend or a professional for the answers you seek.

Over time, you’ll be able to set aside your emotions and ask your own questions. You’ll learn how not to see the worst in the message. Be patient with yourself.

Your oracles aren’t toys. They should always be treated with respect if you want them to take you seriously. So don’t ask your oracles silly questions unless you’re just starting out and need to test if you have things right. For example, you might ask your pendulum “Am I female?” as a way to discover which direction it swings for a yes or no answer.

Be in a spirit of humility when asking a question. (After all, you are talking to God.) Always show gratitude after your session with the oracle is over. And make sure you keep your divination tools stored in a peaceful place where they won’t be disturbed by others.

Be fully present when consulting your oracles. If you’re asking a question about whether to take that new job offer, for example, but then your mind drifts to what’s for dinner as you shuffle your tarot cards, you’re bound to get gibberish for an answer.

Oracles will often answer the question that is most pressing on your heart even if you ask something else. If your career question gets you an answer that sounds for all the world like a romance reading, then pause and ask yourself “Is this just as important as the question I asked?” Allow the reading to play out; then ask your career question again. Once you have an answer to the question within your subconscious, your oracle will usually then return to your original question.

Also on the topic of respect, many oracle practitioners refer to their practice as a science. In particular, astrologers, numerologists, dowsers, and the practitioners of mantra consider their areas of study to be science. In this compendium, I have chosen to respect their description of what they practice without debating semantics. There’s an awful lot out there in the Universe we don’t understand, so who’s to say if they’re right or wrong?

Most of the oracles explored in this book have long and complex histories, and some have powerful myths associated with them as well. It simply isn’t possible to include all of that information in this compendium without making it 5,000 pages long—or even longer! So at the beginning of each chapter, I’ve included a short summary of the history of these oracles for you. If a particular oracle really calls to you, then you might want to understand its origins in depth by researching online or seeking out some books.

I do think that history and myths matter. I think it’s powerful to know where your Divine language came from. However, I don’t think those things matter very much when you’re just trying to discover which oracle you want to pursue. You can test out working with a pendulum without knowing its background. But if the pendulum delights you, then why wouldn’t you want to learn about your new friend’s history?

The Law of Attraction comes up in various forms throughout this compendium. The basic tenet is that what you place your focus on is what you bring into your reality. If you focus on the positive things you want, then that is what you’ll manifest. If, like most people, you focus instead on negative things that are happening in your life or on the absence of what you’re desiring, then you’ll simply manifest more of the negative or the absence.

In order to manifest a magical life, I truly, truly believe that we must stay in control of our thoughts. However, that being said, I do know that when things seem bleak with no end in sight, it can be hard to be positive about your life.

Let’s say that you’re feeling like you don’t have enough money. That’s the “reality” you’re experiencing. You feel broke, so you focus on your lack of money. What this creates in your life via the Law of Attraction is more lack of money. In order to correct this, you need to change your thoughts and your focus, perhaps by focusing on the things that you do have that are wonderful. You might then take an action step toward increasing your abundance, meditate to clear your mind, or use one of the oracles in this book to help you manifest more prosperity.

Let me give you a real example from my own life of how the Law of Attraction can affect your reality.

In the summer of 2017, I was under a tremendous amount of stress. Good stress, mind you! Wonderful things happening! Just too many things at once. Too many deadlines. Lots of high expectations upon me from people I respect and care about and didn’t want to let down. On top of that, the summer is always my heaviest travel season.

And so I caught a cold. Great. I went through three boxes of tissues in four days. Seriously, I really did.

Of course, that was just the Divine forcing me to take a break. And while I heeded that, I still needed to pull myself together and go to the pharmacy for supplies. While I was in there, I noticed one of those little blood pressure machines. I’d never used one, but I was curious. So I sat down, and (shocker) my blood pressure was high. Not sky high, mind you, but high. I tried it again. Same result.

I went home to rest, but now I was worried. I was obsessing about the issue of my health. It was the weekend, so there was no way to see my doctor. I decided to go to another pharmacy to test myself on another machine and, sure enough, got the same results. So the next day, I went to another pharmacy. Same results. (Please understand that I am not a hypochondriac, nor have I ever been. But I was totally obsessing about this issue.)

I finally got to see my doctor about this on Monday. He tested me, and my blood pressure was still high. But he talked to me about my life and my health, asking very pointed questions. He assured me I was not sick, but he would do tests.

The results of the test were golden. I couldn’t be healthier. So he tested my blood pressure again, and it had dropped 10 points. He then forbade me to ever, ever use one of those blood pressure machines again.

Smart doctor, right? He knew that I had created my own problem.

When our thoughts go negative and stay there, we create our own problems. Or at the very least, we make them worse. Worry and regret and fear don’t help. Fretting about the problem and worrying is just like me and my blood pressure. As I focused on it, it stayed a problem. When I let it go, it went away. If you don’t focus on your unhappiness, you at least give it a chance to go away. So here are some sparks you can use to fuel the fires of positive thinking when things are tough:

All of this isn’t as unscientific as you might first think. More and more, quantum physics is bridging the gap of spiritual concepts to show that placing our attention on the tiniest of elements in our universe changes their form!

If you’re interested in learning about more ways of working with the Law of Attraction to make your dreams come true, I recommend picking up my book How to Be Your Own Genie: Manifesting the Magical Life You Were Born to Live.

Many divination tools use a concept called spreads. Spreads are a specific pattern to lay down tarot cards, runes, and other oracles that use positions to provide specific parts of the reading. Some spreads are very simple, while others can be very complex. There are an endless selection of them for each tool in books and on the Internet.

For example, here’s a very simple three-card spread you might use in a tarot- or oracle-card reading. After clearing, consecrating, and shuffling the cards, you’d ask your question; then lay the cards on a flat surface from left to right:

A great way to learn an oracle is to use it daily—preferably in the morning. You can pull a card for the day or choose a rune. Then, as the day progresses, you can contemplate how that oracle’s message relates to your experiences. Keeping a journal of these daily readings is also a powerful learning tool.

Both giving and receiving a reading is usually uplifting, enlightening, and magical. However, on occasion, you might get messages that you perceive to be distressing or worrisome. You might be getting a reading from someone who is inexperienced or just has a fear-based take on things. Or perhaps you’re doing a reading for yourself about something that you were already feeling fear about. Sometimes the answer simply wasn’t at all what you were expecting. How you react to that situation will probably reflect where you are spiritually and emotionally.

Here are some steps you might take to work through the worry and get a clearer understanding of the messages.

You can call upon Archangel Michael to calm your fears and worries, whether they’re related to messages from the Divine or anything that has you concerned. In this situation, you would ask Archangel Michael to sever your energetic connections to fear, worry, and situations from the past that are causing your feelings. Also call upon the Archangel Uriel, who has the ability to offer you emotional healing as well as understanding of the message so that you truly comprehend what you are being told and can find balance. (I’ll teach you lots more about how to work with angels in Chapter 2.)

Once you have these two amazing archangels near you, think about the reading. What was it that upset you? If the reading came from someone else, what was their demeanor? Was the message a fearful one or delivered in a harsh way? Are you upset that the reading didn’t give you the answer you wanted? Be really honest with yourself; what you do next depends on the answers to those questions.

If what upset you was the demeanor of the reader or a message that was fear based in nature or delivered harshly, then shake it off. It’s not you, it’s the reader. There are bad apples in every career group, including spiritually based businesses. I know you’d think that wouldn’t be the case, but it is. The best thing I can suggest is to get a reading from someone you can trust. Perhaps someone professionally trained like one of the thousands of Certified Angel Tarot Readers or Certified Angel Card Readers, who I’ve taught to read in a positive and uplifting way. You’ll get reliable answers delivered with love and compassion from my students.

If what upset you was that you didn’t get the answer you wanted, then the problem may lie within you. Was the direction or “likely outcome” of the reading really that bad or just not what you had dreamed up? Are you being rigid? Are you trying to tell the Universe how to do its job? Its “job,” by the way, is to lead you toward your greatest happiness. It often knows something you don’t know about the best way to get there.

If the message wasn’t that bad—just different from your expectations—then I’d recommend spending some time contemplating that. Maybe this is a path to happiness you hadn’t considered. Maybe it’s just step one to getting where you want to go. Readings like this can also be a heads-up that you need a course correction. If that’s the case, maybe you should be grateful for this information rather than letting it worry you.

And most of all, always, always remember that you have free will! Any reading is always just the most likely scenario at any given moment if you continue to move along as you are now. You can change your actions, plans, or direction at any time and change the likely outcome of your path. Anyone who tells you differently is someone you should avoid seeing ever again at all costs.

Okay, I think that about covers the basics. Now you’re ready to talk to the Universe!