Chapter 8

Advanced Casting Methods

At the heart of the Living Oracle is the communion between yourself and a higher power and presence and a strengthening of this relationship. The oracles in this chapter empower you to perceive the transcendental magic within the everyday and mundane. They are an invitation to deepen your communication and bond with higher guidance.

Unlike the oracles in the previous chapter, these oracles do not generate a specific number of signs and messages. You may receive many signs and messages or just a few. This enables you to receive more in-depth and specific guidance and direction.

In the next chapter there are several divination methods through which you can better discern and interpret the following oracles.

Sign Walkabout

A Sign Walkabout is an oracle through which you invoke signs, messages, and synchronicities within a specific amount of time while walking. In many ways, the Sign Walkabout is the oracle of choice for seeking guidance and direction. It provides a natural flow for the emergence of signs and readily yields a plentiful diversity of them.

This exercise is loosely based on the Australian Aborigines walkabout. A walkabout was a right of passage for adolescent Aborigine boys who were sent alone into the wilderness for a specific amount of time. While in this open terrain they traced the paths of their ancestors and imitated their heroic deeds.

During the Sign Walkabout you walk and wander with no predetermined destination or route, aware and attentive to the activity and things that draw your attention. It is best to walk in an urban area, city, or suburban or residential neighborhood. Guidance and direction is symbolically provided through the signs that you encounter and notice.

Preparation

Before you embark on the walkabout, focus on an area in your life or a question that you would like to receive guidance and direction about. This can be in the area of relationships, finances, career, spirituality, life purpose, or any prominent and current issue or decision. The question should be open-ended, not a yes or no question. However, if you do not have a current issue or specific question to focus on, you can ask for signs, messages, and synchronicities to guide you to your highest good.

Once you have settled on the purpose of the walkabout, ask for the love and assistance of a higher power and wisdom to assist and guide you in your journey. You do not have to name a particular spirit guide, angel, or loved one. I have found that it varies from situation to situation of who comes to our aid and is the most helpful. This is usually best worked out in the spirit realm. Simply send a message of love and ask for the benevolence, grace, and guidance of divine wisdom, love, and power.

Time and Place

You can predetermine a time or date or be more spontaneous and begin the walkabout when you feel ready. Before you begin, set a time limit for how long you will walk. It is important to have a beginning and an end time. Although this is purely an individual preference, I would suggest a minimum of twenty minutes and a maximum of two hours. It is best to do the walkabout during the time of day that you are the most alert and energized. For some this is the early morning and for others it is the evening. However, it is best not to do the walkabout if it is dark, unless there are streetlights that enable you to clearly see what is around. Be well-rested and relaxed when you begin.

Carry a watch or some other timekeeping device. You may want to take water, a compass, a handheld or phone voice recorder, or a journal and something to write with, and wear good walking shoes.

Allow yourself some time after you have completed the walkabout to process and contemplate your experience.

Route

Although the walkabout can be done in a many different areas, it is best to walk in an area where you will encounter a variety of activities, things, and stimulation. If you do the walkabout in a familiar area, take a route that you are unfamiliar with. Do not have a destination in mind when you begin.

The walkabout begins as soon as you step outside the door of your home or, if you have driven to a location, as soon as you exit your car door. Take note of the time that you begin and if possible set the timer on your watch to the amount of time that you plan to engage in the walkabout.

The beginning of the walkabout can reveal important signs and messages and set the tone of the walkabout. Before you begin to walk, take a long, deep breath, relax, and scan your environment. Notice anything that draws your attention. Take your time and become aware of what provokes an inner reaction or feeling and any object, activities, or natural occurrences that you are drawn to. Write these things down in your journal or record them on your voice recorder.

The Walk

As you begin to walk, focus on your out-breath; breathe naturally and normally. Walk at a comfortable and leisurely pace. Scan the environment, taking note of what catches your attention, invokes an inner response, or triggers feelings or memories. With a relaxed gaze, stay in the present moment and allow the environment to communicate to you. Let go of your expectations of what may be significant and open your heart and mind to all that you encounter. Everything that you see may contain guidance or meaning. You will be drawn to those things that may seem to reach out to you or cause an inner physical or emotional sensation or reaction. In addition, notice any patterns that emerge. For instance, a series of cars with dented fenders or a number or color that continually reappears.

Not only are natural and man-made objects and things used as signs and messages, but sounds, the weather, overheard conversations, and other people can also be signs. Although it is best not to engage in conversation during the walkabout, if someone approaches you and wants to talk, pay attention. Many times signs and messages come through others.

Document what captures your attention and feels like a potential sign or message in your journal or on your voice recorder. Notice the feelings and thoughts that surface, but do not attach to them. Do not try to interpret or come to any conclusion as to the meaning or significance of anything that you encounter. Simply document it and stay in the present moment.

If you find yourself overthinking, or if your mind is racing and focused on daily concerns, go back to focusing on your breathing.

Continue to walk without a destination in mind. Allow your intuition to guide you and go where you feel led. Keep walking, focusing on your out-breath, and paying attention to your environment. Stay in the present moment with a receptive mind and open heart.

When the allotted time for your walk is completed, pause, scan the environment, and take note of anything that feels or seems significant. The end of the walk often yields signs and messages of special importance. Document what you perceive and any activity, objects, things, or anything else that stands out.

Resist trying to understand and interpret the signs that you have received too quickly. In the next chapter there are a few different techniques to go about interpreting them.

A Bike or Car

The Walkabout can also be undertaken while riding a bike or driving a car. However, because the focus will be on watching the road, it does not allow you to be fully attentive to what is happening around you. If you do decide to drive or ride a bike, do not have a set route or destination; like the walking walkabout, go in the direction that you feel led. A voice recorder is helpful to record the signs you observe.

If you cast the oracle while driving a car or riding a bike, please use extreme caution. Be alert, as you are responsible for your safety and the safety of other vehicles and pedestrians. The author and publisher disclaim any liability for any loss or damage of any kind incurred while practicing and casting the exercises this book.

Sign Sanctuary

The Sign Sanctuary exercise is similar to the Walkabout. The main difference is that instead of walking to observe signs, you sit in one location and observe what is in your environment and what comes in and out of view. This exercise is for those who are unable to walk or prefer to stay in one location. Although it is best to do the Sign Sanctuary on a park bench in an urban area, it can also be practiced in your home or office by sitting on a porch or deck or looking out a window. If you practice indoors, be sure to turn off your phone, television, computer, and any other electronic equipment that might distract you.

The territory of the Sign Sanctuary extends as far as you can see and includes whatever comes into view. If you have binoculars, it is fine to use them. Have a voice recorder or something similar close by to document the signs you observe. Predetermine the amount of time that you will sit and observe the signs. I recommend a minimum of thirty minutes. Be sure that you will not be disturbed during this period of time.

If you do the Sign Sanctuary indoors, you can arrange photos or objects close by that represent those in the spirit realm from whom you wish to receive guidance. You might also want to have a candle lit during the sign casting. Similar to the Walkabout, you can ask for guidance and advice in a specific area of concern, or you can make the request for general guidance or comfort. Begin by sitting for a few moments in quiet meditation. Ask for a higher power and presence to come close with signs, messages, and synchronicities for guidance and direction. The sign casting territory in the Walkabout Oracle tends to be ripe with stimulation and activity. Because of this it may become necessary to discern signs and messages from the everyday, routine comings and goings.

Because the Sign Sanctuary exercise is more stationary, it is important to pay attention to whatever comes into your environment. Unless your Sign Sanctuary territory is a busy and active urban area, review everything that comes into view during the allotted time as a possible sign.

Document the signs and messages you observe by either writing down or recording them on a voice recorder.

Sign Vision Quest

The Sign Vision Quest exercise is similar to the Sign Sanctuary and Walkabout in most ways. The difference is in the territory and amount of time devoted to observing signs and messages. During the Sign Sanctuary and Walkabout, you sit or walk for a specific amount of time; the Vision Quest exercise can last a few days or more.

The Sign Vision Quest is suggestive of the Native American Vision Quest. During a traditional Native American Vision Quest, a person spends one to four days and nights alone in nature communing with the spirit realm, nature, and the creator. During this time, the meaning of life and one’s personal destiny and purpose is revealed through visions, dreams, or signs.

Begin the Sign Vision Quest by determining the amount of time devoted to casting the oracle. One to three days tends to be sufficient. Any longer and you will likely lose focus. The territory includes wherever you are during the allowed time. This might be in your home, workplace, while walking in the park, or while shoppingwhatever you normally do. However, it is important to spend some time alone, listen and act on where you feel led, and get out of your routines as much as possible. It can be helpful to decrease and limit your exposure to television, the Internet, social media, and phone and texting during this time.

As in all of the oracle exercises, determine the area of your life where you would like to receive guidance and direction. If you do not have a specific concern you can cast the oracle for general guidance, comfort, or connection with the spirit realm. You can also follow the path of the traditional Vision Quest and ask for increased self-awareness of your purpose and destiny.

Start the casting with a request for the guiding benevolence of a higher power. Once you do this, take a few moments to scan your environment, paying attention to anything that draws your attention or seems to speak to you.

During the time of the casting, go about your day-to-day activities, taking note of what seems to speak to you and gets your attention. Maintain a heightened sense of awareness, being alert to what feels to be a sign or message. The challenge is to stay alert and mindful of the process and the unfolding of the oracle. Remember to write down or record the sign or message as soon as you receive it.

Unlike the other exercises, in the Sign Vision Quest, signs and messages may surface through your dreams. If you remember a dream during the allotted time that you are casting the oracle, record any significant signs and messages that you receive from the dream. Pay particular attention to any synchronicities in the dream that may be connected to signs or messages that you receive while awake. It is fine if you do not dream or if the dream does not seem to contain a clear sign or message. It is not essential for this exercise. Any signs that you receive during waking hours will work.

The Sign Walkabout, the Sign Vision Quest, and the Sign Sanctuary oracles will each yield a varying number of signs. At times you may receive many clear and easily noticeable signs and at other times you may have difficulty discerning a few. There is no set amount of signs that you should receive when you cast these oracles.

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