DIVINATORY SYSTEMS

These are the divinatory systems I use on a regular basis for personal and work use. I have found them all to be helpful in their own unique ways. If you use one that isn't listed but has worked well for you let me know.

TAROT A deck consisting of 78 cards, 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. In general each Major Arcana card represents a virtue or concept such as Strength, Temperance or Death. All the Minor Arcana have general events that are subscribed to each like "There is high fortune in store for you". The Minor Arcana are divided into 4 sections, Pentacles, Staves, Swords and Cups that represent a certain value such as money, conflict or love. Depending on the spread the cards that are uncovered can symbolize the questioner, their environment or their relationships. I believe the cards are a method of contacting the subconcious mind which already knows all the answers and the way they are layed out and read is simply a focus for that connection. People can usually though get impressions or even visions from the cards and learn what might be opposing them or if their is a chance for their wishes to come true. In the end though, the cards can only tell you what is possible, but you must make it happen.
SCRYING Quite simply, scrying is the art of divination by an outside force. Generally crystals, water, a mirror or any other reflective surface is used to conjure visions. The images that are revealed are usually fairly vague and it is left up to the interperetation of the scryer to decide ultimately what they mean. I find scrying difficult to do, because I can never get my mind quiet enough to concentrate and let the images flow. Concentration is essential to scrying, but so is paradoxically, a relaxed state. Meditation is a good start before you scry and some incense to set the mood. Use incense, crystals and oils that encourage psychic awareness, clarity and relaxation. What you use to scry with doesn't really matter as long as it's reflective, clean and there are no cracks.
RUNES The runes are very similar to the Tarot in that each runic symbol represents a concept. They are actually based on an ancient alphabet. Just like the tarot, the runes are laid out in a particular spread. The most common on in fact is a simple one that covers past, present and future. The runes however are a bit more vague then the tarot, they speak metaphorically in terms of birth, rebirth, harvesting, fertility and creation. They are however just as accurate as the tarot, they simply give a more general outlook. Just like the tarot and even scrying, divination is simply drawing upon subconcious knowledge and serves as a focus to bring it forward.
MEDICINE CARDS The medicine cards approach divination from a very different angle then most systems. They go on the concept that each animal in nature represents a concept , something that is displayed in how that animal lives. All people have a number of these animals, called totems, that grant them the strengths and weaknesses of those concepts and to some extent explain certain facets of their personality. For example, when you wish for the grace to accept your self, call on swan. In surrendering herself to the spirits when she was an ugly duckling and acccepting her self as she was, she learned grace and was rewarded with becoming a swan. The medicine cards basically show you which animals strengths are yours to call on and which weakness you suffer from. In this way you get a better understanding of your environment and yourself. You can use them to divine the future but they, like the runes, speak in vague terms.
PENDULUM This is probably the simplest of divination systems. It simply requires a pendulum, preferably a crystal of some sort that specializes in psychic awareness and suspending it from a string or chain. It then responds to yes, no or maybe questions depending on which direction it swings. It also taps into your subconcious mind and accesses the information needed. You can get some pretty direct answers from the pendulum despite its simplicity.
DREAMS/MEDITATIONS Simply these are the visions you experience when your are in a restive state or REM sleep. During these periods the barrier between your subconcious and concious mind becomes thin and information stored in the subconcious leaks out. Unfortunately, unlike the tarot and runes, these visions are vague, indirect and sometimes unbidden. There are a great number of books that provide interperetations of visions seen in meditation and dreams, they give you a general basis but not all of them are consistent. It's a good idea to write down any visions you have and consult many different sources for interpertation, including different systems of divination and decide on your own what they mean. It is ultimately your subconcious so logically only you can really know what the visions mean since you are in control of your own destiny.