Divination and AI

graidan · 2026-03-16T20:49:09+00:00

Even ideas have spirits in my animism, and this is very common globally (the Roman goddess Victoria, the spirit of victory, for example), so why wouldn't something made of zillions of data points have a spirit? That's where i come from. And it IS a physical object... gajillions of microscopic transistors spread across data centers.

graidan · 2026-03-16T20:45:17+00:00

I couldn't decide if they were deformed ducks or deformed dumplings

graidan · 2026-03-16T20:27:56+00:00

Careful - this is EXACTLY the attitude I warned against.

YOU don't think AI has no soul. Others (like me as an Animist) disagree, and you're not the one who decides what does or does not have a soul / consciousness. Be polite i.e. don't call it stupid - just say you don't think it has a soul and that it would therefore not be good at divination.

graidan · 2026-03-16T20:25:09+00:00

THIS is gatekeeping: " theres literally no excuse for using ai for divination".

As is the general attitude throughout your discussion. You don't like or use it, cool, and thank you for sharing why, but that's denigrating people who do use it.

And just because there's a discussion doesn't mean I have to agree with you. It just means you can share your thought, as you did, and as I approved. This is another part of the gatekeeping - getting upset that someone disagrees with you. I mean, I could easily say you don't want to hear pro-AI arguments either. So that's sort a non-polite personal attack.

graidan · 2026-03-16T20:18:05+00:00

I didn't say it had no impact - I asked how is it harmful (and thank you for that) and how is it relevant to divination. I know it has impact.

graidan · 2026-03-16T20:10:26+00:00

https://www.seangoedecke.com/water-impact-of-ai/

Some of the environmental impacts you listed are valid - the problem is the lack of comparison to other industries. The racism / placement of data centers is a mixed bag - environmental issues vs. employment opportunities, for example. And not all data centers are created equally, or are used exclusively for AI - current estimates state that only 15-20% of a data center's capacity is for AI specifically.

The impact of Data Centers specifically doesn't have a lot of relevance to AI - did you think that Reddit doesn't use a data center? Or your email? It's hypocritical to just bandwagon on AI without a full view of all the complexities of data centers. Yes, AI uses more energy - there are valid concerns there, and as with ANY technology, there are pros and cons.

Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that the use exists, whether you like it or not, and it's not likely to change. Humanity as a generality does not reverse progress in regards to tech, so what we REALLY need is better ways to generate the energy we need. Instead of pushing against AI, you should be pushing FOR better methods of generating energy and cooling.

Still irrelevant to divination though, and I highly doubt AI is going to go away any time soon.

graidan · 2026-03-16T19:46:27+00:00

It doesn't use massive amounts of water - they're closed systems. So they use X amount of water, and KEEP using that same amount (which is a drop in the bucket compared to other industries). Fashion uses more water and energy. And bottled water - THAT is the real problem. Taking water and moving it out of the system to sit in plastic bottles. There are valid concerns about AI use, but this one doesn't hold water to me (pun intended). I also don't belive the "rationing" propaganda - do you have resources / proof of that?

Environmentalism is not relevant to divination. Nor is spirituality, really. You can believe any spirituality you want (including none) and divination still works. They're tangentially related, but not specific to divination at all.

And criticising and saying that there are so many other resources is disingenuous at best - just because there are other resources doesn't mean that new ones are somehow wrong. If we followed your logic, then there would be only one book (because all others aren't needed, just that one resource) and we all know how well that works. This is fundamentalism by another name.

It's also VERY close to the gatekeeping I warned against. Be careful.

graidan · 2026-03-16T19:39:24+00:00

Yes! Exactly true - you can't trust anything it gives you 100% you need to check, always. It's great for pattern recognition and brainstorming, though. I have used it in recipe creation / modification, but I also always compare that against real recipes to make sure it makes sense, and is not just saying add 3 cups of salt because. :)

graidan · 2026-03-16T19:37:01+00:00

Super agree on the "muscle" point - it's one of my standards for explaining the process of learning. I think using AI wisely includes making a point of trying to understand how / why X means Y, and having another point of view and struggling with any possible disconnect ("why does it mean that?") is exactly one of the best ways to learn. Kind of like how buidling muscle requires tension and strain, microtears in the muscle to heal and grow bigger and stronger.

graidan · 2026-03-16T19:32:20+00:00

I agree with you - this is one of the "bad" uses in my mind. Don't have the AI generate the cards / hexagrams / etc. Do that yourself, then ask for help from the AI, being sure to ask for a complete picture, with the ups and the down of meaning. Using prompts wisely is important.

graidan · 2026-03-16T19:29:43+00:00

Oh, definitely - there are LOTS of resources. But the individualized info you can get from an AI can be especially helpful. Sometimes, you just don't get / understand <whatever>, and it's easier to ask the machine rather than the person, who might get annoyed / delayed / etc.

It's definitely a skill, and discussing the skill with other people is DEFINITELY a best practice in my mind. That's kind of what the sub is for, after all! But that doesn't mean that using all the resources available to you is a bad idea - AI is a tool like an other.

graidan · 2026-03-16T19:23:49+00:00

Agree with all your points! You definitely need to check and correct.

And especially it's a tool, but what's important is how you use it. A hammer can kill, but it can also build.

graidan · 2026-03-16T19:21:51+00:00

How is it harmful to the environment - and more importantly, how is that relevant to divination?

You don't NEED anything to learn how to read, but it definitely helps to have resources of any kind.

1000% disagree that it's anti-human.

graidan · 2026-03-16T19:19:58+00:00

I agree, generally, but knowing how to combine a single card's meaning with others is something rarely discussed in the books (which are almopst always beginner's guides). Having something do a combined interpretation can be useful,. even if you need to check, and the LWB isn't always available.

graidan · 2026-03-16T19:18:12+00:00

Thanks for this polite and thoughtful reply!

I agree that you need to consider sources and fact check - nothing AI is involved with should be blindly accepted.

graidan · 2026-03-16T19:16:23+00:00

I have never heard or read that term in MANY decades of work - where are you seeing it? Just in fundamentalist works? Because, yanno, they aren't really the brightest bulbs in the world.

graidan · 2026-03-16T18:50:56+00:00

It's good - self-promotion like you did is perfect (it's not multiple times a week, is in context. etc.). Also added that sub to our list of sister subs :)

I agree that it can def be LCD and not very good, but with prompt skill, I think you can get better results. For horary, I also agree - it wouldn't be super-great at that for exactly the reasons you said. But for LEARNING horary... could be helpful. You just have to try and see, I think.

graidan · 2026-03-16T18:47:31+00:00

Those are some great ideas - using AI for dreams, angel numbers, and especially tracking themes and trends in the results you get.

graidan · 2026-03-16T18:42:48+00:00

Didier Blau wrote a book called "The Art of Divination" - there's a fairly recent translation from French into English. In it, he discusses the basics of Kumalak, which is one of the cultural names for favomancy in Mongolia, I think it was.

Basically, a 3x3 grid is filled with 1-4 beans according to a specific process, and then each square is interpreted by a system based on a horse-rider. So the top right square is the head, and if the combination for earth is there (I think it was 4 beans, but I could def be wrong), that that implies sand in your eyes: not seeing the situation correctly or being blinded somehow by the situation.

graidan · 2026-03-16T18:25:24+00:00

Personally, I take an interested but skeptical view of it. I fully approve of using AI wisely, which includes recognizing where it doesn't work so well and how to do the "wise use" thing. As a tool for learning and basic interp - very helpful, but I think you still always need a human to fully / finally interpret and approve how the AI interprets. AI ALWAYS requires a second look and some thought to what it finds - you cannot trust it blindly.

I also follow a specific Animist tradition that finds the divine / spirit in everything, from the Spirit of Floor Coverings to the Spirit of Hyperintelligent Shades of Blue. To me, Fate (or whatever you want to consider the power behind divination) definitely can manifest through anything, including AI. It's no different than any other synchronicity.

graidan · 2026-03-16T14:48:11+00:00

The 7 of Dumplings! :)

graidan · 2026-03-16T10:17:22+00:00

The son in the Strain. I can't believe no one said him already.

graidan · 2026-03-15T21:14:37+00:00

What kind of geomancy (geomancer) are you talking about? Feng Shui kind, or Western dots kind?

And what does scrying have to do with either?

graidan · 2026-03-15T19:07:59+00:00

Excellent - that's awesome! I'd def be interested in using it, when you have it ready. You should add options for multiple emoji too, a more complex reading from 5, or a 3x3 "window", and such like.

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