<p>Studying the shapes of things is a popular means of divination, relying on human pattern recognition abilities. Look at reading tea leaves and coffee grounds, or tasseography, which rely on spotting symbols in the cup. The symbols often hold near-universal meanings (like a ring for marriage), but they can also be deeply personal to the diviner.</p> <p>And let’s be honest, we live in an often chaotic and unpredictable universe. Divination using pattern recognition methods offers a way to make sense of seemingly senseless things. Perhaps you believe the brain loves connecting patterns between unrelated information to find a meaning. Known as pareidolia, it explains why people see faces of dead celebrities in the burned parts of their toast. </p> <p>Or perhaps you think we see shapes in smoke because a spirit or a god is manipulating form to pass on a message. Either way, there is a whole range of methods involving pattern recognition. There’s an entire chapter about them in the book, so let’s focus on finding symbols in the air, in fire, and in dreams in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!</p> <p>Find the blog post with all the images and references here: <a href="https://www.icysedgwick.com/dreams-divination/" target="_blank">https://www.icysedgwick.com/dreams-divination/</a></p> <p>Buy <i>Fate or Fortune: The Art and Folklore of Divination</i>: <a href="https://amzn.to/41SkWOF" target="_blank">https://amzn.to/41SkWOF</a></p> <p>Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: <a href="https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/" target="_blank">https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/</a></p> <p>Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at <a href="https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595" target="_blank">https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595</a></p> <p>Get weekly articles and bonus content at Substack: <a href="https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/" target="_blank">https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/</a></p> <p>Buy Icy a coffee or sign up for bonus episodes at: <a href="https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick" target="_blank">https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick</a></p> <p>Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore" target="_blank">https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore</a></p> <p>Pre-recorded illustrated talks: <a href="https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop" target="_blank">https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop</a></p> <p>Request an episode: <a href="https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7" target="_blank">https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7</a></p> <p>Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at <a href="https://instagram.com/icysedgwick" target="_blank">https://instagram.com/icysedgwick</a></p> <p>Find Icy on BlueSky: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social" target="_blank">https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social</a></p> <p>'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/</a></p>