This is something anyone can do, without any prior experience with tarot or channeling, and build a strong communication between us and Deities/ Guides. This technique allows your Divine/ Guide to talk with you, even if you have not developed the psychic-clairs, in a more cohesive way than just signs or feelings which can be altered in perspective.
What is Stitchomancy?
The people in my Death’s Emissary course have started to get deep into the technique of stitchomancy as it pertains to a special Rune Journey. Some have never picked up a tarot deck before and some have a long history with tarot, but this particular technique seems new to all of them which is what has inspired this article.
I have talked about stitchomancy before here, and the Rune Journey mention above is detailed out in Kari’s Book but I would like to frame it in a context of all its own.
Stitchomancy is the process of using a tarot deck, and a specific technique that is similar to bibliomancy, but specifically using the particular tarot deck’s guide book.
Picking the Deck
First it is important to pick the right tarot deck for you. So many tarot decks available today have its own nuances and perspective of each of the different cards. You want a deck that has artwork/ images that vibe with you and reflective of the energy (Guide / Deity) that you are wanting to talk to. It is also important to pick one that has a good detailed guide book. Ones that have stories, as well as, meanings behind the cards. It is best if each card has at least one page in the guidebook dedicated to the card because you will get a lot more out of stitchomancy with it.
Some deck examples that have fantastic Guidebook for this purpose: Dreams of Gaia – Hidden Realms – Runic Tarot – Santa Muerte Book of the Dead tarot. There are many out there to choose from, just make sure it has a good detailed guide book.
Ask and Draw
When we sit down to have a conversation with our Deity, Guide, or a Spirit we have an objective in mind – a question – something you are looking to understand – or just wanting to strengthen that connection and allow Them to tell us whatever They wish or feel a need to. So be conscious about that and speak it out loud as you are doing your pre-shuffle.
You may have some specific ritualistic preparations, or you may just sit down and get to work. It really is up to you and your style. My current ritual is one to awaken my altar in general. I light my copal incense and go in clockwise circles over my altar – Welcoming Santa Muerte, The Mother of Death in to the space, into my home, into my life, and into my heart. Then if my conversation is with someone other than Her, I will welcome Them into the space after that.
I pick up my cards, start shuffling (pre-shuffle), while asking my question or reasoning for my reaching out to Them. I will shuffle until a card either gives a feel – falls out – or sticks out to me. When it does, I will put in face down in front of me and then start shuffling again. I will follow this process until I feel a need to stop – Note: if you are new to tarot or do not get that “stop feeling” focus on drawing between 4-6 cards.
Once the cards are all drawn, I flip them over, grab my notebook, pen, and the guidebook.
Remember – you are not reading the cards like you normally would. You are only using stitchomancy right now. If you have no tarot experience this will probably be easier for you, seasoned readers may find this more difficult because we will see a story in the cards based on our experience – shut that down right now.
Performing the Stitchomancy
Look up your first card you drew in the decks guidebook (it is important to use the guidebook that goes with your deck). I start with my finger at the top of the page, slowly running it back and forth across the page and working my way downwards. I do this with my eyes closed, but the important part is to just not look at the page.
As my finger moves across the page, at some point I will get this feeling, like a “stop” hit me. Some people feel a tingle in their finger. It really depends on you. If you feel nothing at all, try just randomly stopping.
When I stop my finger, I look at the words, short group of words, or the full sentence I stopped on. Then I write that down in my notebook – not thinking about it or diving deeper right now, just write what is there.
I will repeat this process over the page until I feel nothing left. I generally get 2-4 hits per card, and I keep each collection of words/ phrases for each card together but separate from the other cards (bullet point each card is easiest.
Do this for every card you drew.
Adding any channeled messages – if you have any channeled messages come through, you can write them down as a side note.
Reconcile the Message
When you are done with all the cards, this is the time to look at what you wrote.
What is the theme your are seeing – for each card and the full reading. Read it and see if you see the story or message They are conveying to you. This part does take time and a little practice. If you are a good puzzler, one who can see patterns in everything, this will be much easier for you. If you don’t though, give it some time and with practice you will get the hang of it.
I re-write the message after it is reconciled so I can see it and reflect on it in its entirety. Asking – How does this apply to what I asked. Does it align or did They move the conversation to shift my attention in a new direction – and if so, what is the purpose of that?
Is there a card that really stood out to me or one I feel I need to go deeper into? If so, I will pull that to the side and repeat the full process, pulling new cards and all, to discover the deeper message or understanding connected to it.
Removing Preconceived Notions
The beauty of stitchomancy is that it removes our preconceived notions and see from a different perspective. For those who have worked with tarot for awhile, it is easy to see a certain card and the first thing that pops into our head is how we perceive that particular card – even though we know there are a lot of smaller nuanced energies also associated with it. We may also see that card from a very specific perspective, yet the card itself holds various perspectives of the core energy the card holds.
For those who do not get channeled messages when they read tarot, or they are just getting started with tarot or communicating with the unseen, this can also be a great technique to play with. It will allow you to discover the various dualities and energies that reside the core energy of the card.
When we allow Spirit/ Guide/ Deity to control the whole process, the messages tend to be more clear and precise. This technique, all the steps, gives the entity we are connecting to the ability to control every faucet of it, from drawing the cards, to giving you specific key words and phrases.
Added Bonuses
I find that this method is great for various different personal practice building exercises – and I will list some at the end of this.
If you are just building up your psychic -clairs, this can also be done while you are allowing Spirit to take the lead. If this is another goal of yours, pay attention to your various senses as you do it – smell, taste, visions, hearing things, emotions, and so forth. Make side notes of anything that comes through and see if they correlate to the cards/ stitchomancy.
If you are just starting up the communication/ partnership/ bond with a Deity/ Spirit/ Guide. This is a good way to practice listening to what They are wanting to tell or show you. You can use this method to have back and forth conversation with Them, learning about Them, Their perspectives on things, and getting Their stories straight from Them. In the process you will be strengthening the bond between you, strengthening your clairs, and developing your communication techniques with Them.
Personal Practice Exercises
I love the stitchomancy technique when creating personal tools. Whether it be a divination tool, a personal text, or a personal association grid (such as colors, herbs, and planetary energies).
Colors
Write down the colors you are drawn to, use, or want to use in your practice. One by one, take a color and do the stitchomancy technique for it. Asking, “What are the energies, stories, and uses of this color for me?”
After you complete all the work it should give you ways to view and use that color in your practice beyond our personal bias of the color. It may even alter how you previous saw or worked with that color.
Elements: Earth – Air – Fire – Water
Use stitchomancy to give you new perspectives or deeper understandings about each of the elements. How do they apply to you specifically and your talents. How do they interact with each other or upon each other.
By blending your Guides perspective with the science aspects can be incredibly illuminating and open up whole new branches of magic with them.
Runes, Ogham, Witches Runes, Hieroglyphs and so forth
Create your own divination tool, specific to you, your path, and your work.
Some of these have a long history and a core energy within them – That core energy will always be present and can be seen from different perspectives – but what this is giving you is a personal guide to that symbol that is personal to you. Remember, all of these things started from one person’s experience or perspective and what it meant to them. Our path and spiritual work is personal, so why should the tools we use not be the same?
For this, you will pick or develop your own symbols. Put them all together in a bag or bowl and randomly draw one. Do the stitchomancy process for it and then repeat until they are all finished. I recommend starting with just one a day as this can be extremely draining energy wise, especially if you are new to the technique. Drinks plenty of water and eat something, even just a snack, after each one symbol is done – this really does help.
For many, especially when using the Runes or Ogham, it also creates a personal text laying out your path. Giving you different lessons to go deeper into – different perspectives to view from, showing where you have been, where you are, and where you are headed in your spiritual/ physical/ magical practices.
Deity – Ancestor Work
Tell me a Story – Get the stories straight from Them : Who They are, what is Their personality, what are Their domains. What was their life like, what were their skills, what can they teach you.
You can find out exactly what kind of offerings They want from you personally instead of guessing based upon what other people do. What aspects or representations are important to them for your altar.
You can even use this to help you develop rituals – spells – prayers and so forth. Asking what elements/ aspects should be there, what should the flow look like (what comes in the beginning, middle, and end), and things of that nature.
Shadow Self / Shadow Work
This technique can be great to have conversations with your inner self/ higher self. Helping you face some hard truths or showing perspectives you had not seen or considered before about yourself, your past, your pain. It can reveal things about ourselves that have always been there but we did not see before.
Ending Thoughts
There are many ways to use this technique for different applications. I love to experiment and explore new avenues, which led to me creating and using stitchomancy in this way. I can not explain from a science perspective how this works, but I have had dozens of people try this over the years and it always works.
If your feeling a little stale in your practice – if you are wanting to start with tarot but not sure where to begin – if you want to add to your current tarot practices and expand – you want to help develop your clairs better – or you just want to have conversations with your Deity without any of your mind/ preconceived notions getting in the way – Try this!
If nothing else, it gives you something new to play with during the colder months of winter when we tend to have more downtime and going inward.