Synchronicity and Divination
Art from Kristin Middleton
Divination
Throughout history we have been strongly fascinated by prophetic dreams and visions, which are somehow able to see past the bodily senses and into distant potentials. In the past we attributed prophetic dreams to God, later we assumed they were simply coincidences arising memfrom a meaningless random mental process, but in the theories of Carl Jung, we found a meaningful, but psychological view of how these amazing things can occur: Synchronicity.
Synchronistic phenomena goes beyond dreams, they are meaningful coincidences, things that are truly out of the ordinary, and without any possible cause. Some common synchronicities are “Deja Vu” (I’ve seen this before) and “Deja Reve” (I’ve seen this in a dream) both of which have a distinct feeling that accompanies them.
When a Randonaut has a clear intention and then finds a corresponding object at their location, this is a prime example of synchronicity. Both prophetic dreams and randonautica based discoveries share that amazing feeling, Synchronicity.
An easy way to grasp these bizarre relationships is the connection between something internally known and something unknown and external. The seeming impossibility of these random connections is what makes their occurrence so striking, these events, if powerful enough, will stay with you, and maybe even change your world view.
These impressive coincidences have been the fascination of countless religions and philosophies, each trying to glean the significance of these improbable happenings. Many attribute this phenomena to the Gods and divinities at play in the world, not necessarily as miracles, but as a wink and nod from the powers around us. The ancient Chinese Taoists found synchronicity through a method of divination, the I Ching. It consisted of the random tossing of flower stalks or coins. The outcome of these random rituals would then indicate the nature and character of that given moment through the construction of a “Hexagram” made of six lines. The function of the I Ching rested on the Tao, the universal energy, and it’s aspects, Yin and Yang.
We see the same random synchronistic elements in various other divination methods, such as the Tarot. Each of the 78 cards in a Tarot deck is given a unique symbolic value, when shuffled, the outcome of various card pulls is entirely random. While many see Tarot as ridiculous, there are very clear synchronicities that arise from it!
Synchronicity
The psychologist Carl Jung coined the term “Synchronicity” for these bizarre but meaningful coincidences. They are “Synchronicities” as they are a synchronizing of the internal and external world, a meeting of the Psyche with the Material. While these are a common occurrence in the course of therapy or in close relationships, as both individuals are “synchronized” to an almost (sometimes truly!) telepathic extent, Jung was interested in the random, seemingly impossible synchronistic phenomena. He found it to be one of the strongest forces in his life, guiding him along his most important works.
He believed these occurred through a “Relativity” of the Psyche, meaning that the unconscious mind experiences Time and Space in a way our conscious minds can’t. So when a Randonaut experiences a Synchronicity, it could be that he Unconsciously perceived the Future or distant space. Jung found that the Unconscious mind was capable of perceiving beyond our senses, and that these unconscious, seemingly impossible sort of “sixth sense” was the root of all Psi phenomena.
Jung thought there were three types of Synchronistic phenomena
Instant Connections (an internal state corresponds with something happening)
2. Spatial (an internal state corresponds with something happening far away)
Temporal (an internal state corresponds with something happening a long time from or before the present)
To grasp all three, we need some clear examples. Jung used a personal example for the instant, or simultaneous phenomena. A patient of his had a dream that she was given an expensive piece of jewelry, a Golden Scarab. While she described this dream to Jung, he heard a tapping at the window, and opened it to find a goldfish beetle, he caught it, and handed it to the patient saying “Here’s your Scarab”. This astounded the patient, and left a significant impression on Jung. Without any possible causal connection, a human discussion of a dream beetle coincided with the appearance of a real beetle. Randonauts engage in precisely these kind of connections. Random, impossible coincidences that arise in the pursuit of meaningful adventure.
The second kind explains the function of telepathy and ESP, the unconscious is able to see and hear farther than the eyes, The example Jung used was of the famous philosopher Immanuel Swedenborg, who had a distinct vision of a fire occurring in his home city of Stockholm while far away at a party, something that turned out to be true. His unconscious perceived the fire as none of his senses possible could have.
The third is one of the most fascinating, as it is the subject of many religions and magical practices. The ability to see into the future, or receive prophetic visions and dreams. These do in fact occur! (Author’s Note: I had a dream come true over the course of writing this section! One of the most astounding elements of synchronicity is how responsive coincidence is. If you start looking into the abyss, the abyss will look into you.)
Note
I have been working on new divination tools, I have several decks in development. Excited to share these with you all!