Sortilegium for the Techno-Witch
Or, How to Use Google as a Divining Tool
by Sgeir
Sortilegium is the Latin term for divination by the random reading of books. Traditionally sortilegium has used the Bible, and the practitioner has sought the answers to a specific question by randomly opening the Bible and reading a verse. Who among us has never tried this method of divination at some time?
For the Pagan, of course, the Bible is unsuitable for divination, yet the book itself works rather well simply because it treats such a large range of matters and includes so much information in symbolic language. If we are to seek answers in this way we must find a book which has these characteristics - perhaps an ancient epic or a collection of esoteric writings such as the Corpus Hermeticum.
There is, however, an alternative to this, which is both quick and easy for any modern Pagan. The internet itself is a vast book of sorts and can be used in sortilegium. Here are some suggestions for performing this ritual:
- Go to Google, http://www.google.com. The reasons for choosing this particular search engine will become clear later.
- Choose a question you would like answered - no matter how seemingly trivial. The Gods are interested in the trivial as well as the important, after all. Type your question into the search engine box but do not press anything, particularly not the enter key!.
- Pray to the Gods that they may answer your enquiry. Then press the "I'm feeling lucky" button, which will take you to the first site that matches your search terms. (see fig 1)
- When you arrive at the site highlight the text on the page with your mouse, close your eyes and stop at a random point on the page. The lines after the area you have highlighted should give you the answer to your question.
Figure 1
