Today I want to introduce you to a fairly unknown - and so so fun divination tool for your witchy practice. Have you ever heard about Astrodice?
What looks like something straight out of a DnD game, is actually associated with the oldest divination tools in the world. Throwing the dice was a common practice in Shaman tradition, although at the time it was small animal bones or vertebrae that were thrown for fortune telling purposes. It is said that the Gods would influence the outcome of the random dice throw, thus resulting in a pretty accurate divination.
While you can use regular dice for your practice and possibly a cloth marking different answers, the Astrology Dice (or Astrodice) are embossed with the Zodiac signs, the symbols of the planets and numbers of the houses, making it easier (or maybe not ;)...) to determine their meaning.
Astrodice are twelve sided and - similar to runes - can come in a variety of colors. Let’s take a look at the individual ones:
The dice with 12 numbers represents the twelve houses in astrology. As you may know from natal chart readings, each of the houses represents an area of your life. The houses are, where energies are destined to appear.
This dice has the 12 zodiac signs embossed and represents the characteristics and emotions that you are dealing with here.
And lastly, the most complicated dice for me to learn.. haha. The 12 planets are present on this one and can be connected to the influences and circumstances of the situation
How to read your Astrology Dice
Just like other divination tools, the Astrodice require a little bit of practice and tapping into your intuition. While the meaning of houses, planets and signs is pretty clear, they can be interpreted in a different way, depending on the questions asked, the reader and other outer circumstances.
Try not to ask Yes or No questions as these might be too difficult to interpret when using the dice (for that, you better flip a coin). So open-ended questions such as “how, what, where, when” are a good start.
The Astrology Dice are a great way of practicing your natal chart reading skills, as you will learn a lot about the houses and planets.
Now, make yourself comfortable, take a few deep breaths and tap into your intuitive mind. While you shake the dice, think about the question on hand and ask for universal guidance. Then you throw your dice.
Example of throwing the Astrology Dice
Let’s say, you are asking your dice what the day will bring for you today. This is exactly how I taught myself the tarot, by asking small, simple questions and making the practice a daily habit.
Now, for example you might get the following:
6th House - health, service, work, habit
Sagittarius - generous, idealistic, adventurous, honest, promises more than can deliver, impatient
Neptune - Dreams, Intuition, Mysticism, Imagination, Delusions
Going from there, I would first look at the house to see which area is my focus today, health and habit stick out to me, in correspondence with Sagittarius, that can be a bit idealistic and the planet Neptune that is prone to delusions. So I would take a critical look on my habits today, to see if they are actually getting me to where I want to be (health-wise) or if I’m telling myself dreamy stories about how one day it will all just magically work out.
Of course, that is just my interpretation. Based on your circumstances and experiences, you might interpret this throw in a whole different way.
Just remember to have fun with your Astrodice reading!
To make your practice a little easier, we’ve compiled some of the meanings of the individual houses, planets and zodiacs. A handy PDF cheat sheet can be downloaded here, including a printer-friendly version
Download Astrology Dice Cheat Sheet