Mycroft
This is a technique for divination that I first saw many years ago, but was reminded of recently, I've also seen it called 'Library Angel' and 'Bookworm Spirit' etc. It appears to be loosely based on a Greek notion of "throwing your problem to the world".
What you do is select a question you would like answering or a problem you would like solving, write it down somewhere and think about the question for a while, and then forget about it. Then set yourself a time-frame of 3, 5 or 7 days etc, and wait for the 'Library Genie' to produce an answer. This can happen in a variety of ways, somebody might send you a book unexpectedly, you may turn on the TV just as someone is holding up a book etc, but it's usually the title of the book that is significant.
As an example, a friend of mine once started seeing a man who was very charming, and gave the impression of being a highly successful businessman, a sort of 'guru' in the financial sector. Although my friend couldn't quite put her finger on it, she felt a slight unease about him, and tried 'The Library Genie' to allay her fears. A couple of days later she was in a restaurant and whilst going to the toilet passed a large old book-case that was really only there for cosmetic value. She caught her foot by accident against the bottom of the book-case which made it gently rock, and one precariously balanced book fell to the floor. Picking it up she saw that it was an old paperback thriller titled something like 'The Lying Svengali'!
What you do is select a question you would like answering or a problem you would like solving, write it down somewhere and think about the question for a while, and then forget about it. Then set yourself a time-frame of 3, 5 or 7 days etc, and wait for the 'Library Genie' to produce an answer. This can happen in a variety of ways, somebody might send you a book unexpectedly, you may turn on the TV just as someone is holding up a book etc, but it's usually the title of the book that is significant.
As an example, a friend of mine once started seeing a man who was very charming, and gave the impression of being a highly successful businessman, a sort of 'guru' in the financial sector. Although my friend couldn't quite put her finger on it, she felt a slight unease about him, and tried 'The Library Genie' to allay her fears. A couple of days later she was in a restaurant and whilst going to the toilet passed a large old book-case that was really only there for cosmetic value. She caught her foot by accident against the bottom of the book-case which made it gently rock, and one precariously balanced book fell to the floor. Picking it up she saw that it was an old paperback thriller titled something like 'The Lying Svengali'!
I may use this instead of the Couch-Potato oracle (using the TV). Too many people for only 2 TV sets...
Are you a Sherlock fan by any chance? 