or the similar phenomenon in the professional taster of tea or 
wine who can distinguish fantastîcallv subtle différences of flavour. 
It is a hard saying; but in order to divine without error, 
one ought to be a Master of the Temple, Divination affords 
excellent practice for those who aspire to that exalted eminence, 
for the faintest breath of personal preference will deflect 
the needle from the pôle of trnth in the answer. Unies? 
the diviner hâve banished utterly from his mind the minutest 
atom of interest in the answer to his question, he is almost certain 
to influence that answer in favour of his personal inclinations. 
The psycho-analyst will recall the fact that dreams are phantas- 
mal représentations of the unconscious Will of the sleeper, and 
that not only are they images of that Will instead of représent¬ 
ations of objective truth, but the image itself is confused by a 
thousand cross-currents set in motion by the various complexes 
and inhibitions of his character. If therefore one consults the 
oracle, one must take sure that one is not consciously or uncons- 
ciously bringing pressure to bear upon it. It is just as when an 
Englishman cross-examines a Hindu, the ultimate answer will be 
what the Hindu imagines will best please the inquirer. 
The same difficulty appears in a grosser form when one receives 
a perfectly true reply, but insists on interpreting it so as to suit 
one’s desires. The vast majority of people who go to “fortune- 
tellers” hâve nothing else in mind but the wish to obtain super- 
natural sanction for their follies. Apart from Occultism alto- 
gether, every one knows that when people ask for advice, they 
only want to be told how wise they are. Hardly any one acts on 
the most obviously commonsense counsel if it happens to clash 
with his previous intentions. Indeed, who would take counsel 
unless he were warned by some little whisper in his heart that 
he was about to make a fool of himself, which he is determined 
to do, and only wants to be able to blâme his best friend, or the 
oracle, when he is overtaken by the disaster which his own interior 
mentor foresees ? 
Those who embark on divination will be wise to consider the 
foregoing remarks very deeply. They will know when they are 
getting deep enough by the fact of the thought beginning to hurt 
them. It is essential to explore oneself to the utmost, to analyse 
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