Even though we have just entered the third millennium the human fascination for soothe sayers, oracles and fortune telling is as popular as ever. How many of us have not perhaps dabbled with Tarot cards, or looked at the patterns in our teacups and wondered.

Yet we know very little of this ancient and almost primordial art. Most Tarot card readers will tell you their divination system originated in Egypt, yet this is relatively a modern era. The origins of divination go back into the very mists of time, and it is on such a journey that Robert Temple takes us in his fascinating book, Oracles of the Dead.

In Oracles of the Dead we go back to the hidden and dark side of divination and the human need to understand our lives. Robert Temple personally entered many of the underground Greek Oracle caves believed lost and forgotten for more than two thousand years. In these excavations he reveals that many of the so called “myths” of the underworld, such as the river Styx, Charon the ferry man, and Ceberus, the three headed dog, were in fact actual places, people and events.

Those of us who studied the classics by Homer and other Greek writers were told by our teachers these places and events were simply fanciful myths. In his book, Robert Temple has uncovered an amazing series of caverns and caves hidden deep within the earth which prove otherwise, and the journey he takes us on is absolutely amazing.

Through his thorough research he reveals the oracles were in fact in residence under the earth, and that in order to receive guidance or a message from the Gods, people would ride the ferry boat through an underground river Styx to the chamber of the oracle. Certainly makes our modern-day theme parks and “New Age Psychic expos” pale into insignificance!

One wonders how many more “myths” will be revealed as truth as this new millennium unfolds. Of course now this has been revealed we can look at our own modern methods of divination with new eyes. And that is precisely what Robert Temple helps us do.

From the deep caverns of the Oracle of the Dead, he takes the reader on a magical journey of divination and reveals that what many used to consider as foolish superstition is in fact based on science. It would appear the ancients did literally descend into hell and the underworld in order to receive spiritual information.

He uncovers the oracular establishment that supported this thriving industry, but most importantly he uncovers the traditional and obscure signs and portends used by the Oracles. The Oracles were usually women and were trained to go into deep trance states in order to receive guidance and messages from the Gods. However, they make full use of drama and majesty to get their messages across to the questioners.

From there, Robert Temple helps us look at the science behind the divination by entrails. Of course, our modern sensibilities would find the idea of delving into animal entrails a little unappealing. However, any serious student of divination should at least study the origins of this science if they are to understand the foundation and wisdom of this pathway.

Our modern day methods of predicting the future can be traced back to these ancient cultures. Robert Temple reveals the real physical location of “hell” and also provides detailed photographs of his explorations there. He then examines the various mysteries associated with Delphi and the other oracles of the ancient world.

Visitors were actually encouraged to experience mystical contact with the divine through direct experience. Then Robert Temple takes us East and to the Chinese tradition where we find similarities between the Western Greek and Roman traditions and those of the East quite amazing. In the East, probably one of the best known divination systems is the Book of Change, or the I Ching. The Chinese also used oracle bones and the Oracular Hexagonal Lattice work system. Robert Temple’s research indicates these systems actually connect to natural geological occurrences in the earth’s magnetic formation. This is revealed in the unique structure of snowflakes.

We all know that no two snowflakes are the same, but we don’t really think about how they form. Through his research and combining regular science with the science of divination, Robert Temple reveals that snowflakes continue to grow after they hit the earth and it is the energies or geological forces of particular pieces of land that influence their growth and their unique pattern. Therefore, even snowflakes could be used for divination.

These same patterns are seen in the Sahara and other large sand-scapes where the wind and the earth’s energies influence the upper structure. However, Robert Temple’s research also reveals similar patterns in liquids that seem to appear spontaneously out of nothing. These curious liquid “cells” have become well known in popular books about Chaos Theory. So it would appear that even Chaos Theory points to the patterns inherent in seemingly unrelated objects connecting to the human mind, and thus the ability to divine the future.

Oracles of the Dead is a fascinating book that takes the reader on a long, but rewarding journey of knowledge. Finally science and psychic divination are meeting on common ground and each can appreciate the scientific framework of ancient systems such as I Ching. Like so many people, I thought many of these ancient legends were simply stories, but this book reveals an amazing history of divination that is both revealing and educational.

– Reviewed by Lesley Crossingham in New Dawn No. 94