Social Media and the Return of Public Divination

Abstract

Divination is a noetic art of symbolic interpretation practiced the world over, an ancient craft that once carried public authority before European modernity pushed it to the margins. In the wake of the digital revolution, its forms have begun to reappear—especially on interactive platforms like TikTok, where algorithmic systems create new conditions for collective meaning-making. These platforms generate contemporary oracular spaces, revealing how symbolic practices adapt within emergent digital ecologies. In this workshop I will share the history, theory, and craft of divination, with attention to Hellenistic and horary astrology as well as the tarot. I will also explore how divinatory practice models the ways human beings generate coherence in complex information environments. Participants will experience how public divination trains symbolic thinking, hermeneutic skill, and existential self-reflection within the shifting terrain of networked media.

Presenters

Ashton Arnoldy
Postdoctoral Researcher, Philosophy / Religious Studies, Goetheanum, Solothurn (de), Switzerland

Details

Presentation Type

Workshop Presentation

Theme

New Media, Technology and the Arts

KEYWORDS

DIVINATION, HERMENEUTICS, NEW MEDIA, SOCIAL MEDIA, DIGITAL ECOLOGIES, SYMBOLIC THINKING