Neptune's Dolphins

 

What were your favorite classes in your major? Why?

“Crystal Divination” and “Tree Ogham and Divination.” I enjoy learning how to divine with nature and its signs.

 

What were your least favorite classes? Why? My least favorite were “Correspondences” and “Planetary Correspondences.” They were too abstract and esoteric for me. They dealt with magical theory, which does not interest me.

 

What classes were the most valuable classes in your major? Why? The most valuable were the Tarot and Astrology classes since both form the basis of modern divination. I believe they were necessary to learn. However, they are subjects, that I am not very enthusiastic about.

 

What new skills did you learn while completing your Major? The new skills, I learned was about exploring Astrology and how to apply its principles to other divination.

 

What discoveries did you make about yourself and your talents? I am a generalist and prefer to learn a multiple forms of divination. I make odd connections beyond the conventional meanings which serves me well.

 

Which classes inspired you to try something next—and if so, how did that work out? The Tarot classes had me to try to learn about Astrology and how the two relate to each other.

 

Even though your major is technically complete, what classes do you feel that you still need to take? How will they help you, academically? I would have like to have taken “Designing Spreads.” I want to understand how a spread works and how it flows from question to question.

 

Have you chosen a minor, and if so, how does it relate to your major, or to your growth as an apprentice Wizard? I chose Lore, which gave me a solid background on how divination developed. The minor presented me with different ideas of how people approach magic.

 

Did any experiences play a role in your wizardly growth, particularly in the field of Divination? I did not participate in any extra-curricular activities because of my traumatic brain injury. However, I started in 2007 attending the Grey School of Wizardry. As a faithful student, I adapted to dramatic changes in the school. I learned how to be fluid in my learning and expectations. The requirements for the Divination major changed over this period, and I changed with it.

 

When I enrolled, I had no particular idea of what I would major in. I decided for Divination and Lore. I am a divination geek who is now studying Roman augury. The Divination major would give me a good foundation for exploring arcane divining. Since I do study a lot of Roman writings for the augury, I included Lore. I did consider Beast Mastery and Natural Philosophy because of my studies of animal and cloud augury. (Also, I am an amateur naturalist.) However, because of my traumatic brain injury (TBI), I could not fulfill the requirements for those departments.

 

My dominant learning style is reading-writing with a strong second of visual. According to Neil Fleming, educational theorist, most people have more than one dominant learning mode. The idea of the three learning styles came from the Greeks – visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. In the 1980s, Neil Fleming developed the VARK model (Note 1) – by breaking out reading and writing from the visual style. He reasoned that reading/writing differs from visual since the latter is symbolic representations of information, and the former is words and text. People who are aware of their place in space are visual learners, while people who have a reverence for words learn by reading and writing.

 

After years of thinking I was a visual learner, it turns out according to the VARK assessment (Note 2), I have a preference for reading and writing. I make lists, take notes, and read first. I write out everything to ponder the details. Reading and writing is how I learn best. For this learning mode, the Departments of Divination, Alchemy, Lore and Dark Arts fit well. Most of my classes have been in Lore and Dark Arts. They have many topics that can be easily broken down into writing out notes. Furthermore, Divination and Alchemy lend well to making lists.

 

This fits in with my personality as I have Judging dominants as explained by Myers-Brigg Type Indicator (MBTI). People with a Judging mindset “tend to seek conclusive and definite resolutions.” Learning for me involves collecting and organizing information.

 

Notes:

Note 1. Fleming says that “VARK is the part that deals with perceptual modes, which means that it is focused on the different ways that learners take in and give out or express information. Learners have different learning styles…. One preference in a learning style is the preferences for the intake and the output of ideas and information.” (Emphasis the author’s).

 

Note 2. I took two tests at different sites – first at Education Planner and the second at the VARK site. The assessment of visual learning by the Education Planner did not fit as well as the VARK’s assessment of reading and writing.

 

Works Used:

Education Planner.org, Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, 2011. Web. http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles-quiz.shtml .

 

Fleming, Neil and Charles Bonwell, “How Do I Learn Best: A Learner’s Guide to Improved Learning.” Christchurch (NZ): VARK Learn, Ltd. 2019.

 

VARK, VARK Learn, Limited, 2024. Web. https://vark-learn.com/.