When I was offered a review copy of a new book about divination called How to Read an Egg,I was intrigued. I’d never heard of egg-reading – or ovomancy – before. As well as being curious, I was delighted to find out something new about eggs to blog about before the Spring Equinox and Easter, having over the years already written about egg superstitions as well as egg-related folklore, myths and legends. As soon as the book arrived I was keen to start reading and learn. It turns out that egg-reading is a form of scrying that is not too dissimilar to fortune telling using tea-leaves, which I have tried before. The idea is that you look for shapes and patterns - formed in the case of eggs by egg white - and interpret them to help answer people’s questions and give an indication of what might happen in the future. ...but the book itself is not just about egg-reading. Its subtitle is Divination for the Easily Bored, and it is covers a range of ways to perform divination that are slightly unusual. The press release from publisher Dodona says: "You've tried the tarot, ruminated with the runes and are all angel-carded out! Now try the less well known, the tribal, the forgotten and the truly bonkers!" And, yes, some of the methods covered are a little bonkers, it has to be said.So now I know how to read an egg, but the book itself is not just about egg-reading. Its subtitle is Divination for the Easily Bored, and it is covers a range of ways to perform divination that are slightly unusual. The press release from publisher Dodona says: "You've tried the tarot, ruminated with the runes and are all angel-carded out! Now try the less well known, the tribal, the forgotten and the truly bonkers!" And, yes, some of the methods covered are a little bonkers, it has to be said. Although How to Read an Egg: Divination for the Easily Bored is aimed at beginners to the art of divination in that it explains the techniques in an easy to understand and humorous fashion, I think it will also appeal to experienced clairvoyants. Anyone wanting to find out about some more obscure techniques of fortune telling will certainly find them here. For the right person, this book could make a good alternative to the traditional chocolate egg as an Easter present. Read more on http://www.badwitch.co.uk/ ~ Lucya, Badwitch blog

Another entertaining and informative book from Colette Brown. This little tome of treasures takes you through all sorts of divination practises from the traditional to the mad and some just totally bizarre. Use this book for reference or to dip into and try your own divination skills although there are one or two that you might want to avoid... ~ Rachel Patterson, Author and Kitchen Witch

What a fun book! Ms. Brown spent time researching the "unusual, the taboo, and the simply too weird and bonkers" forms of divination and then tested a bunch of them on willing guinea pigs from her facebook page. The research and results are shared in her breezy writing style, making it a lot like sitting down to a 'cuppa' with a good friend who happens to be a witch. Some of the odder forms of divination were the oenomancy (wine), moleosophy (skin moles), omphalomancy (belly button), and rumpology (buttocks). The readings were as fun as the methodology implies, and interesting as well. Later chapters focus on psychometry, bibliomancy, dowsing, and bones. One chapter discusses the 'taboo' forms, such as necromancy, anthropomancy, and scatomancy. Another looks at omens abd superstitions. The book ends with a chapter on how to do your own readings, and a 'dictionary' of symbols and their meanings. Aside from my personal opinion that any symbol dictionary is a waste of space (my symbology will not read the same as yours, or his, or . . . you get the point.), my one small criticism is that we aren't ever told whether the readings were accurate. More than anything this is a fun little book that will add to your divination collection. ~ Lisa McSherry, http://facingnorth.net/Divination/how-to-read-an-egg.html

How could you resist a title like ‘How To Read An Egg: Divination For The Easily Bored’? Or, as author Colette Brown says: “You have tried the tarot, ruminated with the runes and are all angel carded out! Now try the less well known, the tribal, the forgotten and the truly bonkers! Divination, the art of prediction or psychic insight by use of supernatural means, can be accurate and fun!” The odd thing about divination is that is works ... some swear by the Tarot, while others go into crystal thrall and pendulum twirling, or spend hours gazing into a crystal ball shot through with rutile. Some excel at one type of divination, while other methods leave them cold ... now Colette Brown has come up with a highly unusual and fresh approach to learning about divination. Or as the man said: where else could you have so much fun without laughing. This book is non-stop fun but with serious undercurrents that are perfect for the beginner who wonders why they can’t get to grips with a particular technique or divinatory method. Highly recommended. Melusine Draco: Author and Principal of Coven of the Scales. ~ Melusine Draco, Amazon (2), B&N, Waterstones, Goodreads