Beacon - Digital Divination

Design, Development, Divination

I’m fascinated by divination systems and the tools we use to find meaning, whether it be something divine in nature or as mundane as a newspaper. BEACON is a guidance system, a values-based GPS, that helps the user find relationships between landmarks and values, offering them a suggested path and allowing them freedom to follow that path or find their own.

Inspired by tarot, astrology, the I Ching, and countless other systems for understanding, BEACON is a web-based tool for personal reflection. Those references have deep cultural associations, often references to divinity or the act of divination, but they also function as tools outside of the spiritual context. You don’t need to believe in destiny to find value in a tarot reading. The best of these tools redirect questions back to the querent that only they can answer. They function as a mirror.

The application does not use AI.

Try it at full size

Creating a map

The application uses computer or phone camera to take a picture and draw a constellation map across your portrait. This map represents your journey and the application provides guidance on how to interpret the map. Any decisions you make from using BEACON are your own. It serves to surface your values so you can make better decisions. In that spirit, BEACON is also similar to a mirror, functioning to help you see yourself more clearly.

This project is largely about the personal nature of interpretation, leveraging our tendency to find patterns and meaning in random action or input. It’s up to the viewer to find or dismiss meaning and the system itself doesn’t provide answers, predictions or concrete interpretations. I love the openness of systems that rely on users to express themselves.

finding meaning

Almost 100% of my testers confirmed that their ‘reading’ was personal and accurate. even though the drawing of the symbols is random. Many of the testers asked how the underlying AI functioned and how could it possibly know so much about them.

What does this mean about divination, in general? Does this confirm my hunch that astrology functions as a mirror, reflecting back at us our needs an values? And does that matter if the experience provides answers?

Early experiments

Early sketches were produced using p5.js I made a code-driven face reading/divination program in which I upload a photo then run the program, which draws an expressive, looping, line over the querent’s portrait.

How to use BEACON

BEACON draws a map, a series of paths on your portrait, that group around landmarks on your face. Landmarks are regions of your face that have special meaning and the paths cluster where there is relevance to your initiating question. 

Your image isn’t stored anywhere. BEACON has no need to use your imagine beyond facilitating a moment for you to see yourself more clearly. Here’s a guide to help you interpret your personal portrait/map.

Vocabulary

  • Prompt: Your initial question

  • Focus: The first step in your reading determines the focus of your map, is your path to understanding about Stability, Connection, Change, or Reflection. 

  • Map: Your photo with lines and landmarks 

  • Landmarks: These show up as circles on your map. They indicate what you need to consider when making decisions regarding your question.

  • Paths: On your map, you’ll see white lines connecting the landmarks. These aren’t linear paths, the future is more messy than that. But they do indicate relationship between landmarks. A straight line connecting two landmarks suggests a strong connection. A curving line suggests a softer, more gentle, relationship. 

Step 1: Ask your question

The questions asked during divination sessions often gravitate towards health, wealth, relationships, purpose and growth. 

  • Your first steps determines what type of question you have.

  • You are then asked to articulate, to yourself, a specific question.

Step 2: Determine the focus of your reading

After taking your photo the application will generate a map overlaid your face. This is your path. 

  • Note whether the line is drawn from the top, bottom, or either side of your portrait. This indicates the type of journey you are beginning. 

    • Top/North = stability

    • Right/East= connection

    • Bottom/South = change

    • Left/West = reflection

Step 3: Reading your map

Your map is made of path and landmarks. Paths indicate the flow and connections between your landmarks. 

Paths 

  • Start with the path that begins at the edge of your portrait. 

  • The position of that initiating path indicates the primary influence of your reading. Is the reading about Stability, Connections, Change, or Reflection? Or some combination of those? 

  • The first circle the initiating path encounters is a primary landmark. Meaning, it is the most significant landmark.

  • Straight lines connecting nodes indicate a strong relationship between those concepts. Curving or wandering lines suggest a softer relationship between two connected nodes.

Landmarks

  • The lines and clusters of the map align to regions of significance on your face. These are landmarks. Essentially, traits and qualities that might influence decisions related to you question.

  • Look for circles on the map. They indicate which landmarks are most relevant to you and your question. 

Step 4: Summary

The final step is a summary statement of your reading. It’s describes, in a simple sentence, the nature of your question, the focus of your reading, and relevant landmarks.