Querent

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

A Querent ("one who queries") is a person who asks a question or questions of an oracle. This oracle may simply be a divinatory technique, such as the I Ching, that is manipulated by the querent themselves without recourse to any other human agency. Alternatively it may involve another person, someone perhaps seen as a "fortune teller" — particularly a Tarot practitioner or astrologer — from whom advice is sought. Querent is also the name of a music project by Providence, RI based artists.

The kinds of question asked by a querent vary widely according to their needs, their understanding of divination or oracular principles and the kind of oracle queried. Some querents are happy just to be told anything, trusting that what they are told will somehow be what is most important to them. Others ask questions in the nature of general forecasting such as, "What will happen to me in five years time?", "Will I be rich?" and "What kind of person will I marry?" Still others seek specific advice, although opinion is divided amongst practicioners of oracular techniques as to what constitutes a 'good' question: some say that questions of the form "What would be likely to happen if I followed course of action X?" is potentially more useful to a querent than "Should I follow course of action X?"

The mindset of a Querent differs from person to person. Some approach the reading with skepticism and, if they are dealing with a human oracle, are unwilling to offer them any personal information. Conversely, some approach with great respect, as if they pre-acknowledge that the oracle is the agent for some kind of higher, even divine, power. A third group will typically talk freely with a human oracle and accept offers of advice with a healthy skepticism but an open mind.

These querent attitudes can stem from how they believe the particular oracular system they are consulting works (or doesn't work - in the case of extreme skepticism). Favourite theories that inform these attitudes divide generally into three classes:

The belief that the reading is influenced by synchronicity, or some other system of coincident cause and effect, and can therefore show both personal and more general patterns.
The belief that their own subconscious or unconscious mind is somehow influencing the reading in order to pass them advice. These people often point to dream interpretation as a parallel resource.
The belief that some external agency will use the reading to advise them. These agencies can include deities, spiritual guardians and ancestral spirits.