Charm casting is a general term for divination involving the random placement of small objects on a surface with different sections, called a map; both the charms and the map sections have specific meanings. 

If you're thinking this sounds like it could encompass things like throwing the bones and some types of rune reading, that's true, but specific “charm” sets with standardized meanings and specific cultural forms of divination are generally given their own name. Charm casting sets can and should be individualized; you should determine the meaning of some if not all of your charms. Similar practices with different origins and names should be respected as coming from a different place and perspective. It's possible to mix these practices with charm casting if you already know them, but it's important to acknowledge their roots.

It depends on the charm casting set that the reader has developed. Mine focuses on answering questions in the format: “What should I do for the best outcome in this situation?” It fits my specialization of divination for change and personal growth. Another reader might have a set specialized for a particular topic, like love readings. 

Charm readings can also be long and detailed. If you’ve seen how I price my charm readings, that reflects the amount of time that goes into them for me. Getting this much detail may be helpful, or it may be overwhelming, depending on what you want to know and how deep you want to dive.

I plan to develop a class on charm casting, including how to choose good charms, decide on their meaning, select charms from your collection for a reading, and create or find maps. For now, let's just say that I have a set of charms and know what they mean to me. I have several maps and choose one based on the question. The example I'll use is my zodiac map, which is like a pie with 12 slices, one for each zodiac sign. The center of the pie is marked out as a 13th section and I read anything in this area as affecting the whole. 

Let's say the querent wants to know how to attract love and whether they'll find it in the coming year. That means I'm reading each wedge of the pie as the time of year when the sun is in that sign, and the first wedge that I interpret is the one that the sun will enter next. (If you don't know astrology, imagine I've got a calendar wheel instead, and I'm starting with the upcoming month.) Depending on what I see when I look over the center, I may start there and then read the first wedge, or I may start with the first wedge and leave the center for last.

Before and after the reading, I would follow any rituals I normally do.

I select the charms I want to use; there are some I almost always use because they're almost always helpful, and the others are chosen at random. I mix them up well and hold them in my hands above the map, then drop them. You can move your hand around the map and gently release the charms in a gradual way instead if you prefer.

Charm readers have different ways of interpretation; I don't read any charms that fall off of the map and I don't read anything with a blank back that falls face down.

I look at where the charms fell, their individual meaning, and what charms are nearby. I read nearby charms as one collective meaning but I know some other readers will only read charms together if they're actually touching.

Taking pictures of a reading is often helpful; with charm casting, I find it especially beneficial. If I remove charms that land in a way that means I don't interpret them, or if I remove charms from the map as I interpret, I may bump things, or I may think of something later and want to confirm it. (But removing charms for either of those reasons is usually more help than hindrance for me; it's easier to keep track of what I'm doing.)

Possibly. When I do a Tarot or oracle spread, I can then use it as a map to cast the charms onto, for example. My runes and dice are about the size of a charm, so it would be more fitting to use them as part of my charm casting set - and I often do. 

If you have any further questions about charm casting or anything else I do, please use my comment form to ask!