A popular form of divination widely available at shrines. The basic idea is to write down possible courses of action on slips of paper (o-mikuji), place them before the kami and then draw one in order to receive advice. In practice o-mikuji are usually pre-printed slips which give advice, predictions, caution and encouragement to moral virtue. They are kept in a chest of small numbered drawers in a kiosk within the shrine precincts. The shrine visitor makes the specified small donation, then shakes out a stick from a box. Each stick is numbered. The printed slip is then collected from the drawer with the same number. O-mikuji slips containing bad predictions are usually hung from a tree or frame set up for the purpose to 'discard' the prediction (sute-mikuji) and avoid the bad luck.
A Popular Dictionary of Shinto. Brian Bocking.