In The Alchemist, are omens just illusions to justify something we feel or want, or are they something more?

Omens are presented as
being much more than illusions to justify something we feel or want. The narrator of this tale
presents omens as being an essential part of how the Soul of the World communicates with those
who are open to its voice. Note what the Englishman says to Santiago when they meet:

Everything in life is an omen... There is a universal language,
understood by everybody, but already forgotten.

Omens,
whether it is in the form of the Urim and Thummim that fall...