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Methods of divination can be found around the world, and many cultures practice the same methods under different names. During the Middle Ages, scholars coined terms for many of these methods—some of which had hitherto been unnamed—in Medieval Latin, very often utilizing the suffix -mantia when the art seemed more mystical (ultimately from ...
Nov 1, 2022 · Learn about over 90 different methods of divination, from tarot and runes to scrying and astrology. Discover the origins, meanings and practices of each method and how to use them for yourself or others.
- Hieromancy
- Ornithomancy
- Pyro-Osteomancy
- Bibliomancy
- Alectryomancy
- Tyromancy
- Ceromancy
- Cledonomancy
- Ring Oracles and "Under-The-Bowl Songs"
- Herring Fat and Membranes
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Beginning in Mesopotamia and then in classical Greece and beyond, animals were sacrificed in divinatory rituals and their internal organs (notably the liver) were inspected for omens. Aside from oracles, it was the most important divination method of the classical world: In his De Divinatione ("On Divination"), the Roman orator, statesman, and writ...
Interpreting the behavior of birds is one of the oldest forms of divination, and was a common part of Greek religious life. In Aristophanes's comedy The Birds, the leader of a chorus of birds bragsof their usefulness in divination: "Before undertaking anything, whether a business transaction, a marriage, or the purchase of food, you consult the bir...
In ancient China, bones were used to tell the future. During the Neolithic period, the Shang dynasty, and beyond specialists would inscribe questions on animal (often cattle) shoulder-blades and tortoise shells, then chisel pits into them and insert heated points. The cracks made by the heated points were then interpreted as answers to the question...
The practice of asking a question, opening a book at random, and interpreting the first passage your eyes (or fingers) hit upon as an answer was once widespread among the Greeks and Romans, the Muslim world, medieval Europe, and elsewhere. The Bible, the Book of Psalms, the Koran, and the works of the Roman poet Virgil were among the books most com...
Chickens weren't just a handy food source in the ancient world—they could also predict the future. Various divinatory methods were employed in which chickens were offered a choice of grain in a particular location or direction, which corresponded to an answer to the subject in question (the parties in a battle, say, or the direction from which a fu...
The use of cheese as a divination tool was known in the ancient world and the Middle Ages, although the details aren't very well-recorded. Some say the shapes of the holes in the cheeses were thought to hold meaning—a heart shape could indicate love, and certain holes could be read as initials. According to occultopedia.com, young women in the coun...
The swirling shapes made by pouring melted wax into water were used as a divination tool in both ancient and medieval Europe. One common method was to melt the wax in a brass container, and then pour the liquified wax into a vessel full of cold water, after which the diviner would interpret the shapes floating in the water. A related practice, moly...
For the ancient Greeks and Romans, chance utterings weren't always just that. The art of cledonomancy, or divination from overhead words, could be practiced either inside or outside of a specific ritual. In De Divinatione, Cicero relates a story about the Roman general Lucius Paulus, who was then readying his armies to fight King Perseus of Macedon...
In Russia, divination was once a popular pastime for the days just after the New Year, known as the strashyne ("fearful") days, when evil spirits were said to be particularly active. According to W. F. Ryan's The Bathhouse at Midnight: An Historical Survey of Magic and Divination in Russia, divination performed between midnight and 3 a.m. on these ...
In mid-19th-century Belfast, according to Oxford's Dictionary of Superstitions, women predicted the character of their future husbands using the slimier parts of a herring. One interview excerpted in the dictionary described "a small, silvery-coloured, glutinous membrane, of perhaps an inch and a half in length, [that] lies along the under side of ...
Learn about 10 ancient and obscure ways of divination, from entrails and birds to books and cheese. Discover how people in different cultures and times used these methods to seek omens and insights into the future.
- Bess Lovejoy
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Pyromancy: Divination by interpreting fire. Alectryomancy: Using a rooster to select grains. Omphalomancy: Predicting the number of children by the umbilical cord. Rhapsodomancy: Divination through random poetic verses. Belomancy: Divination through the use of arrows.
Divination can be seen as an attempt to organize what appears to be random so that it provides insight into a problem or issue at hand. Some instruments or practices of divination include Tarot-card reading, rune casting, tea-leaf reading, automatic writing, water scrying, and psychedelics like psilocybin mushrooms and DMT.
Nov 27, 2019 · Explore different types of divination methods, such as Tarot, Runes, Ogham, Pendulum, Tea Leaves, and more. Learn how to make and use your own tools, and how to interpret the messages they offer.
Apr 21, 2024 · Divination is the practice of determining the hidden significance or cause of events by various natural, psychological, and other techniques. Learn about the origins, forms, and meanings of divination in different cultures and religions, from ancient to modern times.
