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| Diagrammatic Synopsis of the Divinatory Arts, Robert Fludd, 1619 |
Divination: the act of foretelling
the future, often by interpreting omens. Among the many forms of divination are
predictions based on the symbols of Tarot cards, the fall of dice, yarrow
sticks, or colored beans, the configuration of such natural phenomena as clouds
or wind, and the movement of birds or other living creatures. – Watkins
Dictionary of Magic
Divination is so called because it is
considered a gift of the divine – a gift from the gods. It is the art of foretelling
the future, using omens, portents, visions, and divinatory tools… Divination
has, for thousands of years, been a tool of priests, seers, shamans,
astrologers, medicine men, Gypsies, and wise men and women. – The Witch Book
People of every age are
preoccupied with knowing the future. Perhaps we should consider that many would
be fearful of our futures should we know them, and that Mother Nature has
screened the future from our eyes for our benefit; still, we entertain the idea
that we would be at some great advantage over others if we could just lift the
veil and peek in.
This fascination has driven the
development of divinatory arts. Some are more familiar, like astrology and cartomancy, and some not – like lampadomancy. Minor
divinatory methods can be found throughout the centuries, invented by no-one
knows who, born of human ingenuity. We will leave the major divination arts to
later posts, and discuss here the odd world of minor methods.
Some methods are not very
attractive sounding. Romans practiced haruspicy; the inspection of the entrails
of slaughtered animals. They also roasted the shoulder of a sheep, examining
the cracks in the bones, and interpreting them for any messages. Oddly,
Christians preserved these practices until the eleventh century. Another method
survived longer, stichomancy – done by opening a book randomly and interpreting
the first words on the page in a prophetic manner. Use of this method using the
Bible resulted in the phrase “sortes
sanctorum,” or “lots of the saints.”
A form of divination still used in some
French provinces is one of the most perplexing methods of the art to be used.
Coscinomancy uses a balanced, spinning sieve. It must be done with the sieve held
in the appropriate manner, just so. “Spinning the sas” refers to this method, sas being an old word for sieve or strainer.
Notably, every culture ascribes
divinatory powers to objects in rotation. Gyratory movement is most mysterious,
even diabolic to some. From this action we get “spin the bottle,” the roulette wheel,
and the Wheel of Fortune, made popular by the game show. Most mysterious, baffling the most brilliant minds, is the gyroscope; it is a representation of the movement of planets.
Along with rotation, the four elements
each have a mode of divination. Pyromancy, or pyroscopy is divination by fire,
where certain objects – chiefly pounded, crushed peas – are thrown in the fire
and their manner of burning is observed. Aeromancy is divination by examining
variations and phenomena of air. Hydromancy - or hydatoscopy if rain water is
used, pegomancy if spring water - is comprised of many different methods. One
might study the ripples that form when three little pebbles are dropped into
still water, or drop oil on the water and see future events as in a mirror. Geomancy,
divination by earth, was also known as the Art of the Little Dots, which at one
time was confused with cartomancy. One might throw a handful of earth on the ground
and examine the figure it forms, or even place random dots on a piece of paper,
interpreting their position. Lecanomancy is performed by dropping precious
stones into water: a mysterious whistling sound results which announces the
thing desired.
Aleuromancy and alphitomancy
require cakes made of wheat or barley flour; these cannot be swallowed by a
guilty person. One famous, very old method is alectoromancy, or alectryomancy,
which is divination by a cock: grains of corn are placed on the letters of the
alphabet which divides a circle, and as the cock pecks at the corn, the letters
are noted and interpreted.
Axinomancy is divination by a hatchet
struck into a round stake; the quivers of the handle are interpreted. Cephatomancy is
divination by a donkey’s head. Cromniomancy consists of writing names on onions
that are then planted; the one that sprouts first indicates what is required. Dactylomancy
is performed with rings on the fingernails. Daphnomancy uses a branch of Laurel,
which announces a fortunate event if it crackles when burned.
Astragalomancy, or
astragyromancy, was performed among the ancients with knucklebones upon which
the alphabet was marked. Dice were later substituted with numbers 1 – 12 on
them representing the twelve divisions of human language. A divination art
based on the movement of flame in a lamp is called lampadomancy. Libanomancy
requires smoke or incense, and lithomancy uses precious stones. A very curious
art is margaritomancy, divination by pearl. The pearl is to be enchanted and
shut in a pot. If a guilty name is said the pearl will leap, striking the side
of the pot. Molybdomancy requires melted lead to be dropped in water, and the
hissing is interpreted.
A key, suspended by a thread from the nail of a young
virgin, is called cleidomancy. A verse from Psalms is repeated, and the key revolves
if the query can be affirmed. Belomancy was a favorite of soldiers, using
arrows. Onychomancy reads the sun’s reflection from nails, and oinomancy is
divination by wine. Ovomancy has to do with the germ of an egg being the
divining agent, and ornithomancy, or oniscopy, was an ancient art, divining by
the flight of passing birds. This was practiced in Rome. Straws are used in
sideromancy; an odd number are thrown upon a red hot iron, and while they burn,
judgment is formed from the movement, twisting and bending of the straws, the
sparkling of the flames, and the behavior of the smoke.
Mirrors have a special place in
magic, and they are important in divination. Catoptromancy, or crystallomancy, is
performed with a magic mirror or lens. It is one of the most ancient forms of
divination. Legend says it came from Persia, where in the temple of Ceres, a
spring was consulted by means of a mirror with a thread fastened to it. The thread
was immersed in the water, and the diviner saw in the mirror whether sick
persons were to be cured. Pythagoras had a magic mirror which he held up to the
moon, imitating the Thessalian sorcerers who had used this method from remotest
antiquity. Magic mirrors are mentioned by Spartianus, Apuleius, Pausanias, and
St. Augustine. In the twelfth century these practitioners were called speculatorii.
Magic mirrors also appear in
fairy tales like Snow White, a story that has its roots in cultures of
prehistory. When the elements of the divinatory art and the elements of the
fairy tales are compared, we can trace them to a common origin with the people
who built the megaliths, named the days of the week, and discovered the Venus
clock. It is likely that the ancient art of divination using mirrors, thread,
and water began with the Vanir astronomers of the Atlantic period – 5000 BC – evolving
from methods by which they read the stars to construct calendars (which predict
the future); water created a level horizon, and thread was both used in plumb
bobs for vertical, and vertically as a cross-hair, and where they intersected would pinpoint a heavenly location.
Duncan-Enzmann has decoded these and many other symbols, myths, and legends
that started with the megalith mariners.
The use of a magic mirror is the opposite
of necromancy; here mortals who don’t yet exist are made to appear in the mirror, or
if they do exist, are seen doing something that will not take place until
later. The manner of using the magic mirror is very simple, but documents or
illustrations about it are exceedingly rare. Both illustrations below of mirror
diviners may have alchemistic meaning, suggested by the hieroglyphs and style
of presentation.
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| Witch Using a Magic Mirror, da Vinci |
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| "The Magic Mirror," from La Tres Sainte Trinosophie, 18th cent. |
In England, practitioners refer
to themselves as crystal-gazers and use an egg-shaped crystal, or even simpler,
they place a bright sixpence into the bottom of a glass of water and gaze upon
it. Crystal balls are also used for gazing and have been for centuries,
perhaps longer. A perfectly round, clear crystal is a wonder to behold, and
even small ones are expensive. Gazing into a crystal ball is said to reveal the
past and the future, as well as secret events, or hidden characteristics. After
concentrated and focused observation, colored clouds appear to the viewer and
are interpreted to answer questions. Rising clouds are seen as a positive
answer, sinking ones are a no. Color is important; black is not favorable,
whereas white denotes success. Yellow is unpleasant, orange is disappointment,
red is illness, or trouble, blue and green bring pleasant surprises.
A divinatory method related to
the magic mirror, hydromancy, and oinomancy is the Three Vases of Artephius.
One made of earthenware contains oil of myrrh, one of green earthenware
contains wine, and the third of white earthenware contains water; or the second
and third could be copper and glass. According to an old diagram, a candle and
a cloth are necessary, and a wand of polar-wood half peeled of bark, a bright knife,
and a pumpkin root.
Hydromancy gave birth to the
celebrated process of divination by coffee-grounds. This cannot be any older
than the introduction of coffee to Europe or Italy. When coffee dregs are
poured out onto a white plate and the liquid carefully drained, patterns are
left behind which are interpreted. Circles mean money and predict wealth. A
crown means State success, a diamond good fortune in love, and if you see a
number you should certainly play the lottery with it. The three formulas
borrowed from the language of demons must be spoken at the right times during
the process.
There are many more minor methods
of divining. Of great interest would be the processes known as Cabbalistic,
used much in the eighteenth century. Casanova knew how to benefit from them, if
his memoirs are to be believed. These arts consist of divining by forming
numerical combinations, some of which are extraordinarily complicated. There is a book
called La Clef d’Or, ou l’Astrologue fortune devin,
traduit de l’Italien d’Albumazzar de Carpentari, par M. Peregrinus. The
author must have been a great humanitarian - winning at lotteries by guessing
the number to be drawn is one benefit. Considering that we still draw lotteries
today and we have computers to help us with formulas and math, it would seem a
good art to learn. Numerology tries to foretell a person’s character and future
using their birth date, and is also a study of the Hebrew alphabet, where each
letter is also a number.
About Symbologist Michelle Snyder
Symbology ReVision: Unlocking Secret Knowledge
Symbology: Hidden in Plain Sight
Symbology: My Art and Symbols
Symbology: Fairy Tales Uncovered
Symbology: Decoding Classic Images
Symbology: World of Symbols
Symbology: Secrets of the Mermaids
Fairy Tales:
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| A Tale of Three Kingdoms: Book One - The Lost Unicorn |
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| A Tale of Three Kingdoms: Book Two - The Lost Mermaid |
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| The Fairy Tales: Once-Upon-A-Time Lessons First Book |
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