Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Beyond Tarot Cards and Runes


Looking at seemingly natural and random events in search of portents and

omens of the future is a practice as old as time. I'm sure you've heard of

tasseography, or the reading of tea leaves. Well, there are many other kinds of

scrying that are much stranger.



* Aeromancy - divination from the air and sky, particularly

concentrating on cloud shapes, comets, and other phenomena not normally visible in the

heavens.

* Alectryomancy - a bird picks corn grains from a circle of letters.

* Alomancy - using table salt.

* Austromancy - studying of the winds.

* Axiomancy - the observation of how an ax or hatchet quivers or

points when driven into post.

* Belomancy - performed by tossing or balancing arrows.

* Botanomancy - burning tree branches and leaves.

* Capnomancy - the study of smoke rising from a fire.

* Catoptromancy - an early form of crystal gazing with a mirror turned

to the moon to catch its light.

* Causimomancy - the behavior of objects placed in a fire.

* Cephalomancy - using the skull or head of a donkey or goat.

* Ceraunoscopy - draw omens from the study of thunder and lightning.

* Ceromancy - melted lead was is poured into cold water.

* Chirognomy - the study of the general hand formation.

* Cleromancy - casting lots, similar to using dice but with more

natural objects such as pebbles or sea shells.

* Cleidomancy - using a dangling key.

* Critomancy - the study of barley cakes.

* Cromniomancy - using onion sprouts.

* Cyclomancy - finding omens from a turning wheel.

* Dactylomancy - using a dangling ring.

* Daphnomancy - listening to laurel branches crackling and spitting in

an open fire.

* Dendromancy - using either oak or mistletoe.

* Geomancy - the study of figures on the ground and the influence of

the Earth's movements.

* Gyromancy - a person walks in a circle marked with letters until

they become dizzy and stumble at different points, thus spelling out a prophesy.



* Haruspication - inspecting the entrails of animals, popular with the

priests in ancient Rome.

* Hippomancy - the stamping and neighing of horses.

* Hydromancy - with water including the color, ebb and flow, or

ripples produced by pebbles dropped in a pool.

* Ichthyomancy - using fish.

* Libanomancy - the study of incense and its smoke.

* Lithomancy - using precious stones of various colors.

* Margaritomancy - using bouncing pearls.

* Molybdomancy - the hissing of molten lead.

* Myomancy - the study of the prophetic meaning of behavior of rats

and mice.

* Pegomancy - spring water and bubbling fountains.

* Phyllorhodomancy - slapping a rose petal against ones hand and

finding an omen by the sound.

* Pyromancy - any form of divination with fire or flame, often

assisted by substances thrown onto the flames.

* Radiesthesia - using a dangling tool such as a bob or pendulum.

* Rhapsodomancy - using a book of poetry whereby the book is opened at

random and a passage read.

* Sideromancy - burning of straws with hot metal, the resulting burn

marks having divinatory properties.

* Spodomancy - using cinders or soot.



* Stichomancy - throwing open any book and selecting a random passage.



* Tephramancy - using tree bark ashes.

* Tiromancy - using cheese.

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