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.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
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