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
Ancient Greekμαντεία, manteía, 'prophecy' or 'the power to prophesy') and the suffix -scopia when the art seemed more scientific (ultimately from Greek σκοπεῖν, skopeîn, 'to observe'). Names like drimimantia, nigromantia, and horoscopia arose, along with other
pseudosciences such as
phrenology and
physiognomy.[1]
Some forms of divination are much older than the Middle Ages, like
haruspication, while others such as coffee-based
tasseomancy originated in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The chapter "How Panurge consulteth with Herr Trippa" of Gargantua and Pantagruel, a parody on occult treatises of
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, contains a list of over two dozen "mancies", described as "common knowledge".[2]
astragyromancy → see cleromancy (from astragalomancy above, perhaps influenced by Greek guros, spiral, circle, and therefore
vertebra)
astrapomancy/ˈæstrəpoʊmænsi/: by lightning (Greek astrapē, lightning flash + manteía, prophecy)
astrology/astromancy/ /əˈstrɒloʊdʒi/: by celestial bodies (Greek astron, star + -logiā, study). This method was widespread in medieval period, particularly in Mesopotamia. [4]
stoicheomancy/stoichomancy: by the Iliad and the Odyssey or the Aeneid (Greek stoikheion, element + manteía, prophecy; to the Greeks,
Homer's writings were held in similar esteem to the Christian
Bible or the Muslim
Quran, as were
Virgil's writings to the Romans, making them the basic — or elementary — reading material in each culture)
deuteroscopy/ˌdjuːtəˈrɒskoʊpi/: by second glance or double take (Greek deuteros, secondary + -skopiā, observation)
dianomancy/daɪənoʊmænsi/: by delivery, esp. by the randomly-generated words found on Whole Foods grocery bags to identify orders (Greek dianomí, delivery + manteía, prophecy)
dictiomancy/ˈdɪkʃoʊmænsi/: by randomly opening a dictionary (English dictio(nary) + Greek manteía, prophecy)
hydromancy (also ydromancy): by water (Greek hudōr, water + manteía, prophecy)
selenomancy: by the moon (Greek selēnē, moon + manteía, prophecy)
shadowmancy → see sciomancy¹ (English shadow + Greek manteía, prophecy)
Shufflemancy: by the use of an electronic media player such as an electronic playlist, iPod, or other medium wherein one skips a certain number of songs and the lyrics and/or tune of the song is the answer to the divinatory question
sideromancy: by burning straw with an iron (Greek sidēros,
iron + manteía, prophecy)
sikidy: by drawing sixteen lines in sand (perhaps a
Malagasy transliteration of English sixteen)
skatharomancy: by beetle tracks (Greek skatharōn, spot + manteía, prophecy)
tephramancy/tephromancy: by tree
bark ashes, by sacrificial or ritual fire ashes, or human sacrificial victim ashes (Greek tephrā, ash + manteía, prophecy)[19]
stareomancy: by the
four elements (Greek stais [stair-], dough + manteía, prophecy)
stercomancy: by seeds in bird excrement (Latin stercus, excrement + Greek manteía, prophecy)
sternomancy: by ridges on the
breastbone (Greek sternon, breastbone + manteía, prophecy)
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the Entrails of a sacrificed beast; which was Aruspicina..."
^
abDunwich, Gerina. Candlelight Spells: The Modern Witch's Book of Spellcasting, Feasting, and Healing. Secaucus, N.J.: Citadel Press, 1988, p. 51.
^Buckland, Raymond (2003).
The Fortune-telling Book: The Encyclopedia of Divination and Soothsaying. Popular Reference. Visible Ink Press. p. 191.
ISBN9780780807204. Retrieved 13 February 2024. When there was a ritual sacrifice of an animal (or of a human), the way in which the blood dripped from the altar was often considered by the priest/soothsayer. Divining in this way was known as dririmancy. This form of divination might also be employed on the battle field. Dririmancy was a form of haemotomancy.
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the insignificant Speeches of Madmen, supposed to be possessed with a divine Spirit; which Possession they called Enthusiasm..."
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the aspect of the Stars at their Nativity; which was called Horoscopy, and esteemed a part of judiciary Astrology..."
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes, in mere Lottery, as Cross and Pile; counting holes in a sieve; dipping of Verses in Homer, and Virgil; and innumerable other such vain conceipts..."
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the Lineaments of the face; which was called Metoposcopy..."
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the Prediction of Witches, that pretended conference with the dead; which is called Necromancy, Conjuring, and Witchcraft; and is but juggling and confederate knavery..."
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in Monsters, or unusual accidents; as Eclipses, Comets, rare Meteors, Earthquakes, Inundations, uncouth Births, and the like, which they called Portenta and Ostenta, because they thought them to portend, or foreshow some great Calamity to come..."
^Sciences et Voyages No24 Juin 1937 "Divination, magie et tatouages en Bosnie
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in...Palmistry in the lines of the hand; in casual words, called Omina..."
^Buckland, Raymond. The Fortune-Telling Book: The Encyclopedia of Divination and Soothsaying. Detroit, Mich.: Visible Ink, 2004, p. 102.
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...and these kinds of foretelling events, were accounted Theomancy or Prophecy..."
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the Casual flight, or feeding of birds; called Augury..."
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in their own hopes and fears, called Thumomancy, or Presage..."
^Pickover, Clifford A. Dreaming the Future: The Fantastic Story of Prediction. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 2001, p. 137.
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
Ancient Greekμαντεία, manteía, 'prophecy' or 'the power to prophesy') and the suffix -scopia when the art seemed more scientific (ultimately from Greek σκοπεῖν, skopeîn, 'to observe'). Names like drimimantia, nigromantia, and horoscopia arose, along with other
pseudosciences such as
phrenology and
physiognomy.[1]
Some forms of divination are much older than the Middle Ages, like
haruspication, while others such as coffee-based
tasseomancy originated in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The chapter "How Panurge consulteth with Herr Trippa" of Gargantua and Pantagruel, a parody on occult treatises of
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, contains a list of over two dozen "mancies", described as "common knowledge".[2]
astragyromancy → see cleromancy (from astragalomancy above, perhaps influenced by Greek guros, spiral, circle, and therefore
vertebra)
astrapomancy/ˈæstrəpoʊmænsi/: by lightning (Greek astrapē, lightning flash + manteía, prophecy)
astrology/astromancy/ /əˈstrɒloʊdʒi/: by celestial bodies (Greek astron, star + -logiā, study). This method was widespread in medieval period, particularly in Mesopotamia. [4]
stoicheomancy/stoichomancy: by the Iliad and the Odyssey or the Aeneid (Greek stoikheion, element + manteía, prophecy; to the Greeks,
Homer's writings were held in similar esteem to the Christian
Bible or the Muslim
Quran, as were
Virgil's writings to the Romans, making them the basic — or elementary — reading material in each culture)
deuteroscopy/ˌdjuːtəˈrɒskoʊpi/: by second glance or double take (Greek deuteros, secondary + -skopiā, observation)
dianomancy/daɪənoʊmænsi/: by delivery, esp. by the randomly-generated words found on Whole Foods grocery bags to identify orders (Greek dianomí, delivery + manteía, prophecy)
dictiomancy/ˈdɪkʃoʊmænsi/: by randomly opening a dictionary (English dictio(nary) + Greek manteía, prophecy)
hydromancy (also ydromancy): by water (Greek hudōr, water + manteía, prophecy)
selenomancy: by the moon (Greek selēnē, moon + manteía, prophecy)
shadowmancy → see sciomancy¹ (English shadow + Greek manteía, prophecy)
Shufflemancy: by the use of an electronic media player such as an electronic playlist, iPod, or other medium wherein one skips a certain number of songs and the lyrics and/or tune of the song is the answer to the divinatory question
sideromancy: by burning straw with an iron (Greek sidēros,
iron + manteía, prophecy)
sikidy: by drawing sixteen lines in sand (perhaps a
Malagasy transliteration of English sixteen)
skatharomancy: by beetle tracks (Greek skatharōn, spot + manteía, prophecy)
tephramancy/tephromancy: by tree
bark ashes, by sacrificial or ritual fire ashes, or human sacrificial victim ashes (Greek tephrā, ash + manteía, prophecy)[19]
stareomancy: by the
four elements (Greek stais [stair-], dough + manteía, prophecy)
stercomancy: by seeds in bird excrement (Latin stercus, excrement + Greek manteía, prophecy)
sternomancy: by ridges on the
breastbone (Greek sternon, breastbone + manteía, prophecy)
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the Entrails of a sacrificed beast; which was Aruspicina..."
^
abDunwich, Gerina. Candlelight Spells: The Modern Witch's Book of Spellcasting, Feasting, and Healing. Secaucus, N.J.: Citadel Press, 1988, p. 51.
^Buckland, Raymond (2003).
The Fortune-telling Book: The Encyclopedia of Divination and Soothsaying. Popular Reference. Visible Ink Press. p. 191.
ISBN9780780807204. Retrieved 13 February 2024. When there was a ritual sacrifice of an animal (or of a human), the way in which the blood dripped from the altar was often considered by the priest/soothsayer. Divining in this way was known as dririmancy. This form of divination might also be employed on the battle field. Dririmancy was a form of haemotomancy.
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the insignificant Speeches of Madmen, supposed to be possessed with a divine Spirit; which Possession they called Enthusiasm..."
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the aspect of the Stars at their Nativity; which was called Horoscopy, and esteemed a part of judiciary Astrology..."
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes, in mere Lottery, as Cross and Pile; counting holes in a sieve; dipping of Verses in Homer, and Virgil; and innumerable other such vain conceipts..."
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the Lineaments of the face; which was called Metoposcopy..."
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the Prediction of Witches, that pretended conference with the dead; which is called Necromancy, Conjuring, and Witchcraft; and is but juggling and confederate knavery..."
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in Monsters, or unusual accidents; as Eclipses, Comets, rare Meteors, Earthquakes, Inundations, uncouth Births, and the like, which they called Portenta and Ostenta, because they thought them to portend, or foreshow some great Calamity to come..."
^Sciences et Voyages No24 Juin 1937 "Divination, magie et tatouages en Bosnie
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in...Palmistry in the lines of the hand; in casual words, called Omina..."
^Buckland, Raymond. The Fortune-Telling Book: The Encyclopedia of Divination and Soothsaying. Detroit, Mich.: Visible Ink, 2004, p. 102.
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...and these kinds of foretelling events, were accounted Theomancy or Prophecy..."
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the Casual flight, or feeding of birds; called Augury..."
^Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in their own hopes and fears, called Thumomancy, or Presage..."
^Pickover, Clifford A. Dreaming the Future: The Fantastic Story of Prediction. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 2001, p. 137.