- acuto-manzia
- A method of divination using thirteen pins (10
straight and 3 bent). They are shaken in the hand
and dropped on a surface sprinkled with powder. The
patterns in the powder as well as the pins are read.
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- aeromancy
- Air conditions, cloud formations and other atmospheric
phenomena are observed for omens and prognostications.
The Star of Bethlehem that herald the birth of Jesus
is one such example and weather forecasting is another.
Today we have machines to do the observations i.e.,
barometer and computers. austromancy
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- alectromancy
alectryomancy
- This form of divination is similar to the Ouija
board where messages are spelt out. In this form the
cock is the planchette. He pecks at grains that are
placed on a circle of letters and the message is spelt
out by the grains consumed. As this is going on, the
questioner chants an incantation.
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- aeluromancy
aleuromancy
- A divination where answers to questions are rolled
into balls of dough and cooked. The balls are mixed
nine times then chosen at random. A modern day version
would be the Chinese fortune cookie.
-
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- alepouomancy*
- The prediction of the future based on a fox's paw
prints.
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- alomancy
- The diviner interprets future events by throwing
salt crystals and analyzing the patterns, either after
it is thrown or as it is airborne.
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- alphitomancy
- This form of divination is used in determining guilt
and innocence. Each "suspect" eats a barley-cake
and the one who gets indigestion is the guilty party.
To ensure success, there was a special recipe used
to aid in the participants' indigestion. aelurmancy
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- amniomancy
- The membrane that surrounds a newborn's head (caul)
was used to determine the baby's future. If the color
was red this indicated then good fortunes ahead but
if the color was lead there was misfortune instead.
If the membrane was whole and intact, the child would
not die by drowning. It is said that even seafarers
would try to buy cauls to prevent against this fate.
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- anthropomancy
- An ancient form divination where the internal organs
of sacrificed humans are interpreted. There are many
recorded cases through out history and in most of
these cases the victims were women and children.
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- anthroposcopy
- This is the art of discovering or evaluating a person's
character, desires and inclinations from studying
their visible features. Similar to anthropometry,
which is the study of actual physical measurements
of the body's features. The Italian criminologist,
Cesare Lombroso claimed that certain craniofacial
features could identify certain criminal types; i.e.,
murderers have prominent jaws. He based this on numerous
measurement analysis of criminals. Later, a French
police officer named Eugene Vidocq took these findings
and started the documentation of facial characteristics
of criminals for identification purposes, which are
still used today.
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- apantomancy
- Divination is read from chance meetings with animals
or objects. It is considered to be a bad omen for
a black cat to cross your path. While in ancient Rome,
it was a good omen for a she-goat to cross your path.
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- arithmancy
- A divination using numerical values. Letters are
converted into numeric value through various methods
and then added. In ancient Greece, the combatant whose
name had the greatest value was predicted to win in
a fight. The Kabbalah, which is the basis of many
occult philosophies, is filled with numeric divination.
numerology
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- armomancy
- Supposedly divination by inspecting shoulders.
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- ashagalomancy
- A divination system of casting small bones each
with a particular meaning. This method is considered
the early form of dice divination where the numbers
on the dice have corresponding letters.
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- aspidomancy
- A form of divination practiced in the Indies. A
diviner sits on a shield that is in a designated circle
and enters a trance while in this state he conjures
the devil to reveal the answers.
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- astragalomancy
astragyromancy
- Form of divination that uses dice marked with letters
of the alphabet. The dice can be any shape or form.
See an earlier form this called ashagalomancy.
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- Astrampsychus
- The Astrampsychus is a Greek handbook containing
charts and tables to aid in the translation and understanding
of the oracles, which were messages from the Gods.
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- astrology
- An extremely popular form of divination that uses
the celestial bodies: the sun, moon, planets, and
stars. In the Kabbalah this practice is called Monen.
horoscopy
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- augury
- Augury is used as a synonym for divination but in
ancient times it was a Greek-Roman divination where
birds' flight patterns or singing were interpreted
to foretell future events. Some of these practices
are still used today; for example, birds' migration
patterns are good indicators of seasonal changes.
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- austromancy
- A type of aeromancy divination where predictions
are made from wind's behavior. Many of these prophecies
still live in our sayings today, "North winds
blowing, which means cold is coming".
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- axinomancy
- Divination is accomplished by means of a hatchet
or ax. There are two known methods; both are for determining
direction. (1) Direction for an item: The ax head
was heated and held perpendicular in the air. A round
agate is place on the rim of the ax. If the agate
remained, the item you were searching is lost and
cannot be found. In the case where the agate rolled
off the action was then repeated three times. If the
agate rolled in the same direction every time that
was the direction where the item lay but if it didn't
you had to look farther afield. (2) Direction for
finding a person: An ax is cast into the ground so
that the handle is perpendicular in the air. Those
involve in the search would dance around the ax until
the handle fell to the ground. The handle pointed
to the direction that the person took.
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- belomancy
- An ancient Babylonian practice where arrows are
tossed in the air and as they fell the direction was
determined. rhabdomancy
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- bibliomancy
- A popular divinatory method that is still used
today. A book is chosen for the purpose often related
to your question. The book is randomly opened and
a finger is arbitrarily placed on the page. The sentence,
passage or even picture is the prophecy or answer.
During the Middle Ages, to find out if someone was
guilty of sorcery- they were weighed against the Church
Bible. If the person outweighed the Bible (which was
often the case) the person was guilty. rhasodomancy,
stichomancy
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- biorhythm*
- This foretelling the future by observing the body's
natural rhythms evolving the emotional, physical and
intellectual phases.
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- bletonism
- This is the ability to perceive subterranean springs
and currents by sensation and is supposedly named
after Bleton of France. dowsing
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- botanomancy
- This is a general term for divination using plants
and herbs. One method is to use the leaves from a
particular tree and throw them into the wind. alomancy
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- bronchiomancy*
- This is divination by interpreting the lungs of
sacrificed animals
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- capnomancy
- A term used for smoke and fume divination. The
smoke that read is specifically produced for the purpose
of the divination. For example, branches of vervain
and briar, on which the questions have been carved,
are burned. The smoke produced from this element indicates
the answer.
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- captromancy
enoptromancy
- A form of divination that uses a mirror. A mirror
is placed so that it catches a reflection of another
substance. Usually this is something that is hard
to hold, for example moonbeams or water reflections.
Then the reflections in the mirror are interpreted.
Mirror divination is similar to crystal gazing.
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- cartomancy
- A method of telling someone's fortune by using
a deck of cards. Although many decks can be used a
specific one has developed over time called tarot.
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- cartopedy
- A Persian divination using feet much like palmistry
uses the hands. The size, shape and form of the entire
foot are taken into consideration in addition to the
lines. This is still a serious science in India and
Pakistan. Cartopedist are sought in matters of marriage,
jobs and even solving crimes.
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- causimomancy
- Divination derived from an object's behaviors when
placed in fire. It is a good omen when something combustible
doesn't ignite. Common items that have been used in
this method are animals, humans, salt, leaves, sticks
and incense.
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- cephalomancy*
- The skull or head of a donkey or goat is used to
perform divination. kephalonomancy
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- ceraunoscopy
- A sub-category of aeromancy divination that pertains
mainly to air and in particular thunder and lightning.
chaomancy
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- ceromancy
ceremancy
ceroscopy
- A divination using wax from candles. Wax is melted
into liquid form then it was poured into a bowl containing
cold water. The resulting shapes, which are usually
circular, are then read. molybdomancy
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- chaomancy
- A sub-category of aeromancy that interprets clouds
and their shapes or figments in the air like comets.
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- chirognomy
cheiromancy
- All aspects of the hand are studied. The shape,
form, lines, palms, finger and fingernails are interpreted.
This is commonly known as palmistry. It is said that
a hand with square fingers and proportionately wide
palm indicates a logical, pragmatic person who can
be over-skeptical.
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- clacking*
-
Divining by 'clacking' two stones together.
-
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- clairaudience
- Form of ESP (extra sensory perception) where divinatory
information is heard audible only to the person with
this talent.
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- clairvoyance
- Form of ESP (extra sensory perception) where the
divinatory information is seen. This is commonly known
as second sight.
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- cledonomancy
cledonomantia
cledonism
- This divination dates back to the Greek and Roman
days where omens of good and evil were ascertained
from chance remarks that were spoken without premeditation.
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- cleidomancy
clidomancy
- A divination for interpreting guilt that uses the
movements of a suspended key. There are various methods
to this practice. One method is to take a house key
and enclose it inside a Bible on the 50th
Psalm. The bible is then sealed shut and suspended
on a nail. Guilt is established when Bible turns as
the suspect's name is mentioned. dactyliomancy
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- cleromancy
- A very ancient technique of divination of throwing
lots using small objects like beans, stones,sticks,
shells, dice, bones, or pottery shards. These objects
are read either by inscriptions the may be on them
or by the patterns they make. pessomancy
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- coscinomancy
coskiomancy
- A Greek divination where a sieve, tong or shears
are balance or suspended to determine guilt. The method
was either to balance the "tool" on the
thumb or middle fingernail of two individuals facing
each other or to tie the "tool" on a thread
and suspended it. The suspect's names are spoken and
when the guilty person's name was mentioned the item
moved. It was also used to discover secret admirers.
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- critomancy
- This form of divination determines omens from food
that has been offered in sacrificial rituals.
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- cromniomancy
- A form of divination where omens are read from onion
sprouts. Besides omens, cromniomancy was used to make
decisions between two alternatives. A person would
write the alternatives on two onions and plant them
at the same time and under the same conditions. The
first one to sprout was the "correct" answer
or choice.
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- crystalomancy
- A mode of divination practiced since ancient times
that uses objects or substances with a reflective
surface such as crystals, water, ink, treacle and
mirrors. The purpose of reflective surface is to aid
the diviner into a meditative state where the visions
are received. In ancient times this practiced was
aided by the invocation of spirits. hydromancy,
captromancy, enoptromancy
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- cyclomancy
- Practice of divination where one consults a spinning
object like a wheel or bottle. One form of consultation
is direction. When at a crossroad, take a bottle and
lay it horizontally on the ground and spin. When it
stops spinning, the neck of the bottle will point
to the road where your destiny lies. The popular game,
"spin the bottle", is based on this concept.
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- dactyliomancy
dactylomancy
- This is thought to be one of the earliest forms
of radiesthesia. This divination uses a ring primarily
as a pendulum. In another method, the ring is dropped
into bowl of water and its position at the bottom
determines the outcome. The inside bottom of the bowl
may contain a special pattern to aid in the prediction.
A variation to this would be to suspend a ring by
a thread in a vessel filled with water and shake;
the amount of times it hits the vessel's wall determines
the prediction.
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- daphnomancy
dappnomancy
- An ancient form of divination where laurel branches
are burned. During the burning of the laurel, if crackling
is heard this is a good sign but if it is absent the
opposite is true. empyromancy
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- demonomancy
- A divination that uses the aid of demons. Oracles
are received from demons however this is considered
unreliable because of its source is not to be trusted.
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- dendromancy*
- A specific form of botanomancy where either oak
or mistletoe is used in the divination.
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- Djemscheed
- It is actually a mythical cup that existed in ancient
Persia. It was believed to contain the elixir of immortality
as well as the universe. When one looked inside it,
the cup would reveal great truths.
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- dowsing
- An ancient form divination that is stilled used
today. It uses a forked stick (or divining rod) to
locate water or precious minerals; also known as water-witching.
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- emonomancy*
- Demon divination.
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- empyromancy
- Smoke divination from burning laurel leaves. dappnomancy
-
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- enoptromancy
- Foretelling the health of a person by use of a mirror
submerged in water.
-
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- epatosocomancy
- Divination by examining the entrails of animals.
hepatomancy, haruspicy, extispicy
-
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- eraomancy
- A Persian divination that uses air and water. A
vessel, filled with water, is exposed to the air (often
by breath) while the diviner with a low voice chants
his/her desire. If bubbles appeared on the surface
of the water, it is a good sign that your desire will
come to fruition.
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- extispicy
extispicium
- It is a general term for the inspection of entrails,
for the purpose of divination. It can be either animal
or human. Disaster was indicated if the entrails were
excessively bloody or they were a livid color. Should
the priest drop the entrails, disaster was imminent.
The Romans would perform this divination in a ritual
that consisted of four stages; first they would examine
the sacrifice, then they would open it up and examine
its entrails. The offering would then be put into
the fire where the flames were examined as they burned
the sacrifice and finally the food offerings were
consumed.
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- fetomancy
- The practice of observing birth defects both in
animals and humans.
-
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- feng-shui
- The application practiced in China concerning the
placement of structures. The practice is based upon
the belief that a structure should not be situated
where it interferes with the flow of the earth's energies
know as "dragon lines". This is accomplished
by keeping the structures complementary.
For example, a (sharp) corner of one house should
not face the (smooth) side of a neighboring house,
if it does, the occupant of the neighboring house
believes that a great misfortune will befall him.
However, to destroy and rebuild a house is costly.
The common solution is to place a magical icon of
dragon or monster facing the threat to protect against
the evil influence.
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- fractomancy*
- A modern form of pattern divination: in this case
the structures of fractal geometric patterns are interpreted.
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- gastromancy
- An ancient method of divination where a low guttural
voice is heard but does not appear to come from the
seer who is making them. Some speculate that the diviner
throws his voice similar to ventriloquism. Within
these guttural sounds the prophecy is revealed.
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- geloscopy*
- This divination analyzes a person's laughter to
determine their character.
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- gematria
- An ancient system where truths and meanings are
hidden within words. Each letter of an alphabet corresponds
to a number. Numerical values of words are totaled
up and then these words are said to correspond with
other words sharing the same numerical value.
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- genethlialogy
- This form of divination determines someone's future
from the position of the stars and planets at the
time of his/her birth. astrology
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- geomancy
- A system of divination that uses the earth's components
to make patterns that are then deciphered. An individual
will draw a vertical line intersected by three horizontal
lines in the dirt; a set of 12 pebbles is then thrown
on this pictograph. The stones are then read in relation
to the lines in the earth. The vertical line represents
you and the three horizontal lines represent time.
-
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- graphology
- A person's handwriting is analyzed to establish
their character and personality traits. This practice
dates back to ancient times, probably when writing
was in its infancy. Aristotle went as far to say that
he could define a person's soul from his handwriting.
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- gyromancy
- A divination method that combines the planchette
and cyclomancy. A person twirls around within a circle
of letters and as the individual stumbles about and
makes contact with the letters, the omen is spelt
out. The end of the message comes when the person
falls. This method can be simplified further by leaving
out the letters and just read the position that person
fell in relation to a the circle.
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- halolmancy
- A causimomancy method of fire divination that involves
throwing salt into the flames. The resulting flames
are then interpreted.
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- haruspicy
- Haruspicy is the examination of the livers and
entrails of sacrificed animals. See extispicy for
details on the entrails' method and hepatoscopy for
the liver.
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- hepatoscopy
hepatomancy
- A specific form of haruspicy divination where the
liver of sacrificed animals is examined. In Babylon
this practice was very popular, so much so, that they
had a specialized priest called a 'bara' to perform
the service. The Babylonians thought the liver was
a "vehicle" by which the gods revealed their
intentions.
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- hieromancy
hierscopy
- It is the overall term for divination involving
sacrificed animals.
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- hippomancy*
- A divination that observes horse's movements and
actions.
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- horoscopy
- Astrological forecast of a person's future based
on the aspect of the planet and stars either at a
given moment, at birth or by his/her zodiac. genethlialogy
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- hydatoscopy
- A specific form of hydromancy where rainwater is
used.
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- hydromancy
- A general term for divination methods that use
water. The variations of hydromancy are as prolific
as the substance itself. However they seem to fall
into one of three categories. The diviner will either
examine the effect of water on matter, examine the
water's action on it, or he/she uses the water's properties
for scrying or gazing. crystalomancy, eromancy
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- I Ching
- The I Ching or Book of Changes is an ancient Chinese
system of divination. An oracle is cast by flipping
coins or more traditionally yarrow stalks. The pattern
is then compared to 64 hexagrams found in the I Ching,
each with a special meaning.
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- ichthyomancy
- Specific form of haruspicy where a fish's entrails
and head are read for predications.
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