Types of Divination

Posted by L HK O on October 22, 2011 at 9:24pm in Divination Circle Back to Divination Circle Discussions

Divination is the art or practice of foretelling the future using different methods that the diviner may decide. The art of Divination has been practiced by all countries, cultures and religions around the world for thousands of years. It was studies over two thousand years ago in China by the study of cracked eggs for Divination. Some of the most popular forms of divination include tarot cards, runes, astrology and dowsing. But in the past there were times in history when divination was considered a crime and in fact still is in many countries today. How accurate the divination will depend upon the reader. Augur During the time of ancient Rome there were priests that were called, Augur. The Augur was tasked with the divination of the flight of birds. It was believed at the time that the flight of birds gave an indication on the will of the Gods. The divination was undertaken by studying the breed of birds, direction of flight, noises they made and other signals. Chronomancy This type of divination involves the determination of what will be a lucky day or an unlucky day. It also involves the determination of lucky times. For example what will be the luckiest time on a certain day to do something or what might be the bad luck times on certain days. Pyromancy One of the very earliest forms of divination that involves the divination of fire. There are several types of Pyromancy including Alomancy : This involves throwing salt into a fire for divination. Botanomancy : A form of divination that involves the burning of plants. Daphnomancy : Divination from burning laurel leaves. Osteomancy : Divination by heating bones over a fire to produce cracks.

Sideromancy : A form of divination by burning straw with an iron. Abacomancy is an early form of divination by scrying the patterns of dust. If the symbols appear more then once in the sand it may give an indication of the time and date of the happening. Aeromancy is the divination of atmospheric conditions. The first recorded use of the word Aeromancy dates back to 1753. Aeromancy includes the divination of clouds, wind currents, comets, thunder, lightning and shooting stars. Agalmatomancy is the divination of ancient statues and was popular during the time of ancient Greece. Alomancy is the divination from the patterns formed by salt thrown into the air. The diviner must observe the patterns as they fall to the ground. Alphitomancy is a type of divination to establish a persons innocence or guilt. The suspected people are given barley cake or bread and those that get sick are the guilty. Apantomancy is a form of divination based on certain objects or animals that cross your path by chance. The superstition regarding black cats comes from Apantomancy. Molybdomancy is a system of divination that uses melted metal. Melted lead or tin is dropped into a container of water. The divinator interprets the shapes to make his predictions. Molybdomancy is similar to Ceroscopy which uses wax. Lampadomancy is a form of divination involving divinating the flame of a lamp. It was good fortune if the flame had a single point. However two points is a sign of bad luck. A flame that bent may indicate illness and sparks indicated news. Sudden extinction of a flame was considered a very bad omen. Shell Scrying is a modern method of scrying and is becoming more popular. Most people are familiar with the sound of when a shell is placed over the ear. It sort of sounds like the ocean. But in fact it is the sounds of blood flowing through the vessels in your ear. If however you listen to this sound you will eventually by able to pick up fragments of conversation. At first you may be able to only make out a few words, but in time you will come to understand whole segments of conversations. The subject of this talk will be usually meaningless, but if you can mentally break into this communication

you may find the voices may choose to respond. Just exactly what is happening here I'm not sure, but for those of you who have seen the movie "The Phantom Menace" it may give you a clue. Smoke scrying is best done while relaxing in front of a campfire. You should be in comfortable visual range of watching the smoke rise. Do not follow the smoke up but rather allow the smoke to forms patterns within your spiritual gaze. In time you will see visions of many far off events. I have generally found people who have natural artistic skill good at this form of scrying. The American Indians practice a special type of smoke scrying. It's called a sweat lodge. Water is poured over hot rocks in a tent to create steam. The steam is inhaled by those who sit naked around the rocks. The combination of temperature, humidity and elevated levels of carbon dioxide produce a state in which visions can arise. This form of scrying may be dangerous and should only be undertaken by experienced people. Mirror scrying is an evolved form of water scrying. When it became possible to build mirrors they were regarded as being like water that was fixed into one place. The early mirrors were made of polished copper, brass, marcasite, tin foil or mercury behind glass, polished silver and obsidian. All types of mirrors may be used for scrying and the size is not important. Because mirrors are linked to the moon mirrors should be backed with silver. Try and use a round or oval mirror instead of a square mirror. For the frame try and use a mirror that has a silver frame. Old mirrors also seem to work better than new mirrors. Most seers prefer to use a black mirror. Because this is difficult to buy you may have to make one. Just simply take out the glass and paint it black. You may have to give it a few coats of paint though. When you put it back in the frame make sure the glass part is to the front. The use of black mirrors may be traced back over the centuries. John Dee used a black mirror of obsidian. When using the black mirror for scrying you do not want to see your reflection. The best is to leave the mirror on a table and look at it from an angle. Look into the depths of the mirror as though you were looking into a bowl of water. At first it may appear grey than colors will come and go. With time and practice you will be able to see scried images like still photographs or moving film images. Spirits may sometimes look at the scryer, talk to the scryer or even touch the scryer. The visions may even exist outside the mirror and surround the scryer on all sides. Ornithomancy is a method of divination that interprets the flight patterns of birds. It also refers to the divination of the songs of birds. It was a very popular form of divination during ancient Rome where in fact it was part of its religion. An Oracle is a person who acts as a go between for those who seek council

from the Gods. Some people use an Oracle to seek a prophecy. Sometimes the Oracle will take on the role of being a medium whose soul is temporarily taken over so as to pass on the information. Monitions of Approach are ideas of an impending meeting with someone. Basically its when you see someone you know only to realize its not them, then just soon after the real person appears. Some Monitions appear in a much more complicated way. For example it may come in the voice of announcing someone, then the real person appears. It may be that the astral body of the person is somehow projected in advance. Lecanomancy is a form of divination where a stone is thrown into a basin of water. The scryer will divinate by the sound the stone makes in the water and the images of the rippling water. Sometimes oil is used instead of a rock. In this case the scryer interprets the shapes of the oil floating on the water. Hakata are pieces of bone, ivory or wood that were used by African witch doctors for divination. These different objects are inscribed with symbols that represent the signs of the zodiac. They are cast upon the ground by the witch doctor who then interprets their meaning. The Delphi Oracle was a very influential oracle who made predictions and announcements at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. The Priestess of Apollo was named Pythia. A goat would be sacrificed and then Pythia would mount a tripod and sit. She would breath in intoxicating smoke while awaiting divine inspiation. When she entered a trance the priests would interpret the oracles from Pythia and then relay the answers to the seeker.

Coscinomancy is a form of divination that is practiced with a sieve and a pair of shears. This form of divination is used to find a thief. A thread was tied to a sieve by which it was upheld. Or a pair of shears which was held up by two fingers. The divinator prayed to the Gods for guidance. They repeated the names of those people under suspicion. The sieve or sheares would then swirl around a person or persons name. This person was then thought to be the guilty one. In the Athenian Oracle it is referred to as "the trick of the sieve and scissors". This method of divination was also used to find missing persons and discover love secrets. Critomancy is an ancient form of divination of cakes. Omens were drawn from the flour spread upon them after being strewn upon sacrifices.

In ancient times cursed bread was used in divination to find a guilty person. A piece of bread that would be about an once in weight would be given to the suspected person. The piece of bread would have a spell caste over it. If the person became sick he was regarded as guilty. If he remained fine then he was innocent. Often barley bread was used for this as it often caused choking or the person may be allergic to it. Dactylomancy is a form of divination practiced with rings in ancient times. There are various methods used. One method involved placing gold or silver rings on the fingernails in certain conjunctions of the planets. In another way a round table is inscribed with the letters of the alphabet and a ring suspended above. The ring will then spell out the message. Another method involves suspending a ring within a glass. If the glass is struck once it will indicate yes, and twice will be no. Daphnomancy is an ancient method of divination using a branch from a Laurel tree. A Laurel branch is thrown into a fire and a question is asked. If the branch crackles in burning it is a positive sign. If the branch burns without doing so it is a negative sign. The Djemscheed was a divination cup that had been the subject of poems and myths in ancient Persia. It was thought to have been found while digging the foundations of Persepolis. It was filled with the elixir of immortality. It was said that within the cup it mirrored the whole world. All good and evil was revealed within the cup. The entire prosperity of the Persian empire was in fact attributed to this cup. Eromancy is one of six different divination practices by the Persians using air and water. The divinator covered his head in a napkin and exposed to the air a vase filled with water. Over the vase they then whispered their desires. If the surface of the water showed bubbles it was regarded as a good sign. Ceroscopy is a system of divination using wax that was very popular in Russia. Wax was melted into a brass vessel till it became a liquid of uniform consistence. The liquid wax was then poured very slowly into another vessel filled with cold water. The pouring was done in a way that the wax congealed in tiny discs upon the surface of the water. The divinator then interpreted the figures of wax. The Celontes was a mystical stone that was said to be found in a tortoise. It was believed to have healing abilities and gave it`s owner the ability to resist fire. If the stone was carried under the tongue on the day of the new moon and for 15 days thereafter, during the lunar ascension, it gave it`s

owner the power to tell the future between the hours of sunrise to sunset. Cartopedy comes from the ancient Persions and it was the term used for the divination of feet. It many ways it is similar to palmistry. These days Cartopedy is widely practiced in India. A Cartopedy was employed by the ancient Persians and Indians on important matters, such as choosing a bride. Measurements and footprints would be studied intensively. Sometimes the study would take weeks or months. The size, shape, heels, toes, arches, lines and markings were all studied. Cartopedy is also used in crime detection. Known as the Ashkir-Jobson Communigraph it consists of a small table with a free moving pendulum underneath. The pendulum may then make contact with some small metal plates that represent the alphabet. No medium is necessary for this instrument to work. A circle is formed around the table. The pendulum starts swinging on it`s own accord. Cledonism is a system of divination that is based on the good or evil passage of words. These words must be uttered without premeditation when persons come together in any way. The system also regulated the words to be used on certain occasions. Cledonism was a favorite method of divination at Smyrna where the Oracle of Apollo were thus interpreted. Cleidomancy is a system of divination using a suspended key. It can only be used when the Sun or Moon is in Virgo. The name of the person who is being divinated must be written on the a key tied to a Book of Shadows. Both should be hung upon the ring finger of only a virgin girl, who must repeat certain mystical words. Xylomancy is a form of divination that is practiced by the Slavs. The divination is done by interpreting the shape and position of dry pieces of wood found in one`s path. These are considered Omens. The Sibyl were women in ancient Greece and Rome who lived in caves and were renowned for their gift of prophecy. There were ten Sibyl`s in all. The most respected of these lived at Cumae near Naples and guarded the temple of Apollo. The other`s lived at Persia, Libya, Delphi, Samos, Cimmeria, Erythrae, Tibur, Marpessa and Phrygia. Phrenology is the art of reading bumps on a persons head. It is believed that confirmations of the skull correspond with characteristics of the mind and body. Phrenologists believe that external areas above the skull grow above specific regions of the brain in that a person chooses to develop.

Phrenologists believe that balanced development of the mind is essential. Arithmancy is a Chaldean and Greek method of divination by numbers. The Chaldeans divided their alphabet into three sections of seven letters and linked these to the seven planets. The Greeks would analyze the names of opponents and predict the outcome of a contest. Arithmancy is a precursor to numerology. Anthropomancy was a barbaric form of divination that involved using human entrails. These were usually those of a young virgin child. The magician Julian the Apostate sacrificed young children during his rituals in order to evaluate their entrails. Anthropomancy was also practiced in ancient Egypt. An omen is a sign that relates to a future event. It may or may not give a time frame as to when this event will occur. Some omens are signs of good fortune while others are a sign of impending misfortune. Alectryomancy is a form of divination using birds. Often a black hen or a gamecock. The diviner will sprinkle grain and the ground and allow the birds to peck. When the birds have finished, the diviner will then interpret the patterns left by the birds on the ground. Aleuromancy was a divination method that was popular with the ancient Greeks. Sentences were composed that were written on very small pieces of paper and rolled up into balls of flour. The balls were then mixed up nine times and given to those seeking information on their future. This form of divination was presided over by Apollo. Alphitomancy is a form of divination using a barley leaf. It is used to identify a thief or criminal. Pieces of the leaf were given to a group of suspects. If you were innocent you would feel no effects, but if you were guilty you would become sick. Myomancy was a form of divination involving rats during ancient Egypt, Rome and Assyria. There cries were believed to indicate the presence of evil. When King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Egypt, his soldiers discovered their quivers and bows had been gnawed by rats. His soldiers fled unarmed and were slain. There are a number of different systems available for egg divination. Oomancy is one system of egg divination by the outer and inner forms of the egg. One method was to break the egg into a glass of water and interpret the shapes assumed by the white. Another method was Oomantia. It involved divinating the signs or characters appearing in eggs. Onychomancy is a form of divination by the fingernails. It was practiced by watching the reflection of the Sun in the nails of a young boy. The future was divinated by judging the shape of the figures which appeared on the surface. Omphalomancy is a form of divination by the navel of a new born first child. It is used to ascertain future conceptions by the mother. These indications were obtained from the number of markings on the navel of the child. Onimancy is a form of divination based on the observation of the angel Uriel.

Some oil of olives is placed on the palm or nails of a young virgin child. If money is sought the face of the child must be turned to the east. If divinating about romance, the child must face south. For robbery, west, and for murder, south. The child must repeat the 72 verses of the Psalms which the Hebrew Kabalists collected for the Urim and Thummim. The Psychic Telephone was an instrument consisting of a box inside which was a rubber bag connected with a pair of earphones from a radio set. If a Medium inflated the bag with their breath and then sealed it, the bag would then take the place of the medium. Direct voices would be heard through the earphones. In ancient Rome Belly Talkers were sort by many seeking answers to the future. Belly Talking is a type of ancient divination. These Belly talkers spoke automatically while in a trance. The Mediums were believed to have a Daemon in their belly. The Daemon used the Mediums vocal organs to predict the future. Belly Talkers were held in the highest regard in the community and were sort out by almost everyone. Book Test Divination is supposedly initiated by a deceased to supply evidence of their survival after death. The sitter is instructed to open the book on a certain page, on a certain place on that page, where a certain passage is considered a message from the deceased. The problem is that, the test does not exclude the possibility that on any page of the book some passage may be interpreted as a message. During a Billet test a question is written on a piece of paper and placed in a sealed envelope. The psychic then tells the writer what is written on the paper and answers the question. The Billet reading is often used by stage performers. Using slight of hand they switched Billets and read the questions in advance. Sometimes the people in the audience are part of the scam. No psychic has ever been able to pass the billet test under controlled conditions. Hand Trembling is a technique used on the Indian reservations in Arizona and New Mexico. As their hands trembled and shacked they entered into an altered state of consciousness. These very gifted Navajos usually sprinkle corn pollen on their hands. In this paranormal state they are able to locate lost objects and diagnose illness. In Navojos culture the Hand Trembler held a highly respected place. Prenestine Lots was a form of divination by lots. This form of divination was popular in ancient Italy. The letters of the alphabet were placed in an urn which was shaken. The letters were then turned out on the floor. The words that were formed were regarded as omens. Divination by smoke was very common in many ancient cultures. For this purpose Poppy seeds were often used on the fire. If the smoke rose lightly and straight towards the heavens it was considered a good sign. If however, the smoke hung around it was considered a bad omen. In ancient Europe a pregnant woman would place Poppy seeds on a window ledge if she wanted

a Boy, and sugar if she wanted a Girl. The Planchette was an instrument designed for the purpose of communicating with spirits. It was made of a thin heart shaped piece of wood, that was mounted on two small wheel castors and carrying a pencil pointing downwards. The hand is placed on the wood and the spirit uses the pencil to write, operating through the psychic force of the medium. Phyllorhodomancy is a form of divination by Rose leaves. During ancient Greece, they would clap a Rose leaf on the hand. The omen was in the sound it made. A good clear sound was positive, but a muffled sound was a bad omen. Pessomancy is a form of divination that uses beans or pebbles. The beans are marked with symbols relating to health, success, travel, love, etc. The stones were usually thrown out after shuffling in a bag. The divinator would then interpret from this. Muscle reading is similar to telepathy or mind reading. Muscle readers generally work with an audience. It is the unconscious movement of a member of the audience whose hands they hold that guide the performer in giving dates of coins, combinations of safes, location of hidden objects. Hippomancy was a form of divination that was practiced by the Celts. The Celts kept certain white horses in a grove. These horses were made to walk straight after the sacred car and auguries were drawn from their movements. Hepatoscopy is a form of divination using the entrails of animals. In ancient times the liver was regarded as the focal point of life and of special occult importance. The liver was divided into sections with each section representing a particular deity. The markings in these zones were of great importance. Gyromancy is a form of divination performed by going round in circles. The circumference of the circle is marked by letters. The message was gained from the words formed by the inquirer when they stumbled on the letters when going round the circle. Lychnomancy is a form of divination by candle flame. It is a branch of Pyromancy. The divinater is concerned with the flames of three candles arranged in a triangle. A wavering flame would indicate a journey. A spiral flame indicated plots by enemies. An uneven flame danger. Sparks would indicate you should be cautious and a sudden extinction indicated bad luck. Amniomancy is a form of divination that uses the membrane which sometimes covers the head of a new born child. Divination of this sort is only done by a woman. The woman will inspect the membrane and predict the future of the baby. If the color is red it indicates a fortunate life. However, if the color is lead, it indicates a difficult life. Ariolists were ancient diviners who divined by means of the alter. The Ariolists consulted demons on their alters. They divined by the the movement of the alter, which may tremble or do something else.

Aximoncy is a form of divination using an axe. It was this form of divination that was used to predict the ruin of Jerusalem. There are two methods of Axinomancy. One method involves use of an Agate. A round Agate must be produced. The head of the axe is heated red hot and placed so its edge is standing perpendicularly in the air. The Agate is placed on the edge. If it remains it there, it is a negative sign. If it rolls way and does this three times it is a positive sign. Belomancy is a form of divination using arrows. Belomancy was anciently practised at least by Babylonians, Greeks, Arabs and Scythians. One method involved throwing the arrows in the air, the point in which the arrows inclined pointed out the direction to be taken. The arrows were typically marked with occult symbols and had to have feathers for every method. In one method, different possible answers to a given question were written and tied to each arrow. For example, three arrows would be marked with the phrases, God orders it me, God forbids it me, and the third would be blank. The arrow that flew the furthest indicated the answer. Another method involves the same thing, but without shooting the arrows. They would simply be shuffled in the quiver, worn preferably on the back, and the first arrow to be drawn indicated the answer. If a blank arrow was drawn, they would redraw.