If you've ever enjoyed the beauty of a bonfire on a still night, you’ll understand the human fascination with fire and the belief that it can somehow predict the future. Pyromancy probably originated when man made the first burnt offerings to the gods. The ancient seers would study the flames as the sacrifices were made and interpret what they saw.
The most basic form of pyromancy is when the diviner observes flames and interprets the shapes that he or she sees within them. A number of different pictures may appear but one should stand out from the rest as being particularly significant. If no image is seen, then the pyromancy is abandoned and a new fire lit in 24 hours. However, if one shape stands out clearly then this is considered to be important and is interpreted as the vision for the future.
It’s a good omen if the flame is strong and burns quickly or if it’s smokeless, transparent, and doesn’t crackle. It’s also good if it’s bright and pure, has a pyramid shape, and burns until there’s nothing left but ashes. If you see the shape of a windmill or fountain it indicates a change for the better is coming.
It’s a bad omen if the flame is difficult to kindle and it’s slow to burn. It’s also not good if the flame is divided and doesn’t ascend in a straight line but swirls around or turns sideways or downwards. It’s also not a good sign if it crackles a lot or is black, casting up smoke and sparks. And it’s really not good if it’s extinguished by wind, rain, or some kind of accident.
Besides using a sacrificial fire, the ancients also watched the flames of torches, and even threw powdered pitch into a fire – it was a good omen if it caught quickly. The flame of a torch was considered good if it formed a single point, bad if it divided into two, and really good if it had three points. A bent flame indicated a healthy person was going to become ill and an ill person was likely to die.
The Druids practiced a form of pyromancy called botanomancy, in which they divined the future by burning herbs or branches of trees. Often the question they were asking was carved on the branches before they were burned, and omens were drawn from the smoke and ashes as well. Similar to this was sycomancy, which was limited to fig leaves. Names and questions were written on the leaves which were then exposed to the wind. The leaves that remained contained the answers.
A little less fiery is the art of sideromancy, a form of pyromancy which involves burning straw with a hot iron. An odd number of straws are cast onto a red hot iron and the straws, their movements, the smoke, and any resulting flames are interpreted. Another method was to press the hot iron onto the straw until it was burned away and the remaining shapes were interpreted.
Where there’s fire there’s smoke, and divination by smoke is known as capnomancy. If the smoke is thin and light and rises straight up into the air, it’s a good omen. Everything else, however, is a bad omen. And if the smoke touches the ground it’s a sign that swift action needs to be taken to avoid catastrophe. Of course the smoke the ancients interpreted came from burning animal or human sacrifices on an altar, so you might not want to try this at home.
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