It’s been a lot of fun (and a lot of work) but all good things must come to an end. Today is the last post this series, with the final 13 weird and wonderful ways people used to, and in some cases still do, try and predict the future.
Geomancy focuses on interpreting lines and dots made by tossing handfuls of dirt, rocks, or sand on the ground. It was most popular in Europe and Africa during the Middle Ages, and during the Renaissance it was considered one of the seven “forbidden arts.”
Gyromancy is one of those forms of divination where the answers need to be spelled out. A circle of letters is inscribed on the ground and the diviner walks around it until they’re too dizzy to keep going. The letters they stumble against or the direction they fall is supposed to spell out a message. Another way of doing this is to make the circle large enough for someone to spin around inside it until they’re dizzy, and whatever letters they stumble against produce the message. It was believed the dizziness would make the selections random and help create an altered state of consciousness.
Hydromancy, another obvious one, uses water to divine the future. Early man would interpret the patterns created by the flowing motion of a calm body of water. Sometimes, they believed, a spirit would appear within the water to bring a telepathic message. During initiation ceremonies a disciple would spend hours gazing into a sacred pool or a large urn filled with water, hoping to receive a message from the gods.
Leconomancy, is closely related to hydromancy, but in this case it involves interpreting the patterns and ripples causes by stones dropped into water. Most commonly precious or consecrated stones were used, and the water was contained in a special bowl or basin. Often a layer of oil covered the surface of the water and if the oil separated from the water it determined the final outcome. The sound the stones made when dropped in the water could also be interpreted.
Omphilomancy is also known as navel gazing. There are two methods to this form of divination. The first is the interpretation of the navel itself. Those with navels that incline inward are most often introverted and tend to live longer, while a protruding navel indicates an extrovert, someone who is optimistic and light-hearted. The second method concerns the umbilical cord itself, which was considered a spiritual link to the spirit dimension. The number of knots in the umbilical cord of a newborn baby indicate how many additional brothers or sisters they can expect.
Oneiromancy relies on dreams to predict the future. Despite being dismissed by the scientific community as being nothing more than superstition, dream interpretation has a well documented history, and is even featured in the Bible. Many cultures believed in the importance of dreams and dreams were shared with the entire community. They were believed to be signs predicting such things as success in hunting, healing the sick or wounded, and even foretelling upcoming events. The details of dreams – colors, smells, tastes, sights – bring messages of great significance. They are believed to do everything from healing past traumas to solving life’s problems.
Oomancy uses eggs for divining the future. Eggs symbolize life, fertility, prosperity, new beginnings, and protection. The most common way of predicting the future with an egg was to separate the white from the yolk and then drop the egg white into boiling water, interpreting the shapes as the egg cooked. Another method was to read the shell of the egg – size, color, and texture. A third method was to hard boil the egg and write the name of a god or goddess on one end, and the goal a person wished to achieve on the other. The egg was then rolled down a slope and the answer was in the direction the egg was pointing and whichever end faced up. To make predictions about a child still in the womb, an uncooked egg was rubbed on the pregnant woman’s belly and then cracked into a saucer. The number of yolks the egg contained indicated the number of children the woman was carrying. If the yolk contained a spot of blood it was thought to be a sign indicating a miscarriage or complication.
Ornithomancy logically follows oomancy as it uses our feathered friends for divination. Methods include interpreting their flight patterns, the sounds they make, the number of them, and the way they settle on the ground. Also, the different types of birds have their own meanings. There is, in fact, so much information about using birds as a method of divination, I feel remiss not doing a separate post about them. This being the last post of my series it’s too late to add it now, but if you’re interested in learning more about it, Magical Musings has a very comprehensive article.
Rumpology is just what it sounds like, divination reading the rump. Apparently this was practiced in ancient Babylon, India, Greece, and Rome and was performed by reading the lines, crevices, dimples, warts, moles, and folds of a person’s buttocks. A muscular, apple shaped bottom indicates someone who is creative, charismatic, and dynamic while a pear shaped one suggests someone more down to earth. And a round bottom is a sign of someone who’s open, happy, and optimistic while a flat bottom suggests someone who is vain, negative, and sad.
Scrying is done by focusing on a shiny object until a vision appears. Most of you are familiar with the fortune-teller’s crystal ball, but mirrors, polished metal, and water or oil have also been used. Early scryers simply gazed into a quiet pool of water and waited for a vision. The Egyptians used bowls of ink, blood, or some other dark liquid. Glass fishing floats have been used by those unable to afford a crystal ball. And it’s said the goddess Hathor carried a shield that could reflect the truth, and from which the first magical mirror was created.
Theomancy is divination by divine oracles, such the oracle at Delphi in ancient Greece. Oracles were believed to be portals through which the gods were able to speak to man. The most popular, and oldest, way to do this is through a séance, or channeling spirits.
Urimancy is divination using urine. Yes, that’s right, urine. This is done by interpreting its color, taste, flow patterns, or by the images formed when it hits the ground or in a swirling bowl. You can also read the bubbles that form when urinating into a pot. In the beginning it was used as a diagnostic tool, but over the years it became not only a way to predict a person’s health, but also their future.
Xylomancy dates back to biblical times and is a form of divination using wood. Omens are read from the position of small pieces of wood found in your path, or the pattern made by fallen tree limbs, branches, or twigs. Sometimes interpretations were taken from the arrangements of logs in the fireplace and the way in which they burned.
Be sure to come back next week to see the next series I come up with.
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