Diagrammatic Synopsis of the Divinatory Arts, Robert Fludd, 1619
Divination: the act of foretelling the future, often by interpreting omens. Among the many forms of divination are predictions based on the symbols of Tarot cards, the fall of dice, yarrow sticks, or colored beans, the configuration of such natural phenomena as clouds or wind, and the movement of birds or other living creatures. – Watkins Dictionary of Magic
Divination is so called because it is considered a gift of the divine – a gift from the gods. It is the art of foretelling the future, using omens, portents, visions, and divinatory tools… Divination has, for thousands of years, been a tool of priests, seers, shamans, astrologers, medicine men, Gypsies, and wise men and women. – The Witch Book
People of every age are preoccupied with knowing the future. Perhaps we should consider that many would be fearful of our futures should we know them, and that Mother Nature has screened the future from our eyes for our benefit; still, we entertain the idea that we would be at some great advantage over others if we could just lift the veil and peek in.
This fascination has driven the development of divinatory arts. Some are more familiar, like astrology and cartomancy, and some not – like lampadomancy. Minor divinatory methods can be found throughout the centuries, invented by no-one knows who, born of human ingenuity. We will leave the major divination arts to later posts, and discuss here the odd world of minor methods.
Some methods are not very attractive sounding. Romans practiced haruspicy; the inspection of the entrails of slaughtered animals. They also roasted the shoulder of a sheep, examining the cracks in the bones, and interpreting them for any messages. Oddly, Christians preserved these practices until the eleventh century. Another method survived longer, stichomancy – done by opening a book randomly and interpreting the first words on the page in a prophetic manner. Use of this method using the Bible resulted in the phrase “sortes sanctorum,” or “lots of the saints.”
