A Glossary Of Divination

divination from the air and sky, particularly concentrating on cloud shapes, comets, and other phenomena not normally visible in the heavens.

is the practice of transmutation of base metals into precious metals (e.g., gold or silver) with the aid of an esoteric substance called the "philosopher's stone".

is divination whereby a bird is allowed to pick corn grains from a circle of letters. A variation is to recite letters of the alphabet noting those at which a cock crows.

is divination using "fortune cookies"; answers to questions are rolled into balls of dough and once baked are chosen at random.

is divination by table salt.

uses special cakes that are digestible by persons with a clear conscience but are unpleasant to others.

is the long-outlawed means of divination by human sacrifice.

is divination through chance meetings with animals (e.g., a black cat), birds, and other creatures. Mexico City is said to have been founded where Aztec soothsayers saw an eagle flying from a cactus carrying a live snake.

is an earlier form of NUMEROLOGY where divination is made through numbers and the number value of letters.

is a form of divination by dice where the faces of the dice bear numbers and letters.

is divination using celestial bodies: the sun, moon, planets, and stars.

is the general term for the art of divination and is chiefly applied to interpretations of signs and omens.

is divination by the study of the winds.

is divination through the observation of how an ax or hatchet quivers or points when driven into post.

is an ancient form of divination performed by tossing or balancing arrows.

involves divination by books.

is divination from burning tree branches and leaves.

strictly a modern term, a popular nickname for PHRENOLOGY

is the study of smoke rising from a fire.

is fortune telling using cards such as the Tarot.

is an early form of crystal gazing that utilizes a mirror turned to the moon to catch moonbeams.

is divination from behavior of objects placed in a fire.

refers to divination with the skull or head of a donkey or goat.

seeks to draw omens from the study of thunder and lightning.

is a form of fortune telling in which melted was is poured into cold water.

is divination from the lines on people's hands.

is the study of the general hand formation.

is "clear hearing" of divinatory information. Parapsychologist generally regard as a form of extrasensory perception.

is "clear seeing" of divinatory information. Parapsychologist generally regard as a form of extrasensory perception.

is divination by "casting lots", similar to dice but with objects such as pebbles or sea shells.

is divination using a dangling key. see RADIESTHESIA.

is divination using a hanging sieve. see RADIESTHESIA.

is the study of barley cakes.

is divination using onion sprouts.

is divination through crystal gazing.

is the practice of divination from a turning wheel.

is an early form of RADIESTHESIA using a dangling ring.

requires one to listen to laurel branches crackling in an open fire.

is divination with the aid of demons.

is divination with either oak or mistletoe.

are methods of divination where a forked stick is used to locate water or precious minerals.

is an ancient form of ventriloquism whereby the voice is lowered to a sepulchral tone and prophetic utterances are delivered in a trance state.

is the divination from the tone of someone's laughter.

is divination by the influence of the stars at birth.

is the study of figures on the ground and the influence of the Earth's "currents".

is the analysis of character through handwriting.

is a divination procedure where a person walks in a circle marked with letters until they become dizzy and stumble at different points, thus spelling out a prophesy.

see ALOMANCY

is fortune-telling by means of inspecting the entrails of animals, as practiced by priests in ancient Rome.

is divination by observing object of ancient sacrifice.

is a form of divination from the stamping and neighing of horses.

is the practice of casting of astrological horoscopes.

is divination by water including the color, ebb and flow, or ripples produced by pebbles dropped in a pool.

is divination using fish.

is divination using lights or torches.

uses a basin of water for divination.

is the study of incense and its smoke.

is divination using precious stones of various colors.

is the procedure of using bouncing pearls.

is the divination using "visions" received in a trance state.

is divination from meteors.

is the reading of character using the lines if the forehead.

is the study of moles and indicators of a person's character and future indications.

draws mystic inferences from the hissing of molten lead.

is the study of the prophetic meaning of behavior of rats and mice.

is the numerical interpretation of numbers, dates, and the number value of letters.

is divination from a person's eye.

is divination using wine.

is counting the number of knots in the umbilical cord to predict how many more children the mother will have

is the interpretation of dreams and their prophetic nature.

is the study of the meaning of names.

is the application of ONOMANCY applied to personal names, particularly in the sense of occult interpretation.

is the study of fingernails.

is the method of divination by eggs.

is divination from serpents.

is the study of omens associated with birds, particularly birds in flight. see APANTOMANCY

is another type of egg divination.

is the broad field of divination and interpretation of the lines and structure of the hand.

concerns itself with spring water and bubbling fountains and the omens contained therein.

is the long practiced study of head formations.

is a means of divination whereby one slaps a rose petal against the hand and judges the favorability of the omen by the loudness of the sound.

is the study of character analysis through physical features.

in an inner knowledge or sense of future events.

is a form of mysterious writing having a divinatory nature.

is the faculty of gaining impressions from a physical object and its history.

are forms of divination by fire or flame, often assisted by substances thrown onto the flames.

is the general term for divination using a device such as a divining rod or pendulum. Other forms include "table tipping" which was practiced at the White House in the 19th century, the Ouija board, automatic writing (or superconscious writing), and scrying.

is divination using a stick or wand. These methods were forerunners of the divining rod.

is a means of divination using a book of poetry whereby the book is opened at random and a passage read.

is divination using a spirit guide, a method generally employed by channelers.

is a general term for divination using a crystal, mirrors, bowls of water, ink, or flames to induce visions.

is the burning of straws with a hot iron, the resulting figures having divinatory properties.

is the casting of lots and the assessment of omens indicated.

is divination using cinders or soot.

is another form of throwing open a book and selecting a random passage for the purpose of divination.

draws omens from the way people dress.

is performed by writing messages on tree leaves; the slower they dry, the more favorable the omen. A modern variation is to write on slips of paper (always including one blank) and rolling them up. They are then held in a strainer over a boiling pot; the first to unroll will be answered.

is the reading of tea leaves that remain in a tea cup once the beverage has been drunk.

is divination by ashes obtained from the burning of tree bark.

is a type of divination using cheese.

is divination from pieces of wood, either from their shape when collected or their appearance while burning.