Divination

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Dear All,     The following is from: http://witcheswiki.com/index.php?title=DivinationLove and regards,Sreenadh===================================================Divination From Witcheswiki Jump to: navigation, search Divination (Greek μαντεια, from μαντις " seer " , anglicized in the suffix -mancy, see also mania) is the attempt of ascertaining information by interpretation of omens or an alleged supernatural agency. If a distinction is to be made between divination and fortune-telling, divination has a formal or ritual and often social character, usually in a religious context; while fortune-telling is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Divination is often dismissed by skeptics, including the scientific community, as being mere superstition: in the 2nd century, Lucian devoted a witty essay to the career of a charlatan, Alexander the false prophet, trained by " one of those who advertise enchantments, miraculous incantations, charms for your love-affairs, visitations for your enemies, disclosures of buried treasure, and successions to estates " , though most Romans believed in dreams and charms. Advocates of divination will usually cite a mass of anecdotal evidence for the efficacy of divination. Divination is a universal cultural phenomenon which anthropologists have observed as being present in many religions and cultures in all ages up to the present day1. Divination is also considered beneficial when used along with the Psychic Abilities. [edit]Categories of Divination Psychologist Julian Jaynes categorized divination according to the following types: Omens and omen texts. " The most primitive, clumsy, but enduring method...is the simple recording of sequences of unusual or important events. " (1976:236) Chinese history offers scrupulously documented occurrences of strange births, the tracking of natural phenomena, and other data. Chinese governmental planning relied on this method of forecasting for long-range strategy. It is not unreasonable to assume that modern scientific inquiry began with this kind of divination; Joseph Needham's work considered this very idea. Sortilege (cleromancy). This consists of the casting of lots whether with sticks, stones, bones, beans, or some other item. Modern playing cards and board games developed from this type of divination. Augury. Divination that ranks a set of given possibilities. It can be qualitative (such as shapes, proximities, etc.) Dowsing (a form of rhabdomancy) developed from this type of divination. The Romans in classical times used Etruscan methods of augury such as hepatoscopy (actually a form of extispicy). Haruspices examined the livers of sacrificed animals. Spontaneous. An unconstrained form of divination, free from any particular medium, and actually a generalization of all types of divination. The answer comes from whatever object the diviner happens to see or hear. Some Christians and members of other religions use a form of bibliomancy: they ask a question, riffle the pages of their holy book, and take as their answer the first passage their eyes light upon. Other forms of spontaneous divination include reading auras and New Age methods of Feng Shui such as " intuitive " and Fuzion. [edit]Methods of Divination From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Acultomancy (by needles) Aeromancy (by atmospheric conditions) Ailuromancy (by cats) Alectryomancy (by rooster) Aleuromancy (by flour, including fortune cookies): (Note: Divination by fortune cookies is also a form of Stichomancy, see below) Alomancy (by salt) Alphitomancy (by barley) Ambulomancy (by taking a walk) Anemoscopy (by wind) Anthomancy (by flowers) Anthracomancy (by burning coals) Anthropomancy (by human sacrifice) Apantomancy (by seeing animals) Arithmancy (by numerology) Ashagalomancy (by the casting of small bones) Aspidomancy (by entering a trance) Astragalomancy (by dice; see also Cleromancy) Astrology (by celestial bodies) Astromancy (by celestial bodies, aka Astrology; antiquated term) Astro-Numerology (through an integration of Astrology and Numerology) Astro-Tarot (through an integration of Astrology and Tarot) Augury (by the formation of birds) Austromancy (by wind and clouds) Axiomancy (by axes) Belomancy (by arrows) Bibliomancy (by books, especially the Bible; see also Stichomancy) Biorhythms divination Bletonism (by currents of water) Botanomancy (by burning plants or leaves) Brontomancy (by thunder) Capnomancy (by smoke) Carromancy (by the melting of wax) Cartomancy (by cards, e.g., playing cards, tarot cards, and non-tarot oracle cards; see also Taromancy) Catoptromancy (by mirrors) Causimomancy (by burning) Cephalomancy (by skulls) Ceraunoscopy (by thunder and lightning) Ceromancy, or ceroscopy (by placing melted wax into cold water) Chaomancy (by aerial visions) Cheiromancy, or palmistry (by palms) where the grooves of the hand are interpreted as signs. Chirognomy (by hands) Cledonomancy (by chance events or overheard words) Cleromancy (by casting lots or by bones; including divination by use of dice or dominoes; For divination by use of dice, see also Astragalomancy) Clidomancy, or cleidomancy (by keys) Coffee Grounds Divination, Coffee Tasseography Cometomancy (by comet tails) Coscinomancy (by hanging sieves) Critomancy (by barley cakes) Cromniomancy (by onion sprouts) Crystallomancy/Scrying (by crystals or other reflecting objects) Cybermancy (via computer oracles) Cyclomancy (by wheels) Daphnomancy (by burning laurel wreaths) Demonomancy (by demons) Dice divination (see also Astragalomancy and Cleromancy) Dominoes divination (see also Cleromancy) DÅbutsu uranai (by one's animal horoscope) Empyromancy (by burning) Enochian chess (by playing four handed variant of the game) Extispicy (from the exta of sacrificed animals) Favomancy (by beans; a form of cleromancy) Floriography (the language of flowers) Geomancy (by earth), includes Feng Shui divination Geloscopy (by laughter) Graphology (by handwriting) Gyromancy (by dizziness) Hepatoscopy, or haruspication or hepatomancy (by liver) Hippomancy (by horses) Hydromancy (by water) Hypnomancy (by hypnosis) I Ching divination (ancient Chinese divination using I Ching): (However, as performed by some diviners with heavy reliance on an accompanying I Ching manual, this is, in effect, also a form of Bibliomancy/Stichomancy) Ichnomancy (by footprints) Icthyomancy (by fish) Idolomancy (by idols) Ifa (by palm nuts, West African) Knissomancy (by burning incense) Lampadomancy (by flame) Lecanomancy (by a basin of water) Libanomancy (by smoke from incense) Libromancy (by book(s); see also: Bibliomancy, Stichomancy) Literomancy (by a letter in a given written language) Lithomancy (by precious stones) Logarithmancy (by logarithms) Macharomancy (by knives or swords) Mahjong divination (by Mahjong tiles) Margaritomancy (by bouncing pearls) Metagnomy (by visions) Meteormancy (by meteors) Metoposcopy (by the lines of the forehead) Moleosophy (by blemishes) Myomancy (by rodent behaviour) Myrmomancy (by ant behaviour) Narcomancy (by sleep) Necromancy (by speaking to the dead) Nephomancy (by clouds) Nggàm (by spiders or crabs) Numerology (by numbers) Oculomancy (by eyes) Ogham (casting Old Irish letters; similar to runecasting) Oinomancy (by wine) Omphalomancy (by umbilical cords) Oneiromancy (by dreams) Onomancy or Nomancy (by letters in a name) Onychomancy (by fingernails) Oomancy, or ooscopy or ovomancy (by eggs) Ophiomancy (by snakes) Oracle-books divination (e.g., Chinese: I Ching (Book of Changes), Ling Ch'i Ching (Spiritual Chess Classic), I Lin (Forest of Change), T'ai Hsüan Ching (Canon of the Supreme Mystery); African: Ifá; Western: Sabian Symbols Orniscopy, or orinthomancy (by birds of flight) Ossomancy (by bones) Ouija board divination Palmistry (by palm inspection) Pedomancy (by footprints) Pegomancy (by spring water) Phrenology (by the shape of one's head) Phyllorhodomancy (by rose petals) Plastromancy (by cracks formed by heat on a turtle's plastron) Pyromancy, or pyroscopy (by fire) Rhabdomancy (by rod or stick) Rhapsodomancy (by poetry) Roadomancy (by stars) Runecasting / Runic divination (by Runes) Scatomancy (by droppings, usually animal) Scapulimancy (by bovine or caprid scapulae, i.e. shoulder bones) Sciomancy (by spirits) Sideromancy (by burning of straw) Slinneanachd (by animals' shoulderblades) Spodomancy (by ash) Stichomancy (by books and/or lines; see also: Bibliomancy, Libromancy) Stolisomancy (by clothing) Taromancy (by specially designed cards: Tarot; see also Cartomancy) Tasseography (or Tasseomancy) (by tea leaves or by coffee grounds) Tephramancy (by bark ashes) Tiromancy (by cheese) Xylomancy (by burning wood) Zoomancy (by animals) ===================================================