PALLOMANCY: Divination interpreting the movements of pendulum, often used in dowsing. Different forms of pallomancy include:
Cleidomancy (using a key);
Coscinomancy (using a sieve);
Dactylomancy (using a ring);
Also known as Radiesthesia.
PALMISTRY: See Cheiromancy.
PAPYROMANCY: Divination by interpreting folding paper.
PEDOMANCY: Divination by interpreting the footprint of a person, usually encased in clay. A form of podomancy (interpreting the feet).
PEGOMANCY: Divination by interpreting sacred pools, springs, wells or fountains. A form of Hydromancy and often used in conjunction with scrying.
PESSOMANCY: Divination by casting or drawing marked pebbles or beans. A form of Sortilege. Also known as Psephomancy.
PHRENOLOGY: See Cranioscopy.
PHYLLORHODOMANCY: Divination by interpreting rose petals. The original form involved slapping a rose petal against the palm of the hand and interpreting the sound made.
PHYSIOGNOMY: Divination and character analysis by interpreting the face. Similar to Metoposcopy (interpretation of facial lines).
PODOMANCY: Divination by interpreting the feet.
PRECOGNITION: An an inner knowledge or vision of future events, especially those that appear to be inevitable. Similar to Premonition (a vague image or sense of the event).
PREMONITION: A warning of an impending event, experienced as foreboding, anxiety and intuitive sense of dread. Premonitions tend to occur before disasters, accidents and deaths. Similar to Precognition (a clear image of the event).
PROPHECY: A prediction of future events, usually divinely inspired.
PROPHET: See Oracle.
PSEPHOMANCY: See Pessomancy.
PSYCHOGRAPHY: Spirit communication done unconsciously by an individual often in trance, obsession or possession states. Automatic communication has occurred with people in a fully conscious state without their awareness of the action and distinct personality and knowledge variants (e.g.: fluency in an ancient language) have been documented. Psychography is the term applied to written communication and is also known as Autography and Automatic Writing. Psychography is distinct from Direct Writing where a spirit writes directly without human or mechanical assistance. All forms are distinct from Psychomancy where the diviner consciously summons the spirit for communication.
PSYCHOMANCY: Divination by interpreting the soul of a person, their values, beliefs and morals. Also known as Soul Reading.
PSYCHOMETRY: Divination by interpreting an object to obtain information about its history and/or owner. Considered to be a form of clairvoyance and often used to locate missing persons or to assist in solving crime. The term was coined in the mid-nineteenth century by Joseph R. Buchanan, an American physiologist.
PYROMANCY: Divination by interpreting fires, flames or burning objects. There are many different forms of pyromancy including:
Botanomancy (burning branches and leaves);
Capnomancy (smoke);
Causinomancy (burning flammable objects);
Daphnomancy (burning a laurel branch);
Lampadomancy (lamps or candles);
Pyroscopy (burning paper);
Sideromancy (burning straw).
PYROSCOPY: Divination by interpreting burning paper. Originally, pyroscopy was the interpretation of the stains left on a light surface after burning paper, current practice includes observation of the paper as it burns. A form of pyromancy.
Q~R RADIESTHESIA: See Pallomancy.
RHABDOMANCY: Divination using a stick, wand or divining rod. Rhabdomancy is often used in dowsing.
RHAPSODOMANCY: Divination by interpreting randomly chosen passages in a book of Poetry. The most common form is opening a book to a random page to answer a question. The variant of using any book is called bibliomancy or stichomancy and using books by Virgil and Homer is called stoichemancy.
ROADOMANCY: Divination by interpreting the stars.
S SCAPULOMANCY: Divination by interpreting the patterns, cracks and fissures of the burned shoulder blade of an animal. Sometimes considered to be a form of augury (divination by interpreting the appearance and behavior of animals). Also known as Spatulamancy
SCATOMANCY: Divination by interpreting excrement. A form of Spatalamancy (divination by interpreting skin, bones or excrement).
SCIAMANCY, SCIOMANCY: Divination by communication with spirits. Distinct from Necromancy in that the spirits are voluntary participants in the divination.
SCRYING: See Catoptromancy.
SEER: See Ariolater.
SELENOMANCY: Divination by interpreting the appearance and phase of the moon.
SHOWSTONE: See Crystal Ball.
SIDEROMANCY: Divination interpreting straw placed on a hot iron surface. A form of pyromancy (divination interpreting fire).
SKATHAROMANCY: Divination by interpreting the tracks of a beetle crawling over a grave, especially that of a murder victim. A form of augury (interpreting the appearance or behavior of animals).
SOOTHSAYER: See Ariolater.
SORTILEGE: Divination by casting or drawing lots. There are many types of sortilege including:
Astraglomancy (sheep bones);
Belomancy (arrows);
Bibliomancy (books);
Cleromancy (dice);
Pessomancy (pebbles);
Rhapsodomancy (poetry);
Stichomancy (books);
Sometimes known as Cleromancy.
SOUL READING: See Psychomancy.
SPATALAMANCY: Divination by interpreting skin, bone or excrement.
SPATULAMANCY: See Scapulomancy.
SPIRIT BOARD: See Ouija.
SPLANCHOMANCY: See Anthropomancy.
SPODANOMANCY, SPODOMANCY: Divination by interpreting ashes, soot or cinders, usually from sacrificial fires or burnt offerings. Also known as Tephramancy, Tephromancy or Tuphramancy.
STAREOMANCY: Divination by interpreting the Elements.
STERNOMANCY: Divination by interpreting the area between the breast and belly (solar plexus).
STICHOMANCY: See Bibliomancy.
STOICHEMANCY: Divination by interpreting randomly chosen passages in books by Virgil and Homer. A form of Bibliomancy.
STOLISOMANCY: Divination by interpreting people's clothing and style.
SYCOMANCY: Divination by interpreting the response of a written question to moisture. Originally, questions were written on fig leaves, the slower the leaf dried out, the more favorable the prediction. Today, sycomancy is done with paper (observing the response to steam) or tree leaves (observing the drying time).
T TAROT: Divination by interpreting a set of 78 cards which carry pictures and symbols used to connect the diviner with the collective unconscious. The cards can be used to determine the past, present and future of an event or person and can become powerful tools in magickal workings and rituals. The Tarot is divided into the22Major Arcana or Trump cards that depict dominant occurrences and the 56 Minor Arcana or Suit cards that assist in fleshing out the situations indicated by the Trump Cards, or indicate smaller occurrences. The Minor Arcana are also known as the Lesser Arcana.
TAROLOGIST: A person who divines using Tarot cards.
TASSEOGRAPHY, TASSEOMANCY: Divination by interpreting tea leaves and coffee grounds.
TEMURAH: A form of gematria that creates anagrams through systematic letter substitutions. Gematria is a system of discovering truths and hidden meanings behind words, using numerical values for letters of the alphabet. Each letter corresponds to a number. The numerical values of words are totaled and interpreted in terms of other words with the same numerical value. Gematria dates back to the 8th century B.C. Babylon, and has been used by most mystics since that time including the Magi, Gnostics, and Quabbalists. Notarikon is a form of gematria in which the first and last letters of a word or phrase are put together to create a new word, or to turn a word into a phrase. See also: Numerology.
TEPHRAMANCY, TEPHROMANCY: See Spodanomancy.
THEOMANCY: Divination through direct contact with a Deity. Practitioners are usually referred to as Oracles, Prophets or Theomancers.
THEOMANCER: See Oracle.
THERIOMANCY: Divination by interpreting the movement of groups of animals (e.g.: flocks of geese, herds of cattle). A form of augury (divination by interpreting the appearance or behavior of animals).
TIROMANCY: Divination by interpreting the coagulation, especially holes, in cheese. Also known as Typomancy, Tyromancy.
TUPHRAMANCY: See Spodanomancy.
TYPOMANCY, TYROMANCY: See Tiromancy.
U URIMANCY, UROMANCY: Divination by interpreting urine.
URIM V'TUMIM: Divination by interpreting the sacred stones attached to the breast plate of a High Priest.
V~W~X XENOMANCY: Divination by interpreting meetings with strangers.
XYLOMANCY: Divination by interpreting kindling or other wood pieces that can be found ready for burning. Interpretations include where they are found, their shape and type or how they burn.
Y YDROMANCY: See Hydromancy.
Z ZOOMANCY: Divination by interpreting the appearance and behavior of animals. Synonymous with one of the definitions of augury.
ZYGOMANCY: Divination by using weights, the original form of Bibliomancy (being weighed against the Bible) is a form of zygomancy.
Divination A-E
Divination F-O
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