Modern Divination

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Like astronomy, geomancy used deduction and computation to uncover significant prophecies as opposed to omens ( ‘ilm al-fa’l), which were process of “reading” visible random events to decipher the invisible realities from which they originated. It was upheld by prophetic tradition and relied almost exclusively on text, specifically the Qur’an (which carried a table for guidance) and poetry, as a development of bibliomancy. [26] The practice culminated in the appearance of the illustrated “Books of Omens” ( Falnama) in the early 16th century, an embodiment of the apocalyptic fears as the end of the millennium in the Islamic calendar approached. [27] To practice Lithomancy, all that you need to do is put ten or more crystals into a mojo bag, shake them up, ask a question then pull one out. The crystal which you draw will guide you or may symbolize a possible outcome. Mahjong

Using runes and pendulums to ask for guidance from our higher selves, with our most loving ancestors or from deities we may not be familiar with yet. Divination is a cultural activity that serves multiple purposes and is attested to in a myriad of variations. The history of their manifestations, development, and cross-fertilization in the ancient world is still a work in progress. The first and still most generous introduction is Bouché-Leclercq 1899. For a comparative study of ancient Greek and Near Eastern divination, see Beerden 2013. Cryer 1994 gives a survey of forms of divination attested in Near Eastern sources and in the Hebrew Bible. For the versatility of divination, see Rüpke 2013. Most of the sources for ancient divination are still inaccessible to the nonspecialist. A practical collection of Near Eastern sources can be found in Abusch and Krüger 2008. For a comprehensive study of magic and divination in the Hebrew Bible and in Late Antiquity, see Bohak 2008. PDF / EPUB File Name: Modern_Divination_-_Isabel_Agajanian.pdf, Modern_Divination_-_Isabel_Agajanian.epub Side note: This book is not dark academia. The first handful of chapters are set at a college (which is supposed to be Cambridge but honestly it had so little identity it didn’t feel like Cambridge). The first handful of chapters have a murder. That does not make it dark academia. During battle, generals would frequently ask seers at both the campground (a process called the hiera) and at the battlefield (called the sphagia). The hiera entailed the seer slaughtering a sheep and examining its liver for answers regarding a more generic question; the sphagia involved killing a young female goat by slitting its throat and noting the animal's last movements and blood flow. The battlefield sacrifice only occurred when two armies prepared for battle against each other. Neither force would advance until the seer revealed appropriate omens. [ citation needed]

General Introductions to Divination in the Ancient World

Individuals can also assess their own and others' personalities according to physical characteristics. Blood type remains a popular form of divination from physiology. Stemming from Western influences, body reading or ninsou, determines personality traits based on body measurements. The face is the most commonly analyzed feature, with eye size, pupil shape, mouth shape, and eyebrow shape representing the most important traits. An upturned mouth may be cheerful, and a triangle eyebrow may indicate that someone is strong-willed. [47] The Iching is the most well-known Chinese form of divination in the West. The method involves throwing coins multiple times, taking note of how they land, and interpreting the pattern created based on the Book of Changes. The swirling shapes made by pouring melted wax into water were used as a divination tool in both ancient and medieval Europe. One common method was to melt the wax in a brass container, and then pour the liquified wax into a vessel full of cold water, after which the diviner would interpret the shapes floating in the water. A related practice, molybdomancy, used the shapes in molten metal, usually lead. One 19th-century Irish book instructs women curious about the trade of their future spouse to take a small lump of lead and put it under their pillow on Midsummer's Eve. The next day they were to heat the lead until boiling, take a pail of water, and pour in the lead—"take it out, and you will find … emblems of his trade; if a ship, he is a sailor, [if] a book, a parson … and so on." 8. Cledonomancy (Divination by Words Overheard)

Crystal ball reading, or scrying, is a method of fortune-telling that uses crystal balls. Crystal balls come in all shapes and sizes and can be made from crystals, such as quartz or glass. In English, the closest translation for these is, " oracle." The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in northern India, still consults an oracle known as the Nechung Oracle, which is considered the official state oracle of the government of Tibet. The Dalai Lama has according to centuries-old custom, consulted the Nechung Oracle during the new year festivities of Losar. [45] Japan [ edit ]

Biblical Studies

a b Galvan, Dennis Charles, "The State Must be our Master of Fire: How Peasants Craft Culturally Sustainable Development in Senegal", Berkeley, University of California Press, (2004), pp 86-135, ISBN 978-0-520-23591-5. Divination | Religion, History & Practices | Britannica". www.britannica.com . Retrieved 2023-10-28. There are a couple of ways ancient man predicted the future using arrows. One method was to put special arrows in a quiver (arrow bag), ask a question, and then randomly select one, just like you would withdrawing lots. Another method involved shooting arrows into the sky and interpreting how they crossed paths and landed. In Russia, divination was once a popular pastime for the days just after the New Year, known as the strashyne ("fearful") days, when evil spirits were said to be particularly active. According to W. F. Ryan's The Bathhouse at Midnight : An Historical Survey of Magic and Divination in Russia, divination performed between midnight and 3 a.m. on these days was especially effective. One popular practice involved "under-the-bowl songs," in which rings and other personal objects were placed in a bowl and special divinatory songs sung, with each verse corresponding to a particular fortune (poverty, spinsterhood, etc.). Golden, R.M. (2006). Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Western Tradition. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-243-1 . Retrieved 2023-05-05.

The “science of the sand” ( ‘ilm al-raml), otherwise translated as geomancy, is “based on the interpretation of figures traced on sand or other surface known as geomantic figures.” [26] It is a good example of Islamic divination at a popular level. The core principle that meaning derives from a unique occupied position is identical to the core principle of astrology. Nephomancy is a method of divination that involves seeing shapes in clouds and then interpreting those shapes as being signs which are of spiritual significance. For example, you may know the form of an anchor and take this as a message that your life is about to get more consistent. Nggam Necromancy is a method of divination that uses the spirits of the dead. Because there is usually some ritual component involved, Necromancy is also classed as a type of magic or witchcraft.

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Dream interpretation, or oneiromancy (‘ilm ta’bir al-ru’ya), is more specific to Islam than other divinatory science, largely because of the Qur’an’s emphasis on the predictive dreams of Abraham, Yusuf, and Muhammad. The important delineation within the practice lies between “incoherent dreams” and “sound dreams,” which were “a part of prophecy” or heavenly message. [28] Dream interpretation was always tied to Islamic religious texts, providing a moral compass to those seeking advice. The practitioner needed to be skilled enough to apply the individual dream to general precedent while appraising the singular circumstances. [29] Along with Mesopotamians, the Greeks were well-known for their practice of Haruspicy. In the Bible, The Book of Ezekiel (21:21) mentions Haruspicy, Belomancy, and possibly Teraphim together. Augury is the practice of divining the future based on the movement of birds. Birds have been given special status by humans throughout history, possibly because many cultures have believed that birds are messengers of the Gods. Therefore, because they fly between our world and heaven, they should know things which man does not! Although Japan retains a history of traditional and local methods of divination, such as onmyōdō, contemporary divination in Japan, called uranai, derives from outside sources. [46] Contemporary methods of divination in Japan include both Western and Chinese astrology, geomancy or feng shui, tarot cards, I Ching (Book of Changes) divination, and physiognomy (methods of reading the body to identify traits). [46] Pieces of oracle bone engraved with early Chinese writing from the Shang dynasty, collection of Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford University / BabelStone, Wikimedia // CC BY-SA 3.0