This article has an unclear citation style. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation and footnoting. (December 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Methods of divination can be found around the world, and many cultures practice the same methods under different names. During the Middle Ages, scholars coined terms for many of these methods—some of which had hitherto been unnamed—in Medieval Latin, very often utilizing the suffix -mantia when the art seemed more mystical (ultimately from Ancient Greek μαντεία, manteía, 'prophecy' or 'the power to prophesy') and the suffix -scopia when the art seemed more scientific (ultimately from Greek σκοπεῖν, skopeîn, 'to observe'). Names like drimimantia, nigromantia, and horoscopia arose, along with other pseudosciences such as phrenology and physiognomy.[1]

Some forms of divination are much older than the Middle Ages, like haruspication, while others such as coffee-based tasseomancy originated in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The chapter "How Panurge consulteth with Herr Trippa" of Gargantua and Pantagruel, a parody on occult treatises of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, contains a list of over two dozen "mancies", described as "common knowledge".[2]

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

See also

References

  1. ^ Anthony Grafton; Glenn W Most; Salvatore Settis (2010). The Classical Tradition. Harvard University Press. p. 277. ISBN 978-0-674-03572-0.
  2. ^ s:The Third Book/Chapter XXV
  3. ^ Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the Entrails of a sacrificed beast; which was Aruspicina..."
  4. ^ Driediger-Murphy, Lindsay G.; Eidinow, Esther (2019). Ancient Divination and Experience. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-258290-4.
  5. ^ "Definition of BONE-THROWING". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Definition of Bone-Throwing by Oxford Dictionary". Lexico Dictionaries | English. Retrieved 29 November 2020.[dead link]
  7. ^ a b Del Rio, Martín Anton. Investigations Into Magic. P.G. Maxwell-Stuart, trans. Reprint ed. Manchester, U.K.: Manchester University Press, 2000, p. 160 (originally published 1599-1600)
  8. ^ a b Dunwich, Gerina. Candlelight Spells: The Modern Witch's Book of Spellcasting, Feasting, and Healing. Secaucus, N.J.: Citadel Press, 1988, p. 51.
  9. ^ Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the insignificant Speeches of Madmen, supposed to be possessed with a divine Spirit; which Possession they called Enthusiasm..."
  10. ^ Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the aspect of the Stars at their Nativity; which was called Horoscopy, and esteemed a part of judiciary Astrology..."
  11. ^ Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes, in mere Lottery, as Cross and Pile; counting holes in a sieve; dipping of Verses in Homer, and Virgil; and innumerable other such vain conceipts..."
  12. ^ Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the Lineaments of the face; which was called Metoposcopy..."
  13. ^ Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the Prediction of Witches, that pretended conference with the dead; which is called Necromancy, Conjuring, and Witchcraft; and is but juggling and confederate knavery..."
  14. ^ Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in Monsters, or unusual accidents; as Eclipses, Comets, rare Meteors, Earthquakes, Inundations, uncouth Births, and the like, which they called Portenta and Ostenta, because they thought them to portend, or foreshow some great Calamity to come..."
  15. ^ Sciences et Voyages No24 Juin 1937 "Divination, magie et tatouages en Bosnie
  16. ^ Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in...Palmistry in the lines of the hand; in casual words, called Omina..."
  17. ^ Buckland, Raymond. The Fortune-Telling Book: The Encyclopedia of Divination and Soothsaying. Detroit, Mich.: Visible Ink, 2004, p. 102.
  18. ^ Not all sources agree that tephramancy and tephromancy are synonyms. Some sources claim that tephramancy uses only the ash of tree bark, while tephromancy may use the ashes of any sacrifice. See: Buckland, The Fortune-Telling Book: The Encyclopedia of Divination and Soothsaying, 2004, p. 479; Pickover, Dreaming the Future: The Fantastic Story of Prediction, 2001, p. 183; Dunwich, Gerina. Candlelight Spells: The Modern Witch's Book of Spellcasting, Feasting, and Healing, 1988, p. 153. Other sources claim that tephramancy utilizes only the ashes of human sacrificial victims. See: Spence, Lewis. An Encyclopaedia of Occultism. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1920, p. 408; Ellison, Robert Lee. The Solitary Druid: Walking the Path of Wisdom and Spirit. New York: Kensington Publishing Corp., 2005, p. 58; Waite, Arthur Edward. A Manual of Cartomancy and Occult Divination. Reprint ed. Whitefish, Mont.: Kessinger, 1995, p. 236; Robertson, John G. Robertson's Words for a Modern Age: A Cross Reference of Latin and Greek Combining Elements. Eugene, Ore.: Senior Scribe Publications, 1991, p. 193.
  19. ^ Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...and these kinds of foretelling events, were accounted Theomancy or Prophecy..."
  20. ^ Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in the Casual flight, or feeding of birds; called Augury..."
  21. ^ Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651). "Lastly, to the Prognostics [who] have added innumerable other superstitious ways of Divination[:]...Sometimes in their own hopes and fears, called Thumomancy, or Presage..."
  22. ^ Pickover, Clifford A. Dreaming the Future: The Fantastic Story of Prediction. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 2001, p. 137.