Divination




Such efforts to unearth treasure - trove or discover the secrets of the future. Part of the pagan practices of ancient Greece and Rome that easily became Christian heretical witchcraft.

Divination could be performed with or without means.

True Means - natural objects or phenomena; flight of birds, inspection of entrails, astrology, dreams or the casting of dice.

False Means - could also be used, as in necromancy or "The Black Art" because of the devil being sought unto by witches, appeared to them in the likeness of a dead body, the christians believed.

The more wicked kind of divination, according to William Perkins (1608), was without means. By the lone and immediate assistance of a familiar spirit and is forbidden.

This was practiced two ways

Inwardly - when the spirit was within the witch.

Outwardly - "when being forth of the witch, he doth only inspire him or her."





Kinds of Divination (John Guale, Mysnantia (1652))



Aeromancy - Divining by the air.

Alectryomancy - Divining by cocks or poultry.

Alphitomancy - Divining by meal, flour or bran.

Antinopomancy - Divining by entrails of women or children.

Arithmancy - Divining numbers.

Astragalomancy - Divining dice.

Axinomancy - Divining by saws. (?)

Botanomancy - Divining by herbs.

Capnomancy - Divining by smoke.

Carromancy - Divining by the melting of wax.

Catoxtromancy - Divining by looking glasses.(mirrors)

Cattabomancy - Divining by vessels of brass or other metals.

Cephalonomancy - Divining by the boiling of an ass's head.

Chartomancy - Divining by writing in papers.

Chiromancy - Divining by the hands.

Chrystallomancy - Divining by glasses.

Coscinomancy - Divining by sieves.

Crithomancy - Divining by grain or corn.

Dactylomancy - Divining by rings.

Demonomancy - Divining by the suggestion of evil demons or devils.

Gastromancy - Divining by the sign of or signs upon the belly.

Geomancy - Divining by earth.

Hydromancy - Divining by water.

Icthyomancy - Divining by fish.

Idolomancy - Divining by idols, imagaes and figures.

Lampadomancy - Divining by candles and lamps.

Lecanomancy - Divining by a basin of water.

Lithomancy - Divining by stones.

Livanomancy - Divining by the burning of Frankincense.

Logarithmancy - Divining by logorithms.

Macharomancy - Divining by knives or swords.

Oinomancy - Divining by wine.

Omphilomancy - Divining by the naval.

Oniromancy - Divining by dreams.

Onomatomancy - Divining by names.

Onychomancy - Divining by nails.

Orithomancy - Divining by birds.

Podomancy - Divining by the feet.

Psychomancy - Divining by men's soul's, affections, wills, religions or moral dispositions.

Pyromancy - Divining by fire.

Roadomancy - Divining by stars.

Sciomancy - Divining by shadows.

Spatalamancy - Divining by skins, bones and excrements.

Stareomancy - Divining by the elements.

Sternomancy - Divining from the breast to the belly.

Sycomancy - Divining by figs.

Theomancy - Pretending to divine by the revelation of the Spirit and Scriptures or Word of the Christian God.

Theriomancy - Divining by beasts.

Tuphramancy - Divining by ashes.

Tyromancy - Divining by the coagulation of cheese.

And in one word for all Nagromancy or Necromancy - by inspecting, consulting and divining by, with, or from the dead.

While "divination without means" was based on a pact, the trials of the witches seldom stress this crime, and divination remains essentially a facet of ceremonial magic. Henry C. Lea did not recall "in any of the innumerable witch trials, any case in which the witch raised the spirits from the dead."


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