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This man in Rhumsiki, Cameroon, tells the future by interpreting the changes in position of various objects as caused by a fresh-water crab through nggàm^[1].

Divination (from Latin divinare "to be inspired by a god", related to divine, diva and deus) is the attempt of ascertaining information by interpretation of omens or an alleged supernatural agency^[2], either by or on behalf of a querent. For the practice of ascertaining information from supernatural or merkin sources, see Divination. ... // Acultomancy: by needles (Latin acūleus, needle + Greek manteia, prophecy) Adromancy → see below. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (711x1000, 714 KB) A Kapsiki crab sorcerer of Rhumsiki, Extreme North Province, Cameroon. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (711x1000, 714 KB) A Kapsiki crab sorcerer of Rhumsiki, Extreme North Province, Cameroon. ... Kapsiki Peak Rhumsiki, also spelt Rumsiki and Roumsiki, is a village in the Far North Province of Cameroon. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other senses of this word, see diva (disambiguation). ... dEUS is an indie rock band based in Antwerp, Belgium, currently consisting of Tom Barman (vocals and guitar), Klaas Janzoons (keyboards and violin), Stéphane Misseghers (drums), Alan Gevaert (bass) and Mauro Pawlowski (guitar and vocals). ... Examples of omens from the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493): natural phenomena and strange births. ... For other uses, see Supernatural (disambiguation). ... A Querent is an individual who goes to some form of psychic reader - whether Tarot, runes, etc. ...

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"^[3], though most Romans believed in dreams and charms. For prophecy in the context of revealed religions see Prophet. ... Various Religious symbols, including (first row) Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Bahai, (second row) Islamic, tribal, Taoist, Shinto (third row) Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Jain, (fourth row) Ayyavazhi, Triple Goddess, Maltese cross, pre-Christian Slavonic Religion is the adherence to codified beliefs and rituals that generally involve a faith in a spiritual... Skepticism (Commonwealth spelling: Scepticism) can mean: Philosophical skepticism - a philosophical position in which people choose to critically examine whether the knowledge and perceptions that they have are actually true, and whether or not one can ever be said to have absolutely true knowledge; or Scientific skepticism - a scientific, or practical... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Superstition (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Lucian (disambiguation). ...

Categories

Psychologist Julian Jaynes categorized divination according to the following four types: Julian Jaynes Julian Jaynes (February 27, 1920 - November 21, 1997) was an American psychologist, best known for his book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (1976), in which he argues that ancient peoples were not conscious as we consider the term today, and that the...

• 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, or sortes, whether with sticks, stones, bones, beans, coins, 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.): for example, 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 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.

Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (December 9, 1900 – March 24, 1995) was a British biochemist and pre-eminent authority on the history of Chinese science. ... Cleromancy, sortilege, casting lots or casting bones is a form of divination in which an outcome is determined by random means, such as the rolling of a die. ... For the English iconoclast, see William Dowsing. ... Rhabdomancy is a type of divination in which a hazel rod is used to trace the presence of minerals or metals underground. ... This article is about the state which existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC. For the state which existed in the 18th century, see Roman Republic (18th century). ... Extent of Etruscan civilization and the twelve Etruscan League cities. ... Hepatoscopy is a form of divination using the internal organs of sacrificed animals, specifically the liver. ... Extispicy (from Latin extispicium) is the practice of using anomalies in animals entrails to divine future events. ... The bronze sheeps liver of Piacenza, with Etruscan inscriptions In Roman practice inherited from the Etruscans, a haruspex (plural haruspices) was a man trained to practice a form of divination called haruspicy, hepatoscopy or hepatomancy. ... Bibliomancy is the use of books in divination. ... Holiness means the state of being holy, that is, set apart for the worship or service of a god or gods. ... Black and white Kirlian photo of a fingertip. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... Fēng Shuǐ (風水 – literally, wind and water pronounced fung shuway), which may be more than 3000 years old, is the ancient practice of placement to achieve harmony with the environment. ...

Common methods

Main article: Methods of divination

• astrology: by celestial bodies.
• augury: by the flight of birds.
• bibliomancy: by books (frequently, but not always, religious texts).
• cartomancy: by cards.
• cheiromancy/palmistry: by palms.
• chronomancy: about time, lucky/unlucky days.
• cybermancy: by computers.
• gastromancy: by crystal ball.
• extispicy: by the entrails of animals.
• feng shui: by earthen harmony.
• I Ching divination: by the I Ching; a form of bibliomancy.
• numerology: by numbers.
• oneiromancy: by dreams.
• onomancy: by names.
• Ouija: board divination.
• rhabdomancy: divination by rods
• runecasting/Runic divination: by runes.
• scrying: by reflective objects.
• taromancy: a form of cartomancy using tarot cards.
• necromancy: by the dead, or spirits/souls of the dead/recently dead
• pyromancy: by fire.

// Acultomancy: by needles (Latin acÅ«leus, needle + Greek manteia, prophecy) Adromancy → see below. ... Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut (1888). ... Omens or portents are signs encountered fortuitously that are believed to foretell the future. ... Bibliomancy is the use of books in divination. ... The Fortune Teller, by Art Nouveau painter Mikhail Vrubel, depicting a cartomancer Cartomancy is a form of fortune-telling or divination using a deck of cards. ... Chiromancy or cheiromancy,(Greek cheir, “hand”; manteia, “divination”), art of characterization and foretelling the future through the study of the palm also known as palmistry or palm-reading consists of the practice (or pseudoscience) of evaluating a persons character or future life by reading the palm of that person... Chiromancy or cheiromancy,(Greek cheir, “hand”; manteia, “divination”), art of characterization and foretelling the future through the study of the palm also known as palmistry or palm-reading consists of the practice (or pseudoscience) of evaluating a persons character or future life by reading the palm of that person... Chronomancy is divination of the best time to do something, determination of lucky and unlucky days, especially popular in ancient China. ... Cybermancy refers to the act of using computer-driven divination systems. ... Gastromancy is from Greek gastÄ“r (meaning belly) and manteia (meaning prophecy). It can refer to: Crystal ball gazing: i. ... This article is about the fortune telling object; for other uses, see Crystal ball (disambiguation). ... Extispicy (from Latin extispicium) is the practice of using anomalies in animals entrails to divine future events. ... Fēng Shuǐ (風水 – literally, wind and water pronounced fung shuway), which may be more than 3000 years old, is the ancient practice of placement to achieve harmony with the environment. ... Among the many forms of divination is a method using the I Ching (易經) or Book of Changes. ... Alternative meaning: I Ching (monk) The I Ching (Traditional Chinese: 易經, pinyin y jīng; Cantonese IPA: jɪk6gɪŋ1; Cantonese Jyutping: jik6ging1; alternative romanizations include I Jing, Yi Ching, Yi King) is the oldest of the Chinese classic texts. ... Look up numerology in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Oneiromancy is a form of divination by the analysis and interpretation of dreams. ... Dreaming is the subjective experience of imaginary images, sounds/voices, thoughts or sensations during sleep, usually involuntarily. ... Onomancy (haplological for Onomamancy or Onomatomancy) is divination based on a subjects given name, popular in the Late Middle Ages, usually following practices of Gematria. ... For the photographer, see Weegee. ... Rhabdomancy is a type of divination in which a hazel rod is used to trace the presence of minerals or metals underground. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Divination according to Ralph Blum in progress The Elder Futhark may well have been used for magical and occult purposes historically; the name rune itself, taken to mean secret, something hidden, seems to indicate that knowledge of the runes was originally considered esoteric, or restricted to an elite. ... Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... The Crystal Ball by John William Waterhouse (1902, oil on canvas) Scrying (also called crystal gazing, crystal seeing, seeing, or peeping) is a magic practice that involves seeing things supernaturally in a medium, usually for purposes of divination or fortune-telling. ... The Tarot is a set of 78 cards with allegorical representations today used for divination, that first appeared in Medieval times. ... This article is about a set of cards used for both trick taking games and occult/divinatory purposes. ... This article is about the general subject of necromancy. ... Pyromancy (from Greek pyros, fire, and manteia, divination) is the art of divination by means of fire. ...

See also

• Methods of divination
• Anthropology of religion
• Apollo
• Astrology
• Axinomancy
• Bone divination
• Divination in Harry Potter
• Dowsing
• Dream interpretation
• Esotericism
• Futurology
• Geomancy
• Guru
• I Ching
• Ifá
• New Age
• Nostradamus
• Occultism
• Oracle
• Omen (or portent)
• Postdiction
• Pueblo
• Prophet
• Runic divination
• Scrying
• Tarot reading
• Western mystery tradition
• List of magical terms and traditions

// Acultomancy: by needles (Latin acÅ«leus, needle + Greek manteia, prophecy) Adromancy → see below. ... The anthropology of religion involves the study of religious institutions in relation to other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures. ... For other uses, see Apollo (disambiguation). ... Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut (1888). ... Axinomancy is one of several obscure methods of divination using an axe, hatchet, or (rarely) a saw. ... Categories: Stub ... Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a fictional school of magic that is the main setting of the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling. ... For the English iconoclast, see William Dowsing. ... Dream interpretation is the process of assigning meaning to dreams. ... Look up Esotericism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Futurology is the detailed critical inspection and reasoning of the state in which things will develop in the future on the basis of existing circumstances in history. ... Geomancer redirects here. ... For other uses, see Guru (disambiguation). ... Alternative meaning: I Ching (monk) The I Ching (Traditional Chinese: 易經, pinyin y jīng; Cantonese IPA: jɪk6gɪŋ1; Cantonese Jyutping: jik6ging1; alternative romanizations include I Jing, Yi Ching, Yi King) is the oldest of the Chinese classic texts. ... ‹ The template below (Citations missing) is being considered for deletion. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... Nostradamus: original portrait by his son Cesar Michel de Nostredame (December 14, 1503 – July 2, 1566), usually Latinized to Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous world-wide. ... For other uses of this term, see occult (disambiguation). ... This article is about prophetic oracles in various cultures. ... Examples of omens from the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493): natural phenomena and strange births. ... Postdiction, post-shadowing, retroactive clairvoyance, and prediction after the fact are terms used by critics to refer to those who use hindsight to claim to have predicted a significant event such as a plane crash or natural disaster. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Pueblo Indians . ... For other senses of this word, see Prophet (disambiguation). ... Divination according to Ralph Blum in progress The Elder Futhark may well have been used for magical and occult purposes historically; the name rune itself, taken to mean secret, something hidden, seems to indicate that knowledge of the runes was originally considered esoteric, or restricted to an elite. ... The Crystal Ball by John William Waterhouse (1902, oil on canvas) Scrying (also called crystal gazing, crystal seeing, seeing, or peeping) is a magic practice that involves seeing things supernaturally in a medium, usually for purposes of divination or fortune-telling. ... The High Priestess, card number 2 in the major arcana. ... The term Western mystery tradition (also Western Esoteric tradition) refers to the collection of the mystical, esoteric knowledge of the Western world. ... . ...

References and notes

Popular

• Robert Todd Carroll (2003). The Skeptic's Dictionary. Wiley.
• Lon Milo Duquette (2005). The Book of Ordinary Oracles. Weiser Books.
• Clifford A. Pickover (2001). Dreaming the Future: The Fantastic Story of Prediction. Prometheus.
• Eva Shaw (1995). Divining the Future. Facts on File.
• The Diagram Group (1999). The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Fortune Telling. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.

Lon Milo DuQuette Lon Milo DuQuette (Born July 11, 1948), AKA Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford, American writer, lecturer, and occultist best known as an author who applies humor in the field of Western Hermeticism. ... Clifford A. Pickover is an author, editor, and columnist in the fields of science, mathematics, and science fiction. ...

Academic

• D. Engels, Das römische Vorzeichenwesen (753-27 v.Chr.). Quellen, Terminologie, Kommentar, historische Entwicklung, Stuttgart 2007 (Franz Steiner-Verlag)
• E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Witchcraft, oracles, and magic among the Azande (1976)
• Toufic Fahd, La divination arabe; études religieuses, sociologiques et folkloriques sur le milieu natif d’Islam (1966)
• Michael Loewe and Carmen Blacke, eds. Oracles and divination (Shambhala/Random House, 1981) ISBN 0-87773-214-0
• J. P. Vernant, Divination et rationalité (1974)

2. Philip K. Hitti. Makers of Arab History. Princeton, New Jersey. St. Martin’s Press. 1968. Pg 61. Jean-Pierre Vernant (January 4, 1914 – January 9, 2007) was a French historian and anthropologist, specialist in ancient Greece. ...

3. Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Makkari. The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain; extracted from the NAFHU-T-TIB MIN GHOSNI-L-ANDALUSI-R-RATTIB WA TARIKH LISANU-D-DIN IBNI-L-KHATTIB. Translated by Pascual de Gayangos, member of the Oriental Translation Committee, and late professor of Arabic in the Athenæum of Madrid. In Two Volumes. VOL. II Johnson Reprint Corporation, New York, NY. 1964. Pages 96 (Book VI, chapters 1 & 2). Pascual de Gayangos y Arce (June 21, 1809 - October 4, 1897), was a Spanish scholar and Orientalist. ...

4. W. Montgomery Watt. Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. Edinburgh, Scotland. Oxford Press, 1961. Pgs 1-2. William Montgomery Watt is a English Islamic scholar. ...

External links

Look up Divination in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Apple Divination
• Ancient Astrology and Divination on the Web, resources on Greco-Roman and Mesopotamian divination
• W. R. Halliday, Greek Divination (1913), a complete scanned edition of the most recent general treatment of Greek divination
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Divination
• Divination Methods
• Encyclopedia Iranica: Divination
• Theory of Divination by Tim Maroney, exploring different possibilities
• 48 second video of a psychic using a divining rod and pendulum during a missing persons case in Japan

v • d • e Time in religion and mythology Major subjects Time — Cosmology · Religion · Mythology — Eternity · Arguments for eternity · Immortality Destiny and fate · Predestination · Religious predestination · Prophecy · Oracle · Divination · Eschatology Time Portal Time and fate deities of antiquity Egyptian — Hemsut · Huh Ancient Near East — Ashima · Ishtar · Mamitu · Mammetun · Manah · Manu the Great · Meni Greek — The Fates: Moirae — Atropos · Clotho · Lachesis Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. ... This article is about the concept of time. ... Cosmology, from the Greek: κοσμολογία (cosmologia, κόσμος (cosmos) order + λογος (logos) word, reason, plan) is the quantitative (usually mathematical) study of the Universe in its totality, and by extension, humanitys place in it. ... For other uses, see Mythology (disambiguation). ... While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existing for an infinite, i. ... Arguments for eternity composed a particularly important area of philosophical debate among Greek, Jewish, Islamic, and Christian philosophers during the ancient and medieval periods. ... The Fountain of Eternal Life in Cleveland, Ohio Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an infinite length of time, or in a state of timelessness. ... For other uses, see Destiny (disambiguation). ... Predestination (also linked with foreknowledge) is a religious concept, which involves the relationship between the beginning of things and their destinies. ... Types of religious predestination Described in terms of human freedom Predestination may be described under two types, with the basis for each found within their definition of free will. ... For other uses, see Prophecy (disambiguation). ... This article is about prophetic oracles in various cultures. ... For other uses, see Eschatology (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Portal. ... In Egyptian mythology, Hemsut (or Hemuset) was the goddess of fate and protection. ... Not to be confused with Hu (god). ... In the Hebrew Bible, Ashima is one of several deities protecting the individual cities of Samaria who are mentioned specifically by name in 2 Kings 17:30. ... For other uses, see Ishtar (disambiguation). ... In Akkadian and Sumerian mythology Mamitu was the goddess of destiny, who decreed the fate of the new-borns. ... Manāt was one of the three chief goddesses of Mecca. ... Meni was the pan-Semitic god of destiny. ... For other meanings, see Fate, a disambiguation page. ... Atropos is also a British entomological journal - see Atropos (journal). ... In Greek mythology, Clotho or Klotho, the Greek word Κλωθώ for spinner, was the youngest of the Moirae (the Fates). ... In Greek mythology, Lachesis (also Lakhesis: Gk. ... Ananke · Geras · Horae · Khronos · Tyche Roman — The Fates: Parcae — Decima · Morta · Nona In Greek mythology, Ananke (Greek ) was the personification of destiny, unalterable necessity and fate. ... Geras, detail of an Attic red-figure pelike, ca. ... Horae in Meyers, 1888 In Greek mythology, the Horae were three goddesses controlling orderly life. ... For other uses, see Chronos (disambiguation). ... Tyche on the reverse of this coin by Gordian III. In Greek mythology, Tyche (Roman equivalent: Fortuna) was the presiding tutelary deity that governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, its destiny. ... In Greek mythology, the white-robed Moirae or Moerae (Greek Μοίραι – the Apportioners, often called the Fates) were the personifications of destiny (Roman equivalent: Parcae, sparing ones, or Fatae; also equivalent to the Germanic Norns). ... In Roman mythology, Morta was the goddess of death. ... In Roman mythology, Nona was the equivalent of Clotho in Greek mythology. ... Camenae: Antevorte/Porrima · Carmenta · Egeria · Postverta Aeternitas · Anna Perenna · Chronos · Fortuna · Vertumnus Etruscan — Nortia · Tinia Norse — Fates: Dís, Norns — Skuld · Verdandi · Wyrd Bavarian — Fates: Beten Baltic — Dalia · Lauma Polish — Sudz Romanian — Fates: Ursitoare Other European — Matres · Father Time In Roman mythology, the Camenae were originally goddesses of springs, wells and fountains, or water nymphs of Venus . ... In Roman mythology, Antevorte was the goddess of the future. ... Porrima can refer to: In Roman mythology, Porrima was a goddess and one of the two Carmentes (along with the goddess Postverta). ... In Roman mythology, Carmenta was the goddess of childbirth and prophecy, associated with technological innovation as well as the protection of mothers and children, and a patron of midwives. ... In Roman mythology, the goddess Egeria (of the black poplar) was a goddess of childbirth, wisdom and prophecy and was one of the Camenae. ... In Roman mythology, Postverta was the goddess of the past and one of the two Carmentes (along with the goddess Porrima). ... Aeternitas on an antoninianus by Trebonianus Gallus. ... Anna Perenna was an old Roman deity of the circle or ring of the year, as the name (per annum) clearly indicates. ... For other uses, see Chronos (disambiguation). ... Fortuna governs the circle of the four stages of life, the Wheel of Fortune, in a manuscript of Carmina Burana In Roman mythology, Fortuna (equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) goddess of fortune, was the personification of luck, hopefully of good luck, but she could be represented veiled and blind... In Roman mythology, Vertumnus (Vortumnus, Vertimnus) was the god of seasons, change and plant growth, as well as gardens and fruit trees. ... In Etruscan mythology, Nortia was the goddess of fate and chance. ... In Etruscan mythology, Tinia was the highest god of the skies, husband to Thalna or Uni. ... The dying Viking hero Ragnar Lodbrok exclaimed in Krákumál: the dísir invite me home (to Valhalla). This is an illustration of a lady welcoming Odin back to Valhalla on the Tängvide image stone, Gotland. ... Look up Norns in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In Norse mythology, Skuld was one of the Norns, and she was also one of the Valkyries. ... In Norse mythology, Verdandi (ON: Verðandi), also known as Verthandi, is one of the three norns, along with Urd and Skuld. ... Wyrd is a concept in ancient Anglo-Saxon and Nordic cultures roughly corresponding to fate. ... The triple spiral has been cast by some theorists, such as Marija Gimbutas, as a symbol of the Triple Goddess. ... In Lithuanian mythology, Dalia is the goddess of weirding and doom. ... Lauma, in Baltic mythology, is a woodland faery, and guardian spirit of orphans. ... Sudz is a Polish god of destiny and glory. ... In Romanian mythology, the three Ursitoare are supposed to appear three nights after a childs birth to determine the course of its life. ... The Matres or Matronae were ancient deities venerated in northwestern Europe in Roman and earlier times. ... This article is about the personification of time. ... Philippine — Kan-Laon Hinduism Kalpa · Manvantara · Yuga · Kāla (time) Hindu calendar · Hindu units of measurement Buddhism Wheel of time · Kalachakra · Maitreya Judaism Ancient of Days · Ein Sof (Kabbalah) Hebrew calendar · Missing years · Jewish holidays · Passover · Shabbat Christianity Gregorian calendar · Liturgical year · Sabbath in Christianity Easter · Computus · Moveable feast · Easter controversy · Quartodecimanism · Reform of the date of Easter Islam Islamic calendar · Muslim holidays · Predestination in Islam Other traditions Dreamtime / The Dreaming · Oracle bone · Maya calendar Related topics Days of the week