Pyromancy (from Greek 'pyros', fire, and 'manteia', divination) is the art of divination by means of fire. This article is about the religious practice of divination. ... A large bonfire. ...

History of pyromancy

Due to the importance of fire in society from the earliest of times, it is quite likely that pyromancy was one of the earlier forms of divination. It is said that in Greek society, virgins at the Temple of Athena in Athens regularly practiced pyromancy. It is also possible that followers of Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire and the forge, practiced pyromancy. In ancient China, pyromancy was practiced in the Neolithic period and Shāng and Zhōu dynasties in the form of burning or heating oracle bones -- usually the scapulae (shoulder blades) of oxen or turtle shells -- to produce cracks which were then read as portents. Insciptions on such oracle bones from the late Shāng dynasty are important, as the earliest significant corpus of written Chinese ever found. The Parthenon seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west. ... Athens (Greek: Αθήνα, Athína IPA: ) is the capital of Greece and one of the most famous cities in the world, named after goddess Athena. ... Hephaestus, Greek god of forging, riding a Donkey; Greek drinking cup (skyphos) made in the 5th century B.C. Hephaestus (IPA pronunciation: ; Greek Hêphaistos) is the Greek god whose approximate Roman equivalent is Vulcan; he is the god of blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals and metallurgy, and fire. ... An array of Neolithic artefacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools Excavated dwellings at Skara Brae Scotland, Europes most complete Neolithic village. ... The Shāng Dynasty (Chinese: 商朝) or YÄ«n Dynasty (殷代) (ca. ... The Zhou Dynasty (Chinese: 周朝; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: chou chao; 11th century BC to 256 BC) followed the Shang (Yin) Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Left scapula - front view () Left scapula - rear view () In anatomy, the scapula, or shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Suborders Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines (all living turtles belong to the crown group Chelonia), most of whose body is shielded by a special bony or cartilagenous shell developed from their ribs. ... The Chinese written language consists of a writing system stretching back nearly 4000 years. ...

Types of pyromancy

The most basic form of pyromancy is that in which the diviner observes flames, from a sacrificial fire, a candle, or another source of flame, and interprets the shapes that he or she sees within them. There are several variations on pyromancy, however, some of which are as follows:

• Alomancy, divination by salt, one type of which involves casting salt into a fire
• Botanomancy, divination by burning plants
• Capnomancy, divination by smoke; light, thin smoke that rose straight up was a good omen; otherwise, a bad one.
• Causinomancy, divination by burning (non-specific as to the object burned)
• Daphnomancy (also, Empyromancy), divination by burning laurel leaves
• osteomancy, divination using bones, one type of which involves heating to produce cracks
• Plastromancy, divination using turtle plastrons; in China, this was done by heating pits carved into them.
• Scapulimancy, divination by scapulae; in Asia and North America, this was done pyromantically.
• Sideromancy, divination by burning straw

Alomancy (from Greek halo, salt, and manteia, divination), also called Adromancy, ydromancie, idromancie, and halomancy, is an ancient form of divination. ... Plastromancy is a form of divination using the plastron, or undershell of a turtle. ... The plastron is the nearly flat part of the shell structure of a tortoise, what we would call the belly, similar in composition to the carapace; with an external layer of horny material divided into plates called scutes and an underlying layer of interlocking bones. ... Scapulimancy (also spelled scapulomancy and scapulamancy, and also termed omoplatoscopy ) is the practice of divination by use of scapulae (shoulder blades). ...

Pyromancers in fiction

In fiction, most pyromancers have the ability to use fire to damage others, often in flashy ways.

• Elementalists in Guild Wars can purchase Pyromancer armor, which adds fire defense in addition to armor and energy bonuses.
• In Tactics Arena Online,one of the units is a pyromancer who features an AoE of a regular cross area.They are quite weak in power and health,but can target many enemies if used correctly.

• Raye Hino uses pyromancy as divination in Sailor Moon
• Several game titles of "Heroes of might and magic" computer games give the pyromancy ability to certain heroes wich makes them able to cast fire spells.

• Pyromancers in Titan Quest can use both melee and magic attacks, and with another profession combination can become both melee and magic classes.

Guild Wars is a Competitive/Cooperative Online Role-Playing Game (CORPG) created by ArenaNet, a developer founded by individuals formerly from Blizzard Entertainment which is now wholly owned by NCsoft, a South Korean game publisher. ... Rei Hino Rei Hino (火野 レイ Hino Rei) is a Sailor Senshi, one of the main characters in the metaseries known as Sailor Moon. ... This article or section needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ... Heroes of Might and Magic II Heroes of Might and Magic (sometimes called simply Heroes or HoMM) is a series of turn-based computer games by New World Computing, a division of The 3DO Company. ... Titan Quest is a PC action role-playing game being developed by Iron Lore Entertainment. ...

External links

• Pyromancy
• Sideromancy