Divination, the art of seeing things from hidden past, present and especially the future exist since ancient times, people living with the need to know, to know what awaits them. Divination and various forms of guessing, although today seem rather curious were arts serious as possible in many civilizations, leading to major decisions in human history.
Even today, people are attracted to different forms of divination of the future, including horoscopes, tarot, coffee guessing and so on (proved by the success enjoyed by the soothsayers and clairvoyants). The idea behind divination is one universal: that the universe is created based on rules, correspondence, subtle ties, and a initiated person can see and interpret signs showing future and other hidden things.
It sought avid signs in anything, that’s why existed methods of divination bizarre in trying to guess the future.
Astromantica (divination by stars) Cartomancy (fortune-telling books), palmistry and chirognomia (guessing by the palm lines after the shape of a hand), piromancia (divination by fire and smoke), physiognomy (divination by facial features), geomancy (divination by earth ) hidromancia (guessing in water) oneiromancy (divination by interpreting dreams) , (guessing by name), meteoromancia (guessing on weather phenomena), sferomancia (guessing with crystal ball) are some of the most popular methods of divination .
Other strange methods of divination and guessing:
Haruspiciu or hieroscopia – a bizarre form today to predict the future was based on the interpretation of animal entrails: clairvoyant sacrificed an animal and then cleaved his belly and look for signs offal position or in shape and position of organs. It seems that the interpretation by observing the animal’s liver was the most common form, but it was guessed using animal skin and bones also.
Aeromancia was a form of divination which sought signs by observing the sky, the clouds, the wind; anything that could be interpreted. This form was used and still is by some people living in nature, such as pastors and shepherds.
Cephalomancia – was a special form (and bizarre) of piromancia, guess by fire: a head of a killed donkey was set on the fire, and the soothsayer said the name of a person suspected of having done harm; if the person was guilty, then the donkey jaw crackling on the fire the moment his name was called.
Giromancia – basically, this method of divination that the person who wanted to guess the future is to be continuously running in circles until falls from dizzy .
Lots – was not exactly a hidden art of the initiatives, because this guessing method did involve practical the cast lots (the universe shows you as directly as possible the fate).
Zoomancia – behaviors of various animals were considered signs of future forever. From as cows walk, how birds fly, how mice moves, how cat licks milk, how chickens eat grain and even the analysis of their droppings.
Guessing after movements or human reactions. A more elaborate form of divination was based on interpretation of involuntary reactions and spoken words, a person’s involuntary movements, facial expressions and movements of muscles and limbs (a sneeze, a word said, a tremor, a beating of eyelid, lips movement or strain of a muscle were such signs on which a person could predict the future).
