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Cicero's De divinatione, that not only oracles but also omens were signs sent by the gods; even the astrologer held that he gained his information, in the last resort, from the same source. On the See also:

side of the See also:

STOICS

Stoics it was argued that if divination was a real See also:

art, there must be gods who gave it to mankind; against this it was argued that signs of future events may be given without any god. Divination is practised in all grades of culture; its votaries range from the Australian See also:

black to the See also:

AMERICAN

American See also:

MEDIUM

medium. There is no general agreement as to the source of the information; commonly it is held that it comes from the gods directly or indirectly. In the Bornean cult of the See also:

HAWK (O. Eng. hafoc or heafoc, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch havik, Ger. Habicht; the root is hab-, haf-, to hold, cf. Lat. accipiter, from capere)

hawk it seems that the divine See also:

BIRD

bird itself was regarded as having a foreknowledge of the future. Later it is regarded as no more than a messenger. Among the Australian blacks, divination is largely employed to discover the cause of See also:

DEATH

death, where it is assumed to be due to magic; in some cases the spirit of the dead See also:

man is held to give the information, in others the living magician is the source of the knowledge. We find moreover as emi-scientific conception of the basis of divination; the whole of nature is linked together; just as the See also:

variations in the height of a See also:

COLUMN (Lat. columna)

column of See also:

mercury. serve to foretell the See also:

WEATHER (O. Eng. weder; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Du. weder, Dan. veir, Icel. ve8r, and Ger. Wetter and Gewitter, storm; the root is wa- to blow, from which is derived " wind ")

weather, so the See also:

FLIGHT

flight of birds or behaviour of See also:

CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle may help to prognosticate its changes; for the uncultured it is 'merely a step to the See also:

ASSUMPTION, FEAST OF

assumption that animals know things which are hidden from man. Haruspication, or the inspection of entrails, was justified on similar grounds, and in the See also:

case of omens from birds or animals, no less than in astrology, it was held that the facts from which inferences were See also:

DRAWN

drawn were themselves in See also:

PART

part the causes of the events which they foretold, thus fortifying the belief in the possibility of divination. From a psychological point of view divinatory methods may be classified under two See also:

main heads: (A) autoscopic, which depend simply on some See also:

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change in the consciousness of the soothsayer; (B) heteroscopic, in which he looks outside himself for guidance and perhaps infers rather than divines in the proper sense.

(A) Autoscopic methods depend on (i.) sensory or (ii.) motor automatisms, or (iii.) See also:

MENTAL

mental impressions, for their results. (i.) Crystal-gazing (q.v.) is a See also:

WORLD

world-wide method of See also:

DIVINING

divining, which is analogous to dreams, See also:

SAVE, or SAVA (Ger. Sau; Hungarian Szdva; Lat. Savus)

save that the See also:

VISION (from Lat. videre, to see), or SIGHT

vision is voluntarily initiated, though little, if at all, under the See also:

CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

control of the scryer. Corresponding to crystal-gazing we have See also:

shell-See also:

HEARING (formed from the verb " to hear," O. Eng. hyran, heron, &c., a common Teutonic verb; cf. Ger. Koren, Dutch hooren, &c.; the O. Tent. form is seen in Goth. hausjan; the initial h makes any connexion with " ear," Lat. audire, or Gr. &Kobew very doub

hearing and similar methods, which are, however, less See also:

COMMON

common; in these the information is gained by hearing a See also:

VOICE (Fr. voix, from Lat. vox)

voice. (ii.) The divining See also:

rod (q.v.) is the best-known example of this class; divination depending on automatic movements of this sort is found at all stages of culture; in See also:

AUSTRALIA

Australia it is used to detect the magician who has caused the death of a native; in See also:

MEDIEVAL

medieval and See also:

MODERN

modern times See also:

WATER

water-divining or dowsing has been largely and successfully used. Similar in principle is coscinomancy, or divining by a See also:

SIEVE (O.E. sife, older sibi, cf. Dutch zeef, Ger. Sieb; from the subst. comes O.E. siftan, to sift)

sieve held suspended, which gives indications by turning; and the equally common divination by a suspended See also:

RING (O.E. hring; a word common to Teutonic languages; and probably cognate with the Lat. circus, Gr. KtpKOS or KpLKOS, Skt'. chakra, wheel, circle, cf. also " harangue "); in art, a band of circular shape of varying sizes, made of any material and used f

ring, both of which are found from See also:

EUROPE

Europe in the See also:

west to See also:

CHINA

China and See also:

JAPAN

Japan in the See also:

east. The See also:

ORDEAL (O.Eng. ordal, ordael, judgment)

ordeal by the See also:

Bible and See also:

key is equally popular; the See also:

BOOK

book is suspended by a key tied in with its wards between the leaves and supported on two persons' fingers, and the whole turns See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round when the name of the guilty See also:

PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person is mentioned. Confined to higher cultures on the other See also:

hand, for obvious reasons, is divination by automatic See also:

writing, which is practised in China more especially. The See also:

sand divination so widely spread in See also:

Africa seems to be of a different nature. See also:

TRANCE (through the French, from Lat. transitus, from transire, to cross, pass over)

Trance speaking, on the other hand, maybe found in any See also:

STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage of culture and there is no doubt that in many cases the See also:

PROCEDURE (Fr. procedure, from Lat. procedere, to go for-ward)

procedure of the magician or shaman induces a See also:

state of auto-See also:

HYPNOTISM

hypnotism; at a higher stage these utterances are termed oracles and are believed to be the result of See also:

INSPIRATION (Lat. inspirare, breathe upon or into)

inspiration (q.v.). (iii.) An-other method of divination is by the aid of mental impressions; observation seems to show that by some process of this sort, akin to See also:

CLAIRVOYANCE (Fr. for " clear-seeing ")

clairvoyance (q.v.), fortunes are told successfully by means of See also:

PALMISTRY, (from " palmist," one who studies the palm, and the Teutonic affix ry signifying " art "; also called CHIROMANCY, from xeip, the hand, and ,uavreia, divination)

palmistry or by laying the See also:

CARDS, PLAYING

cards; for the same " See also:

lie " of the cards may be diversely interpreted to meet different cases. In other cases the impression is involuntary or less consciously sought, as in dreams (q.v.), which, however, are sometimes induced, for purposes of divination, by the process known as See also:

INCUBATION

incubation or See also:

temple See also:

SLEEP (0. Eng. slcepan; Ger. schlafen; cf. Lat. labi, to glide, and " slip ")

sleep. Dreams are sometimes regarded as visits to or from gods or the souls of the dead, sometimes as signs to be interpreted symbolically by means of See also:

DREAM (from a root dreug, connected with Germ. trugen, to deceive)

dream-books, which are found not only in Europe but in less cultured countries like See also:

SIAM (known to its inhabitants as Muang Thai)

Siam.

(B) In heteroscopic divination the process is rather one of inference from See also:

EXTERNAL

external facts. The methods are very various. (i.) The casting of lots, sortilege, was common in classical antiquity; the Homeric heroes prayed to the gods when they See also:

CAST (from the verb meaning " to throw "; the word is Scand. in origin, cf. Dan. kaste, and Swed. kasta; " cast " in Middle Eng. took the place of the A.S. weor pan, cf. Ger. werf en)

cast lots in See also:

AGAMEMNON

Agamemnon's See also:

leather cap, and See also:

MOPSUS

Mopsus divined with sacred lots when the See also:

ARGONAUTS ('Apyovavrat, the sailors of the "Argo ")

Argonauts embarked. Similarly See also:

DICE (plural of die, O. Fr. de, derived from Lat. dare, to give)

dice are thrown for purposes of sortilege; the astragali or See also:

KNUCKLEBONES (HUCKLEBONES, DIGS, JACKSTONES, CHUCK-STONES, FIVE-STONES)

knucklebones, used in See also:

CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO

children's See also:

GAMES, CLASSICAL

games at the See also:

PRESENT

present See also:

day, were implements of divination in the first instance. In See also:

Polynesia the coco-See also:

nut is spun like a See also:

TEETOTUM

teetotum to discover a thief. Somewhat different are the omens drawn from books; in See also:

ancient times the poets were often consulted, more especially See also:

Virgil, whence the name sortes virgilianae, just as the Bible is used for See also:

DRAWING

drawing texts in our own day, especially in See also:

Germany. (ii.) In haruspication, or the inspection of entrails, in scapulomancy or divination by the speal-See also:

bone or See also:

SHOULDER (in O.E. sculder, cognate with Ger. Schulter, Dutch schouder, Swed. skuldra, &c; the root is unknown)

shoulder-blade, in divination by footprints in ashes, found in Australia, See also:

Peru and See also:

Scotland, the voluntary See also:

ELEMENT (Lat. elementum)

element is prominent, for the diviner must take active steps to secure the conditions necessary to divination. (iii.) In the case of augury and omens, on the other hand, that is not necessary. The behaviour and cries of birds, and angang or See also:

MEETING (from " to meet," to come together, assemble, 0. Eng. metals ; cf. Du. moeten, Swed. mota, Goth. gamotjan, &c., derivatives of the Teut. word for a meeting, seen in O. Eng. Wit, moot, an assembly of the people; cf. witanagemot)

meeting with ominous animals, &c., may be voluntarily observed, and opportunities for observation made; but this is not necessary for success. (iv.) In astrology we have a method which still finds believers among See also:

PEOPLE

people of See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good See also:

EDUCATION

education. The stars are held, not only to prognosticate the future but also to See also:

INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence it; the See also:

child See also:

BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born when See also:

Mars is in the ascendant will be See also:

war-like; See also:

VENUS

Venus has to do with love; the sign of the See also:

Lion presides over places where See also:

WILD, JONATHAN (c. 1682-1725)

wild beasts are found. (v.) In other cases the tie that binds the subject of divination with the See also:

OMEN (a Latin word, either connected with os, mouth, or more probably with auris (Gr. ois, ear; apparently, meaning " a thing heard " or " spoken ")

omen-giving See also:

OBJECT

object is sympathy.

The name of the See also:

LIFE

life-See also:

INDEX

index is given to a See also:

tree, See also:

animal or other object believed to be so closely See also:

UNITED

united by sympathetic ties to a human being that the See also:

FATE

fate of the latter is reflected in the See also:

CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition of the former. The Polynesians set up sticks to see if the warriors they stood for were to fall in See also:

BATTLE

battle; on Hallowe'en in our own See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country the behaviour of nuts and other See also:

OBJECTS

objects thrown into the See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire is held to prognosticate the See also:

lot of the person to whom they have been assigned. Where, as in the last two cases, the sympathetic See also:

bond is less strong, we find symbolical See also:

INTERPRETATION (from Lat. interpretari, to expound, explain, inter pres, an agent, go-between, interpreter; inter, between, and the root pret-, possibly connected with that seen either in Greek 4 p4'ew, to speak, or irpa-rrecv, to do)

interpretation playing an important part. Sympathy and symbolism, association of ideas and See also:

ANALOGY (Gr. avaXo-yLa, proportion)

analogy, together with a certain amount of observation, are the explanation of the See also:

GREAT

great See also:

mass of heteroscopic divinatory formulae. But where autoscopic phenomena See also:

PLAY

play the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief part the question of the origin of divination is less See also:

SIMPLE

simple. The investigations of the Society for Psychical See also:

RESEARCH (O. Fr. recerche, from recercher, re- and cercer, mod. chercher, to search; Late Lat. circare, to go round in a circle, to explore)

Research show that premonitions, though rare in our own day, are not absolutely unknown. Pseudo-premonitions, due to hallucinatory memory, are not unknown; there is also some ground for holding that crystal-gazers are able to perceive incidents which are happening at a distance from them. Divination of this sort, therefore, may be due to observation and experiment of a See also:

RUDE, FRANCOIS (1784–1855)

rude sort, rather than to the unchecked play of See also:

FANCY (a shortened form, dating from the 15th century, of " fantasy," which is derived through the O. Fr. fantasie, modern fantaisie. from the Latinized form of the Gr. cbavraoia, Oavrai'ecv, Oat Pais, to show)

fancy which resulted in heteroscopic divination. See also the articles See also:

AUGURS

AUGURS, See also:

ORACLE (Lat. oraculum, from ora' to pray; the corresponding Greek word is uavreiov or Xpnuri7pwov)

ORACLE, ASTROLOGY, OMEN, &C. AUTHORITIES.—Bouche Leclercq, Histoire de la divination dons l'antiquite; See also:

TYLOR, EDWARD BURNETT (1832- )

Tylor, See also:

PRIMITIVE

Primitive Culture, passim; See also:

Maury, " La Magie et l'astrologie," Journ. Anth. Inst. i.

163, v. 436; See also:

FOLKLORE

Folklore, iii. 193; See also:

Ellis, Tshi-speaking Peoples, p. 202; Dictionnaire encyclopedique See also:

des sciences medicales, See also:

xxx. 24-96; Journ. of See also:

PHILOLOGY

Philology, xiii. 273, xiv. 113; Deubner, De incubation; See also:

LENORMANT, FRANCOIS (1837–1883)

Lenormant, La Divination, et la See also:

SCIENCE (Lat. scientia, from scire; to learn, know)

science de presages chez See also:

les Chaldeens; See also:

SKEAT, WALTER WILLIAM (1835– )

Skeat, See also:

MALAY

Malay Magic; J. See also:

Johnson, Yoruba Heathenism (1899). (N. W.

End of Article: DIVINATION

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