DIVINATION

The art or practice of foreseeing or foretelling future events or of discovering hidden or secret knowledge. Divination goes back to prehistoric times and in numerous and various forms has worldwide distribution. At all cultural levels, some kinds of divination, such as astrology, crystal gazing, and palmistry, continue to flourish even in mature modern civilizations. It is convenient, following the example of Cicero (De divinatione 1.1i and2.26) to distinguish two main categories in divination, the natural or intuitive and the artificial or inductive. In practice, however, there is considerable overlapping in this division.

Natural Divination. Among its various forms, divination based on dreams (oneiromancy) and that based on oracles (chresmology) are especially important. An elaborate system of interpretation of dreams was developed among the ancient Greeks in which time, place, and content all entered as factors in the symbolical explanation. The extant treatise of Artemidorus of Daldis (late 2d cent. a.d.) on the interpretation of dreams (Oneirocritica ) is an example of this kind of literature. Ordinary dreams all had meaning, but particular weight was given to dreams occurring in temple incubation.

Oracles in the strict sense were the utterances of a seer, prophet, or prophetess in a state of trance or ecstasy; therefore, under divine influence or possession. The utterances, in fact, were regarded as coming directly from the invoked divinity. Since many, if not most of these utterances, were unintelligible, or at least vague and ambiguous, skilled interpreters of oracles became necessary and formed an influential class of specialists in religion. The oracles of Delphi given by the Pythia or priestess of Apollo were especially significant, as were also the utterances ascribed to the legendary sibyls, the Sibyl of Erythrae in Asia Minor and the Sibyl of Cumae near Naples being the most famous. Collections of such oracles were made and were consulted in times of crisis under the direction of expert diviners. The Sibylline Books mentioned by Vergil and others—not to be identified with the extant work of the same name—constituted such a collection.

Artificial, or Inductive, Divination. This kind of divination, which assumes a number of different forms, is based primarily on the observation and interpretation of certain actions of men, animals, or other living beings, and on human contacts with or employment of certain inanimate objects. The following list is not exhaustive, but includes the more significant and characteristic types. In some instances the term alone is sufficient, as it is self-explanatory.

Ornithomancy. Divination based on the flight, cries, and eating of various species of birds, and especially on deviations from the habitual in such cases, was a very important and influential type. Among the Romans, it was made an official part of the state religion. The College of Augurs was one of the oldest and most significant of Roman religious institutions. No public act was undertaken without consulting the auspices. Besides ornithomancy, there are methods of divination based also on the actions of fish, reptiles, and bees.

Cledonomancy. Divination by observation of human signs, actions, or utterances, is also a very significant type. Special importance was attached to sneezing, twitching of the hands or other members, and chance utterances or exclamations. The utterances of children, quite unconscious of deeper implications of what they said, were solemnly interpreted. Chiromancy or palmistry may be included under this general class of signs or omens.

Extispicy. Divination based on the examination of the entrails of animals was a widespread type, familiar through the liver divination (hepatoscopy) borrowed by the Romans from the Etruscans, who brought it to Italy from the Orient. It was a common form of divination in ancient Mesopotamia. Frequent animal sacrifices made this type of divination easily possible and at the same time led to its elaboration. The Romans always regarded the Etruscans as experts in hepatoscopy.

Pyromancy, or Empyromancy. This is divination based on the observation of the actions of wood, bone, eggs, flour, or incense when thrown on a sacrificial fire, or less formally, on any fire, and also on the shape of the flame, curling of the smoke, and similar phenomena. Omoplatoscopy or scapulimancy involved the observation and interpretation of changes in color, especially in the white shoulder blade of a sheep or other animal when placed above a fire.

Hydromancy. This is divination by water. The actions of springs and fountains were observed as offerings were thrown into them. If the offerings did not sink, this was regarded as a very bad sign. Hydromancy was more commonly practiced with a dish or a basin (lecanomancy) in which the actions of globules of oil or the eddies produced by dropping a pebble in the water were carefully observed. Catoptromancy, or mirror divination, is closely related. It was often used as a substitute for hydromancy. It was employed also, especially with the accompaniment of magic formulas, in necromancy.

Cleromancy. Divination by lots has a very wide distribution and assumes many forms. In addition to the casting of dice, one finds astragalomancy (divination with knuckle bones), axinomancy (observation of vibrations of an ax hurled into a post), sphondulomancy (divination by spindles), rhabdomancy (divination by rods or arrows), divination by oscillation of a suspended ring, rotation of a ball or sphere, and similar means. Geomancy can be included here also. It is a form of divination mentioned in antiquity, but especially common among the Arabs and medieval Latin writers under Arabic influence, in which points were marked off and lines or figures drawn, originally in sand, which were then interpreted according to definite rules. The drawing of lots inscribed with letters or formulas was very common, as was also the related practice of placing one's finger at random at a verse in Homer or Vergil (rhapsodomancy), and applying its apparent message to the question at issue (see sortes homericae, vergilianae, biblicae).

Meteorological Divination. This was concerned with the interpretation of lightning flashes and strokes, shooting stars, meteorites, and earthquakes, as also with monstrous human or animal births, all these phenomena being regarded as portents of evil or major change, especially in the state.

Astrology. Mathematical divination as applied to the planets and the stars and their supposed influence on the lives of men had been developed in the Near East and spread throughout the Greco-Roman world with further elaboration after the conquests of Alexander the Great. Because of its special character and importance, it is treated in separate articles (see astrology; horo scopes).

In Judaism. The religion of Yahweh could not countenance divination. Hence throughout the OT there are stern prohibitions against it and denunciations of it as an evil (cf., Dt 18.9–14; Lv 19.26; Is 44.25; Jer 14.14;27.8; Ez 13.6, 9, 23). The whole Biblical milieu, however, from Egypt to Babylonia practiced divination in numerous and elaborate forms, and the prophets, especially, found it necessary to fulminate against it not only among the masses but also at the courts of the kings of Juda and Israel. The lots involved in the mysterious urim and thummim were always regarded as being permitted by and under the control of Yahweh. Postbiblical Judaism did not look with favor on divination, at least in strictly orthodox circles. Biblical sanction was claimed for divination from the cup, as it is called, and also for the rare and solemn divination by the sacred name of Yahweh. In cabalistic and popular Judaism under the influence of non-Jewish environment, however, certain forms of divination were practiced that were not originally or characteristically Jewish in any way.

Christianity and Divination. Like Judaism, Christianity could not tolerate divination, yet in its mission to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews it found itself in a world steeped in all phases of polytheism, divination, and other forms of superstition. Hence from the time of the New Testament on, the Church had to combat divination in public and private life, in both of which divination was inextricably connected with every kind of activity. The Fathers of the Church found it necessary to attack divination in all its forms and to warn converts against slipping into their old ways, especially in times of crisis. The opposition ranges from the learned expositions of Clement of Alexandria and St. Augustine to popular sermons. Pagan emperors had repeatedly condemned many aspects of divination that they regarded as dangerous to the state. But, beginning with Constantine the Great, Christian emperors were much more severe, and Theodosius the Great, at the end of the 4th century, forbade divination and attached heavy penalties to its practice. Certain Greco-Roman practices, as well as Celtic and Germanic ones, were eradicated slowly only by persistent ecclesiastical legislation and preaching; and a few Christian usages, adopted under pagan influence, such as the biblical sortes, lasted until very recently, despite ecclesiastical prohibition. A Christianized form of astrology had a vogue even as late as the Renaissance, but disappeared with the rise of modern astronomy.

In Islam and Other Living Religions. Ibn Khaldun (a.d. 1332–1406) listed the forms of divination employed in Islam, the most important being geomancy and gematria. Islam, however, shows considerable diversity in divination, owing to the influences of the institutions of peoples converted to Islam or to the general environment of the Islamic groups. Buddhism, Hinduism, and other religions of the Middle and Far East give an important place to divination. With these religions, however, much more than in the case of Islam, there is an intimate connection between divination in its various forms and astrology. Finally, divination is found among the existing primitive cultures, but its range is limited, and, ordinarily, magic plays the dominant role.

See Also: delphi, oracle of; magic; sibylline oracles.

Bibliography: a. s. pease, The Oxford Classical Dictionary, ed. m. cary et al. (Oxford 1949) 292–293, with good bibliog. p. courcelle, Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum, ed. t. klauser (Stuttgart 1941 [1950]–) 3:1235–51, an excellent article, with copious bibliog. r. brouillard and h. cazelles, Catholicisme. Hier, aujourd'hui et demain, ed. g. jacquemet (Paris 1947 ) 3:905–910, with bibliog. h. j. rose et al., Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, ed. j. hastings, 13 v. (Edinburgh 1908–27) 4:775–830, a series of articles giving worldwide coverage. t. hopfner, "Mantike," Paulys Realenzyklopädie der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft, ed. g. wissowa et al. (Stuttgart 1893– ) 14.1 (1928) 1258–88. a. bouchÉ-leclercq, c. daremberg, and e. saglio, Dictionnaire des antiquités grecques et romaines d'après les textes et les monuments, 5 v. in 9 (Paris 1877–1919; repr. Graz 1962–63) 2.1:292–319, old, but excellent. t. ortalan, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, ed. a. vacant et al., 15 v. (Paris 1903–50; Tables générales 1951– ) 4.2:1441–55, with bibliog. Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible, tr. and adap. by l. hartman (New York 1963), from a. van den born, Bijbels Woordenboek 176–177. j. p. hyatt, "Magic, Divination, and Sorcery," Dictionary of the Bible, j. hastings and j. a. selbia, eds., 5 v. (Edinburgh 1963) 607–611. h. leclercq, Dictionnaire d'archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie, ed. f. cabrol, h. leclercq, and h. i. marrou, 15v. (Paris 1907–53) 4.1:1198–1212. r. la roche, La Divination: Avec un supplément sur la superstition en Afrique Centrale (Washington 1957).

[m. r. p. mcguire]