There are many forms of fortune telling. The “Big Three” are astrology, tarot/oracle cards and numerology. Also known are palmistry, I-Ching, channeling and mediumship. However, this article will examine and briefly describe unusual forms of fortune telling that you may find interesting to discover and explore. They will be arranged alphabetically, and the list is surprisingly long, even if not exhaustive. Therefore, it will be presented in a series of articles.
What is fortune telling?
The dictionary definition of the word divination is: “the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means.” In modern times, divination has expanded to include spiritual insight about the self and circumstances, with less emphasis on predicting the future. The techniques and tools below demonstrate the many different ways in which divination can be practiced, whether you are trying to see into the future or into your own soul.
Abacomancy
Abacomancy is a method of divination that involves looking for patterns in salt, dirt, sand, or the ashes of the dead to determine a spiritual message. An Abacomancy fortune teller drops the salt, dirt, sand or ash on a flat surface and reads the patterns he sees to provide an answer to a question.
Aviation
Aeromancy uses thunder, lightning, rain, wind, cloud formations, and cosmological events (such as the passing of comets or meteors) to make divine revelations. There are numerous subgroups of the practice, including: austomancy (wind divination), ceraunoscopy (observing thunder and lightning), chaomancy (“sky” vision), meteoromancy (meteors), and nepomancy (reading the clouds) .
Apantomancy
Apantomancy is divination based on chance encounters or sudden insight from a seemingly random event that the fortune teller interprets as a divine message from the spirit. Of particular value are unexpected interactions with animals, which appear as totems that answer questions or concerns for the fortune teller or for the person asking a psychic to explain what it means that a particular animal “crossed their path.”
Omen
Augury is the practice of predicting the future based on the behavior and flight of birds. Historically, the practice was essential as part of decision-making for Rome’s leaders. Birds were a symbol of Jupiter’s will, so no major action or important judgment would be made without consulting the state-sanctioned Auger. This practice is rarely used, but is very interesting to study given its profound influence in determining the direction of historical events during one of the most important periods in Western history.
Automatic writing
Automatic writing is easy to understand, but not as easy to perform as you might think, mainly because you have to train yourself not to think while writing. Trying and developing automatic writing is a skill you can train yourself, making it different from other forms of fortune telling that require “natural talent.” If you can clear your mind and “write from your mind,” you may be very surprised by the results you discover when you read what is written.
Belomancy (arrow divination)
Belomancy, or bolomancy, uses arrows for divination. Throughout history, Tibetans, Greeks, Arabs and Chaldeans have used arrows to answer questions or make decisions. The two most common methods were shooting three arrows or drawing one of three arrows from a quiver, usually placed on the back of the fortune teller or the person asking the question.
To carry out the process, three arrows would be marked with the phrases: “it is divinely ordained” or “it is divinely forbidden,” and the third would be blank. The arrows would be shot and whoever flew the furthest would indicate the answer. Another method would be simply to shuffle the arrows into a quiver, preferably worn on the back, and the first arrow to be drawn indicates the answer. If a blank arrow were drawn, no clear answer would be available and the person seeking the answer would have to act without divine guidance.
Bibliomancy
Bibliomancy is divination that uses a text to provide the answer, usually a major religious book such as the Bible, the Koran, Tao Te Ching or the Bhagavad Gita. But a dictionary is a surprisingly good alternative. If you want to be a little more outrageous, you can use popular fiction, such as a book from the Harry Potter series or a collection of poems by a contemporary poet.
The technique is quite simple. Grab your book, close your eyes, ask your question, open the book and run your finger over one of the pages. Stop, open your eyes, and read the line or passage where your finger touches the page.
Bone Reading (Osteomancy)
Osteomancy – Bone Reading – is reemerging as a form of fortune telling that you might encounter at a spiritual or paranormal fair, or when searching for a psychic on Yelp or via Google. Bone casting has been around for thousands of years and is practiced all over the world, but is best known in Africa, Asia and the Native American tribes of North America. Experienced bone readers know how to interpret the patterns of the bones after they have been “thrown” or cast to answer a question or address a problem.
Capacity
Capnomancy is a form of divination done by reading the patterns in smoke. The fortune teller may use a small fire, a lit candle, a pipe, a vape stick, or a cigarette to produce the smoke that he will interpret to answer the questioner’s question or concern. Some of the interpretive meanings are: a rapidly rising plume signifies good luck or favorable conditions, while a thick hanging plume indicates bad luck or unfavorable conditions. If the smoke “falls to the ground,” immediate action is needed to prevent disaster or damage.
To pour
Bone reading is a specific form of casting, and there are many others. For example, casting is used for I-Ching divination and is done with yarrow sticks or three coins. Throwing dice is another form of casting. In reality, any object or set of objects can be used to seek divine answers. The simplest form of casting is tossing a coin.
Ceromancy
Ceromancy is divination done by melting a wax candle until it is melted, then pouring the heated wax into cold water to see what shape it takes. The shape provides the answer to the question. Another method is to simply burn a candle and watch it melt. The patterns in the melting wax reveal the divine answer.
If you enjoyed reading about these unusual forms of fortune telling, be sure to check out the next article, which will include more unique methods of fortune telling that were once practiced, that are making a comeback, or that may resonate with you if you want to become a fortune teller. practitioner of one of these lesser known arts.
