#catoptromancy

[subterraneanna]

TFW you just gotta say "Khan" three times...

[ancientgreekwitch]

Divination and Omens

Divination is a means in which we can see the future. Omens signify an event which will happen in the future.

Oionoskopika

Oionoskopika is a practice of seeing the future by observing birds

Observing

When observing birds, face North. Find a hill with a clear view in which birds can be seen when coming from any direction.

If a bird appears from the right, the dawn and the sun, it is favorable. If it appears from the left, towards the darkness, it is unfavorable.

If the bird raises its left wing and dissapears, even if appearing from the right, it is unfavorable. If the bird raises its right wing, however, even if appearing from the left, it is favorable.

Birds

Not all birds foretell the future. Only those which are prophetic do. Those that are prophetic are: eagles, falcons, ravens, storks, krex, owls, cranes, nightingales, swallows, hoopoes and swans.

Although, if one has a strong feeling that another bird is prophetic, and/or if they’re acting in a certain and strange way, this may be prophetic as well.

Prophecies

Prophecying from birds is similar to tarot or crystal ball divination. One must learn to use their intuition to decipher the signs. For example, an eagle devouring a pregnant rabbit is a sign of victory, as the eagle is victorious over its prey, but also eventual retribution, as the bunny is pregnant.

Birds Speaking

Some say that if your ears are cleaned by a snake, you can understand the words that birds speak.

Cosmological Omens

Cosmological omens are omens through natural phenomena. Some have specific meanings that are unchanging. Some of these are:

Eclipses - unfavorable

Thunderstorms - destruction

Thunder/lighting from a clear sky - favorable

Earthquake - the sea (Posideon) is upset

Thunder on the right - favorable

Others depend on context and must be interpreted using trained intuition. These are: rain, lightning, thunder, meteoroids, rainbows, and violent winds. Of course, other natural phenomena can be signs as well, and these phenomena could mean nothing, though that is more uncommon.

Hydromanteia

Hydromanteia is the divination based on observing the surface of water. This is most often performed in a spring, well, or a bowl of water.

Spring Divination

To perform divination on behalf of a sick person, attach a mirror to a thin cord and lower it just enough to touch the water with its rim. Then, ask the harvest (Demeter) whether the person will recover or not, and after burning incense, look into the mirror, and this will reveal the patient either alive or dead. If alive, they will live. If dead, they will die.

Well Divination

Suspend a large mirror over a shallow well. If one descends into the well, they should hear everything said on earth, whereas in the mirror they will see every city and country as if they were standing over it.

Lekanomanteia

Lekanomanteia was the most popular form of water-based divination in Ancient Greece. This is because it can be done the most simply. Pour water into a clay, earthen, copper, or bronze bowl, ask a question, then gaze into the water. Observe the shapes and reflections, and from that derive your answer.

Other Forms

Hieroskopia

Hieroskopia is a form of divination based on observing animal entrails. If the entrails are malformed or abnormal, the outcome will be unfavorable. If they are normal, it will be favorable. I will not be writing about Hieroskopia in detail for two reasons: in my personal practice, I do not perform Hieroskopia. And, most people do not have access to the materials necessary to perform it. Thus, I presume most will not want to know about it in detail. If any do wish for more detail, simply ask.

Oneiromanteia

Oneiromanteia is divination based on dreams. This is often a form of divination that is not induced, but rather comes to an individual uninvited. A dream is, more often than not, simply just a dream, but, sometimes, one will get a feeling, and the dream will come to pass. Should one wish to induce a dream omen, abstain from eating cheese and goat’s meat. This will not ensure a dream omen, but it will make them come easier and clearer.

Catoptromancy

Catoptromancy is a form of divination characterized by gazing into a mirror. Ancient geek mirrors were simply highly polished pieces of bronze that were oiled. As such, this is what should be used for catoptromancy, and any other Ancient Greek magical practices using mirrors. The reflections are observed and interpreted through intuition.

Animals and Plants

Some animals other than birds are also divinitory in nature. Serpents may be observed for omens. Dogs behaviors may be as well. For example, those who are pious are welcomed with wagging tails. Those who come from the ‘bed of debauchery’ are chased off. But, if someone’s hands are evil, the dogs will bite and savage them.

Oak and laurel trees may also reveal the future. Sit beneath and listen to the leaves rustle. Hear the birds. Clarity will come to you.

Hearing by Chance

Some things heard by chance may reveal the future. A sneeze on the right may be a good omen, whereas on the left it is a bad one. Though, this is only if one has an instinctual feeling it is an omen, or if it would not make sense that a person would be sneezing. For example, if it is autumn, and someone is making a speech about why one should support going into a new war, and a sneeze is heard on the left directly after the speaker finishes, this signifies that this war will not turn out well if it should occcur.

Sometimes, too, hearing a fragment of another’s conversation is an omen. For example, if one has just begun a war and hears a maid say “we’ll be ravaged”, that is a sign the war will end poorly for their side. These, too, must have an instinctual feeling that they are omens, and not simply happenstance.

There are two other major forms of divination, similar in their structure to runes, called Astragaloi and alphabet divination. These have an abundance information, too much to fit into this post, and thus will have their own.

Warning: Wells can be dangerous! Snakes can be dangerous! If you ever try this, do so with caution and common sense.

[stygiantarot]

Unusual Divination Methods

A long ass list of methods of divination, just in case you’re curious ~~~~~~

Divination is the method of discerning answers beyond a direct interaction. It can be used for foreseeing future outcomes or problems, but that isn’t inherent. It can also be used to commune with entities like deities or spirits, or even for delving deeper into the self (like shadow work).

There are many forms of divination. So many. There are even many forms of what would be considered “unusual” beyond the more commonly practices like cartomancy, runes, or stichomancy. Today I shall be focusing on ones I’m familiar with so I can better elaborate and answer questions.

The methods I will be exploring today:


Aleuromancy: divination using flour (or a flour substitute!)


Catoptromancy: a form of scrying using a mirror (my method uses a cast iron pan actually!)


Osteomancy: divination using bones

~~~~~~

Aleuromancy

A form of divination using flour that’s mentioned in some Mesopotamian cunefiorms, as well as being practiced in Greece and Rome. There are a couple ways this can be done. Firstly is when you pour out the dry flour and look at the way it falls into a bowl or on a plate or surface. Much like tea leaf reading (tasseography), you seek out shapes in the flour and interpret based on that. Another variation is doing the same but after you’ve mixed the flour with the liquids you’re baking with and kneaded it/mixed it and then taken it away to be baked. You examine the remaining streaks of wet dough on your surfaces for shapes and patterns.

The third method is to actually put slips of paper into the items you’re baking to be taken at random and broken open to answers questions after they’re cooked (akin to fortune cookies). This can be a tricky process depending on what sort of paper or ink you’ve used (speaking from experience :-X). The historical Greek version of this used excerpts of famous philosophy and mixed the balls of doughs nine times (a significant number in Ancient Greece)

It can take a lot of patience to try and find shapes and patterns in flour and admittedly it’s much easier with tea leaves. No wonder that became the standard. Don’t get disheartened if it isn’t something you have success with. You might have more fun and results experimenting with the baking slips of paper into dough methods. Great for ritual cookies!

The kind of divining using this method is very simple, more “omen-like” than detailed q&as like in Tarot or runes. Expect to see simple images that may give insight to something coming your way (a boat or bird showing a trip) or warn of a specific type of trouble that may be on the horizon (a money sign showing finances) rather than getting a formulated question clearly answered. However, you can dabble in that methodology when using the slips of paper instead. That way is more akin to stichomancy where you get a general idea or snapshot of the emotion or proverb-like metaphor to your question.

The type of flour can be tailored to help “fine tune” the reading as well- much like a certain flavor or tea or a certain deck of cards. Keep in mind that all types of grains/flours have a baseline association with prosperity and material gain/finances so this method of divination is especially good for those type of questions!



Flour Correspondences:


Acorn: An uncommon one in stores of course, but has deep wildcrafting results if you have the time and patience to grind some yourself. Associated with protection, health, money, healing, potency, fertility, luck, wealth, wisdom, and personal power.


Almond: creativity, luck, wisdom, spiritual understanding, nostalgia

Buckwheat: Money, protection, dreams and sleep


Flaxseed: health, finances, prosperity, beauty, psychic powers

Oat: family, home, hearth, money

Potato: protection, banishing, soothing/healing


Rice: prosperity, career/job, travel, romantic relationships/sex

Wheat: general prosperity, rebirth/renewal, solar energy

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Catoptromancy

From the Greek word katoptron, meaning mirror, this is a form of scrying that specifically uses a mirror rather than flame, water, or crystal ball. However, my version is a bit of a kitchen witch twist on it. We’ll get to that in a moment!

 The Wikipedia article on it refers to a Greek temple that used this method but it was also practiced in many other countries in history. There’s references to the “true seeing” of Hathor/Het-Hert/ḥwt-ḥr mirrors as well, despite them being mainly for practical purposes. The divination is practiced most commonly by placing a mirror near water, outside in moonlight, or near a candle flame. Then the reader looks into the mirror and interprets the images seen. They can be direct appearance-based (how you look) or seeing other images. The mirror can be a standard one, a painted one, or one made of a more opaque substance like obsidian or metal.

I will say personally, I practice catoptromancy in an “inner eye” scrying way rather than a pattern/tasseography way. That means that I am the conduit and the mirror/surface is to help me get into a trance state and what I “see” will be from my mind’s eye or may likely be added to what little I see on the surface through intuition and that sixth sense. But either method is absolutely fine.

I also don’t use a mirror. I use a well loved, well seasoned cast iron skillet for my catoptromancy, with a lighted candle usually. The glossy surface is mostly black iron but is just mirrored enough from being soaked in fat over the past decades of seasoning that it performs quite well for scrying. And the sentimental value helps it’s power. You may want to select an object in a similar fashion. You can choose an important mirror (the size doesn’t matter) or pick something that is mirror-like. The reflective ability is all that matters.

Get settled down in a comfortable spot without too much light. Get your one light source ready; a candle, the moon, a small table lamp or booklight even. You’ll want to be grounded, centered, and calm and then let yourself “zone out” in order to get into the mindset for scrying. Then examine your own reflection for certain aspects that stand out or look past yourself (or angle the mirror to not be looking right at you) to see other shapes or patterns that you expand upon with your trance state. Keeping a journal for this method is especially important. There’s an emotional and internal reflection aspect that can be helpful to refer back to and examine how things went in your life after certain sessions. It can also pair well with dream magic. What you were seeking might manifest after the trance mirror session in your dreams. This method of divination is especially good for shadow work as well.

~~~~~~

Osteomancy

Bones, bones bones! Throwing the bones! Examining the bones! Reading the bones! This is a divination method that obviously uses bones in order to determine associations and messages. It was prevalent in so many cultures throughout ancient and more recent history that it’s hard to pin down a single source. However, there are definitely methods that have particular cultural ties and those should be respected when it comes to closed ones. 

Much like runes or staves, the most common method counts upon both the appearance of the bones themselves as well as their placement in a “casting” (when you gently toss them onto a flat surface). Casting sets also frequently include items that aren’t just bones like small stones, coins, shells, pieces of jewelry, etc.

You can carve, mark, paint or stain the bones in ways that have personal associations to you to help in reading them. You can obtain these bones in any ethical way you are comfortable with. I don’t believe they have to be remains you have processed yourself; though that can add a different spiritual component. You should be considerate in collecting your set though. There is no set number of objects to have (even a single piece can answer yes/no questions) but I don’t recommend starting out of the gate with a pile. You should get comfortable with each piece and determine its associations before moving on to a new one.

Unlike Tarot, they don’t come with set meanings. Though there are sometimes obvious ones: a coin for finances, a seedpod or nut for fertility/prosperity, a sharp tooth for protection, etc. Think about what creature the bone is from, what part of the body, what shape it has when helping determine your personal associations. Treat it like a correspondence for herbs or crystals and that way you can have a more organic “sliding scale” type meaning for when you cast rather than a rigidly detailed one like with Tarot. For example: a meaning like “luck” or “prosperity” is better than “success in work”. It’s also common to have objects touch and then their meanings are joined. In the previous example you could get promotion/raise at work from having a work piece crossing with a prosperity or luck piece.

It is also up to you on what level of ritualized dedication and/or care you would like to give your set. Many people like to do a special dedication ritual to almost “welcome” the item to its new job as a divination tool (my own is what I call “Massaging the Bones”). You can also regularly cleanse and “feed” the casting set (energy that is- not literal food, though you could give it energy from something you’ve cooked in a non-literal way!). I do recommend a special bag or box to keep everything in as well as a soft thicker cloth to cast on. Just so the items don’t get damaged. Be careful in your casting. Practice a lot to know your strength level to throw while still keeping the objects safe. There may be a couple pieces (like baculums or thinner bird bones) that you need to wrap in a square of cloth before storing with the rest of your set for extra protection. This is especially true if you plan to take your set anywhere where it’ll be traveling in a bag or purse.

You can have a ritual circle of string or another material (embroidery hoop!) you lay out to help organize your cast if you like too. This is usually treated one of two ways. Like the face of a clock and items “closer” to certain times are more immediate and further away items around the imaginary numerals are more in the future. Or it’s concentric and the closer to the center of the circle are more important/relevant and then less relevant or immediate as you get closer to the edge. Those that fall outside the circle aren’t relevant to the reading.

This is a divination method you need an large amount of patience for as it is basically creating a tool yourself from scratch, even if you buy the supplies from elsewhere. The framework is laid by you. And just like someone designing a Tarot deck from scratch; be gentle with yourself and allow yourself the room to practice, change, grow, have fallow periods, return, get bored, become fanatic, etc. It’s a process sort of divination that grows like a living thing. This makes it a bittersweet one- rewarding and frustrating but mostly immensely satisfying.

~~~~~~

Divination is something that can be tailored to your desires, needs, and supplies. It can be made personal. You can create a whole new type if you like! Use what inspires you, what works for you. Use the marks on toast, the recommendations of Netflix, steam in a bathroom mirror after a shower. The world is your oyster!

[loneberry]

Before the Temple of Ceres at Patras, there was a fountain, separated from the temple by a wall, and there was an oracle, very truthful, not for all events, but for the sick only. The sick person let down a mirror, suspended by a thread till its base touched the surface of the water, having first prayed to the goddess and offered incense. Then; looking into the mirror, he saw the presage of death or recovery, according as the face appeared fresh and healthy, or of a ghastly aspect.

Catoptromancy (Gk. κάτοπτρον, katoptron, "mirror," and μαντεία, manteia, "divination"), also known as captromancy or enoptromancy, is divination using a mirror.

Specularii: In Ancient Rome, the priests who used catoptromancy

[arcane-offerings]

“Cataptromantia,” illustration from Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos Artis hujus Magistros. Anno 1057. Noli me tangere, c. 1775, MS 1766, Wellcome Library, London.

[lifeofawitch2020]

[rhianna]

Catoptromancy is divination using mirrors or other reflective surfaces, while crystal ball gazing is a specific type of catoptromancy that uses a crystal ball

. Both are forms of scrying, the practice of gazing into a reflective surface to perceive visions or insights. 

The key difference lies in the specific tool used for the ritual:CatoptromancyCrystal Ball Gazing (Crystallomancy)OriginFrom the Greek words katoptron("mirror") and manteia("divination").A modern name for an ancient practice.Tool(s)A broader category that uses various reflective surfaces, including: • Mirrors • Polished metal • Bowls of water • Crystal ballsA specific type of scrying that exclusively uses a crystal ball or other crystalline object as the focal point.FocusThe focus is on the reflective surface itself, whether it's the mirrored glass or the surface of a bowl of water. Some methods involve gazing into a flame's reflection.The focus is on the interior of the ball, gazing into its depths to relax the conscious mind and receive visions.PracticeA practitioner may stare at their own reflection in a mirror to elicit a vision or use a mirror to view a distant person or location.Practitioners may start with a smaller ball and use incense and candles to set a meditative mood. The ball itself is traditionally cleansed and charged before use.Notable ExampleIn ancient Greece, Pausanias described a ritual for the sick at the Temple of Ceres. A mirror was lowered into a fountain and the sick person looked at their reflection in the water to see if they would recover or die.In the Harry Potterseries, Professor Trelawney taught crystal gazing, which is a modern and popular cultural depiction of the practice.

[rhianna]

Catoptromancy is a form of divination that uses mirrors or other reflective surfaces to gain insights or see into the future. It involves gazing into a mirror (or similar reflective surface) and interpreting the visions or images that appear. The practice is also known as mirror divination or enoptromancy. 

Here's a more detailed look at catoptromancy: 

Ancient Origins:Catoptromancy is an ancient practice, with roots in ancient Egypt and Greece. 

Mirror as a Portal:In some cultures, mirrors were seen as portals to other realms, including the afterlife or the future. 

Divination Technique:Practitioners would gaze into the mirror, often in a darkened room, and attempt to interpret the reflections or images that appeared. 

Different Forms:Catoptromancy can involve different types of mirrors or reflective surfaces, including those made of polished metal or even water. 

Variations:Some variations of catoptromancy involve using mirrors associated with different planets or celestial bodies, each believed to offer insights into specific areas of life. 

Modern Interpretations:In modern times, the concept of catoptromancy has also been applied to the use of reflective surfaces like computer screens or even virtual reality.