Rhabdomancy
Encyclopedia
Rhabdomancy is a type of divination
by means of any rod, wand
, staff, stick, arrow, or the like.
One method of rhabdomancy was setting a number of staffs on end and observing where they fall, to divine the direction one should travel, or to find answers to certain questions. It has also been used for divination by arrows (which have wooden shafts) - otherwise known as belomancy
. Less commonly it has been assigned to the I Ching
, which uses small wooden rods, and also dowsing
, which often uses a wooden stick.
Rhabdomancy has been used in reference to a number of Biblical verses. St Jerome
connected Hosea 4.12, which reads "My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them" (KJV), to Ancient Greek rhabdomantic practices. Thomas Browne
, in his Pseudodoxia Epidemica, notes that Ezekiel 21.21 describes the divination by arrows of Nebuchadnezzar II as rhabdomancy, though this can also be termed belomancy. Numbers 17 has also been attributed to rhabdomancy.
W.F. Kirby, an English translator of the Kalevala
, notes that in Runo 49, Väinämöinen
uses rhabdomancy, or divination by rods, to learn where the sun and moon are hidden, but this interpretation is rejected by Aili Kolehmainen Johnson (1950).
's Pseudodoxia Epidemica
, 1646), where it is an adaptation of Late Latin
rhabdomantia, from a presumed (unrecorded) ancient Greek *rhabdomanteia, from the ancient Greek ῥαβδος (rhabdos) a rod. Liddell & Scott are "dubious" about the word's existence in Classical Greek, though the word is well attested in Patristic Greek. Note that none of the divinatory practices denoted by rhabdomancy in English are documented from ancient Greece sources.
Divination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
by means of any rod, wand
Wand
A wand is a thin, straight, hand-held stick of wood, stone, ivory, or metal. Generally, in modern language, wands are ceremonial and/or have associations with magic but there have been other uses, all stemming from the original meaning as a synonym of rod and virge, both of which had a similar...
, staff, stick, arrow, or the like.
One method of rhabdomancy was setting a number of staffs on end and observing where they fall, to divine the direction one should travel, or to find answers to certain questions. It has also been used for divination by arrows (which have wooden shafts) - otherwise known as belomancy
Belomancy
Belomancy, also bolomancy, is the ancient art of divination by use of arrows. Belomancy was anciently practised at least by Babylonians, Greeks, Arabs and Scythians....
. Less commonly it has been assigned to the I Ching
I Ching
The I Ching or "Yì Jīng" , also known as the Classic of Changes, Book of Changes and Zhouyi, is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts...
, which uses small wooden rods, and also dowsing
Dowsing
Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, gravesites, and many other objects and materials, as well as so-called currents of earth radiation , without the use of scientific apparatus...
, which often uses a wooden stick.
Rhabdomancy has been used in reference to a number of Biblical verses. St Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
connected Hosea 4.12, which reads "My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them" (KJV), to Ancient Greek rhabdomantic practices. Thomas Browne
Thomas Browne
Sir Thomas Browne was an English author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including medicine, religion, science and the esoteric....
, in his Pseudodoxia Epidemica, notes that Ezekiel 21.21 describes the divination by arrows of Nebuchadnezzar II as rhabdomancy, though this can also be termed belomancy. Numbers 17 has also been attributed to rhabdomancy.
W.F. Kirby, an English translator of the Kalevala
Kalevala
The Kalevala is a 19th century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish and Karelian oral folklore and mythology.It is regarded as the national epic of Finland and is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature...
, notes that in Runo 49, Väinämöinen
Väinämöinen
Väinämöinen is the central character in the Finnish folklore and the main character in the national epic Kalevala. His name comes from the Finnish word väinämö, meaning minstrel. Originally a Finnish god, he was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, magical...
uses rhabdomancy, or divination by rods, to learn where the sun and moon are hidden, but this interpretation is rejected by Aili Kolehmainen Johnson (1950).
Etymology
The word first appears in English in the mid-17th century (used in Thomas BrowneThomas Browne
Sir Thomas Browne was an English author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including medicine, religion, science and the esoteric....
's Pseudodoxia Epidemica
Pseudodoxia Epidemica
Pseudodoxia Epidemica or Enquries into very many received tenets and commonly presumed truths, also known simply as Pseudodoxia Epidemica or Vulgar Errors, is a work by Thomas Browne refuting the common errors and superstitions of his age. It first appeared in 1646 and went through five subsequent...
, 1646), where it is an adaptation of Late Latin
Late Latin
Late Latin is the scholarly name for the written Latin of Late Antiquity. The English dictionary definition of Late Latin dates this period from the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD extending in Spain to the 7th. This somewhat ambiguously defined period fits between Classical Latin and Medieval Latin...
rhabdomantia, from a presumed (unrecorded) ancient Greek *rhabdomanteia, from the ancient Greek ῥαβδος (rhabdos) a rod. Liddell & Scott are "dubious" about the word's existence in Classical Greek, though the word is well attested in Patristic Greek. Note that none of the divinatory practices denoted by rhabdomancy in English are documented from ancient Greece sources.