DIVINATION

the practice of determining the hidden significance or cause of events, sometimes foretelling the future, by various natural, psychological, and other techniques. Found in all civilizations, both ancient and modern, it is encountered most frequently in contemporary mass society in the form of horoscopes, astrology, crystal gazing, tarot cards, and the Ouija board. In the context of ancient Roman culture and belief, divination was concerned with discovering the will of the gods. Today, however, scholars no longer restrict the word to the root meaning. Divinatory practices and the beliefs undergirding them are greater in scope than discerning the will of the gods and the fatalistic view of the human condition that inspired so much of early Mediterranean religious thought. In some societies, in fact, divination is a practice to which many persons frequently resort, but never in terms of discovering the will of the gods. The idea of a godly providence controlling human affairs in such societies is unusual, although humbler spirits are often thought to intervene in troublesome ways. While divination is most commonly practiced in the modern Western world in the form of horoscopic astrology, other forms were and continue to be of equal importance for other cultures. the practice of foretelling the future by various natural, psychological, and other techniques. Found in all civilizationsboth ancient and modern, primitive and sophisticatedand in all areas, it is known in the Western world primarily in the form of horoscopic astrology (see astrology). No scientific evidence has been produced showing that divination can indeed foretell the future. Divinatory methods may be classified as inductive, interpretive, or intuitive. Inductive and interpretive divination are performed by inference from external facts. Manipulated accident is the essential dramatic element of interpretive divination. In a classic example, a diviner randomly tosses a bunch of selected objects on the ground and foretells the future by interpreting the final alignment of the objects where they fell. This approach has been used in a great variety of cultures. The casting of lots, for instance, was common in classical antiquity and survives in the throwing of dice. The use of lots and number lore directs consultation of the I Ching in Chinese tradition. In haruspication (the inspection of entrails), in scapulimancy (divination by the spealbone, or shoulder blade), and in divination by footprints in ashes, the diviner foretells the future by interpreting the visual appearance or condition of a particular object or objects. In the case of augury and omens, the behaviour and cries of birds, encounters with ominous animals, and so on are interpreted. Astrology, based upon observation of the heavenly bodies, is an inductive divining method of great antiquity. Other phenomena commonly subject to such interpretation include dreams, weather, and sequences of cards (e.g., Tarot cards). Intuitive divination depends for its results on sensory or motor automatisms or mental impressions. The prototype of the intuitive diviner is the shaman who employs trance stateseither spontaneous, self-induced, or drug-inducedto achieve contact with superior, nonhuman forces and thereby gain insight into the future. Among sensory automatisms, crystal gazing is used to induce visions of future events. The Ouija board is a popular approach to divination using motor automatism. Additional reading William Barrett and Theodore Besterman, The Divining Rod: An Experimental and Psychological Investigation (1926, reissued 1968), with a bibliography of water divining; William Bascom, Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa (1969); Auguste Bouch-Leclercq, Histoire de la divination dans l'antiquit, 4 vol. (187982, reprinted 1975), a classic work; Henry Callaway, The Religious System of the Amazulu (1870, reissued 1970), with an analysis of their divinatory practices; Andr Caquot and Marcel Leibovici, La Divination: tudes recueillies, 2 vol. (1968), by specialists in many fields; Georges Dumzil, Archaic Roman Religion, 2 vol. (1970; originally published in French, 1966), with an appendix on the religion of the Etruscans; Robert Flacelire, Greek Oracles, 2nd ed. (1976; originally published in French, 1961); William A. Lessa, Chinese Body Divination: Its Forms, Affinities and Functions (1968); Michael Loewe and Carmen Blacker (eds.), Divination and Oracles (1981), nine studies covering the ancient and Oriental worlds; Ren de Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet: The Cult and Iconography of the Tibetan Protective Deities (1956, reprinted 1976); Victor W. Turner, Ndembu Divination: Its Symbolism & Techniques (1961, reprinted 1969); Evon Z. Vogt and Ray Hyman, Water Witching, U.S.A., 2nd ed. (1979), an ethnographic study; and Helmut Wilhelm, Change: Eight Lectures on the I-Ching (1960, reprinted 1973; originally published in German, 1944), studies of Chinese divination.