Lecanomancy (Gr. λεκάνη, "dish, pan" + μαντεία, "divination") is a form of
divination using a dish, usually of water, which, like many ancient forms of divination, has multiple forms.
The earliest form of lecanomancy appears to have come from Ancient
Babylonia, though it is only mentioned in one text. Even there, there were two types of the divination used. Some court magicians would use inductive lecanomancy; whereby the magician or priest would observe patterns of oil within water to predict the future.
However, intuitive lecanomany is thought to have developed out of this, which merely required the magician to interpret ripples on the water through meditation.
There are also reports of inductive lecanomany being used by the
Mesopotamians
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
, though they sometimes substituted flour for oil.
In the
Old Testament a form of lecanomancy was apparently used by Joseph in Egypt (Genesis 44:5)
The
Catawba Catawba may refer to:
*Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas
*Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family
*Catawban languages
Botany
*Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other N ...
people used an entirely different system of divination, which is still classified as lecanomany, whereby a bowl of water was placed by a deceased person's head.
On the third day of the bowl being present, the deceased's family would watch the bowl for ripples and these would be interpreted to determine the whereabouts of the deceased's soul.
In medieval Europe, lecanomancy was described as clear glass bowls being filled with water to determine the future.
This is in stark contrast with earlier forms of the divination, which used clay bowls or basins.
Other forms of lecanomancy throughout history involved dropping a rock in water and interpreting the ripples in the water.
In yet another form, demons were thought to enter the water whose ripples were being interpreted, and were forced to answer questions by the scryer.
See also
*
Hydromancy
Hydromancy (Ancient Greek ὑδρομαντεία, ''water-divination'',Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie.'' Oxford: ...
*
Psychomanteum
In parapsychology and spiritualism, a psychomanteum is a small, enclosed area set up with a comfortable chair, dim lighting, and a mirror angled so as not to reflect anything but darkness intended to communicate with spirits of the dead.
History
T ...
*
Scyphomancy Scyphomancy (Gk. ''skýphos'', cup, or drinking bowl, and ''manteia'', divination) is divination using a cup or goblet. This may involve forecasting or representing by using a cup of water and reading the signs specified by certain articles floating ...
References
External links
English dictionary
Divination
{{Occult-stub