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Alomancy
Also Halomancy.
Derived
from the
Greek halo
('salt') and manteia ('divination'), this is a method of
divination by interpreting random patterns
formed by the sprinkling of salt, usually over a flat surface, such as a
table.
Specifics of the interpretation process in this
practice are obscure, but it probably followed similar methods to those of
aleuromancy.
In many parts of the world salt was once
believed to have magical properties. Consequently it has a long history of
application in rituals of purification, magical protection, and blessing.
Amongst
ancient magicians it was commonplace to lay down a pinch of salt in each
corner of the room before performing a spell or ritual. This practice
carried over into contemporary African-American hoodoo tradition as well.
Both Greeks and Romans also mixed salt with
their sacrificial cakes. The use of it in divination probably
dates as far back as its ancient use as an offering to pagan gods, because
of its scarceness and necessity.
From that other rites developed in which
salt played a significant role; hence any careless waste of such precious
substance was sure to provoke the wrath of the presiding
deities.
It is this ancient divination science
that accounts for some of our modern salt related superstitions, including
the one about people saying that misfortune is about to fall on the
household when the salt cellar is overturned or spilled, and the one about throwing a
pinch of salt over someone's shoulder — usually the left one — for good luck.
An alternative form of Alomancy
consisted in the casting of salt into a fire, and it was considered a type of Pyromancy.
In Scotland on
Imbolg
night, it was a tradition for each member of the family to throw protective
salt into the fire and divine their immediate futures by the pops and
sparkling it made. This was considered to be a subset of Capnomancy,
which usually covered all forms of "throwing something on the fire and
figuring out what it meant."
In a technique from ancient Egypt,
salt was poured or tossed to the ground, and the patterns were then
interpreted. One must point out that, in
those ancient times, salt was solely available in large pebble-like
crystals, rather than today's tiny-sized table salt crystals.
Reminiscent of tea cup reading, other
method relied on interpreting the residue of a salt solution as it
evaporated in a bowl or cup.
In another more contemporary method of Alomancy, fine salt was cast into the air and
prognostications were given by interpreting the shape of the cloud thus formed.
See
Divination,
Casting Black Magic Spells,
Commanding Spirits,
The Tarot Store and
Divination & Scrying Tools and
Supplies.
Sources: (1) Dunwich, Gerina,
A Wiccan's Guide to Prophecy
and Divination, Carol Publishing Group; (2)
Spence, Lewis,
An Encyclopedia of
Occultism,
Carol Publishing Group; (3)
Dictionary of the
Occult, Caxton
Publishing;
(4) Pickover, Clifford A.,
Dreaming the Future: The
Fantastic Story of Prediction, Prometheus Books;
(5) K, Amber,
Candlemas: Feast of Flames,
Llewellyn Publications.
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