Divination:
The practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means.
Here are some divination methods that for many reasons have gone out of favor, so I decided to create a post talking about them. Let’s begin! 
Ornithomancy 
This is a practice that consists in reading omens through the observed flight of birds. It is a form of divination so ancient that it is even mentioned in the Bible. Ancient Romans practiced it in such a way that, depending on the species of bird, the messages of the gods could be favorable or unfavorable.
Ornithomancy is usually spontaneous because its messages arrive without being requested. The omens manifest themselves through the flights and songs of birds that were studied. For example, birds flying from the east (direction of the sunrise) were considered favorable by the Greek, while the reverse was true for Roman augurs.
The augurs were the priests who were trained to understand the message of the gods and destiny through birds. In fact, the word “inauguration” is derived from the Latin “inaugurare” which was to “take omens from birds in flight.”
The legacy of ornithomancy is seen in the Magpie counting song, which is a sixteenth-century British folklore nursery rhyme. Magpies were considered a bird of ill omen in some cultures. The lyrics are:
"One for sorrow,
Two for mirth
Three for a funeral,
Four for birth
Five for heaven
Six for hell
Seven for the devil, his own self"
Birds are very sensitive to changes in weather, so when they feel a storm or drought is approaching, they migrate out of their usual route. In ancient times, sudden changes in the movements of birds were synonym of natural disasters that could severly affect crops and people’s lives.
Learn more about reading omens from birds here.
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Cromniomancy 
Its name is derived from “chromnion”, the Greek word for onion, and the suffix “-mancy” which means divination.
This divination method uses onion sprouts. Originally, the seer would study the smell, color, shape and direction of the onions sprouts as they grew. Later, the ritual evolved as chromniomancy became a widespread folklore practice among cultures in Europe, Africa and North Asia.
One method is to placing onions on a sacred altar to learn about friends and family far away and out of contact. The names of the beloved are inscribed on individual onions and left undisturbed until they began to sprout. The faster the sprouting, the better health and happiness was enjoyed by the friend named on the onion. ¹
Young women would use this method to know which suitor would become their future husband, as indicated by the strongest and fastest sprouting onion.
Another simple divination method is done by picking an onion with the skin completely dry, and asking a yes or no question. The onion is placed on a cauldron and set on fire using a match on it for ten seconds.
- If the onion burns completely, the answer is a resounding yes.
- If it goes out immediately, the answer is no.
Answers to any question could be sought by inscribing yes and no on two separate onions and planting them to see which sprouted first.
One of the reasons why onions were used for divinatory practices, is that they had significance as important food source and/or medicinal herb. The onion is rich in Vitamin C and was important because of this, and it was widely used as medicinal herb against colds and other infections.
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Capnomancy 
This is a method that tries to predict an event by looking through the smoke. The shape, direction and speed of the rising smoke can have many meanings.
Incense or candles can be used for this, or a bonfire can be observed instead. A traditional method was throwing poppy or jasmine seeds on burning coals and observing the smoke that emanated. A thin, straight plume of smoke is thought to indicate a good omen whereas the opposite is thought of large plumes of smoke.
- In Ancient Greece, priests would burn animal sacrifices and then perform Capnomancy over the smoke produced by the fire.
- The Celts were thought to practice dendromancy, a form of capnomancy, using oak and mistletoe branches.
- Modern variations of the ritual involve burning cedar sticks, incense or candles with ribbons tied around them. Hands are sometimes used to manipulate the smoke with practitioners reading the shapes that are then produced. ²
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Omphalomancy 
This is the art and practice of divination by the navel, or belly button. It is a method of divination meant to determine how many children a mother may have during her lifetime. Also, divination by a newborn’s umbilical cord.
This divination system has different forms:
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By interpretation of the belly button; by its size and shape an individual’s personality and/or fate is revealed.
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By interpretation of the umbilical cord; the number of knots in the umbilical cord of a newborn baby shows how many more brothers or sisters are to come.
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By the markings or bands on the navel; by the numbers of these features on an individual’s belly button, future accomplishments and/or destiny is determined. ³
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Onychomancy 
This divination method involves observing the reflection of the sun on the fingernails.
This type of divination was practiced both by ancient Arabs and by fortune tellers in Brazil. It is practiced by rubbing soot or oil on the nails of a young person and then exposing them to the sun. The figures made would then be interpreted to obtain answers to what one wanted to know.
The fingers where symbols appear allegedly indicate the nature of the coming events, while the location of the symbols on the nail allow to date them. The higher the symbol is situated on the nail, the nearer the events are in the future. A more modern method is to divinate based on the shape of the fingernails and even the stripes and marks on them.⁴
i havent tried reading it before though. Should try that
thanks again!
Make yourself comfortable, explore, and feel free to ask questions!
