Aeromancy
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary:
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A·ër·o·man·cy
n.
[Aëro- + -mancy: cf. F. aéromancie.]
Divination from the state of the air or from atmospheric substances; also, forecasting changes in the weather.
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The art of foretelling future events by the observation of atmospheric phenomena, as, for example, when the death of a great man is presaged by the appearance of a comet. Francois de la Tour Blanche stated that aeromancy is the art of fortune-telling by means of specters that are made to appear in the air, or the representation by the aid of demons, of future events, which are projected on the clouds as a film is projected onto a screen. "As for thunder and lightning," he adds, "these are concerned with auguries, and the aspect of the sky and of the planets belonging to the science of astrology."
Sources:
Waite, Arthur Edward. The Occult Sciences. 1891. Reprint, Secaucus, N.J.: University Books, 1974.
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Aeromancy
Aeromancy (from Greek aero, "air", and manteia, "divination") is divination conducted by interpreting atmospheric conditions. Alternate spellings include Arologie, Aeriology and Aërology.[1]
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Contents
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Practice
Aeromancy uses cloud formations, wind currents and cosmological events such as comets to attempt to divine the future.[2] There are sub-types of this practice which are as follows: austromancy (wind divination), ceraunoscopy (observing thunder and lightning), chaomancy (aerial vision) and meteormancy (meteors and shooting stars).[2]
History
The first recorded instance of the word Aeromancy being used was found in Chambers, Cycl. Supp, 1753. It was defined as "That department of science which treats of the atmosphere", rather than a form of divination.[1] However, variations on the word have been used throughout history with the earliest instance being in the Bible, though the practice is thought to have been used by the ancient Babylonian priests.[2][3]
Cultural Influence
Aeromancy was mentioned in Deuteronomy 18 as being condemned by Moses.[3] It is also condemned by Albertus Magnus in Speculum Astronomiae, who describes the practice as a derivative of nigromancy.[4] The practice was debunked by Luis de Valladolid in his 1889 work Historia de vita et doctrina Alberti Magni.[5]
In Renaissance magic, aeromancy was classified as one of the seven "forbidden arts," along with necromancy, geomancy, hydromancy, pyromancy, chiromancy (palmistry), and spatulamancy (scapulimancy).[6]
In myth
- Tinia, the Etruscan god of lightning
- Adad, the Babylonian god of thunder, lightning, and prophesy
- Amon, Egyptian god of wind, fertility, life, and secrets
- Aditi, Hindu goddess of the sky
- Agni, Hindu god of the sun, lightning, and fire
- Thor, Norse god of thunder
- Zeus, Greek god of the sky and thunder
References
- ^ a b Howard, Edwin J. (December 1942). "Four Words in Coxe's a Short Treatise... of Magicall Sciences". Modern Language Notes (The Johns Hopkins University Press) 57 (8): 675. JSTOR 2910532.
- ^ a b c "Aeromancy". The Element Encyclopedia of the Psychic World. Harper Element. 2006. pp. 8–9.
- ^ a b Friedenwald, Harry (January 1942). "Apologetic Works of Jewish Physicians". The Jewish Quarterly Review (University of Pennsylvania Press) 32 (3): 237. JSTOR 1452355.
- ^ Thorndike, Lynn (July 1927). "Alfodhol and Almadel: Hitherto Unnoted Mediaeval Books of Magic in Florentine Manuscripts". Speculum (Medieval Academy of America) 2 (3): 327. JSTOR 2847724.
- ^ Collins, David J. (Spring 2010). "Albertus, Magnus or Magus? Magic, Natural Philosophy, and Religious Reform in the Late Middle Ages". Renaissance Quarterly (The University of Chicago Press) 63 (1). doi:10.1086/652532. JSTOR 10.
- ^ Johannes Hartlieb (Munich, 1456) The Book of All Forbidden Arts; quoted in Láng, p. 124.
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Gale Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology
Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. Copyright © 2001 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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