Anthropomancy

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Ancient practice of divination by the entrails of men or women. Herodotus said that Menelaus, detained in Egypt by poor winds, sacrificed two children of the country to discover his destiny by means of anthropomancy. Heliogabalus practiced this means of divination. It is said that in his magical operations, Julian the Apostate caused a large number of children to be killed so that he might consult their entrails. During his last expedition at Carra, in Mesopotamia, he shut himself in the Temple of the Moon. After completing his anthropomancy, he sealed the doors and posted a guard, whose duty it was to see that they were not opened until his return. However, he was killed in battle with the Persians, and those who entered the Temple of Carra, in the reign of Julian's successor, found there a woman hanging by her hair, with her liver torn out. The infamous Gilles De Laval may also have practiced this dreadful type of divination.

Sources:

Waite, Arthur Edward. The Occult Sciences. 1891. Reprint, Secaucus, N.J.: University Books, 1974.

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Anthropomancy (from Greek anthropos (ανθροπος, man), and manteia (μαντεια, divination) is a method of divination by the entrails of dead or dying men or women, often virgin female children, through sacrifice.^{[citation needed]} This practice was sometimes also called splanchomancy. In ancient Etruria and Rome, the usual variety of divination from entrails was haruspicy (performed by an haruspex), in which th sacrifice was an animal.

Practitioners in fiction

• Darken Rahl
• Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose#Plot

v t e Methods of divination Theriomancy Ailuromancy Alectryomancy Augury Myomancy Myrmomancy Ornithomancy Bibliomancy I Ching Scrying Crystal gazing Oculomancy Catoptromancy Hydromancy Cleromancy Astragalomancy Favomancy Ifá Merindinlogun Runic magic Necromancy Nigromancy Somatomancy Cephalomancy Chiromancy Podomancy Rumpology   Other methods A Abacomancy Acultomancy Aeromancy Agalmatomancy Aichmomancy Aleuromancy Alomancy Alphitomancy Alveromancy Amathomancy Ambulomancy Amniomancy Anthomancy Anthropomancy Anthracomancy Apantomancy Anthroposcopy Anthracomancy Apantomancy Arachnomancy Archeomancy Arithmancy Ariolation Armomancy Aspidomancy Astragalomancy Astrapomancy Astrology Astromancy Auramancy Axinomancy B – D Belomancy Bletonomancy Brontomancy Bumpology Capnomancy Carromancy Cartomancy Catoptromancy Cattabomancy Chalcomancy Choriomancy Chresmomancy Chronomancy Cineromancy Clamancy Cledonism Cleidomancy Colormancy Conchomancy Coscinomancy Crithomancy Cromniomancy Cryptomancy Cybermancy Cyclomancy Dactyliomancy Dactylomancy Dōbutsu uranai Dowsing Dream question E – N Enochian chess Eromancy Extispicy Fal-Gûsh Geomancy Geloscopy Gematria Graphology Gyromancy Haruspex Horoscope Ichnomancy Isopsephy Jiaobei Kabbalah Lampadomancy Lecanomancy Libanomancy Literomancy Lithomancy Macharomancy Margaritomancy Megapolisomancy Metoposcopy Moleosophy Molybdomancy Numerology O – Z Onomancy Oinomancy Omphalomancy Oneiromancy Onomancy Onychomancy Oomancy Ouija Phrenology Physiognomy Plastromancy Psychic reading Psychognomy Pyromancy Qiu qian Rhabdomancy Rhapsodomancy Scapulimancy Slinneanachd Sortes Spodomancy Sternomancy Tarot reading Tasseography Uromancy

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