haruspicēs

haruspicēs (sing. haruspex)name given in Rome to Etruscan diviners, believed to be interpreters of the will of the gods, as conveyed through the state of the entrails (exta) of sacrificial animals, or through monstra, ‘prodigies’ (unusual births or growths), or fulgura, ‘lightning’, the two last categories being considered as sent from the gods as warnings. See DIVINATION.