GEOMANCY

What is Western Geomancy?

Western geomancy is a form of divination that derives one of sixteen figures from rows of randomly marked dots, and reads the answer from the meaning of that figure. Descended from Arabic sand divination, it was embraced across a wide range of social classes in Europe from the medieval to the early modern period.

Overview

System

Omen Reading (reads from a figure derived from rows of dots)

Origin

Medieval Europe (originating in Arabia)

What You Need

Paper and pen (tools for marking dots)

Best For

Life direction, work, and either-or decisions

Time Frame

90 days to one year

Origins & History

Western geomancy (earth divination) developed when ilm al-raml, a form of sand divination that arose in Arabia, spread to medieval Europe and was elaborated with its own system of interpretation. The name “geomancy” derives from the Greek for “divination by earth,” and it was originally practiced, quite literally, by marking dots on the ground.

Rows of randomly marked dots are judged as odd or even, and four such rows are combined into four sets to derive one of sixteen figures. From the medieval to the early modern period it was also linked with astrology and embraced by people ranging from royalty and nobility to commoners, but the number of practitioners declined from the modern era onward, and today it is most often studied as part of the history of divination.

How It Works

1. 01Decide on a single question you want to ask.
2. 02Mark dots at random, forming four rows in each of four sets.
3. 03Judge whether the number of dots in each row is odd or even.
4. 04From the combination of results, derive the corresponding figure (one of sixteen possibilities).
5. 05Read the meaning of the figure against the question asked.

What It Reveals

Western geomancy is well suited to answering relatively long-range questions, such as one’s life direction, career choices, or either-or decisions. Because it works through a systematic process of deriving figures step by step, interpreting it requires a degree of familiarity, and it remains a divination with relatively few practitioners today.

Related Methods

Ilm al-RamlSikidyI Ching (Zhou Yi)Feng Shui

References

• Wikipedia: Geomancy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomancy)
• Wikipedia: Geomantic figures (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomantic_figures)