Pyromancy

Pyromancy (from Greek pyros, “fire,” and manteia, “divination”) is the art of divination by means of fire.

History of pyromancy

Due to the importance of fire in society from the earliest of times, it is quite likely that pyromancy was one of the earlier forms of divination. It is said that in Greek society, virgins at the Temple of Athena in Athens regularly practiced pyromancy. It is also possible that followers of Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire and the forge, practiced pyromancy.

In Renaissance magic, pyromancy was classified as one of the seven "forbidden arts," along with necromancy, geomancy, aeromancy, hydromancy, chiromancy (palmistry), and spatulamancy (scapulimancy).

Types of pyromancy

The most basic form of pyromancy is that in which the diviner observes flames, from a sacrificial fire, a candle, or another source of flame, and interprets the shapes that he or she sees within them. There are several variations on pyromancy, however, some of which are as follows:

• Alomancy, divination by salt, one type of which involves casting salt into a fire
• Botanomancy, divination by burning plants
• Capnomancy, divination by smoke; light, thin smoke that rose straight up was a good omen; otherwise, a bad one.
• Causinomancy, divination by burning (non-specific as to the object burned)
• Daphnomancy (also, Empyromancy), divination by burning laurel leaves
• Osteomancy, divination using bones, one type of which involves heating to produce cracks
• Plastromancy, divination using turtle plastrons; in China, this was done by heating pits carved into them.
• Scapulimancy, divination by scapulae; in Asia and North America, this was done pyromantically.
• Sideromancy, divination by burning straw with an iron.
• Pyremancy, creating flames with the body