Use of books in divination
Bibliomancy
is the use of books in
divination
. The use of sacred books (especially specific words and verses) for "magical medicine", for removing negative entities, or for divination is widespread in many religions of the world.
Terminology
[
edit
]
According to the
Oxford English Dictionary
,
[1]
the word
bibliomancy
(etymologically from βιβλ?ον
biblion-
"book" and μαντε?α
-manteia
"divination by means of") "divination by books, or by verses of the Bible" was first recorded in 1753 (
Chambers' Cyclopædia
). Sometimes this term is used synonymously with
stichomancy
(from στ?χο?
stichos-
"row, line, verse") "divination by lines of verse in books taken at hazard", which was first recorded
c.
1693
(
Urquhart
's
Rabelais
).
Bibliomancy
compares with
rhapsodomancy
(from
rhapsode
"poem", "song", "ode") "divination by reading a random passage from a poem". A historical precedent was the
ancient Roman
practice of
sortes
("
sortilege
, divination by drawing lots") which specialized into
sortes Homericae
,
sortes Virgilianae
, and
sortes Sanctorum
, using the texts of
Homer
,
Virgil
, and the Bible.
[
citation needed
]
Method
[
edit
]
- A book is picked that is believed to hold truth.
- It is balanced on its spine and allowed to fall open.
- A passage is picked, with the eyes closed.
Among Christians, the
Bible
is most commonly used (in the
Sortes Sanctorum
), and in Islamic cultures the
Quran
. In the
Middle Ages
the use of
Virgil
's
Aeneid
was common in Europe and known as the
sortes Virgilianae
. In the classical world the
sortes Virgilianae
and
sortes Homericae
(using the
Iliad
and
Odyssey
) were used.
In Iran, bibliomancy using
The Div?n of Hafez
is the most popular for this kind of divination, but by no means the only kind. The Quran, as well as the
Mathnaw?
of
Rumi
may also be used. F?l-e ?afez may be used for one or more persons.
[2]
Because book owners frequently have favorite passages that the books open themselves to, some practitioners use dice or another randomiser to choose the page to be opened. This practice was formalized by the use of coins or
yarrow
stalks in consulting the
I Ching
.
Tarot divination
can also be considered a form of bibliomancy, with the main difference that the cards (pages) are unbound. Another way around this is to cut the page with something like a razor.
There is a prevalent practice among certain, particularly messianic, members of
Chabad-Lubavitch
Chasidic
movement to use the
Igrot Kodesh
, a thirty-volume collection of letters written by their leader
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
for guidance.
[3]
Another variant requires the selection of a random book from a library before selecting the random passage from that book. This also holds if a book has fallen down from a shelf on its own. English poet
Robert Browning
used this method to ask about the fate of his attraction to Elizabeth Barrett (later known as
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
). He was at first disappointed to choose the book
Cerutti's Italian Grammar
, but on randomly opening it his eyes fell on the following sentence: "if we love in the other world as we do in this, I shall love thee to eternity" (which was a translation exercise).
[4]
In Islam
[
edit
]
Animals gathering before
King Solomon
and
Queen Bilqis
from the Khalili Falnama (17th century
Golconda
). Opening the book to this painting was interpreted as a favourable prediction.
Bibliomancy has a long history in Islamic culture, using both secular and religious books, especially the
Quran
.
The
Persian
word
Falnama
or Falnamah ("Book of omens" or "Book of divinations") covers two forms of bibliomancy used historically in
Iran
,
Turkey
, and
India
.
[7]
[8]
Quranic Falnamas were sections at the end of Quran manuscripts used for fortune-telling based on a grid. It was common for Quran manuscripts produced in India and Iran to have
folios
at the end specifically for divination, from at least the late 14th century to the 19th.
[9]
[7]
In the 16th century, Falnama manuscripts were introduced that used a different system; individuals performed
purification rituals
, opened a random page in the book and interpreted their fortune in light of the painting and its accompanying text.
[10]
Only a few illustrated Falnamas now survive; these were commissioned by rich patrons and are unusually large books for the time, with bold, finely executed paintings.
[11]
[12]
Falnama manuscripts were unusually large books; the surviving examples range from 40 centimetres (16 in) to more than 66 centimetres (26 in) high.
[12]
The paintings combined secular and religious imagery and their depiction of religious and mythical figures was very influential on other works. Each painting told the story of an event, although there was no narrative for the book as a whole; the order of paintings was random.
[13]
They were consulted to divine the prospects for a major decision (such as a business venture, marriage, or house move) or to divine the condition of absent relatives or friends.
To answer a question, readers would perform ablutions, recite prayers from the Quran and then open the book at a random page.
The text explained whether the prediction was favourable, unfavourable, or middling. For example, a painting of the Sun would suggest a favourable outcome while a villain usually meant a disastrous outcome.
[10]
To avoid the worst outcomes, the text recommended pious acts such as prayer, pilgrimage, or kindness to others.
[10]
In fiction
[
edit
]
- In
Michael Strogoff
(1876) by
Jules Verne
, Feofar Khan judged Michael Strogoff to blindness after pointing randomly in the
Koran
at the phrase: "And he will no more see the things of this earth."
- In
The Book of Webster's
(1993) by
J. N. Williamson
, the sociopathic protagonist Dell uses the dictionary to guide his actions.
- In the short story "
The Ash-tree
" by
M. R. James
, bibliomancy is used to produce a warning message from the
Bible
.
- The novel
The First Verse
by
Barry McCrea
tells the story of Niall Lenihan, a student who falls in with a 'cult' whose members use
sortes
to guide them.
- In the novel
The Man in the High Castle
by
Philip K. Dick
, every major character uses bibliomancy, mainly by casting yarrow stalks in conjunction with the
I Ching
. Dick himself reportedly used this process to decide key points in the story, even blaming the I Ching for plot developments that he did not particularly care for.
- In
Wilkie Collins
' 1868 novel
The Moonstone
, the narrator Gabriel Betteredge routinely practices bibliomancy using the pages of
Daniel Defoe
's
Robinson Crusoe
. This is a good example of
intertextuality
, since Crusoe himself uses bibliomancy in his journey toward redemption.
- In
Lirael
, by
Garth Nix
,
The Black Book of Bibliomancy
, a fake book, is mentioned.
- In Augusten Burroughs'
Running with Scissors
, bibliomancy (referred to as "Bible-dipping") is used by one of the main characters.
- The narrator of Graham Greene's
Travels With My Aunt
recounts that his late father used to practice bibliomancy with the writings of Walter Scott: "Once, when he was suffering severely from Constipation, he opened
Rob Roy
at random and read out "Mr Owen entered. So regular were the motions and habits of this worthy man". (
Travels With My Aunt
, Ch.16.)
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Oxford English Dictionary
, 2nd edition, 1989.
- ^
Omidsalar, Mahmoud.
"Divination"
.
Encyclopedia Iranica
. Retrieved
2009-04-05
.
- ^
"
"Igrot Kodesh" ("Holy Letters") of the Lubavitcher Rebbe"
.
www.ravaviner.com
. Archived from
the original
on 4 April 2010
. Retrieved
22 November
2017
.
- ^
The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett
, Vol, 1, p. 470
- ^
a
b
Coffey, Heather (2019). "Diminutive Divination and the Implications of Scale: A Miniature Qur'anic
Falnama
of the Safavid Period". In Myrvold, Kristina; Miller Parmenter, Dorina (eds.).
Miniature books : the format and function of tiny religious texts
. Sheffield. pp. 85?87.
ISBN
978-1-78179-860-7
.
OCLC
1082402029
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- ^
Rogers, J. M.
(2008).
The arts of Islam : treasures from the Nasser D. Khalili collection
(Revised and expanded ed.). Abu Dhabi: Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC). pp. 275?9.
OCLC
455121277
.
- ^
De La Perriere, Eloise Brac (2016).
"Manuscripts in Bihari Calligraphy: Preliminary Remarks on a Little-Known Corpus"
.
Muqarnas
.
33
: 63?90.
doi
:
10.1163/22118993_03301P005
.
ISSN
0732-2992
.
JSTOR
26551682
.
- ^
a
b
c
Py-Lieberman, Beth (22 October 2009).
"Falnama's Book of Omens: The Future Will Be Bright and Sunny"
.
Smithsonian Magazine
. Retrieved
2021-11-11
.
- ^
Gopnik, Blake
(25 October 2009).
"Art review: Blake Gopnik on 'Falnama: The Book of Omens' at the Sackler Gallery"
.
Washington Post
. Retrieved
2021-11-11
.
- ^
a
b
Natif, Mika (6 October 2010).
"Review of "Falnama: The Book of Omens" by Massumeh Farhad"
.
CAA Reviews
. College Art Association.
doi
:
10.3202/caa.reviews.2010.110
.
ISSN
1543-950X
. Retrieved
2023-09-25
.
- ^
Hadromi-Allouche, Zohar (2018).
"Images of the first woman: Eve in Islamic F?l-n?ma paintings"
. In Exum, J. Cheryl; Clines, David J. A.; Apostolos-Cappadona, Diana (eds.).
Biblical Women and the Arts
. London: Bloomsbury. p. 9.
ISBN
9780567685162
.
Sources
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Look up
bibliomancy
in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.