Gyromancy

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A method of divination in which a person spins around inside or walks the circumference of a circle drawn on the ground, which circumference is marked with letters of an alphabet. The divination is inferred from the position at which the person either stumbles or falls across the circle’s edge, repeating the practice "...till he evolved an intelligible sentence, or till death or madness intervened."[1] The dizziness brought on by spinning or circling is intended to introduce randomness or to facilitate an altered state of consciousness.[2]

The word is derived from Medieval Latin, gyromantia, which is derived from Greek gyros (circle) and manteia (oracle).[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Waite, Arthur Edward. Occult Sciences: A Compendium of Transcendental Doctrine and Experiment. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd. (1923)
  2. ^ Mystica Encylopedia
  3. ^ Online Etymology Dictionary
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