armomancy
English
Etymology
From Latin armus (“shoulder blade”) + -mancy.
Noun
armomancy (uncountable)
- Divination using the shoulder blade of an animal. It was taken from a dead animal and thrown into a fire, and the cracks formed in the bone were then interpreted.
- Divination through inspecting one's shoulders. In ancient times, this inspection was to see whether a human was a suitable sacrifice to the gods.
Synonyms
- omoplatoscopy
- scapulimancy
- scapulomancy
- spatulamancy
- (in Scotland): spealomancy
References
- "Armomancy, divining by the shoulders of beasts." -- Coles An Eng. Dict, 1676
- "ARMOMANCY: A long-forgotten mode of divining suitable candidates for sacrificial rites by inspecting them physically. Any modern survival of such practices is probably computerized rather than divinatory." -- Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy, 1973