Aeromancy (from the Greek aer, “air”, and manteia, “divination”) is foretelling the future from the weather, most often from lightning, thunder, the shapes of clouds and the direction and strength of the wind. It is one of the oldest methods of divination, already practised in antiquity by Babylonian priests.
Types of aeromancy
There are many kinds of divination that can come under the heading of “aeromancy”:
Austromancy – divination by observing the wind;
Anemoscopy – divination by interpreting the direction and strength of the wind;
Nephomancy – divination by interpreting cloud formations;
Ceraunoscopy – divination by interpreting thunder and lightning;
Chaomancy – divination from aerial visions;
- Cometomancy – divination from the appearance of a comet’s tail;
Meteoromancy – divination from meteors.
Lightning
History
In antiquity people saw aeromancy as a medium through which the gods showed both their joy and their anger towards those who worshipped them, so it is no surprise that aeromancy is one of the oldest methods of divination. The Indians, Etruscans and Babylonians were the first to find special signs in the sky, and these attracted great interest. In time they began to practise chaomancy and ceraunoscopy. This fascination with omens in the sky reflects these peoples’ devotion to their gods. Two deities associated with ceraunoscopy are:
Tinia, the Etruscan god of lightning
Adad, the Babylonian god of storms, wind, rain and thunder.
First published (Polish original): 12 January 2009. Written by astrologers and esoteric specialists working with our editorial team; edited and translated for HOROSCOP.SPACE. © All rights reserved.
