Aeromancy

File:Shelfcloud.jpg

An approaching thunderstorm

Aeromancy (from Greek ἀήρ aḗr, "air", and manteia, "divination") is divination that is conducted by interpreting atmospheric conditions. Alternate terms include "arologie", "aeriology", and "aërology".

Practice

Aeromancy uses cloud formations, wind currents, and cosmological events such as comets, to attempt to divine the past, present, or future. There are sub-types of this practice which are as follows: austromancy (wind divination), ceraunoscopy (observing thunder and lightning), chaomancy (aerial vision), meteormancy (meteors, AKA shooting stars), and nephomancy (cloud divination).

History

Variations on the concept have been used throughout history, the practice is thought to have been used by the ancient Babylonian priests, and is probably alluded to in the bible.

Damascius, the last of the Neoplatonists, records an account of nephomancy in the 5th century CE, during the reign of Leo I:

Cultural influence

The ancient Etruscans produced guides to brontoscopic and fulgural divination of the future, based upon the omens that were supposedly displayed by thunder or lightning that occurred on particular days of the year, or in particular places.

Divination by clouds was condemned by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:10 and 18:14 in the Hebrew Bible. In contrast, english christian bibles typically translate the same hebrew words into "soothsayers" and "conjurers" or the like.

In Renaissance magic, aeromancy was classified as one of the seven "forbidden arts", along with necromancy, geomancy, hydromancy, pyromancy, chiromancy (palmistry), and spatulamancy (scapulimancy). It was thus condemned by Albertus Magnus in Speculum Astronomiae as a derivative of necromancy. The practice was further debunked by Luis de Valladolid in his 1889 work Historia de vita et doctrina Alberti Magni.