folklore
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Gorochana
Gorochana or gorocana (transliterated from Sanskrit: गोरोचन “cattle-light”; also Standard Tibetan: (?) gi-wang) refers to a stone or ‘bezoar‘ found in cattle (Sanskrit: गो go), such as the bull, cow, ox, and yak. Its presence in the animal is reputedly indicated by the snoring or other nocturnal sounds made by the animal in its sleep. Its equivalent in Sinitic culture is calculus bovis. The vernacular Hindi and Bengali names are the same as…
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Scatomancy Notes
Scatomancy, the ancient art of gazing into the abyss of the human digestive aftermath and declaring, “Behold! Your destiny lies within this steaming pile!” What could be more unhinged than plumbing the depths of poop for cosmic wisdom? Let us embark on this fecal odyssey, where divination meets digestion and prophecy smells faintly of last…
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Haruspex
In the religion of ancient Rome, a haruspex (plural haruspices; also called aruspex) was a person trained to practise a form of divination called haruspicy (haruspicina), the inspection of the entrails (exta—hence also extispicy (extispicium)) of sacrificed animals, especially the livers of sacrificed sheep and poultry. The reading of omens specifically from the liver is also known by the Greek term hepatoscopy (also hepatomancy). The Roman concept is directly derived from Etruscan religion, as one of…
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Bārûtu, the “art of the diviner”
The Bārûtu, the “art of the diviner,” is a monumental ancient Mesopotamian compendium of the science of extispicy or sacrificial omens stretching over around a hundred cuneiform tablets which was assembled in the Neo-Assyrian/Babylonian period based upon earlier recensions. At the Assyrian court, the term extended to encompass sacrificial prayers and rituals, commentaries and organ models. The ikribu was the name of collections of incantations to accompany the extispicy.…
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Treasuries of death, viaticum, obol, more
Viaticum is a term used – especially in the Catholic Church – for the Eucharist (also called Holy Communion), administered, with or without Anointing of the Sick (also called Extreme Unction), to a person who is dying; viaticum is thus a part of the Last Rites. Usage The word viaticum is a Latin word meaning “provision for a journey”, from via, or “way”. For Communion as Viaticum,…