Divination
Astrology
According to the Ars Notoria, the medieval handbook of angelic magic, the divining arts of magic are classified into two categories: astrology and necromancy. Each of these is subdivided with astrology containing its minor prognostic arts of chiromancy (i.e., palmistry), geomancy, genethlialogy (i.e., natal astrology using birth charts), and onomancy.
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Geomancy
Geomancy is the divinatory art of randomly poking holes in the sand or making marks with pen on paper which are calculated into certain figures according to the rules of the art. These figures are then interpreted by certain rules to make predictions; geomancy became interwined with Western astrology when it entered the Latin West from its more ancient North African origins.
Onomancy is the divinatory practice of taking the letters of a person’s name, converting each letter into a numerical value, and then applying certain algorithms to achieve a numerical result, which is then interpreted to assess a person’s fortune. Onomancy may be understood as the forerunner to modern day numerology.
Onomancy: A Forbidden Art of the Ars Notoria, Part I
Onomancy: A Forbidden Art of the Ars Notoria, Part II
Onomancy: A Forbidden Art of the Ars Notoria, Part III
The Onomancy of Pseudo-Johannes Hartlieb in Hans Talhoffer's Fechtbuch, Part IV
According to the Ars Notoria, the magical handbook containing the only surviving fragment of the Flores Aurei (Golden Flowers) of Apollonius of Tyana, necromancy and astrology comprise of the art of divination. Necromancy, the art of summoning and consulting the dead, is comprised of two minor divinatory arts - hydromancy and pyromancy.
Chiromancy (Palmistry)
Western Palmistry, also called chiromancy in the Middle Ages, is the art of divining the past, present, and future about a person's life and their natural and moral inclinations through rules of interpreting the sensible signs of the hand. The oldest chiromantic treatise is written in Latin and dated to twelfth century England, although its origins stretch back to Ancient Greece.
A Brief History of Modern Scholarship on Western Palmistry
The Scope of Western Palmistry
