Aichmomancy (from Greek aikhmē, spearhead and manteia, prophecy) is a form of

divination Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...

somewhat similar to

acultomancy Acultomancy (from acutomancy, the type of acultomancy described below, influenced by Latin acūleus, needle) is a form of divination that uses needles for readings. Using needles comes from the olden days where Romani people used to read people ...

in that it uses sharp pointed objects to show patterns to read. Aichmomancy readers use pins, knives, forks, nails, and handmade pieces of wood sharpened to a point. Readers drop sharp pointed objects onto a flat surface, find patterns and interpret them. In the most ancient form of this divination a spearhead was spun in the sand. Several centuries later, during the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

, divinations with pins became popular in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Readers used seven pins and a table covered with cloth. Pins were thrown over the table, and the patterns were read and interpreted. The basic patterns and their interpretations:

References

AichmomancyPsychic Reading Network
Divination {{Occult-stub

See also

References