Apantomancy 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 ...

using articles at hand or things that present themselves by chance. The diviner works him/herself into a state of trance until an object or event is perceived and a divination worked out. This form of divination was used in ancient Rome by the

augurs An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying in ...

. There is no set of standard interpretations in apantomancy, with the interpretations of events depending on the background of the seer. A branch of apantomancy places special significance on chance meetings of animals. The superstition regarding black cats crossing your path comes from this form of divination. Other common superstitions based on apantomancy are the belief that seeing a

buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Eastern ...

is an omen of death.

References

Divination {{Occult-stub