Axinomancy is one of several obscure methods 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 an axe, hatchet, or (rarely) a

saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mo ...

. Most of the methods involve throwing an axe into the ground, or swinging it into a tree, and interpreting the direction of the handle or the quivering of the blade. A form of this is axiomancy, this is when the quivering of the blade of an axe that has been thrust into a wooden table is interpreted by the

diviner Diviner, also referred to as the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (DLRE), is an infrared radiometer aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, part of the Lunar Precursor Robotic Program which is studying the Moon. It has been used to create ...

. Another interesting method is heating an axe-head in a fire until it glows, and then interpreting the colors and shapes. A variant, attributed to the ancient Greeks, who held it in good repute, is to balance a spherical piece of agate on the edge of the axe (held sharp edge up). The direction in which the agate rolls can be interpreted as needed. Some sources claim that

Psalm 74 Psalm 74 is the 74th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever?". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translation ...

refers to the use of axinomancy to predict the fall of Jerusalem, although in the text the reference to ''upright axes'' is not specifically for divination.

References

{{Divination , Other Divination