Libanomancy (also known as livanomancy and knissomancy) is a
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 ...
primarily through observing and interpreting burning
incense
Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be ...
smoke
Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product ...
, but which may include the way incense ash falls as well.
[ Del Rio, Martín Anton]
''Investigations Into Magic.'' P.G. Maxwell-Stuart, trans. Reprint ed. Manchester, U.K.: Manchester University Press, 2000, p. 160.
/ref> Like most other methods of divination, during libanomancy a specific question must be asked. The incense smoke provides an answer, but the smoke must be interpreted by a diviner. Libanomancy may be considered a pseudoscience
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or falsifiability, unfa ...
.
History of libanomancy
The libanomic manuals come from the Old Babylonia
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
n period roughly dated 2,000-1,600 B.C.[Dunwich, Gerina. ''Candlelight Spells: The Modern Witch's Book of Spellcasting, Feasting, and Healing.'' Secaucus, N.J.: Citadel Press, 1988, p. 51.] Obviously popular at that time, this method of divination began to decline later, but the knowledge was preserved by trained diviners. From Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
, libanomancy traveled to Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and later became known 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 ...
.
Interpretation
Libanomic texts mention the possible interpretation of some of the signs. For instance, the ''Three Collated Libanomancy Texts'' say that if incense is sprinkled over an open flame and the smoke drifts to the right, you will defeat your enemy.
See also
* 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 ...
* Methods of divination
Methods of divination can be found around the world, and many cultures practice the same methods under different names. During the Middle Ages, scholars coined terms for many of these methods—some of which had hitherto been unnamed—in Mediev ...
Footnotes
{{Divination
Divination