different between cleromancy vs astragalomancy

English

Etymology

Ancient Greek kleros, "a lot".

Noun

cleromancy (uncountable)

1. Divination by casting lots (sortilege).
2. Divination by throwing dice or any such marked objects, like beans, pebbles, or bone.

Quotations

• 1652 Gaule The Magastromancer xix.

  Cleromancy, by lotts...

• 1893 Howitt tr. Ennemoser Hist. of Magic ii.

  cleromancy - Is a kind of divination performed by the throwing of dice or little bones; and observing the points or marks turned up. At Bura, a city of Achaia, a celebrated Temple of Hercules, where such as consulted the oracle, after praying to the idol, threw four dice, the points of which being well scanned by the priest, he was supposed to draw an answer from them.

• 1970 Zolar Encyc. of Ancient & Forbidden Knowledge

  CLEROMANCY: A form of lot casting, akin to divination with dice, but simply using pebbles or other odd objects, often of different colors instead of marked cubes.

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ?????????? (astrágalos) +? -mancy.

Noun

astragalomancy (uncountable)

1. Divination by dice made from huckle-bones. They have four flat sides and two round sides which were marked.
2. Divination by throwing astragaloi (see etymology above) onto the pages of a picture book.
3. Simply divination by dice.

Quotations

• ""kinde of divination by the opening of a booke at all adventures..." He adds, "I shall omit to speak here of astragalomancy, that was done with huckle bones; ceromancy, and all other such like fooleries." -- E. Chilmead in Brand Popular Antiquities, Dr. Ferrand, in his Love Melancholy, 1640

• "ASTRAGALOMANCY or ASTRAGYROMANCY: Divination with dice, ranging from crude bones with primitive markings to cubes bearing spots, letters, or cabalistic symbols, all interpreted by the bone caster." -- Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy, 1973

• "Astragalomancy: Today this is a form of divination using two dice, but originally a pair of astragals (probably the left and right ankle-bones of a sheep) would have been used." -- Complete Bk Predictions, 1983

Synonyms

• astragyromancy

Further reading

• astragalomancy on Wikipedia.Wikipedia