Unearthing Geomancy in a New Era

You may have heard, dear reader, that one of my specialties lies in the ancient and occult art of divinatory geomancy.  I dunno where you might have heard that from, but now you know.  It’s an old art, that’s for sure, and is most likely around a thousand years old with origins in the Sahara desert.  Even though it spread throughout Africa (where it’s still practiced as ifa and sikidy), the Middle East (under the names of `ilm al-raml or khatt al-raml), and Europe (under the name…well, geomancy), and even though it enjoyed popularity second only to astrology back in the day, it’s fairly uncommon to see anymore.  It’s a pity, especially since it’s among the more useful and concrete divination systems out there.

My guess is that, towards the end of geomancy’s heyday, people started compiling lists and charts of likely answers instead of relying on contextual intuition; people thought that these charts were all that there were to geomancy, and kept simplifying it from there into parlor games.  When the Industrial Revolution and Enlightenment began, many occultists and alchemists of the time culled what they had down to a few essential arts with the rest locked up in ancient tomes or swept under the rug; geomancy was one that barely made the cut, and even then only as an oversimplified dumbed-down divination system.  The Golden Dawn made a nod to it in its introductory grades, but most people thought it was worthless.  It’s only recently that geomancy is being unearthed and retranslated from old works into new books, but it’s a slow process.

One geomancer, Les Cross of Astrogem Geomancy fame, is starting a popularization project called “the Sixteen Hundred”.  In order to make the art of geomancy a little more mainstream, he wants to give it a bit of showtime and visibility by having 1600 people take a picture of a reading they’ve done with a thumbs up in the pic.  Each person gives their initials, their location, and their pic to Les, who then sets it atop his page listing the people.  Each person gets to pick a slot under one of the 16 geomantic figures, one hundred people per figure.  Yours truly was fourth in line, and the first for the Coniunctio group.  Since I’m sure at least some of my readers are also geomancers, I encourage you guys to do the same.  This page on Les’ website documents the method and some of the people who have already submitted their photos; if you’re on Facebook, you might check out his group there.  No matter your style of geomancy, if you practice the art, you too could be part of the Sixteen Hundred!

Check out his potentially viral effort, and help give a bit of shine to this ancient gem of a divination system.

Dice Divination

After my introduction to grammatomancy, I’ve found myself using dice a lot more for divination in various ways that I think are pretty nifty.  When I say dice, I don’t mean standard six-sided dice, but a complete set of tabletop RPG gaming dice.  These kinds of dice have the advantage of being rather portable and pliable to many divination systems, and are fairly innocuous and subtle to boot.  Plus, for those who play tabletop games that require them, the notion of divination and the notion of action checks can be intimately similar.  For those who’re unfamiliar with such dice, one of these sets are usually includes seven dice, each with a different number of sides:

• A six-sided die (d6), cube, numbered 1 through 6, the standard and most common die
• A four-sided die (d4), tetrahedron, numbered 1 through 4
• An eight-sided die (d8), octahedron, numbered 1 through 8
• A twenty-sided die (d20), icosahedron, numbered 1 through 20
• A twelve-sided die (d12), dodecahedron, numbered 1 through 12
• Two ten-sided dice (2d10), pentagonal trapezohedrons, numbered by ones from 0 through 9 and by tens from 00 through 90

Although dice divination is ancient, the phrase itself refers to a manner of generating symbols by means of dice.  This could be as simple as odd-or-even for a yes/no question or as complex as rolling several dice to get a more complex symbol.  In my own practice, I use each of the dice for different purposes depending on their shapes:

• For geomancy, I use the d4, d6, d8, and d20.  These are four of the five Platonic solids, and each is associated with a different element: d4 with Fire, d6 with Earth, d8 with Air, and d20 with Water.  I roll these four dice at the same time and inspect whether each die is odd or even to generate a geomantic figure.  If a die is odd, the corresponding elemental line is active; if even, passive.  Thus, if I roll a 2 on the d4, 6 on the d6, 7 on the d8, and 1 on the d20, I get the geomantic figure Coniunctio.  I’d do this three more times to generate four geomantic figures, then generate a complete geomantic chart based on those.
• For grammatomancy, I use the d12.  There are 24 letters in the Greek alphabet, so I roll the d12 twice: the first roll gives me an odd or even number, which refer to the first 12 or last 12 letters in the Greek alphabet, while the second roll gives me the letter within that set according to its rank.  So, if I roll a 5 and an 8, I end up with the Greek letter Theta (eighth letter of the first half of the alphabet).  The dodecahedron is the fifth Platonic solid and not associated with any one element, although some attribute it to Spirit/ether.  In a sense, this is fitting for grammatomancy, since (using stoicheia) each of the letters of the Greek alphabet can represent one of the seven planets, five elements, or twelve zodiac signs, and 7 + 5 + 12 = 24 = 2 × 12.  I could use a d2, the two-sided die also known as a coin, to determine whether to use the first half or second half of the alphabet, but I like the simplicity of using just 1d12 rolled twice instead.
• For yes/no divination, I use the normally leftover and otherwise useless 2d10.  I use a scale from 0 to 99 to determine the answer, with the higher numbers meaning “yes” and lower numbers meaning “no”.  I divide the results up into five groups: 0 through 19 meaning “fuck no, GTFO, DIAF”, 20 through 39 meaning “nope”, 40 through 59 meaning “maybe” or “meh”, 60 through 79 meaning “yup, sure”, and 80 through 99 meaning “fuck yeah, awesome”.  The categories are taken from obi divination using cowrie shells, but with a finer gradient.  So, if I roll a 50 and 8, the result is 58, meaning “maybe” to a particular question, indicating unclear circumstances or too much confusion, but with an inclination towards an affirmative answer since it’s on the higher end of this range.  An answer of 0 in particular indicates the most abhorrent and worst omen, while 99 would be the most direct, favorable, and absolute in its awesomeness.

What I haven’t yet quite figured out, though, is a proper consecration of the dice.  After all, like the good lil’ ceremonial magician I am, I’m practically obliged to consecrate or sanctify any and all tools I work with.  I’m thinking a consecration under the powers of Mercury/Hermes, given that he’s the god of gambling, adventures, and divination, all of which use dice in some manner or another, and all of which relate directly to Fortune itself.  I’m still undecided, but I’m sure I’ll come up with a ritual to do this eventually.  Perhaps the next time a good Mercury election comes around, I suppose, or when the Moon is full on a Wednesday in otherwise good conditions.  In the meantime, a quick prayer to Hermes and Apollo before casting the dice will suffice, I should think.

Do you guys use dice in your divination?  I’ve seen other methods of dice divination before, but it seems like it can vary from person to person or from culture to culture with few set rules to it.  How would you guys use dice, if you would at all?

Finding Lost Objects with Geomancy

The primary purpose of any system of divination is to get answers to questions.  Across time and cultures, one of the most common questions asked of diviners and seers is where a misplaced or lost item might be found, or whether it can be recovered again at all.  This is also the case for geomancy, where it’s developed several methods of finding lost or stolen objects or things.  John Michael Greer, in his Art and Practice of Geomancy, offers one such method using the house chart of geomancy:

1. throw a chart to ask where the lost object may be found
2. take the house naturally ruling the type of object the querent has lost as the significator of the quesited
3. see whether there’s any perfection between the significator of the querent and quesited to determine whether the object can be found again
4. note where the significator of the quesited passes to, if it passes at all, to see where it may be found

While this method is fairly intuitive, it’s pretty complex in how it assigns each house a different type of object, which can be needlessly difficult for a lot of people who can’t decide where something might go.  Lots of astrologers (and some geomancers) debate whether things like cars or cell phones are ruled just by the second house or by other houses, since they have different ways of being used and reckoned in the world (as things one owns, as tools, as methods for communication or travel, as homes, etc.).  After some experimentation, I decided to develop my own method to find lost objects using a geomancy that’s based a little closer to the traditional rules of horary astrology.  It simplifies the method to assign the lost object a significator, and can lead to detailed descriptions of where the lost object may be found.

As in these kinds of readings, it’s best to assume the least and break down the query.  Instead of going right for the query “where can I find lost thing X?”, first ask “can I find lost thing X in a reasonable timeframe?”.  This way, you know ahead of time whether it’s worth it to try to find the lost object, since some things may be permanently lost, destroyed, or stolen and cannot be recovered.  This is done through looking at the house chart and whether or not the significators of the querent and quesited perfect, among other techniques.  The significator of the querent is, as always, the first house (unless one is asking on behalf of another, but whatever).  The significator of the quesited is the lost thing sought after, but the choice of house for this depends on what the lost thing is.  Instead of having each house represent a different kind of thing, we’ll only focus on four houses:

• any object: house II
• pet or small livestock: house VI
• any person: house VII
• wild animal or large livestock: house XII

Although the traditional method taught by Greer assigns each house a different kind or class of object, we’ll simplify this into saying that any object, movable possession, or tangible good is ruled by the second house.  Any person is ruled by the seventh house, including lovers, enemies, assassins, politicians, children, or anyone without a connection to the querent.  Animals can either be domesticated or wild, a pet or livestock, or small or large (if an average adult can ride it, it’s considered large); if it’s closer to the former set of categories, it’s ruled by the sixth house, but if the latter, the twelfth house.  The quesited’s significator represents the color, shape, and general form of the lost object; you might use the astrological, planetary, or other geomantic associations of the figures to discern these (e.g. Puer, associated with Mars and Aries, indicates steel or iron, red, weapon-like, sharp, hot, etc.).  A stable figure found as the quesited’s significator shows that the object has not moved recently or will not move anytime soon; a mobile figure, on the other hand, indicates motion to or from the item’s current location.

The house that the quesited’s significator passes to will show the direction or the type of area that the object in question may be found; if the significator does not pass in the chart, then the location specified by its natural house should be used.  If the quesited’s figure passes to two or more houses in the chart, the item is in motion between them.  In some cases, theft can be the cause of the loss of an object.  If the lost object’s signifi cator perfects with the seventh house or twelfth house, and especially the twelfth in the case of a lost person, the chart indicates that the lost item has been stolen by someone known or unknown, respectively. If the lost object occupies the eighth house as well as its own, the object is in someone else’s possession or has already been sold o ff.

Angular houses suggest that the item is where it is often kept or should be or where the querent often frequents.  Succedent houses, including the second, shows that the item is not where it usually is kept but is nearby, possibly outside or near an auxiliary building, or near where the querent goes only occasionally.  Cadent houses indicate that the item is far off , hidden from its normal location, or where the querent hardly ever or never goes.  Individually, the houses indicate the following areas:

1. East, where querent spends most of his or her time, on the querent’s body or immediate personal belongings, in front of the house, in the querent’s room, home of grandparent (fourth from the tenth)
2. East-northeast, northeast room along the eastern wall, where querent keeps his or her money or valuable possessions, pocketbook, wallet, deposit box, vault, file cabinet, home of a friend (fourth from the eleventh)
3. North-northeast, northeast room along the northern wall, on or in a desk, among papers or books, in a study, library, or writing station, in or near a car, places connected to travel, letters, education, or communication, near a telephone, radio, computer, or television, in the neighborhood, with a sibling
4. North, in the home, child’s bedroom or under child’s bed (twelfth of the fifth), middle of the house, oldest part of house, kitchen, pantry, basement, with parent, with oldest person in house, in yard or garden
5. North-northwest, northwest room along northern wall, in recreation room, in place for hobbies or pleasure, child’s room, with a lover, in a bar, restaurant, tavern, theater, or banquet hall
6. West-northwest, northwest room along western wall, container or pocket, inside something, in place where one work or does chores, cupboard, closet, drawer, near pet, with tenant, with servant, with employee, in clinic or doctor’s office
7. West, where partner spends most time, with partner, in partner’s room or office, living room, with personal consultant, attorney, or astrologer, father’s residence (fourth from the fourth), with maternal grandmother (tenth from the tenth), with a niece or nephew ( fifth from the third)
8. West-southwest, southwest room along western wall, in garbage, dead, ruined, gone, potentially unrecoverable, near water or plumbing, in or near bathroom, where research or investigation are done, places of sex, death, or legacies, among partner’s possessions
9. South-southwest, southwest room along southern wall, far away or distant places, places related to voyages, heights, religion, college, or publishers, with in-laws (third from the seventh), with grandchildren ( fifth from the  fifth)
10. South, office, where one works, hallway, parent’s room, mother’s room, dining room, department store, public building, with boss, with those in authority, structural parts of a building
11. South-southeast, southeast room along southern wall, with friends, in clubs, lodges, meeting places, in partner’s work area (sixth from the seventh), with stepchild (fifth from the seventh), places the querent hopes or wishes to be
12. East-southeast, southeast room along eastern wall, in bedroom, under bed, places of confinement, hospitals, institutions, secluded places, private spots, places of prayer, sleep, or meditation, hidden, out of sight, sick room (if the sixth house agrees), with secret enemy, places with large animals

If the geomancer assigns the signs of the zodiac to the houses, then the sign ruling the house that the quesited’s significator passes to (or the sign ruling the its own house, if this significator does not pass in the chart) can also indicate the area of the lost item.  The method I use is to assign the first house (or the geomantic ascendant) the sign based on the figure found in it (e.g. if Puella, Libra), then assign the rest of the houses the signs following the ascendant in order.  The triplicity and quadruplicity of the sign can offer general indications:

• Cardinal quadruplicity: in the open, a new place, a high place, a place with much activity
• Fixed quadruplicity: a low place, a calm or empty place, hidden
• Mutable quadruplicity: by water, walls, or other boundaries; inner chambers, inside containers
• Fire triplicity: places near heat or fi re, places of energy or power, near iron or gates
• Earth triplicity: places on or under the ground, near or under pavement or the floor; near mud, clay, or dirt
• Air triplicity: places high up or elevated with an open view, near windows or light
• Water triplicity: places near water, bathrooms, kitchens, gardens, ponds

Individual signs can also indicate more specific types or classes of areas where the object may be found:

• Aries: roof coverings, ceilings, plastering in houses, unfrequented places, sandy or hilly ground
• Taurus: low rooms, cellars, places near the earth, agricultural outhouses, sheds and stables
• Gemini: chests, high places, paneled rooms, oces, near oce or communication equipment, areas where games are played
• Cancer: near ponds or water, utility rooms, wash houses, bathrooms, kitchens, cisterns
• Leo: woods, parks, large or grand buildings or palaces, near a chimney or source of heat
• Virgo: studies, closets, storage areas, drawers, barns, dairy houses, places where crops are stored or processed
• Libra: windmills, barns, where wood is cut, upper rooms in houses, chambers, little houses, closets
• Scorpio: near muddy or stagnant water, gutters, sinks, kitchens or bathrooms, ruins, compost heaps, dark or secret places
• Sagittarius: high lands, grounds, upper rooms, near fire or a radiator, stables, hills
• Capricorn: low or dark places, near thresholds or boundaries, cow sheds, wood stores, barren fields
• Aquarius: hilly or uneven places, quarries and mines, high places, an attic or roof, upper parts of all rooms
• Pisces: bathroom, kitchen, wells and pumps, all damp places, rivers, fish ponds

Charts for finding locations of something can also be used to determine whether or not the thing can be retrieved or found again, and by what manner if it can at all.  This is done by using perfection and aspect between the querent’s and quesited’s significators, as well as perfection between other houses, to determine the prospect of regaining the lost object.  Simply put, the method of perfection indicates how the lost item may be regained:

• Occupation: the querent will find the object easily, the object was never truly lost, or the object was always within the querent’s grasp or possession
• Conjunction when the querent’s figure passes: the querent will find the item after much searching and effort
• Conjunction when the quesited’s figure passes: the item will be found with no effort on the part of the querent, the object will by circumstance find its way back to the querent
• Mutation: the item will turn up unexpectedly and unusually
• Translation: a third party will return the item or lead the querent to its location

Favorable aspects (trine and sextile) that form between the querent’s and quesited’s significators indicate an easy or comfortable circumstance in which the item may be found.  Unfavorable aspects (square and opposition) show that the querent will have a difficult time searching or finding the object.  If the chart denies perfection but there are favorable aspects, the querent will have limited but potentially fruitful opportunities to find the object again.

The kind of house that the quesited’s figure passes to (or the kind of house that naturally rules it if it doesn’t pass in the chart) in terms of quality can hint at how long or how much effort must be used to find the object.  If the quesited’s figure passes to an angular house, the item will be found quickly or immediately; if to a succedent house, after some delay; if to a cadent house, only after very long, if the item is to be found at all.  If the significator of the lost item is found in multiple houses, then each house may indicate a place where the figure can be found, and the type of house indicates the success or speed of finding it there.  The sum of the chart, where one counts all the points of all sixteen figures found in each position of the shield chart, can also off er a similar indication.

Let’s consider a brief example.  My sister who was testing out multiple methods of divination for finding lost objects, had her husband hide something of hers somewhere in her house; he chose a small book.  Using geomancy, she drew up a chart that had Amissio, Puer, Puer, and Fortuna Minor as the Mothers; the Court had Coniunctio as both Right and Left Witness, Populus as the Judge, and Amissio as the Sentence.  Taking the second house as our significator of the quesited, we have Puer, indicating things that are red and metal or weapon-like.  Puer passes to the third house, indicating that the place is on or near a desk, near or among books and papers.  Amissio sets the ascendant of the chart to Scorpio, giving Capricorn to the third house, indicating a place of work or storage.  Put together, the book would be found with a red metal object related to weapons and storage, near or on a desk used for working and paper-holding.  Her husband had hidden the book in a small metal lunchbox with a drawing of an anime character wielding a crossbow on her computer workdesk that she used for her job.  Not a bad match between chart and reality!

This technique is something I developed out of my brief readings on horary astrology, which influenced geomancy to no small degree during the medieval and Renaissance phase of its development.  Though other methods of finding lost objects exist and undoubtedly work, I never had much success with it, and ended up tooling out a method that works much better for me and for other people.  Give it a try to see what you think, and feel free to comment on other methods of finding lost objects.

De Geomanteia Recap, and a Huge Thank You

As I mentioned last time, I completed the small little journey I set out on about five months ago to describe each of the geomantic figures and a bit about geomantic technique on my blog at the rate of one post per week.  It’s been a fantastic trip, and I hope you guys got a lot out of it; it encouraged me to dig through my old notes and meditations on the subject, as well as having spurred me to do more original geomantic research.  Since some people like things being made easy for them, I present to you a list of all the De Geomanteia posts I made, separated out into the posts on technique and the figures.

The posts on geomantic technique:

1. On the Via Puncti and its variations in the shield chart
2. On perfection, aspect, favorability, and affirmation
3. On determining time and timeframes with geomancy
4. On using geomancy and the figures in magic and ritual

The posts on the geomantic figures (not in chronological order):

1. Populus
2. Via
3. Albus
4. Coniunctio
5. Puella
6. Amissio
7. Fortuna Maior
8. Fortuna Minor
9. Puer
10. Rubeus
11. Acquisitio
12. Laetitia
13. Tristitia
14. Carcer
15. Caput Draconis
16. Cauda Draconis

Feel free to share this or any of the other posts in the De Geomanteia series.  This certainly won’t be the end of geomancy posts here at the Digital Ambler, that’s for sure, so keep an eye out for more meditations on the figures and technique in the future.

Also, I wanted to thank all my readers for making this an awesome week.  On Tuesday, the Digital Ambler crossed the 100,000 hit mark, which is a fantastic milestone.  It’s a nontrivial thing, too, since the blog has only been online for less than two years!  Between Facebook, Twitter, and other people’s blogs and sites, I’ve been getting lots of traffic in ways I wouldn’t've imagined a year or so ago (like from Bungie gaming forums or discussions of grimoires I’ve only dreamed of working with).  You guys are awesome for having helped me out and been with me on this fantastic Hermetic journey, and I see no signs of it stopping anywhere soon.  Keep reading, dear readers, and I hope you enjoy the future with me.

Happy geomancing and happy ambling, you guys!