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The Learning Kingdom's Cool Word of the Day for August 11, 1999
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rhabdomancy [n. RAB-duh-man-see]
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If you tell fortunes by casting sticks or rods, or if you seek out
water or underground ores using a rod or a stick, then you practice
rhabdomancy. Seeking out water or ore with a stick is also known as
dowsing.
The first part of the word comes from the Greek rhabdos (rod). The
second part is from the Greek -manteia (-mancy), a suffix form of
manteuesthai (to prophecy), which was derived from mantis (seer,
prophet).
The insect called the praying mantis (or mantid) also got its name
from the same source, because of the "prayerful" way it holds its
forelegs while waiting to catch prey, similar to the way a seer might
pose while awaiting a vision.
Here are more ways to tell fortunes:
oneiromancy: from dreams
lithomancy: from the patterns of scattered stones
spodomancy: from the patterns of ashes
halomancy: from spilled salt
bibliomancy: from random pages in a book
rhapsodomancy: from random pages in a poetry book
How to use dowsing to find water or ore:
http://home.interstat.net/~slawcio/dowsing.html
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