Even though fortune telling is an old or ancient practice, it is still quite popular today in the modern age of technology, where almost anything is possible. One of the reasons why fortune telling is popular even in today’s era is because people are still eager to find out what the future holds for them. By knowing what happens to them in the future, they will be better prepared to make that possible future come true or to prevent it from happening.
Some of the most well-known fortune-telling methods are tarot card reading, palm reading, and numerology. These are used in conjunction with such psychic abilities as Clairvoyance and Clairaudience by fortune tellers for centuries. However, there are also some less known methods that are quite strange.
Margaritomancy (Divination by Pearls)
One of the weirdest fortune-telling methods used in the past is margaritomancy, which is divination by means of pearls. In this method, a precious pearl would be placed inside a vase or a pot, and the container would then be set on fire. The diviner would then read the names of people that are suspected of committing a crime, and when the name of the guilty person is mentioned, the pearl is supposed to move or shatter the bottom of the container.
Alphitomancy (Divination by Bread)
If you think that margaritomancy is weird, then you will find alphitomancy to be much weirder. Alphitomancy is divination by means of bread. Alphitomancy works the same way as margaritomancy, but instead of pearls, the diviner will use barley cakes or barley bread to determine who is guilty of committing a crime. According to the rules of alphitomancy, the guilty person would experience indigestion when he or she eats a piece of barley cake or bread.
Myomancy (Divination by Mice)
Myomancy is divination by means of mice, and in this fortune-telling method, the diviner would read the movements and behaviour of a mouse in order to read omens. Interestingly, the mouse is considered by Horapollo, a supposed Ancient Egyptian author, as the symbol of destruction, so diviners would often associate the actions of mice with incoming omens that may doom a person, a group, or an entire city or civilization.
Scatomancy (Divination by Excrements)
A very weird fortune-telling method that was popular in Ancient Egypt is Scatomancy, which is divination by means of bodily excrements, also known as poop. Scatomancy is performed by examining the excrements of a human or an animal, and this fortune-telling method is often done to determine a person’s illness.
Dactylomancy (Divination by Rings)
Dactylomancy is a tamer fortune telling method compared to some that are mentioned on this list, as this method only uses rings to tell the future of a specific person. There are many versions of dactylomancy that have been developed over the years, but the most popular version is the one where you need to hang a ring on a chain or string and swing it like a pendulum above a surface that is marked with symbols or letters. The diviner will then ask a question while the ring is swinging, and the direction of the swing would often indicate the answer to the question.
Osteomancy (Divination by Bones)
A creepy fortune-telling method is osteomancy, which is done through the divination of bones. Much like dactylomancy, there are many versions of osteomancy that have been developed in ancient times. The ancient Chinese version of osteomancy involves bones or turtle shells that are carved with questions. These items are then placed over a fire, and once they crack, they will be removed from the fire, and the diviner will interpret the cracks as answers to the questions carved on those bones and shells.
Anthropomancy (Divination by Human Sacrifice)
The cruellest form of fortune telling is anthropomancy, which is divination by human sacrifice. In many ancient cultures, human sacrifices are often interpreted as a way to appease the gods that bring the people fortune and blessings, but there are also some cultures that use human sacrifices as a way to get answers from those gods about the future. There are many ways to determine how fortune is told through human sacrifices, but some believe that predictions are made through the screams and the death throes of the sacrificed person.
So, these are some of the strangest methods of fortune telling that have been developed in the past and are possibly still used today in remote areas and even in crowded cities. If you really want to try a few of these forms of fortune telling (except the ones that are dangerous or cruel), you should seek a diviner or fortune teller that is adept at these methods.