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Alphitomancy
Derived from the
Greek alphitomantis ('divination using barley'),
this is a method of fortune telling closely related to Aleuromancy.
In this ancient divination method,
the guilt or innocence of a suspect person was determined by feeding him or
her a specially prepared wheat or barley loaf or cake. If the person
suffered from indigestion, found the loaf to be distasteful, choked, or even
if their stomach rumbled, it
was interpreted as a sign of guilt.
A similar ordeal was known in medieval
English law (known as corsned or 'cursed bread'), but the special cakes were there replaced by a consecrated
"trial slice" of bread or cheese. In the same manner, if the person had
indigestion, choked or disliked the foodstuff, it was concluded to be
guilty. Said
Sir William Blackstone of this ordeal:
"Another species of purgation, probably sprung from a presumptuous abuse of
revelation in the dark ages of superstition, was the corsned, or
morsel of execration — being a piece of cheese or bread, of about an ounce
in weight, which was consecrated with a form of exorcism, desiring the
Almighty that it might cause convulsions and paleness, and find no passage
if the man was really guilty; but might turn to health and nourishment, if
he was innocent."
Barley bread was used in preference to
any other, apparently for no reason but that, being more difficult of
mastication, it had more change of choking the unfortunate subjects.
An often remembered story involving
Alphitomancy happened in England, in the year 1053.
Earl Godwin of Wessex
allegedly collapsed while taking the corsned test to support an apparently false
oath, and died a few days later. This case was frequently cited as a
strong argument in favor of Alphitomancy as a divinatory process.
Alphitomancy was commonly employed
when several persons were suspected of a crime. All of the suspects were
given the foodstuff to eat, as it was assumed that those innocent could eat
it effortlessly, while the guilty person would either get indigestion or
choke on it. Was this practice that gave rise to the popular imprecation:
"If I am deceiving you, may this piece of
bread choke me."
Careful procedures in both making the
bread and administering were necessary for the proper practice of
Alphitomancy. A quantity of pure barley was kneaded with milk, a little salt
and without any leaven. The resulting dough was then rolled up in greased paper
and baked among cinders. When fully baked, the bread was taken out and
rubbed with verbena leaves. The loaf was then cut into pieces and fed to the
suspects. Those that were guilty, it was believed, would be unable to eat
it.
The practice of Alphitomancy became so renowned and prominent
in the Middle Ages that after a while it was not just applied for people
suspected of crimes, but it was also used to test the faithfulness of a
mistress, a husband, or a wife.
A popular story says that in Lavinium, near Rome, in a legendary
sacred forest, Alphitomancy was practiced in order to test the purity of the
local women. The tale goes that in this forest dwelled certain priests who
kept a divinatory serpent, or, as some say, a
dragon,
in a cavern in the woods. On certain days of the year the young women were
sent thither, blind-folded, and carrying a cake made of barley flour and
honey. The
devil,
we are told, led them by the right road. Those who were innocent had their
cakes eaten by the serpent, while the cakes of the guilty ones were refused.
See Critomancy,
The Tarot Store
and
Divination & Scrying Tools and
Supplies.
Sources: (1) Dunwich, Gerina,
A Wiccan's Guide to Prophecy
and Divination, Carol Publishing Group; (2)
Spence, Lewis,
An Encyclopedia of
Occultism,
Carol Publishing Group; (3)
Dictionary of the
Occult, Caxton
Publishing;
(4) Pickover, Clifford A.,
Dreaming the Future: The
Fantastic Story of Prediction, Prometheus Books; (5) Shepard, Leslie
A and
Melton, J. Gordon (Editors),
Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology,
Gale Group; (6) Smedley, Edward and Taylor, W. Cooke,
The Occult Sciences: Sketches of the
Traditions And Superstitions of Past Times And the Marvels of the Present
Day
(1855), Kessinger Publishing.
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