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Urimancy
Alternatively Uromancy.
Derived
from the
Greek
ouron ('urine') and manteia ('divination'),
it is the art and practice of divining the past, the
present and the future by interpreting omens
from the
observation of human or animal urine.
Urine divination
has been practiced, in one form or another, by most ancient cultures. The
criteria for interpretation varied extensively. Certain traditions took omens
from its color, others from its taste, its flow patterns, or by the patterns
formed when it hits the ground or in a swirling bowl.
The ancient Romans practiced Urimancy by
looking for bubbles in the chamberpot after making water.
If bubbles were present,
and they were large and spread far apart,
was an indication that one would soon be receiving a very
large sum of money. This was also
considered a good omen, especially as related to
the emotional areas of life. But if the bubbles were small and close
together, this was seen as a bad omen, illness, loss or
death of a loved
one. Lack of bubbles was also considered to be a bad omen.
It is said that pregnant women would use
Urimancy to determine the sex of the child they would soon give birth to.
Women who were about to be married would also use this type of divination to
find out if the marriage would be a good one and how many years happiness to
expect.
Urimancy was also used by the
witchfinders in the 16th and
17th centuries. A common practice was to place iron nails, pins,
needles, or half horseshoes in a bottle filled with the urine of the
accused person, and then stopping it up with a cork. If the accused
suddenly fell ill or if the cork popped out of the bottle on its own
accord, it was taken as a sign of guilt.
Parallels with Urimancy can be
found in medicine, where the examination of urine is used as a diagnostic
tool. The medical community agrees that the study of one's urine is said to
reveal many things about a person's daily life. For example, if the person's
urine is clear in color, the person may not be drinking enough water,
leading to dehydration. If the urine is very yellow, almost brown in color
and has a strong odor, there might not be enough water in the person's
system.
See
Abacomancy,
Dendromancy,
Tephramancy,
Diviner,
Divination,
Casting Black Magic Spells,
Commanding Spirits,
The Chakra Store,
The Tarot Store and
Divination & Scrying Tools and
Supplies.
Sources: (1)
Spence, Lewis,
An Encyclopedia of
Occultism,
Carol Publishing Group; (2)
Dictionary of the
Occult, Caxton
Publishing; (3)
Dunwich, Gerina,
A Wiccan's Guide to Prophecy
and Divination, Carol Publishing Group; (4) Pickover, Clifford A.,
Dreaming the Future: The
Fantastic Story of Prediction, Prometheus Books.
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