Stareomancy,ordiviningbytheelements。
Aeromancy,ordiviningbytheair。
Pyromancy,byfire。
Hydromancy,bywater。
Geomancy,byearth。
Theomancy,pretendingtodivinebytherevelationoftheSpirit,andbytheScriptures,orwordofGod。
Demonomancy,bytheaidofdevilsandevilspirits。
Idolomancy,byidols,images,andfigures。
Psychomancy,bythesoul,affections,ordispositionsofmen。
Antinopomancy,bytheentrailsofhumanbeings。
Theriomancy,bybeasts。
Ornithomancy,bybirds。
Icthyomancy,byfishes。
Botanomancy,byherbs。
Lithomancy,bystones。
Kleromancy,bylots。
Oneiromancy,bydreams。
Onomancy,bynames。
Arithmancy,bynumbers。
Logarithmancy,bylogarithms。
Sternomancy,bythemarksfromthebreasttothebelly。
Gastromancy,bythesoundof,ormarksupon,thebelly。
Omphelomancy,bythenavel。
Chiromancy,bythehands。
Paedomancy,bytheefeet。
Onchyomancy,bythenails。
Cephaleonomancy,byasses’heads。
Tuphramancy,byashes。
Kapnomancy,bysmoke。
Livanomancy,bytheburningofincense。
Keromancy,bythemeltingofwax。
Lecanomancy,bybasinsofwater。
Katoxtromancy,bylooking-glasses。
Chartomancy,bywritinginpapers,andbyValentines。
Macharomancy,byknivesandswords。
Crystallomancy,bycrystals。
Dactylomancy,byrings。
Koseinomancy,bysieves。
Axinomancy,bysaws。
Kaltabomancy,byvesselsofbrass,orothermetal。
Spatalamancy,byskins,bones,&c。
Roadomancy,bystars。
Sciomancy,byshadows。
Astragalomancy,bydice。
Oinomancy,bytheleesofwine。
Sycomancy,byfigs。
Typomancy,bycheese。
Alphitomancy,bymeal,flour,orbran。
Krithomancy,bycornorgrain。
Alectromancy,bycocks。
Gyromancy,bycircles。
Lampadomancy,bycandlesandlamps。
ONEIRO-CRITICISM,ortheartofinterpretingdreams,isarelicofthemostremoteages,whichhassubsistedthroughallthechangesthatmoralorphysicalrevolutionshaveoperatedintheworld。Therecordsoffivethousandyearsbearabundanttestimonytotheuniversaldiffusionofthebelief,thattheskilfulcouldreadthefutureindreams。Therulesoftheart,ifanyexistedinancienttimes,arenotknown;butinourday,onesimpleruleopensthewholesecret。Dreams,sayallthewiseacresinChristendom,aretobeinterpretedbycontraries。Thus,ifyoudreamoffilth,youwillacquiresomethingvaluable;ifyoudreamofthedead,youwillhearnewsoftheliving;
ifyoudreamofgoldandsilver,yourunariskofbeingwithouteither;andifyoudreamyouhavemanyfriends,youwillbepersecutedbymanyenemies。Therule,however,doesnotholdgoodinallcases。
Itisfortunatetodreamoflittlepigs,butunfortunatetodreamofbigbullocks。Ifyoudreamyouhavelostatooth,youmaybesurethatyouwillshortlyloseafriend;andifyoudreamthatyourhouseisonfire,youwillreceivenewsfromafarcountry。Ifyoudreamofvermin,itisasignthattherewillbesicknessinyourfamily;andifyoudreamofserpents,youwillhavefriendswho,inthecourseoftime,willproveyourbitterestenemies;but,ofalldreams,itismostfortunateifyoudreamthatyouarewallowinguptoyourneckinmudandmire。Clearwaterisasignofgrief;andgreattroubles,distress,andperplexityarepredicted,ifyoudreamthatyoustandnakedinthepublicstreets,andknownotwheretofindagarmenttoshieldyoufromthegazeofthemultitude。
InmanypartsofGreatBritain,andthecontinentsofEuropeandAmerica,therearetobefoundelderlywomeninthevillagesandcountry-placeswhoseinterpretationsofdreamsarelookeduponwithasmuchreverenceasiftheywereoracles。Indistrictsremotefromtownsitisnotuncommontofindthemembersofafamilyregularlyeverymorningnarratingtheirdreamsatthebreakfast-table,andbecominghappyormiserableforthedayaccordingtotheirinterpretation。
Thereisnotaflowerthatblossoms,orfruitthatripens,that,dreamedof,isnotominousofeithergoodoreviltosuchpeople。
Everytreeofthefieldortheforestisendowedwithasimilarinfluenceoverthefateofmortals,ifseeninthenight-visions。Todreamoftheash,isthesignofalongjourney;andofanoak,prognosticateslonglifeandprosperity。Todreamyoustripthebarkoffanytree,isasigntoamaidenofanapproachinglossofacharacter;toamarriedwoman,ofafamilybereavement;andtoaman,ofanaccessionoffortune。Todreamofaleaflesstree,isasignofgreatsorrow;andofabranchlesstrunk,asignofdespairandsuicide。Theelder-treeismoreauspicioustothesleeper;whilethefir-tree,betterstill,betokensallmannerofcomfortandprosperity。
Thelime-treepredictsavoyageacrosstheocean;whiletheyewandthealderareominousofsicknesstotheyoungandofdeathtotheold。
Itisquiteastonishingtoseethegreatdemandthereis,bothinEnglandandFrance,fordream-books,andothertrashofthesamekind。
TwobooksinEnglandenjoyanextraordinarypopularity,andhaverunthroughupwardsoffiftyeditionsinasmanyyearsinLondonalone,besidesbeingreprintedinManchester,Edinburgh,Glasgow,andDublin。
Oneis“MotherBridget’sDream-bookandOracleofFate;“theotheristhe“NorwoodGipsy。“Itisstatedontheauthorityofonewho,iscuriousinthesematters,thatthereisademandfortheseworks,whicharesoldatsumsvaryingfromapennytosixpence,chieflytoservant-girlsandimperfectly-educatedpeople,alloverthecountry,ofupwardsofeleventhousandannually;andthatatnoperiodduringthelastthirtyyearshastheaveragenumbersoldbeenlessthanthis。
Thetotalnumberduringthisperiodwouldthusamountto330,000。
Amongtheflowersandfruitschargedwithmessagesforthefuture,thefollowingisalistofthemostimportant,arrangedfromapprovedsources,inalphabeticalorder:-
Asparagus,gatheredandtiedupinbundles,isanomenoftears。Ifyouseeitgrowinginyourdreams,itisasignofgoodfortune。
Aloes,withoutaflower,betokenlonglife:inflower,betokenalegacy。
Artichokes。Thisvegetableisasignthatyouwillreceive,inashorttime,afavourfromthehandsofthosefromwhomyouwouldleastexpectit。
Agrimony。Thisherbdenotesthattherewillbesicknessinyourhouse。
Anemone,predictslove。
Auriculas,inbeds,denoteluck;inpots,marriage:whiletogatherthem,foretellswidowhood。
Bilberries,predictapleasantexcursion。
Broom-flowers,anincreaseoffamily。
Cauliflowers,predictthatallyourfriendswillslightyou,orthatyouwillfallintopovertyandfindnoonetopityyou。
Dock-leaves,apresentfromthecountry。