VerbumOmancy or Wordomancy is a term I coined from the Latin lingua, verbum, “word,” Verbum Singularis. It is the divination and ability by which one asks a non-yes or no question, and then this querent opens a dictionary to a random page and reads exactly where the thumb or index finger points. This found word then is your answer. The book should only be opened with one hand, deciding before hand which page side, the left or right side shall be incorporated in the answer. Another procedure using both hands with eyes closed, then stab at the dictionary page with an index finger after asking a question silently or out loud. Also if only one reading isn’t clear, try another or another, asking the same question and then combine the words in a short phrase. But a one word answers maybe all you need.

Example I- VerbumOmancy

Question: What is my main future with HubPages?

Answer: Sirloin, Upward (two readings required for this question)

At least I won’t starve! Or perhaps my next hub might be about “Mad Cow” disease or McDonald’s or red meat in general. But I don’t take the answer that literally as each answer isn’t cut or dried, but requires a little imagination. Sirloin is only a message, sirloin is below tenderloin, the fillet mignon, but it’s still a premium cut. It could mean that the “main” future will be “Upward” Sirloin, in other words, “Top Sirloin.” My status now is “Sirloin” and moving “Upward!”

Dictionaryomancy

Dictionaryomacy is a similar divination to VerbumOmancy in that usually a person keeps the process going and calls upon twenty or thirty unrelated, ungrammatically abstract, compilations in a poor usage stack. And building a two or three word phrase, for the purpose of creating poetry. Similar to a “List” poem,

a poem that is made up of a list of items or events. It can be any length and rhymed or unrhymed, remember the words are chosen blindly. These poems are also considered “Free verse” (vers libre),

written in either rhyme or unrhymed lines that have no set fixed metrical pattern. Usually there is no question applied by the querent for this verbum divination, the word collection is random with a “poetic theme” in mind.

Example II- Dictionaryomancy Poetry

“Empty Thursday”

By PaulieWalnuts

Piscatory Talk up

Rebel Service

Stadium Stud

Rhapsody Terado

Sheet Water

Parishioner Telescopic

Triple Unman

Secrete Verger Teller

Shun Pansy

Prosperous Traction

~

While English verse is typically characterized by the meter, which counts "beats", Dictionaryomancy poetry is similar in structure to the Japanese verse instead typically counts sound unit syllables as in Haiku. Then of course you can add the appropriate minimum and proper grammar to make the poem work for you and the reader. Almost like HubPages’ “Tag” words, the Dictionaryomancy system has a similar color thread running through its bobbin

Still other “Book” related “’omancies” conducted from books you believe to hold the “truth” and they are Libromancy, Bibliomancy, Chartomancy, Rhapsodomancy and Stichomancy.

Libromancy

Libromancy is divining truth through fiction, a form of divination that seeks to know the future by randomly selecting a passage from a book, Frequently from classic fiction novels, say for instance, “Moby Dick.” The most common divination procedure involves placing the book on its spine, and with eyes closed, allowing the book to fall open to a random page. Then, with the eyes still closed, place a finger on the open page and read the passage indicated. Paperbacks will do poorly here.

Bibliomacy and Stichomacy

Bibliomancy, also known as Stichomancy and Libromancy, is a form of divination that seeks to know the future by selecting spiritual insight by selecting a random passage from a Holy Book. Sometimes a bible is used. The book will be opened at a random page and while keeping your eyes closed you will point at a line or passage in the book. Moslems use the Koran for this divination and the “I Ching”, the ancient Chinese classic oracle text. The I Ching is regarded as a system of Divination on it’s own but again, the text alone can be used in Stichomancy with out the use of the graphics. Moslem, Chinese and Hebrew ancient Holy texts are used extensively. The Old Testament, for example, is also used in Stichomacy and which means "divination from lines.” During the Middle Ages in Europe, Virgil's “Aeneid” was popular to use for divination using Stichomacy.

A “Stich”, not to confuse it with Disney’s animated film, “Lillo and Stich,” a Stich is a unit of poetry. The Greek word stichos means a "line". Since Hebrew poetry works with pairs or triplets of such short lines there are two uses of the term "stich": (1) each of these short lines (A,B,C,D) is a stich, a pair is then a "distich" (triads are "tristichs") or (2) each pair (or triplet) is a stich and each line above is a "hemistich" (half a stich).

Rhapsodomancy

Rhapsodomancy is yet another divination incorporating verba (verbum plural). These ancient techniques required one to copy down on paper, wood or animal skins, poetry verses by many different poets. Then place them in an urn, shake them up and choose one. Other ways were to place and spread the slips of poetry verses on a table and cast dice over them. Still another, ancient Roman way was to open a book of Latin poetry blindly, and read your fortune. This was called “Sortes.” “Sortes Homerica” divination using Homer, “Sortes Virgilianae” using Virgil, “Sortes Sanctorum” (Holy Lots) using Holy Scripture in early Christianity. St. Francis of Assisi, to seek divine guidance, is said to have three times opened to a random page of the book of Gospels in the church of St. Nicholas. Each time he opened to a passage in which Christ told His disciples to leave their earthly belongings and follow Him. That was of course St. Francis’ ecclesiastical calling.

These three divination sortes were called “Sortes Praenestinae”; or “casting lots the Palestrina way”; the ancient city of Praeneste a village near Rome is now the modern city of Palestrina. In all of the above cases, if a book fell from a shelf, a table or their hands, they were obligated to use that one for their divination. Today this is still the practice.

Chartomancy

Chartomancy, from the Latin word charta, meaning “paper”, it is the art and practice of divination by interpreting the writings in literary or musical works, official papers, legal documents, letters, manuscripts, other documents, and so forth. Chartomancy is considered to be a form of Bibliomancy.

Maybe in the future we will have “EmailOmancy which will naturally lead to SpamOmancy.” Those two would have tons of divinatory verba to delete! Then BlogOmancy and WebOmancy can predict, through “Sortes Clicksum”, the AdSenserum score!