Chaomancy

Aeromancy (from Greek aero, "air", and manteia, "divination") is divination conducted by interpreting atmospheric conditions.

History of Aeromancy

Due to the historical interest of peoples in the weather, seeing it as a medium by which the gods expressed both joy and anger towards those who worshiped them, it is no surprise that aeromancy is one of the oldest forms of divination. The Hindus, Etruscans, and Babylonians in particular found the signs in the sky to be of great interest and practiced forms of chaomancy and ceraunoscopy (see Types of Aeromancy). This fascination with the omens in the skies was reflected by the gods worshiped by these peoples. Two gods associated with ceraunoscopy, for instance were:

• Tinia, the Etruscan god of lightning
• Adad, the Babylonian god of thunder, lightning, and prophesy

Types of Aeromancy

There are several types of divination that can be categorized under the term "aeromancy". Some of these are:

• Austromancy, divination by observing the wind. Anemoscopy is austromancy in which the wind direction and intensity is interpreted, whereas nephomancy is divination by the interpretation of the movement of clouds.
• Ceraunoscopy, divination by the interpretation of thunder and lightning.
• Chaomancy, divination by aerial visions, is nearly synonymous with aeromancy, but most often refers to nephomancy or cometomancy, divination by the appearance of comet tails.
• Meteormancy, divination by meteors and shooting stars.

Modern Aeromancy

Some forms of modern aeromancy have taken a more introspective turn than their historical counterparts. For instance, modern nephomancy is a receptive, almost meditative process, by which a person is said to be able to examine their unconscious. The nephomancer studies the clouds, whose formations are random and constantly changing. The images and symbols the diviner picks out from the chaos are believed to have some sort of significance to the diviner, so long as he applies his own personal interpretations to the symbols, rather than those written or spoken about by another.