rhapsodomancy
English edit
Etymology edit
From French rhapsodomancie, from Ancient Greek ῥαψῳδός (rhapsōidós) + -mancy.
Noun edit
rhapsodomancy (uncountable)
- Divination by reading a random passage from a poem.
- 1723, Fabricii, Bibliographia Antiquaria xii:
- Rhapsodomantia sive divinatio ex rhapsodia aliqva poëtæ.
- 1953, Gaynor (ed.), Dict. Mysticism
- Rhapsodomancy: A form of divination, based on a line in a sacred book or book of poetry which strikes the eye when the book is opened, or which is the last line to be pierced by a needle stuck through the closed book.
- 1998, Deborah J. Bennett, Randomness, Harvard University Press, page 42:
- Using chance to arrive at a particular passage in the I Ching is a form of rhapsodomancy: the seeking of guidance through the chance selection of a passage in a literary work. Another early form of rhapsodomancy is represented by the sibylline books. [...]