Divination

The use of magical or supernatural means to discover information, often about the future or about things not otherwise open to normal perception, has been and is common in most civilizations. Commonly it is used to discover the means of curing a particular ailment, the best course for future action, or events taking place some distance away. It may either be part of the established religion (for example, the Delphic oracle, and many African religions) or parallel with or in opposition to religion, Christianity being in general opposed to such methods. The diviner may enter a special state or trance and pass on information, or may interpret enigmatic data (as, for example, examining animal entrails to foretell the future). A common method is for a diviner, or for any individual requiring treatment or advice, to sleep in a particularly hallowed place, his or her dreams being subsequently interpreted. A specific form of divination is the use of ordeals to determine the innocence or guilt of a suspect, when some test is imposed when the guilty will suffer but the innocent escape injury (trial by ordeal).

Related to positive actions taken to determine information is the interpretation of naturally occurring phenomena as omens of the future, whether these are seen in reality or in dreams. For example, sneezing or stumbling may be taken as bad omens, as may chancing on a particular animal or bird. The mantic arts use this belief - that every occurrence is pre-revealed symbolically and the predictable result of causes which are discernible by divination - as an aid in solving problems from personal to political and as a guide to future conduct.