Herbal Magick - Small Farm, Permaculture, and Sustainable Living

Herbal Divination
trees planted there by various Roman emperors. In the year
68 A.D., the entire grove mysteriously withered and died, as if
to portend the death of the Emperor Nero and the demise of the
long line of Caesars, which occurred shortly after during that
same year. Daphnomancy takes its name from the fabled Greek
nymph Daphne, whom the gods changed into a laurel tree.
Libanomancy is a divinatory practice that can be traced
back to the magicians of ancient Babylonia. According to the
Three Collated Libanomancy Texts (translated by Irving L.
Finkel), if when you sprinkle incense upon a fire and its smoke
drifts to the right, this is an indication that you will prevail
over your adversary. However, if the incense smoke drifts to
the left, this means that your adversary will prevail over you. If
incense smoke clusters, this is a favorable omen of success and
financial gain. But if it is fragmented, a financial loss is portended.
Beware of incense smoke that “gathers like a datepalm
and is thin at its base,” for this is a sign of hard times to
come. If the rising smoke of incense is cleft (in two), this is
said to foretell a loss of one’s sanity.
In Greece, divination by observing the leaves and petals of
roses (phyllorhodomancy) was a popular method of foretelling
future events. Rosa gallica (more commonly known in
modern times as autumn damask) is believed by many occult
historians to have been the flower of choice among the diviners
of ancient Greece.
A rose petal with a concave form would first be selected, a
yes-or-no question asked, and then a state of meditation entered
into. Afterwards, the diviner would place the rose petal
in the palm of his or her right hand and then firmly clap both
hands together one time. If the petal burst, this indicated an
affirmative answer. But if it failed to burst, this was interpreted
as a negative reply.
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