Dactylomancy - Predicting the Future from Finger Movements

Even though commonly interlinked with fortune-telling, divination is actually a refined art of ascertaining information by interpretation of omens either through external agencies or the diviner’s own psychic abilities. A form of divination which brings into play both the seer’s capacities and physical object is dactylomancy.

Dactylomancy is a form of divination by means of fingers or any other aspects thereof. Accordingly the practice can include finger movements upon tripods, planchettes, pendulums, Ouija boards, or the use of finger rings and its movements. The term is derived from the ancient Greek word for finger, daktylios as well as for divination, manteia.

In the original practice of dactylomancy, it was common for a round table to be inscribed with the letters of the alphabet and a ring suspended above them by means of a thread or cord after having been tied to a finger. The movement of the ring - much like a pendulum - was then noticed and it was believed that spelling marked out by the movement of the ring will indicate the answer to the question or a portent of the future. In the middle ages, a rather complex version of dactylomancy was performed in Europe. According to this a ring was suspended above a circular table marked with the symbols of the zodiac. 78 metal discs inscribed with a letter of the alphabet - three discs for each letter - were then placed on the table and the thread holding the ring was burnt. The seer would then note the letters that the ring rolled across and the one on which it halted were interpreted to form the answer to the question being divined.

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In yet another method of dactylomancy, the ring was dropped into a bowl of water after inscribing the inside bottom of the bowl with a special pattern with symbols. The position of the ring on the symbolic pattern or letters would be then interpreted by the seer as the answer to a formulated question.

Yet another variation of the divination process involved suspending a ring within a glass so that it might touch the sides if swung and a code was agreed upon - for instance If the glass was struck once it would indicate YES, and twice would mean NO. A question was then posed and the number of the times that the ring struck the sides of the tumbler would be interpreted as the answer. This was rather similar to the table-rapping method practiced at Séances.

The history of dactylomancy goes back to ancient Greek times from where it passed onto the classical Romans. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, Dactylomancy was used to find Valens' successor, and the name Theodosius was correctly indicated during the divination. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans dactylomancy was no random action but was a solemn ritual accompanied by specific religious practices and chanting so as to infuse the finger of the seer with magical powers which in turn would aid in the correct interpretation of the omens. Apart from the ring being consecrated, the practice required the diviner to be entirely clothed in white linen; with his head shaven, he would hold in his hand a piece of vervain, which was well known protection against evil spirits.

By the Middle Ages, the names of the Three Wise Men - Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar - were popular as inscriptions on a ring which was to serve a special purpose like dactylomancy. Later, the custom was applied to wedding rings, with words like "Love and Obey" being engraved on the inside so as to predict a happy and fulfilled marital life; however if the bride crossed her fingers during the wedding ceremony, the positive associations could be nullified.