Photo – Wikipedia “Palmistry” (Creative Commons licensing – www.psychic2tarot.com)

(10) SOMATOMANCY – CHIROMANCY

“Man is the measure of all things”

It’s perhaps not surprising that one of the first basic tools likely to have been used by humans for divination (or magic) is the human body itself – which is what somatomancy is, divination by the human form or body.

Of course, it tends to be more specialized to parts of the body. My top pick is chiromancy, divination using the palms of hands, or as it is better known, palmistry – which apparently had such a high profile that it was classified as one of the seven “forbidden arts” in the Renaissance and was actively suppressed by the Church.

As for the balance of a top ten within my top ten – a top ten for somatomancy – my nominations are…

2 Amniomancy – divination by the placenta (or caul)
3 Cephalonomancy – divination by the skull. (Historically it tended to use animal skulls but I’m adapting it to phrenology)
4 Maculomancy – divination by spots on the skin
5 Oculomancy or opthalmancy – divination by the eyes
6 Omphalomancy – divination by the navel (or the ultimate navel-gazing)
7 Onychyomancy – divination by fingernails and toenails
8 Podomomancy – divination by the soles of the feet
9 Trichomancy – divination by hair. Okay – I’ve just coined that using the Greek word for hair
10 Phallomancy – divination by the phallus (or swing of the phallus). Disappointingly, while Wikipedia includes phallomancy in its list of methods of divination, there is no further entry or details for it – but it is kind of how I divine everything in life…

Sadly, the various forms of somatomancy rank in the tail end of my top ten for a reason – and then by virtue of the prevalence of chiromancy or palmistry, even today.

As a method of divination, most forms of somatomancy seem somewhat limited to a one-off basis, given the fixed nature of the bodily attributes they use, and only to divine the future or qualities for the individuals to whom the parts of the body belong.

Similarly, somatomancy seems limited as a school of magic. After all, the whole point of magic is to transcend or at least extend human limitations (or those of nature), particularly those of the human body.

Although with a little imagination or fantasy, it has substantial potential. At very least, one can adapt somatomancy to a system of magic that uses bodily attributes, gestures or movements as the components of magic, whether for the wider schools of magic in Dungeons and Dragons, or something like the ‘bending’ of elements in Avatar incorporating martial art style movements.

Indeed, higher levels of magic could require higher levels of athleticism or physical ability, disposing of that “squishy wizard” trope in Dungeons and Dragons or similar fantasy. No more stats-maxxing intelligence at the expense of strength or dexterity. Building on that, with the almost infinite variety of physical attributes (or sports) from which to draw, one can propose that different physical attributes could underlie different types or schools of magic. Athleticism on land could underlie very different magic from that of skill in swimming or diving and so on. Similarly strength or endurance could involve very different magic from speed, agility or dexterity and so on, more so if one extends it to other qualities such as physical beauty.

Similarly, one might propose different schools of magic that are specialized by aspects or parts of the body – it doesn’t take too much to adapt the magic school of illusion (or divination for that matter) in Dungeons and Dragons to one of eyes and ears (or more widely the senses), or the magic school of enchantment to one of mouth and voice, and so on.

Even if we stick to somatomancy as a school of magic in a more literal sense, one might propose it effectively as a form of conjuration of (or transmutation to) any peak human ability or attribute. That is, to conjure up for oneself the peak ability of any Olympic athlete, the peak immunity or resistance to disease, and so on, at any time or in any combination.

Even more so if we extend somatomancy as a form of fantasy transhumanism – to extend, project or perfect bodily attributes or abilities beyond existing peaks, as indeed is often attributed to Asian mystical arts. For example, to achieve longevity or even immortality, “diamond body” and so on…

RATING: 4 STARS****
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Free ‘divine gallery’ sample art from OldWorldGods

It’s my top 10 mancy list. I’m talking the suffix -mancy, ultimately originating from the Greek manteia (of itself or through the Latin mantia), for divination.

I could have called it top ten methods of divination, but where’s the fun in that? A top ten mancy list is just more fun and I do indeed have my criteria that each entry must have the suffix. Also, while the suffix -mancy technically only connotes divination, it has been used more widely for systems or types of magic in general.

This conflation of the suffix -mancy to connote both divination in particular and magic in general is not entirely misplaced. After all, divination tends to operate by or be a type of magic.

Indeed, it is arguably the primary purpose for which people have sought to use magic, rivalled only by protective magic – apotropaic magic as it is more technically known, or abjuration as it is called as a “school” of magic in Dungeons and Dragons.

It is also not a stretch to regard all magic as ultimately originating in divination, divining the secret knowledge and cosmic power underlying magic itself. So much so in editions of Dungeons and Dragons, while one could pick and choose between schools of magic, the one compulsory school was divination.

But I digress – for the purposes of my top ten mancy list, I look at each -mancy in terms of ranking it both as a method of divination in particular and as a ‘school’ of magic in general.

And now to the suffix itself, there is an almost overwhelming number of variants of divination (or magic) with that suffix -mancy, and their sheer abundance has always fascinated me. In part that reflects the ease by which one can coin such a word, usually by combining a Latin or Greek root word with -mancy. However, it predominantly reflects connoting forms of divination actually used by people as observed or recorded in history or anthropology – as people have used almost anything and everything as the magical means of divination.

Of course, some or even many are incredibly esoteric or obscure as a result – to use just one example to illustrate, belomancy (or bolomancy) is the art of divination by use of arrows. I have preferred broader brush strokes for my top ten or special mention, although entries might include more specialized methods of divination within their general theme.

Finally, it goes without saying that the top ten or special mentions does not reflect any personal beliefs in methods of divination or forms of magic, just my interest in them. It’s one of my dreams to walk in on an appointment with a psychic, smack them in the head, and exclaim “didn’t see that one coming?” – or just for all purported psychics to be prosecuted for fraud.

I also can’t resist the title of Top 10 Mancy list as there’s a whole gag in an episode of Archer where the titular protagonist is calling for help defusing a bomb and confuses everyone by using ‘mancy’ for m (in the serial number) where they naturally think he’s saying ‘nancy’ for n. I know it’s a long segue but it’s lodged in my psyche ever since whenever I think of mancy.

(20) NYMPHOMANCY

Bow Chicka Wow Wow

Yes – I am a nymphomancer. No – I refuse to elaborate. I’ve already said too much.

For mine is the adventurous bed and questing beast, deus sex machina and hieros gamos.

And yes – it is part of my rule in my top tens to throw in a kinky entry amidst my wilder special mentions, usually as my final (twentieth) special mention, at least where the subject matter permits.

Although seriously, there is quite a bit of justification for sex in divination or magic – and even more potential for it in fantasy. I mean, I’m pretty sure I could adapt most of Dungeons and Dragons to nymphomancy.

RATING: 4 STARS****
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(19) NEUROMANCY (CYBERMANCY)

“What’s your name? Your Turing code. What is it?”
“Neuromancer…Neuro from the nerves, the silver paths. Romancer. Necromancer”.

I didn’t make this one up – the godfather of cyberpunk, William Gibson, did.

Well, technically, he only made up Neuromancer for the title (and titular character) of his landmark 1984 book, but I can’t compile a top ten and special mentions for -mancy without featuring it.

Neuromancer is an AI, in the SF superintelligence sense but neuromancy might well be regarded as the cyberspace hacking that drives the plot and is the forte of the protagonist console cowboy.

Or think the Matrix, since the film franchise borrowed much from Neuromancer, including the term matrix. Of course, it’s not actual magic but technology and skill – in Neuromancer at least, not so sure about the Matrix.

As a method of divination or type of magic, it is essentially cybermancy, which in turn is effectively a subset of technomancy narrowed to computers and computing.

Oh – and Neuromancer wasn’t kidding about the necromancer part, metaphorically at least, since it can create sentient copies or simulations of people’s consciousness in cyberspace, potentially persisting beyond the original.

RATING: 4 STARS****
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(18) TECHNOMANCY

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”

Technomancy is an odd chimera of a beast, given that technology sort of goes against the whole point of magic – technology is functional magic that actually works.

As such, technomancy tends not to be used as divination but a form of magic or other ability that pops up in certain works of fantasy, usually contemporary or urban fantasy in settings with technology, or occasional SF.

Sometimes it is styled as technopathy (or to a lesser extent machine empathy) – “someone who can control machines and bend them to the user’s will, either through a physical or mental interface link. In some cases, this power also allows them to ‘hear’ what a machine is ‘thinking’ and establish a direct line of communication with the machine”.

It could also be used for magic from technology in SF– where technology is used to replicate magic, occasionally in ways unknown to or forgotten by the people using it – or potentially for where magic is used to power what otherwise appears as technology in certain fantasy settings.

Still, there is fun fantasy potential in combining technology with magic. I’d like to imagine it as a form of magic in a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting using relics from a technological past – or flipping it on its head with an anti-technopath, for someone (or something) that is magically destructive to technology.

RATING: 4 STARS****
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(17) CHRONOMANCY

“Mastery is achieved when telling time becomes telling time what to do”

Funnily enough, Wikipedia does feature chronomancy among its methods of divination in terms similar to geomancy but with respect to time rather than space – the divination of the best or most propitious time to do something, or the determination of lucky and unlucky days.

Although arguably all divination is ultimately a form of chronomancy – in so far as it looks through time to the past or future.

However, the more popular usage of chronomancy is with respect to magic for moving through or manipulating time – potentially the most ridiculously overpowered form of magic if given full force.

And with a little imagination, it can adapt or replicate the usual schools of magic in Dungeons and Dragons in some form or other. Divination is straightforward, but also conjuration of anything from any time, such as dinosaurs.

And so on through time transmutation even to some sort of weird time necromancy with enough imagination or lateral thinking – time ghosts or time zombies, anyone?

RATING: 4 STARS****
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