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molybdomancy
Feb. 6th, 2013 07:15 ammolybdomancy (moh-LYB-doh-man-see) - n., divination by molten lead.
Or sometimes tin. Liquid metal is dripped into water and shapes of the drops are interpreted, or the shadows they produce are, or the sounds of the hissing, or ... et cetera. Done in ancient Greece and still sometimes practiced today in Scandinavia as a New Years tradition (materials for same can be found in shops in Finland, according to Wikipedia). The name was borrowed from Greek, possibly via Latin, at least by the early 18th century, from molubdos, lead + -mancy, divination.
---L.
Or sometimes tin. Liquid metal is dripped into water and shapes of the drops are interpreted, or the shadows they produce are, or the sounds of the hissing, or ... et cetera. Done in ancient Greece and still sometimes practiced today in Scandinavia as a New Years tradition (materials for same can be found in shops in Finland, according to Wikipedia). The name was borrowed from Greek, possibly via Latin, at least by the early 18th century, from molubdos, lead + -mancy, divination.
---L.
