Belomancy
Belomancy
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Belomancy

Belomancy, also bolomancy, is the ancient art of divination by use of arrows. The word is built upon Ancient Greek: βέλος, romanizedbelos, lit.'arrow, dart', and μαντεία, manteia, 'divination'. Belomancy was anciently practiced at least by Babylonians, Greeks, Arabs and Scythians.

Arrows were typically marked with occult symbols, with feathers for every known method.[citation needed] In one example, different possible answers to a given question were written and tied to each arrow; for example, three arrows would be marked with the phrases, God orders it me, God forbids it me, and the third would be blank: the arrow that flew the furthest indicated the answer. Another method involves the same idea, but instead without shooting arrows. They would simply be shuffled in a quiver, worn preferably on the back, and the first arrow to be drawn indicated the answer. If a blank arrow was drawn, they would redraw.[citation needed]

Use of belomancy dates to ancient times; it is likely mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel 21:21, shown below in the original Hebrew and translated to English in the New American Standard Bible:

Jerome agrees with this understanding of the verse, and observes that the practice was frequent among the Assyrians and Babylonians. (Something like it is also mentioned in Hosea 4:12, although a staff or rod is used instead of arrows, which is rhabdomancy rather than belomancy.)

Verse 3 of Surah Al-Ma'idah in the Qur'an forbids belomancy (الأزلام), while verse 90 of Surah Al-Ma'idah states literally

Belomancy is also attested in pre-Islamic Arab religion. In his Book of Idols, early Muslim historian Ibn al-Kalbi mentions that there were seven divination arrows in front of the statue of Hubal in the Kaaba.

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