-mancy, -mancer, -mantic, -mantical

(Greek: used as a suffix; divination, prophecy, fortune telling; to interpret signs so “practical” decisions can be made [related to -mania])

It isn't so much the things we don't know that gets us into trouble. It's the things we know that aren't so.

—Artemus Ward (1834-1867)

If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet.

—Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-1991),
Polish-born American journalist, writer.
hieromancy
1. Divination from the observation of objects offered in religious sacrifices, or from sacred things.
2. Divination with sacrificial remains or sacred objects; by observing the things offered as sacrifices; including entrails.
hippomancy
Divination with horse(s); the Celts kept white horses in consecrated groves; ancient Germans kept similar steeds in their temples.
Horses were used as omens both good and bad.
The rider is very concerned about which foot
is going out first; the left one or the right one.

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If on leaving the temple at the out-break of hostilities, the horses crossed the temple threshold with the left forefoot first, the prophecy was regarded as an evil omen and the war was abandoned. A horse’s pace was also interpreted.

hydromancy
1. Divination (fortune telling) by means of the motions or appearance of water including the color, ebb and flow, or ripples.
2. Divination with water or other liquids; such as, tides and ebbs; by having a small boy tell what he has seen in the water.

Interpreting the color and patterns of flowing water; sometimes ripples are studied as stones are dropped into quiet water.

hyomancy
Divination with wild swine; or by the tongue or the “tongue bone”.
ichnomancy
Divination with the interpretations of personality and appearances of people by studying their footprints, posture, and position.
ichthyomancy
1. Divination by means of the heads or entrails of fishes.
2. Divination by examining the heads and/or entrails of fish for prophetic signs or processing the next fish caught.
iconomancy
1. Divination of pictures or icons or with special images.
2. Divination by using images or icons.
idolomancy
Divination with idols, figures, or images.

The answers may come through dreams, by drawing lots, or anything else that believers may attribute to the power of such images.

indivinable (adjective), more indivinable, most indivinable
Impossible of being conjectured or guessed: To prophesy or predict one's future is certainly indivinable because things just might turn out completely different!
kephalonomancy
Divination used by some of the Lombards in which lighted carbon was poured on the baked head of a goat as the names of those who were accused of crimes were called out.

If crackling occurred as a name was called, it was assumed that the accused was guilty. The head of an ass was also used.

keraunomancy
Divination by interpreting thunder and lightning.
labiomancy
Divination with lip reading.
libanomancy, livanomancy, knissomancy
Divination by observing and interpreting incense smoke.
licanomancy
Divination by the study of reflections in still water.
lithomancy
Divination with rocks or stone charms of unusual origin or appearance, such as meteorites, which inspired the diviner with visions, or produced sounds that he alone could hear and interpreted as words.

Cross references of word families that are related directly, or indirectly, to: "divination, diviner; seer, soothsayer, prophecy, prophesy, prophet": augur-; auspic-; fa-, fate; Fates in action; futur-; omen; -phemia; sorc-, sorcery; vati-.

A cross reference of other word family units that are related directly, or indirectly, to: "chance, luck, fate": aleato-; auspic-; cad-; fortu-; serendipity; sorc; temer-; tycho-.