Geomancy

The word comes from the Greek ge (earth) and manteia (divination). The origin of classical geomancy is Arab, under the name ilm al-raml (science of the sand). It developed in the 9th century in the Muslim world, traditionally attributed to the prophet Idris, and was codified by authors such as Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Zanati in the 12th century. It reached Latin Europe in the 12th century through the Toledo translations: Hugh of Santalla translated a geomantic treatise around 1140, followed by Bernard of Gordon and Gerard of Cremona. Robert Fludd and Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa of Nettesheim systematized Western geomancy in the 16th century in their treatises on occult philosophy.

Geomancy rests on 16 figures combining four lines of one or two dots, that is 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 16 combinations. Each figure carries a name (Via, Populus, Carcer, Fortuna Major, etc.), a planetary and zodiacal attribution, and a meaning. The classical method consists of randomly tracing series of dots in the sand, pairing them to produce the four mothers, and then deriving the daughters, the nieces, the witnesses and the judge, for a total of 16 positions. Chinese geomancy (feng shui) and African geomancy (Ifa from Benin and Nigeria, based on 256 figures) are distinct traditions but structurally related.

Contemporary geomancy can be practiced with four-sided dice, pebbles, specialized cards, or simply by drawing dots with a pen. The querent asks a question, generates the figures by random drawing, and then reads the complete tableau according to the positions. On Tarotoui, geomancy is documented as a classical divinatory system among the mantic arts. The practice requires learning the 16 figures and their interactions, which is more demanding than cartomancy for a beginner. It is particularly suited to precise, factual questions.

Western geomancy and African Ifa geomancy share a common binary structure but have distinct histories. Confusing the two is a simplification. Note also that the word geomancy in contemporary French is sometimes loosely used to designate Chinese feng shui, which is a space-arranging discipline rather than a divinatory art strictly speaking. Contexts should be specified.