Aeromancy (from Greek ἀήρ aḗr, "air", and manteia, "divination") is divination that is conducted by interpreting atmospheric conditions. Alternate terms include "arologie", "aeriology", and "aërology".<ref name="names">Template:Cite journal</ref>
PracticeEdit
Aeromancy uses cloud formations, wind currents, and cosmological events such as comets, to attempt to divine the past, present, or future.<ref name="book"/> There are sub-types of this practice which are as follows: austromancy (wind divination), ceraunoscopy (observing thunder and lightning), chaomancy (aerial vision), meteormancy (meteors, AKA shooting stars), and nephomancy (cloud divination).<ref name="book"/>
HistoryEdit
Variations on the concept have been used throughout history, the practice is thought to have been used by the ancient Babylonian priests, and is probably alluded to in the bible.<ref name="book">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name="bible"/>
Damascius, the last of the Neoplatonists, records an account of nephomancy in the 5th century CE, during the reign of Leo I:
Cultural influenceEdit
The ancient Etruscans produced guides to brontoscopic and fulgural divination of the future, based upon the omens that were supposedly displayed by thunder or lightning that occurred on particular days of the year, or in particular places.<ref>Template:Citation.</ref><ref>Template:Citation.</ref>
Divination by clouds was condemned by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:10 and 18:14 in the Hebrew Bible.<ref name="bible">Template:Cite journal</ref> In contrast, english christian bibles typically translate the same hebrew words into "soothsayers" and "conjurers" or the like.
In Renaissance magic, aeromancy was classified as one of the seven "forbidden arts", along with necromancy, geomancy, hydromancy, pyromancy, chiromancy (palmistry), and spatulamancy (scapulimancy).<ref>Johannes Hartlieb (Munich, 1456) The Book of All Forbidden Arts; quoted in Láng, p. 124.</ref> It was thus condemned by Albertus Magnus in Speculum Astronomiae as a derivative of necromancy.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The practice was further debunked by Luis de Valladolid in his 1889 work Historia de vita et doctrina Alberti Magni.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>