Editing Daphnomancy

{{short description|Form of divination by burning bay laurel leaves}}
'''Daphnomancy''' is a form of [[pyromancy]] whereby the future is predicted by burning [[bay laurel]] leaves. A loud crackling from the fire is a positive omen, whereas silence is a negative one.<ref name="KK2001">{{cite book|author1=Amber K|author2=Azrael Arynn K|title=Candlemas: Feast of Flames|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WQL4W13EYlUC&pg=PA94|access-date=22 July 2011|date=1 December 2001|publisher=Llewellyn Worldwide|isbn=978-0-7387-0079-3|pages=94–}}</ref><ref name="book1">{{Cite book | last = Cheung | first = Theresa | title = The Element Encyclopedia of the Psychic World | publisher = Harper Element | year = 2006 | pages = 144 | isbn =  978-0-00-721148-7 }}</ref>

==History and etymology==
''Daphno'' is thought to be a tribute to [[Daphne (mythology)|Daphne]], an ancient Greek [[nymph]] turned into the first laurel tree by [[Apollo]].<ref name="Ventura2008">{{cite book|author=Varla Ventura|title=The Book of the Bizarre: Freaky Facts and Strange Stories|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IiUEtjRz4wkC&pg=PA60|access-date=22 July 2011|date=1 October 2008|publisher=Weiser Books|isbn=978-1-57863-437-8|pages=60–}}</ref> Originally, the leaves were selected from the [[sacred grove]] of Apollo,<ref name="KK2001"/> but as time moved on the practice of daphnomancy spread to pre-Christian era Rome and Greece and was thought to be commonly practiced by [[augurs]] of both empires.

The original grove from which the Romans took their laurel branches withered in 68&nbsp;AD, which contemporary augurs associated with [[Nero]]'s death.<ref name="book1"/><ref name="Dunwich2002">{{cite book|author=Gerina Dunwich|author-link=Gerina Dunwich|title=Herbal Magick: A Witch's Guide to Herbal Folklore and Enchantments|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6k4kO1_H2gC&pg=PA50|access-date=22 July 2011|date=1 January 2002|publisher=Career Press|isbn=978-1-56414-575-8|pages=50–}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Apollo and Daphne}}

[[Category:Divination]]


{{reli-stub}}