Omens and Oracles

From: mr happy <ajbehan_at_tcd.ie>
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 1996 12:39:20 +0000 (GMT)

Thanks to Martin Crim for a dirty great epic of a post. One thing he does mention is just how opaque prophecies tend to be. Also there are innumerable forms of divination but only a very limited number of purposes to which divination is put. General prophecy, detecting lost goods, detecting a thief or witch and recommending a particularly fortuitous time for doing something.

I'm not sure how helpful it is to say "this Gloranthan society uses that RW divination system." IMHO the runes dominate the perception of sympathy anywhere the GL or Westerners went. Also Malkioni magic, if it is anything like the RW Western tradition, is dominated by (non-observational) astrology. The stars are visible emanations of the primary runes and they mirror the fortunes of folk in Middle Earth associated with them.

Even better is Stygian nigromancy: the study of the stars of Hell. Despite the efforts of a few brave heroquesters it's basis is primarily theoretical due to the paucity of accurate observations. - ---------
Andrew Behan

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