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William Henry Rinehart, Latona and her Children Apollo and Diana
Defeat of Puthôn
The Pythia or Delphic Bee
The Birth of Hermes
Apollo gives Hermes the divinatory
art of the Bee Nymphs
For there are certain Holy Ones, as sisters When they have eaten yellow honey,
born, they’re inspired,
and maidens, who are glorified with rapid and readily are willing to declare the truth;
wings; but if they be deprived the sweet food of the
they’re three, besprinkled on their heads Gods,
then shaking all together they indeed tell
with barley meal,
lies.
and dwell in houses down below Parnassos’
I give you these; and if precisely you
folds; inquire,
they’re teachers of a strange divining, delight your heart; and if You teach a mortal
which in youth man,
I practiced, tending herds; my father heeds he’ll often hear Thy voice, if he be
it not. fortunate.
Then hither thither flying all about from
there — Homeric Hymn IV, To Hermes, 552-566 (my
transl.)
and eating honeycomb, they bring all things
to pass.
Varieties of Ancient Greek
Divination
• Natural vs. artificial • Flight & cry of Birds
• Inspired prophesy • Chance utterances
• Dream interpretation • Numerology
• Omens accompanying • Pendulums & sieves
sacrifice
• Icons
• Divination at sacred springs
• Astrology
• Scrying
• Palmistry
• Each of four elements
• Cleromancy (lots)
Cleromancy
Kinds of Cleromancy
• Pebbles, stones, dice,
astragaloi cast into • Bibliomancy
sacred springs, bowls of
• Homer Oracle
liquids, or dice trays
ü 216 throws of 3 dice
• Stones, clay balls, beans,
inscribed objects drawn • Lots of Astrampsychos
from bowls, jars, etc. or • Praenestine Lots
shaken out
• Astragalos oracles
• Practiced at many
shrines including Delphi • Alphabet oracles
Astragalos Oracle
• Oracle verse for each
of 56 throws of 5
astragaloi
ü same as number of
Minor Arcana
ü on 4 sides like suits
l ghsoiteleionkarponapodwseiponwn
deinwnaposcoupragmatwnmhtiblabhis
letters or spaces
saqwsofoibosennepeimeinonxene
twnnunparouswnsumforwnexeislusin
umhnodousosestimhmathnponei
B. Briefly wait; the time’s not right for thee. Ξ. Xanthic Dêô’s ripened fruit awaits.
Γ. Gaia gives thee ripe fruit from thy work. O. Out of sight are crops that are not sown.
Δ. Dodge the dreadful deeds, avoiding harm. Π. Passing many tests, you’ll win the crown.
E. Eager art thou for right wedding’s fruits. Ρ. Rest awhile; you’ll go more easily.
Z. Zealously avoid the harmful storm! Σ. “Stay thou, friend,” Apollo plainly says.
I. In all things, thou shalt excel — with sweat! Φ. Forthwith Plant! For Dêô fosters well.
K. Contests with the waves are hard; endure! X. “Happily press on!” says Zeus himself.
Λ. Leave off grief, and then await delight. Ψ. Proper is this judgment from the gods.
M. Make no haste; in vain you press ahead. Ω. Otiose the fruit that’s plucked unripe.
Example of Interpretive Aids
l Λ (Lambda)
l Leave off grief, and then await delight.
l Make an end of grief {Λύπης}; hereafter expect joy.
l Make an end of: stop, hinder, leave off, cease from. Grief: sorrow,
distress, mental or bodily pain. Hereafter: in the future, for the rest,
finally. Expect: await, accept, receive favorably. Joy: delight.
l You have grieved long enough. Although you have been sad, you will
be happy soon. Stop worrying, and prepare to be pleased. Turn your
attention from your pain to the things that give you joy. Pain will
yield to happiness. You have been through dark times, but the sun will
rise again.
Methods of Casting the Oracle
l Alphabet stones l Geomantic method
l Astragaloi l Bead methods
l Dice methods l Pebble methods
l Teetotums l Mixed dice method
l Alphabet tablet l Three-out-of-four
l Coin methods method
Alphabet Stones
Astragalos Faces
Clockwise from upper left: two modern natural astragaloi; five modern artificial
astragaloi; three ancient astragaloi (bone, stone, lead).
Ancient and Modern Dice
Clockwise from upper left: modern gaming dice (4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-, 20-sided);
8-sided brass teetotum; three modern dice; three ancient dice (stone, bone, lead);
ancient 14-sided die.
Alphabet Tablet
Table 2. Alphabet Tablet
he gods
now if it was A B G D
but it has E Z H Q
long time.
I K L M
tabula,
N X O P
squares as
refully make R S T U
ut in a pinch
F C Y W
paper or
sult the oracle, close your eyes and place your finger on the
s your oracle. Or you can toss a small stone or coin on the
the Alphabet Tablet (Table 2, p. 000). Based on the cast of
lt the first, second, or third double-row of four. This narrows
u pick one of Three-out-of-four Method
Table 3. Three-out-of-four Method
d die or
um. A B G D E Z
123 124 132 134 142 143
H Q I K L M
nt method for 213 214 231 234 241 243
I don’t know N X O P R S
d in ancient 312 314 321 324 341 342
y four T U F C Y W
y could be 412 413 421 423 431 432
ch as the four
rs. To cast the oracle, you draw the objects at random from a
The Practice of Divination
l Consecration Ritual
l Divination Rituals
l Miscasts
l Repeating Divinations
l Divination Journal
Consecration Ritual
Based on Greek Magical 4. Purification
Papyri 5. Invocation of
1. Create sacred space Alphabet Daimons
2. Light incense (optional)
3. Invocation of Apollo 6. Potentiation
(e.g.) with libations 7. Release and final
thanks offerings
Alphabet Daimons
ABLANAQANALBA NERXIARXIN
BOULOMENTOREB XONOFOHNAX
GENIOMOUQIG ORNEOFAO
DHMOGENHD PUROBARUP
ENKUKLIE REROUTOHR
ZHNOBIWQIZ SESENMENOURES
HSKWQWRH TAUROPOLIT
QWQOUQWQ UPEFENOURU
IAEOUWI FIMEMAMEF
KORKOOUNOWK CENNEOFEOC
LOULOENHL YUCOMPOIAY
MOROQOHPNAM WRIWN
Divination Ritual
Based on Grk. Mag. Pap. 6. Shuffle the lots
1. Create sacred space, 7. Charge hands before
light incense cast or draw
2. Ground & center 8. At right time (kairos),
cast or draw
3. Make offering;
optionally anoint lips 9. Interpret after prayer for
guidance
4. Invoke Apollo
10. Thank & release the god
5. Silently ask question
Informal Divination Ritual
Come hither to thy prophet, haste to sing
divine precepts to me, and to proclaim
pure words, and through these lots to bring
true oracles. Thus I invoke thy name:
Akti Kara Abaiôth (Ahk-tih Kah-rah Ah-buy-oath)
The Esoteric Greek Alphabet
• Correspondences with 24 letters (24 = 12 + 5 + 7):
ü 12 single consonants = Zodiac
ü 5 double consonants = elements
ü 7 vowels = planets
• According to Plutarch (c.46–c.120 CE) (24 = 7 + 8 + 9):
ü 7 voiced (vowels): Apollo (7 is his number)
ü 8 half-voiced (semivowels): Harmonia (wife of Cadmus, inventor of alphabet)
ü 9 unvoiced (consonant): 9 Muses
• 27 letters of archaic alphabet correspond to days of moon’s visibility (lunar
phases)
• Isopsephy (“Greek gematria”)
letters rho through sampi for 100 to 900 (see Table 4, Numerical Values of Greek Letters).
Since 27 is the cube of three (that is, three to the third power: 27 = 33 = 3 × 3 × 3), it is an
especially holy number (for some of the meaning of the cubes 8 and 27, see my
Isopsephy
Pythagorean Tarot, pp. 406–11 and 433–8).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
× 1 Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ϝ Ζ Η Θ
× 10 Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ϙ
× 100 Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω Ϡ
• Therefore, for example, the ancients might write ΧΙΒ¢ for 612 (the prime ¢ indicates a
27 archaic Greek letters used as numbers
• number). This correspondence implies, however, that every Greek word has a numerical
Isopsêphos = equal pebbles
value; for example, ΖΕΥΣ (Zeus) also has the value 612 (ΖΕΥΣ = 7 + 5 + 400 + 200 = 612).
• The study of the numerological significance of Greek words is called isopsephy from iso-
Origin of gematria
• (equal) and psêphos (pebble), since the ancients calculated with pebbles. Sometimes it’s
Establishes occult connections between words
called “Greek gematria,” but the art seems to have originated with the Greek alphabet and
ü “The god Apollo” (Ο ΘΕΟΣ ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝ = 1415) ≈ 2 × “The god
Hermes” (Ο ΘΕΟΣ ΕΡΜΗΣ = 707)
Example Alphabet Talisman
The Oracle of the
Seven Sages
The Oracle of the Seven Sages
l Origin of the Counsels of the Seven
- Helen’s Tripod
- The Delphic Tablet
l Establishing the Text
- Sosiades’ List
- Klearkhos’ Pillar
l Modern Use as an Oracle
Helen’s Tripod and the Seven Sages
Sosiades’ Text
• Johannes Stobaeus (5th
cent. CE), a Macedonian
scholar
• Records “Sosiades’
Counsels of the Seven
Sages”
• 147 short maxims
probably copied from
tablet at Delphi
Klearkhos’ Pillar
EUGNWMWNGINOU
looked, engraved in
SAUTONISQI TECNHICRW
OMELLEISDOS OMONOIANDIWKE
GAMEINMELLE ARRHTONKRUPTE
KAIRONGNWQI EUERGESIASTIMA
FQONEIMHDENI TOKRATOUNFOBOU
FRONEIQNHTA TOSUMFERONQHRW
FULAKHIPROSECE
XENOSWNISQI KAIRONPROSDECOU
grouped in heptads
FRONHSINASKEI APECQEIANFEUGE
GAMOUSKRATEI
PRONOIANTIMA PLOUTEIDIKAIWS
TUCHNNOMIZE
ORKWIMHCRW DOXANMHLEIPE
EGGUHNFEUGE
FILIANAGAPA
PAIDEIASANTECOU
APLWSDIALEGOU KAKIANMISEI
This line occurs in both of Homer’s poems. In the Iliad, Priam and his chariot driver are
coming to the Greeks by night to ransom the body of Hector. Zeus sends Hermes,
disguised as a sympathetic Greek soldier, to guide and protect them. Hermes observes that
they need protection:
Thou art not young, accompanied by one too old
to ward away a man, whoever first is wroth. [Il. 24.369]
Hermes proceeds to guide them safely to their destination. …
Accept this gift, Apollo, Lord of Light,
intended to be accurate and right;
and if my speaking hath appealed to Thee,
I pray that kindly wouldst Thou look on me.