From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search



According to the Oxford English Dictionary,[1] the word bibliomancy (etymologically from biblio- "books" and -mancy "divination by means of") "divination by books, or by verses of the Bible" was first recorded in 1753 (Chambers' Cyclopædia). Sometimes this term is used synonymously with stichomancy (from sticho- "row, line, verse") "divination by lines of verse in books taken at hazard", which was first recorded ca. 1693 (Urquhart's Rabelais).

Bibliomancy compares with rhapsodomancy (from rhapsode "poem, song, ode") "divination by reading a random passage from a poem". A historical precedent was the ancient Roman practice of sortes ("sortilege, divination by drawing lots") which specialized into sortes Homericae, sortes Virgilianae, and sortes Sanctorum, using the texts of Homer, Virgil, and the Bible.


Although some Christian and Jewish groups believe that the Bible forbids divination in general, Deuteronomy strictly forbids specifically nahash and me'onen.[2] The literal meaning of nahash is hissing, though it can be extended to whispering, and it has historically been understood to refer to enchantment; me'onen is derived from the word "onah" meaning time/period/season, therefore "me'onen" is one who prescribes certain times as being good or bad for certain activities.

According to the Shulchan Aruch (Rema, Yoreh Deah, 179), it is not the sin of necromancy to divine an answer using the "goral",the practice of opening the Chumash to see an answer to a question, or asking a child for the first piece of scripture that comes to his mind.


  3. A passage is picked, with the eyes closed.

Among Christians, the Bible is most commonly used (in the Sortes Sanctorum), and in Islamic cultures the Qur'an. In the Middle Ages the use of Virgil's Aeneid was common in Europe and known as the sortes Virgilianae. In the classical world the sortes Virgilianae and sortes Homericae (using the Iliad and Odyssey) were used.




Another variant requires the selection of a random book from a library before selecting the random passage from that book. This also holds if a book has fallen down from a shelf on its own. English poet Robert Browning used this method to ask about the fate of his enchantment to Elizabeth Barrett (later known as Elizabeth Barrett Browning). He was at first disappointed to choose the book Cerutti's Italian Grammar, but on randomly opening it his eyes fell on the following sentence: ‘if we love in the other world as we do in this, I shall love thee to eternity' (which was a translation exercise).[6]

Bibliomancy in fiction[edit]

  • In Michael Strogoff (1876) by Jules Verne, Feofar Khan judged Michael Strogoff to blindness after pointing randomly in the Koran at the phrase: "And he will no more see the things of this earth.".
  • In The Book of Webster's (1993) by J. N. Williamson, the sociopathic protagonist Dell uses the dictionary to guide his actions.
  • In 'The Ash Tree' by M. R. James, bibliomancy is used to produce a warning message from the bible.
  • The novel The First Verse by Barry McCrea tells the story of Niall Lenihan, a student who falls in with a 'cult' whose members use sortes to guide them.
  • In the novel The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick, every major character uses bibliomancy, mainly by casting yarrow stalks in conjunction with the I Ching. Dick himself reportedly used this process for deciding key points in the story, even going so far as to blaming the I Ching for plot developments that he himself did not particularly care for.
  • In Wilkie Collins' 1868 novel The Moonstone, the narrator Gabriel Betteredge routinely practices bibliomancy using the pages of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. This is a good example of intertextuality, since Crusoe himself uses bibliomancy in his journey toward redemption.
  • In Lirael, by Garth Nix, The Black Book of Bibliomancy, a fake book, is mentioned.
  • In Augusten Burroughs' Running with Scissors, bilbiomancy (referred to as "Bible-dipping") is used by one of the main characters.

See also[edit]


  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, 1989.
  2. ^ Deuteronomy 18:10
  3. ^ OMIDSALAR, MAHMOUD. "DIVINATION". Encyclopedia Iranica. Retrieved 2009-04-05. 
  4. ^
  5. ^
  6. ^ The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett, Vol, 1, p. 470

External links[edit]