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The word geomancy derives from the Greek roots geo, referring to the earth, and mantikos, meaning "of a soothsayer" or prophetic." Geomancy is any system of divination (an attempt to get in touch with the divine) related to manipulation of the earth. A system of geomancy linking astrological symbols with figures formed from holes poked in the earth became popular during the Renaissance. The exact origins of astrological geomancy are unknown. It is similar to the casting of lots referred to in the Latin and Greek classics and may have been practiced by ancient desert nomads who made marks in the sand which they then interpreted to answer questions of personal concern. In this latter sense geomancy is akin to horary astrology.

In fact, the same philosophical principle -- cosmic sympathy -- underlies both geomantic divination and horary astrology. The idea is that at the time a question becomes imperative to the inquirer, the conditions of the cosmos, whether in macrocosm or microcosm, will reverberate with the inquirer's mind. Systems of divination are really sets of rules explaining how to decipher the message of the cosmos. Modern diviners often cite Carl Jung's concept of synchronicity, or meaningful coincidence, to explain the workings of their craft. Regardless of whether or how it works, geomancy is worthwhile to study simply for the beauty of its sixteen archetypal symbols, another Jungian idea. The sixteen geomantic archetypes bear a close relationship to the archetypal symbols of planets and signs used in astrology.

Henry Cornelius Agrippa

Geomancy had its heyday in the Renaissance during Western Europe's transition from the medieval to the modern world. It's most famous spokesperson was Henry Cornelius Agrippa, born in 1486, and author of several texts in Latin on occult philosophy. Agrippa's attitude toward geomancy was ambivalent. Although he wrote the major geomantic text of the period, he commented on his own work and about the "common geomancy" of his predecessors, "I too have written a geomancy quite different from the rest but no less superstitious and fallacious or if you wish I will even say 'mendacious.'" Nonetheless, Agrippa appears to have practiced and written extensively on the subject.

By the time Agrippa wrote about geomancy, it had undergone an evolution. No longer were the marks on the earth interpreted in their own right; now they were used in combination with a horoscope wheel depicting the twelve astrological houses. There were many ways to do this, and the modern geomancer will need to experiment and decide which one suits his or her style.