ETYM Latin divinatio, from divinare, divinatum, to foresee, foretell, from divinus: cf. French divination. Related to Divine.
Prophecy by supernatural means; SYN. foretelling, soothsaying, fortune telling.
Art of ascertaining future events or eliciting other hidden knowledge by supernatural or nonrational means. Divination played a large part in the ancient civilizations of the Egyptians, Greeks (see oracle), Romans, and Chinese (using the I Ching), and is still practiced throughout the world.
Divination generally involves the intuitive interpretation of the mechanical operations of chance or natural law.
Forms of divination have included omens drawn from the behavior of birds and animals; examination of the entrails of sacrificed animals; random opening of such books as the Bible; fortune-telling by cards (especially tarot cards) and palmistry; dowsing; oracular trance-speaking; automatic writing; necromancy, or the supposed raising of the spirits of the dead; and dreams, often specially induced.