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Divination
1 For Mesopotamians, the absolute manifests itself through a progressive and cumulative self-manifestation of the great plan, so to speak, of fate: that is, of the regularity and irregularity within nature. Divination seeks to describe fate while magic seeks to affect fate: both involve uncovering patterns that are hidden in nature and uncovered through systematic scientific analysis.
2 The Šumma izbu record of abnormal births can be seen as providing a degree of order into an unusual and alarming event. They consist of a protasis (a hypothetical condition) and an apodosis (the omen itself). A degree of systemization is present but there also seems to have been a high degree of empirical observation.
Back to top: Chapter 9
Several Techniques: Astrology, Hepatoscopy, Lecanomancy
3 Mesopotamian astrology was a complex system based on observations repeated over centuries by several generations following well-defined methods. The complexity of the system can partly be explained by the importance of the calendar to agriculture. The protases of the text involve very specific astronomical events, while the apodoses generally refer to events of public interest.
4 The study of animal livers is an example of an induced omen, one stimulated by human intervention. The liver had a particular emotional impact as it was thought to be the center of the emotions. It was the first internal organ seen after the sacrifice of an animal, thus a visible sign of the line between life and death. The ritual involved an intention to call the whole sphere of the natural world to participate.
5 Lecanomancy, the mixing of oil and water, constitutes an irregularity within regularity. The apodoses generally refer to specific requests.
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The Situation in the Bible
6 Divination is expressly forbidden in the Bible and does not seem to have been commonly practiced. This is partly practical: the maintenance of divination in general required a much more complex logistical apparatus, but it may also reflect the public ethos.