Arabic geomancy is a type of geomantic divination which involves interpreting

a series of figures formed by a randomized process that involves recursion,

followed by analyzing them, often augmented
with astrological interpretations.1(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geoma
ncy#cite_note-1) Geomancy was considered by figures such as Richard II to be a
broader discipline that also included philosophy, science,
and alchemic elements.2(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_not
e-2)

History
[edit]

The sixteen geomantic figures.

The word "geomancy", from Late Greek γεωμαντεία geōmanteía translates

literally to "earth
divination";3(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-3) it is
a calque translation of the Arabic term ‛ilm al-raml, or the "science of the
sand". Earlier Greek renditions of this word borrowed the Arabic
word raml ("sand") directly, rendering it as rhamplion or rabolion. Other
Arabic names for geomancy include khatt al-raml and darb al-
raml.4(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-Skinner_80-4):
14–15

The original names of the figures in Middle Eastern geomancy were

traditionally given in Arabic, excluding a Persian origin. The reference
in Hermetic texts to the mythical Ṭumṭum al-Hindi potentially points to an
Indian origin, although Stephen
Skinner4(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-Skinner_80-
4): 17 thinks this unlikely. Having an Arabic origin is most likely, since the
expansive trade-routes of Arabian merchants[when?] would facilitate the
exchange of culture and
knowledge.5(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-Eglash-5)

European scholars and universities began to translate Arabic texts and

treatises in the early Middle Ages, including those on geomancy. Isidore of
Seville (c. 560 – 636) lists geomancy with other methods of divination –
including pyromancy, hydromancy, aeromancy, and necromancy – without
describing its application or
methods.4(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-Skinner_80-
4): 88 It could be that Isidore of Seville was listing methods
of elemental scrying more than what is commonly known as geomancy. The
poem Experimentarius attributed to Bernardus Silvestris, who wrote in the
middle of the 12th century, was a verse translation of a work on astrological
geomancy. One of the first discourses on geomancy translated into Latin was
the Ars Geomantiae of Hugh of Santalla (fl. early 12th century). By this
point, geomancy must have been an established divination system in Arabic-
speaking areas of Africa and the Middle East.[citation needed]

Other translators, such as Gerard of Cremona (c. 1114 – 1187), also produced
new translations on geomancy that incorporated astrological elements and
techniques that were, up until this point,
ignored.4(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-Skinner_80-
4): 94–97 From this point on, more European scholars studied and applied
geomancy, writing many treatises in the process. Henry Cornelius
Agrippa (1486–1535), Christopher Cattan (La Géomancie du Seigneur Christofe de
Cattan (1558)), and John Heydon (1629 – c. 1667) produced oft-cited and well-
studied treatises on geomancy, along with other philosophers, occultists, and
theologians until the 17th century, when interest in occultism and divination
began to dwindle due to the rise of the Scientific Revolution and the Age of
Reason.

Geomancy underwent a revival in the 19th century, when renewed interest in the
occult arose due to the works of Robert Thomas Cross (1850–1923) and of Edward
Bulwer-Lytton (1803–1873). Franz Hartmann published his text, The Principles
of Astrological
Geomancy,6(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-6) (English
translation: 1889) which spurred new interest in the divination system. Based
on this and a few older texts, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (founded
in 1887) began the task of recollecting knowledge on geomancy along with other
occult subjects, with them, Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) published his works
that integrated various occult systems of knowledge. However, due to the short
time the members of the Golden Dawn desired to learn, practice, and teach the
old occult arts, many elaborate systems of divination and ritual had to be
compressed, losing much in the process. In effect, they had reduced geomancy
from a complex art of interpretation and skill in recognizing patterns to
looking up predefined answers based on pairs of
figures.7(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-7)
Like other systems of divination, geomancy has mythological associations.
According to one
Arabic Hermetic text,8(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note
-Brenner,_Louis_2000_pp._50%E2%80%931-8) Idris (or Hermes Trismegistus)
witnessed the angel Jibril in a dream. Idris asked for enlightenment, and
Jibril proceeded to draw a geomantic figure. Upon being asked what he was
doing, Jibril instructed Idris in the geomantic arts. Keeping this secret, he
sought out Ṭumṭum al-Hindi, an Indian king, who then wrote a book on geomancy.
This book was passed down through clandestine circles into the hands of Khalaf
al-Barbarĩ, who traveled to Medina and was converted to Islam by Muhammad.
Saying he knew a divinatory art, he explained that pre-Islamic prophets knew
geomancy, and that by learning geomancy, one may "know all that the prophet
knew".

Another mythological story for the origin of geomancy also involves

Idris.9(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-9) After
praying to God that He give Idris easily a means to earn his living, Idris
rested one day, bored and without work, and began to draw figures idly in the
sand. As he did so, a stranger appeared before him and questioned what he was
doing. Idris replied that he was simply entertaining himself, but the stranger
replied that he was doing a very serious act. Idris became incredulous and
tried to deny this, but the stranger explained the significance of the meaning
of the figure Idris drew. He then commanded Idris to draw another figure, and
upon doing so the stranger explained the meaning and significance of that
figure.

The pair continued this until Idris had discovered and understood the sixteen
figures. The stranger then taught Idris how to form the figures in a regular
manner and what the results meant, teaching him how to know things that could
not be known with just the physical senses. After testing Idris' newfound
knowledge and skill of geomancy, and revealing himself to be the
angel Jibril in the process, the stranger disappeared. Idris, thankful to God
and His messenger that he had learned this art, never revealed the art to
anyone. Before he was risen to God, he wrote a book describing the art as
Jibril had taught him, and from his successors.

Other tablets and records from antiquity identify Idris with the
prophets Daniel[citation needed] or with Enoch. This was done in order to give
geomancy a legitimate standing as a gift and skill from God, especially since
one of the prophets had practiced it. However, those who argued against
geomancy, such as Ibn Khaldun in his Muqaddima (1377), countered that it was a
pre-Islamic system of knowledge, and that all such epistemologies were
rendered obsolete with the revelation of
the Qur'an.8(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-
Brenner,_Louis_2000_pp._50%E2%80%931-8)

Throughout the evolution and migration of geomancy, various tales and plays
incorporated aspects of the art into their stories. In one story in One
Thousand and One Nights, both the African Magician and his brother use
geomancy to find Aladdin in order to do him harm. Geomancy's first mention in
print came[when?] in William Langland's Piers Plowman where it is unfavorably
compared to the level of expertise a person needs for astronomy ("gemensye
[geomesye] is gynful of speche"). In 1386 Chaucer used the "Parson's Tale" to
poke fun at geomancy in Canterbury Tales: "What say we of them that believe in
divynailes as …geomancie…". Shakespeare and Ben Jonson were also known to use
geomancy for comic relief. Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy (early 14th
century) makes a passing reference to geomancy. In the first two stanzas of
Canto XIX in the Purgatorio,

It was the hour when the diurnal heat

no more can warm the coldness of the moon, vanquished by earth, or

peradventure Saturn,

When geomancers their Fortuna Major see in the orient before the dawn

rise by a path that long remains not dim...

— Dante Aligheri, referencing the Greater Fortune (Fortuna Major) and the Way
("the path")

Generating geomantic charts

[edit]

A shield chart. The Mothers are, right to left, Via, Acquisitio, Conjunctio,
and Laetitia. While the Reconciler is not pictured, it would be Amissio in
this case.

Geomancy requires the geomancer to create sixteen lines of points or marks

without counting, creating sixteen random numbers. Without taking note of the
number of points made, the geomancer provides the random mechanism needed for
most forms of divination. Once the lines are produced, the geomancer marks off
the points two by two until either one or two points remain in the line;
mathematically, this is the same as producing two dots if the number is even
or one dot if the number is odd. Taking these leftover points in groups of
four, they form the first four geomantic figures, and form the basis for the
generation of the remaining figures. Once this is done, the "inspired" portion
of the geomantic reading is done; what remains
is algorithmic calculation.10(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#ci
te_note-10)

Traditionally, geomancy requires a surface of sand and the hands or a stick,

but can be done equally well with a wax tablet and stylus or a pen and paper;
ritualized objects may or may not be desired for use in divination. Often,
when drawing marks or figures, geomancers will proceed from right to left as a
tradition from geomancy's Arabic origins, although this is by no means
mandatory. Modern methods of geomancy include, in addition to the traditional
ways, computerized random number generators or thrown objects; other methods
including counting the eyes on
potatoes.11(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-11) Some
practitioners use specialized cards, with each card representing a single
geomantic figure; in this case, only four cards are drawn after shuffling.
Specialized machines have also been used to generate full geomantic
charts.12(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-12)

The figures are entered into a specialized table, known as the shield chart,
which illustrates the recursive processes reminiscent of the Cantor
set5(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-Eglash-5) that
form the figures. The first four figures are called the matres, or Mothers,
and form the basis for the rest of the figures in the chart; they occupy the
first four houses in the upper right-hand corner such that the first Mother is
to the far right, the second Mother is to her left, and so on (continuing the
right-to-left tradition).

The next four figures, the filiae, or Daughters, are formed by rearranging the
lines used in the Mothers: the first Daughter is formed by taking the first
line from the first, second, third, and fourth Mothers in order and
rearranging them to be the first Daughter's first, second, third, and fourth
lines, respectively. The process is done similarly for the second Daughter
using the second line from the Mothers, and so on. The Daughters are placed in
the next four houses in order on the same row as the Mothers.

After the eight matres and filiae are formed, the four nepotes (or Nieces) are
formed by adding those pairs of figures that rest above the houses of the
respective Niece. Therefore, the first and second Mothers add to form the
first Niece, the third and fourth Mothers add to form the second Niece, and so
on. Here, addition involves summing the points in the respective lines of the
parents: if the sum is an even number, then the resulting figure's line will
have two points, and if the sum is odd then the line will have one point.
Conceptually, this is the same procedure in mathematical logic as
the exclusive or, where a line with two points is used instead of "false" and
a line with one point instead of
"true".13(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-
Marcia_Ascher_1997-13)

From the four nepotes, the two testes (or Witnesses) are formed in the same
manner as the nepotes: the first and second Nieces form the Right Witness, and
the third and fourth Nieces form the Left Witness. From the Witnesses, using
the same addition process, the iudex, or Judge, is formed. A sixteenth figure,
the Reconciler or superiudex, is also generated by adding the Judge and the
First Mother, although this has become seen as extraneous and a "backup
figure" in recent times.

Interpreting charts
[edit]

See also: Geomantic figures

The shield chart most likely provided an early visual guide to generating the
figures, and the interpreted answer would center on the fifteenth and
sixteenth figures, the Judge and Reconciler. Skilled geomancers observe the
whole chart, interpreting (among other things) meanings of the figures based
on where they place in the chart, the numerical significance of the total
points, and the similarities produced by added figures. Generally, the Judge
represents the answer to the question, the Right Witness describes the
querent's side of the query, the Left Witness represents the quesited's side,
and the Reconciler represents the effect of the outcome (or Judge) upon the
querent. The skilled geomancer can deduce root causes to the situation, hidden
influences, the outcome and its aftermath, and general trends and events in
the querent's life through interpreting the chart.

Another method of evaluating a geomantic chart involves taking the total sum
of all points from 16 figures within the shield chart. In order to evaluate
how quickly the queried situation would resolve, Pietro d'Abano suggested that
the total sum be compared to the sum of all points in the sixteen geomantic
figures, which is
96.14(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-
Greer,_John_Michael_1999_pp._195%E2%80%93214-14) If the sum of the chart is
96, then the resolution of the query will be "swift, and neither slow nor
doubtful;" in other words, that all things that could be acted upon in the
situation described by the query would resolve without delay nor ahead of
schedule. If the sum is less than 96, then it will resolve quickly, and in a
degree proportional to the difference between 96 and the total. Conversely, if
the sum is more than 96, then it will resolve slowly.
The house chart corresponding to the shield chart above; the Mothers,
Daughters, and Nieces are in order, counterclockwise, starting at the centre-
left position. The Witnesses, Judge, and Reconciler are not shown.

European geomancers provided an alternate method of interpreting the figures

through the house chart, which feature the twelve astrological houses. Here,
they assign the figures from the shield chart to the houses in the house
chart; the order used differs between different circles of occultists. While
European geomancers still used the shield chart to generate the figures and
provide most answers, they augmented geomancy with astrological techniques in
the house chart. Based upon the query, they could provide a deeper insight
into the querent's life, factors shaping the query itself, and the extent of
the situations involved. They took note when several houses shared the same
figure; as this figure passes from one house to the next, it generally
indicates that the same situation or event affects each of those
houses.15(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-
Cattan,_Christopher_1591-15)

Pietro d'Abano discusses the primary modes of perfection used in geomantic

interpretations with significators in his geomancy
essay.14(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-
Greer,_John_Michael_1999_pp._195%E2%80%93214-14) In astrological geomancy, the
significators are chosen based upon the identity of the querent and the
identity of the quesited. Generally, except when the querent asks about a
situation about a subject with no immediate connection to themselves, the
querent's significator is located in the first house (see Derivative house).

The quesited's significator is identified based upon the focus of the query:
this is based upon the relation of the query to the astrological houses. Some
questions require more than two significators, such as in a query involving
several primary factors (e.g., two parties quarrelling over an estate).
Queries that have a yes-or-no, or possible-impossible, answer can easily be
answered with these modes of perfection. If the chart perfects, the answer is
"yes". Otherwise, in the case of denial of perfection, "no".

The nature of the figures themselves should also be considered. If a chart

perfects with negative figures, for instance, the matter will resolve but the
querent may not like the result. On the other hand, if the chart does not
perfect but the figures are good, then the matter will not resolve even though
the querent can make do successfully without it.

Mode of Interaction of the Interpretation

perfection figures
Occupation The querent's A natural connection between querent
significator and and quesited. The matter will resolve
the quesited's by the querent's own nature without
significator are extra effort.
the same figure.
 Mode of Interaction of the Interpretation
perfection figures
Conjunction One of the The querent and quesited meet each
significators moves other. The significator that moves
to a house directly shows which party must work to attain
beside the house of the resolution: if the querent's
the other significator moves to the quesited's,
significator. then the querent will need to work for
the resolution. Otherwise, the
quesited will work things out without
need from the querent.
Mutation The two The resolution will come by some
significators unexpected or unusual manner. Try new
appear next to each avenues that wouldn't normally be
other elsewhere in expected.
the chart.
Translation The same figure The resolution will come through a
appears in houses third party. A mediator will help
directly beside the bridge the gap between the querent and
houses of the quesited.
significators.
Denial No connection The lack of perfection in a chart. The
exists between the querent and quesited cannot reach each
two significators. other. No resolution.

In addition to modes of perfection, geomancers often took note

of aspects between those figures that passed to other houses, and especially
ones that made aspects to the significators. Often, when a chart denied
perfection, geomancers would observe how the significators aspected each
other; the aspects here retain similar meanings from astrology.

Christopher Cattan advocates using the strength of the astrological houses in

determining the
resolution.15(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-
Cattan,_Christopher_1591-15) By observing the nature of the figures (good or
ill, depending on the query) and what type of house they fall in
(angular, succedent, or cadent), he judges the total effect of the figures on
the query. The figures that fall in cadent houses have little to no effect,
those that fall in succedent houses have a transient effect, and those that
fall in angular houses have the strongest and most lasting effect upon the
query.

Other examples of astrological technique used in geomancy include assigning

zodiacal rulerships to the geomantic figures, linking geomantic figures to
parts of the body based on zodiacal rulers, and assigning planetary spirits,
intelligences, and genii to the figures based on their ruling planets.
Geomancy and mathematics
[edit]

The four binary elements of each figure allow for 16 different combinations,
each called a tableau. As each chart is generated from the four Mothers, there
are a total number of 164, or 65,536, possible charts. Due to the mathematics
of the chart, only figures that have an even number of points total can become
Judges;13(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-
Marcia_Ascher_1997-13) each of the eight Judges then has 8,192 charts
associated with it. Traditional practitioners of geomancy use this knowledge
as a type of parity check on the chart to ensure that no mistakes have been
made while computing the figures.

In each chart, if all sixteen figures are observed (the four Mothers, the four
Daughters, the four Nieces, the Witnesses, Judge, and Reconciler), at least
two of the figures must be the same. As the Reconciler is usually termed an
optional figure, 16 combinations of Mother figures can yield a chart where the
Mothers, Daughters, Nieces, Witnesses, and Judge are all unique.

Populus cannot appear in these charts, since mathematically it either requires

two figures to be the same in order to be formed, or produces a duplicate
figure when added to another figure. In such charts, the Judge will always be
one of Conjunctio, Amissio, Carcer, or Acquisitio. The sixteen combinations of
Mothers, in order from the First to the Fourth Mother, are

Puer, Caput Draconis, Tristitia, Albus

Conjunctio, Puella, Fortuna Major, Tristitia
Puella, Puer, Tristitia, Albus
Puella, Cauda Draconis, Tristitia, Albus
Rubeus, Laetitia, Puella, Puer
Rubeus, Laetitia, Cauda Draconis, Puella
Rubeus, Laetitia, Cauda Draconis, Caput Draconis
Rubeus, Laetitia, Caput Draconis, Puer
Acquisitio, Puella, Albus, Fortuna Major
Laetitia, Fortuna Minor, Puer, Conjunctio
Laetitia, Fortuna Minor, Acquisitio, Cauda Draconis
Cauda Draconis, Caput Draconis, Tristitia, Albus
Caput Draconis, Amissio, Fortuna Major, Tristitia
Caput Draconis, Carcer, Albus, Fortuna Major
Fortuna Minor, Rubeus, Puer, Amissio
Fortuna Minor, Rubeus, Carcer, Cauda Draconis

Unicode
[edit]

Unicode 17 has accepted the 16 geomantic symbols in the Miscellaneous Symbols

Supplement block at code points
1CEE0..1CEEF.16(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_geomancy#cite_note-16)