hydromancy

Hydromancy is a form of divination that uses water as its medium to forecast the future or reveal hidden knowledge. Practitioners interpret phenomena observed on or within water, such as ripples, reflections, movement, or the arrangement of droplets, bubbles, or foam, to derive omens, answers, or guidance. Techniques commonly involve a bowl, basin, or pool of clear water; a reflective surface can be read like a mirror, with shapes or images seen on the surface serving as symbols.

Some variants involve tracing patterns in the water, observing the way ripples respond to disturbances, or interpreting the behavior of floating or submerged objects.

Historically, hydromancy appears in various cultural traditions. In classical antiquity and the medieval and early modern Western world, water-divination was described as one among several methods of fortune-telling; similar water-based omens have appeared in folk customs and in religious texts. Some non-Western traditions also feature water-based omen practices, though they may not be labeled hydromancy in their own linguistic terms. The common thread is the belief that water can reflect hidden patterns or futures beyond ordinary perception.

In modern times hydromancy is primarily discussed within the study of divination and occult practices. It is generally regarded as a pseudoscientific or magical practice rather than a system with empirical evidence. It is related to other forms of scrying and to cup-reading, also called tasseography.

See also: divination, scrying, tasseography, water omen.