armomancy

English

Etymology

From Latin armus (“shoulder blade”) +‎ -mancy.

Noun

armomancy (uncountable)

Divination using the shoulder blade of an animal. It was taken from a dead animal and thrown into a fire, and the cracks formed in the bone were then interpreted.
Divination through inspecting one's shoulders. In ancient times, this inspection was to see whether a human was a suitable sacrifice to the gods.

Synonyms

omoplatoscopy
scapulimancy
scapulomancy
spatulamancy
(in Scotland): spealomancy

References

"Armomancy, divining by the shoulders of beasts." -- Coles An Eng. Dict, 1676
"ARMOMANCY: A long-forgotten mode of divining suitable candidates for sacrificial rites by inspecting them physically. Any modern survival of such practices is probably computerized rather than divinatory." -- Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy, 1973

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