bāru

The bāru (the official prognosticator), who observed and interpreted the celestial omina, was thus in a position to advise his royal employer on the means of avoiding misfortunes; the omens provided a basis for intelligent action rather than an indication of an inexorable fate.

The baru (a divinatory or astrological priest) declared the divine will through signs and omens, and thus is considered by some to have been a prophet. Though he might possibly have had visions, he was not in actuality an ecstatic. The art of divination became very…