somatomancy

occult practice

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Last updated

July 14, 2026

Quick Summary

Somatomancy is a form of divination that interprets signs from a person's physique. This practice is considered interpretive, meaning it relies on reading external signs to gain insight. Examples of somatomancy include phrenology, which analyzes head features, and mole reading, where the body is seen as a map of astrological signs.1

Anthropomancy, a related practice, involves divination from human entrails and is a horrifying form of divination that was practiced by ancient peoples.2

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divination
Interpretive divination
Somatomancy, or body divination, is clearly interpretive in most forms, whether in China or the West, though the system of signs employed comprises private attributes of the client’s physique. Examples are phrenology, which employs features of the head that are normally unnoticed, and the reading…
Read More
Somatomancy, or body divination, is clearly interpretive in most forms, whether in China or the West, though the system of signs employed comprises private attributes of the client’s physique. Examples are phrenology, which employs features of the head that are normally unnoticed, and the reading…
Read More