astromancy

English

Etymology

From astro- +‎ -mancy. From Latin astromantīa, from Ancient Greek ἀστρομαντεία (astromanteía), from ἄστρον (ástron, “star”) + μαντεία (manteía, “divination”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæstɹɵmænsi/

Noun

astromancy (uncountable)

1. Divination by the stars; astrology in its modern prophetic aspect.
   • 2000, Edward Harrison, Cosmology: The Science of the Universe, page 25:

     In the ancient world and in the Middle Ages astrology was the science of planets and stars, astrolatry was the worship of stars, and astromancy was the practice of soothsaying and divination by means of celestial configurations. We use the word biology for the science of living things and properly speaking we should use the word astrology for the science of stars. But astrology became corrupted and took the place of astrolatry and astromancy. Astrology now is the mythological belief that the affairs of human beings are influenced by the heavenly bodies. Millions of people in America read the astrology (or rather the astromancy) columns in the daily newspapers; they find astromancy interesting and entertaining, for it is anthropocentric and connects human beings and the universe in ways that are meaningful to most people.

Synonyms

• astrology, starcraft, astrosophy

Related terms

• astromancer
• astromantic

Translations

divination by the stars

• Greek: αστρομαντεία (el) f (astromanteía)
• Polish: astromancja (pl) f