apantomancy
nounEtymology From Ancient Greek ἀπαντάω (apantáō, “to encounter”) and μαντεία (manteía, “prophecy”).
1
Divination by chance meetings with any objects that present themselves, most commonly animals; for example, the superstition associated with a black cat crossing one's path.
- Apantomancy: Divination by means of any objects which happen to present themselves. To this class belong the omens drawn from chance meetings with a hare, an eagle, etc.1920, Lewis Spence, An Encyclopædia of Occultism:
- Even objects that lie about haphazardly were fit for mantic purposes. The prcatice was called apantomancy.1961, H.E. Wedeck, Treasury of Witchcraft: