brizomancy
nounEtymology From Ancient Greek Βριζώ (Brizṓ, “the goddess of dreams worshipped at Delos”), from βρίζω (brízō, “sleep”) + -mancy. Compare Ancient Greek Βριζόμαντις (Brizómantis, “diviner of dreams, an appellation the goddess Brizo of Delos”).
1
A form of Ancient Greek divination by the interpretation of dreams with the aid of the goddess Brizo; hence, divination by dreams.
- Scaramouch took himself off and applied to all sorts of Divination for the purpose of discovering where the lost bottle was lying. He tried [...] Brizomancy, or by the nodding sleep[.]1901, Maria Ward Brown, The Life of Dan Rice, page 352:
- The very fact that each specific method, or variant, had a name, testifies to the prevalence and widespread recognition of divinatory practices. The prophetic inspiration of Brizo, a goddess of sleep, gave rise to brizomancy.1961, H.E. Wedeck, Treasury of Witchcraft, page 220:
1 more example
- A common name for succubus was Brizo, after the Greek Goddess of sleep whose title came from brizein, to enchant, and referred to a special kind of incubation known as brizomancy. Like the Babylonian dream-Goddess, Nanshe, Brizo brought prophetic dreams which were later called wet dreams.2013, Edward L. Nydle, The Legend of Lilith: The Origins of Evil and the Fall of Man, page 94: