Daphnomancy

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈdæfnəˌmænsi/

Definitions

1. The practice of divination using branches or leaves from the laurel tree to predict the future
2. A form of fortune-telling that involves interpreting the movements or arrangements of laurel foliage
3. An ancient method of seeking knowledge or guidance through the analysis of laurel plants and their characteristics

Etymology: Daphnomancy is divination by burning laurel leaves and reading meaning in the crackle, the pattern of the smoke, or the way the leaves fell. The name joins the Greek "dáphnē," meaning laurel, to "-manci," the suffix from Greek "manteía," prophecy, which appears in many English words for fortune-telling such as necromancy and geomancy. The laurel carried special weight for the Greeks, since the myth of Daphne, a nymph who turned into a laurel tree to escape Apollo, linked the plant to the god of prophecy and the oracle at Delphi. The word is a transparent compound, built by English writers from classical parts rather than inherited from an ancient vocabulary of fortune-telling. Its meaning stays close to its parts: the leaves are the instrument, and the reading of their burning is the prophecy.