Word of the Day: Hydromancy

hydromancy\HYE-druh-man-see\<?xml:namespace prefix = o />

If you've ever encountered a sorceress or a wizard peering into a "scrying bowl" as part of a movie or a book, you've witnessed a (fictionalized) version of "hydromancy." The word has been used since at least the 14th century to describe the use of water in divination — examples include predicting the future by the motion of the tides or contacting spirits using still water. "Hydromancy" is believed to derive ultimately from the Greek words for "water" ("hydōr") and "divination" ("manteia"); it came to English via Latin "hydromantia." The ancient Greeks who relied on hydromancy also gave us the names for related forms of divination, such as "necromancy" (using the dead), "pyromancy" (with fire), and even "rhabdomancy," a fancy and now rare word for "divination with wands or rods."

Example:  By looking into the waters of California's Delta

Governor Brown and other Water Buffaloes occasionally indulge in hydromancy and claim they can divine a huge

bonanza for Western San Joaquin Valley Agribusiness

and Southern California developers if a Peripheral Canal/Tunnel is built to transport Northern California water south.  Unfortunately, the self-proclaimed water wizards have no ability of divination when it comes to predicting the collapse of the Delta and seem unable to divine the Delta's dying fisheries or the harm this water grab will cause.

Apologies to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary.  This just seemed

like a good item to post.