Cleromancy with dice
Cleromancy with dice (also called astragalomancy in its ancient Greek form) is the divinatory art of foretelling the future by casting dice. The most common technique uses three six-sided dice and is interpreted by the total sum. It is one of the oldest forms of divination documented in cultures as diverse as Greek, Roman, Viking and Mongolian.
Origin and etymology
The dice in dice-divination have millennial and multicultural origins. The Romans called them tesserae and cast them before battles and important decisions. The Greeks used astragaloi (sheep heel bones, the first dice of humanity, with six stable sides). The Chinese had systems with six dice; the Vikings with three; the Norse covered their dice with runes to combine two oracular systems.
The most widespread Western technique is the cast of three six-sided dice on a circle drawn on the floor (or on a dedicated cloth). Dice that fall inside the circle count; those outside do not. The sum of the three gives a number from 3 to 18 with a precise meaning inherited from tradition. The app simulates that cast.
Meanings of each sum
3: happy surprise, gift of destiny. 4: small sorrow, do not insist on that. 5: a project succeeds, there is news. 6: some losses, prudence. 7: gossip, comments, slander.
8: criticism from others, take care. 9: marriage or union, luck in love. 10: birth or rebirth, successful career. 11: temporary separation, travel. 12: important news in writing. 13: tears and affliction, difficult moment. 14: new friend, unexpected help. 15: beware of problems and intrigue. 16: happy journey, good time. 17: change of plans from abroad. 18: the best luck possible, success in everything.
When to use it
Cleromancy with dice works best for concrete, short-term questions: what energy surrounds this week, is travel near, will the interview go well? It is less useful for deep introspection — for that, the tarot. It is very direct, almost like a personal horoscope of the moment. Dominomancy (with domino tiles) and cleromancy (object casting in general) are sister techniques.
Also known as
- Astragalomancy (Greek)
- Dice cleromancy
- Dice divination