Cleromancy,
Is a kind of divination performed by the throwing of dice or little bones; and observing the points or marks turned up.
At Bura, a city of Achaia, was a temple, and a celebrated Temple of Hercules; where such as consulted the oracle, after praying to the idol, threw four dice, the points of which being well scanned by the priests, he was supposed to draw an answer from them.
Cledonism.
This word is derived from the Greek κληδων, which signifies two things; viz. rumour, a report, and avis, a bird; in the first sense, Cledonism should denote a kind of divination drawn from words occasionally uttered. Cicero observes, that the Pythagoreans made observations not only of the words of the gods, but of those of men; and accordingly believed the pronouncing of certain words, e. g. incendium, at a meal, very unlucky. Thus, instead of prison, they used the words domicilium; and to avoid erinnyes, said Eumenides. In the second sense, Cledonism should seem a divination drawn from birds; the same with ornithomantia.
Coscinomancy.
As the word implies, is the art of divination by means of a sieve.
The sieve being suspended, after repeating a certain form of words, it is taken between two fingers only; and the names of the parties suspected, repeated: he at whose name the sieve turns, trembles or shakes, is reputed guilty of the evil in question. This doubtless must be a very ancient practice. Theocritus, in his third Idyllion, mentions a woman who was very skilful in it. It was sometimes also practised by suspending the sieve by a thread, or fixing it to the points of a pair of scissars, giving it room to turn, and naming as before the parties suspected: in this manner Coscinomancy is still practised in some parts of England. From Theocritus it appears, that it was not only used to find out persons unknown, but also to discover the secrets of those who were.
Capnomancy,
Is a kind of divination by means of smoke, used by the ancients in their sacrifices. The general rule was—when the smoke was thin and light, and ascended straight up, it was a good omen; if on the contrary, it was an ill one.