Geomancy

In its' narrowest definition and its' most literal sense, the term geomancy means "divination of the earth." Strictly speaking, the term geomancy refers to an ancient form of divination in which, simply put, handfuls of soil or other materials were scattered on the ground, or markings made in the earth or sand, to generate a range of dot configurations which could then be "read" by a seer.

Geomancy is a system of divination that employs the scattering of pebbles, grains of sand, or seeds on the earth and then the interpretation of their shape and position. The occultist Agrippa later developed a method of making marks on the earth with a stick, (currently the method is also used by making marks on paper with a pencil or pen) and then interpreting them. The interpretation is partly intuitive and partly by means of a system of positions reminiscent of I Chang hexagrams.

In the 19th century, however, geomancy came to be applied to the Chinese practice of feng shui by which the location and orientation of houses and tombs was determined with close regard to the topography of the local landscape. The feng shui master or geomant employed a circular magnetic compass, called a luopan, which was marked off in rings containing data relating to astrology, directions, the elements, landscape forms, times of day, and so on. The aim was to locate a site where the energies or ch'i of the land and sky were brought into perfect balance. The harmony of these energies ensured good fortune.