In college my roommate had a dictionary that had the word “Tyromancer”, defined as “someone who fortells the future through cheese”. I’ve heard of using tea leaves, but cheese!?! Was this common at any point in time and, if so, who did it and what cheese worked best?
IIRC, this was a fairly standard dictionary (like a Webster’s) and not an OED or “dictionary of funny words that no one uses”. I can’t find this word through internet searches.
No type of cheese worked best. No type of cheese worked at all.
Other funky fortune telling methods as listed in the Skeptics Dictionary.
aeluromancy (dropping wheatcakes in water and interpreting the result)
aeromancy (divination by examining what the air does to certain things)
alectoromancy or alectryomancy (divination by a cock: grains of wheat are placed on letters and the cock “spells” the message by selecting grains)
alphitomancy (dropping barleycakes in water and interpreting the result)
astragalomancy or astragyromancy (using knucklebones marked with letters of the alphabet)
astrology
axinomancy (divination by the hatchet: interpreting the quiver when whacked into a table)
belomancy (divination by arrows)
capnomancy (divination by the smoke of an altar or sacrificial incense)
cartomancy
catoptromancy or crystallomancy (using mirrors or lenses)
cephalomancy (divination by a donkey’s head)
chiromancy (palmistry)
cleidomancy (divination by interpreting the movements of a key suspended by a thread from the nail of the third finger on a young virgin’s hand while one of the Psalms was recited)
coscinomancy (divination by a balanced sieve)
cromniomancy (divination by onions)
dactylomancy (divination by means of rings put on the fingernails or the number of whorls and loops on the fingers)
daphnomancy (divination using the laurel branch: how did it crackle when burned?)
dowsing
geomancy
haruspicy (inspecting the entrails of slaughtered animals)
hydromancy (divination by examining what certain things do in water or when taken out of water, such as coffee grounds or tea leaves); hydatoscopy (if rainwater is used); pegomancy (if spring-water is used)
lampadomancy (interpreting the movements of the flame of a lamp)
libanomancy (interpreting the smoke of incense)
lithomancy (divination using precious stones)
lecanomancy (dropping precious stones into water and listening for whistles)
margaritomancy (divination by the pearl: if it jumps in the pot when a person is named, then he is the thief!)
metoposcopy (interpreting frontal wrinkles)
molybdomancy (divination by melted lead: interpreting its noises and hisses when dropped into water)
necromancy (communicating with spirits of the dead to predict the future)
oinomancy (divination by wine)
onychomancy (interpreting the reflection of sun rays off nails)
ornithomancy or orniscopy (interpreting the flights of birds)
ovomancy (using eggs)
papyromancy (divination by folding paper)
pyromancy or pyroscopy (divination by fire)
rhabdomancy (using the divining rod or magic wand)
rhapsodmancy (divination by a line in a sacred book that strikes the eye when the book is opened after the diviner prays, meditates or invokes the help of spirits)
scapulamancy
scrying
sideromancy (interpreting straws thrown on a red-hot iron)
stichomancy
tasseography (reading tea leaves)
urim v’tumim (reading sacred stones attached to
the breastplate of the high priest in ancient Judaism)
Wow- more than I ever needed to know. Thanks!
(And tyromancing can sometimes work- I know that if I eat too much aerosol cheese, I’ll be sick)
More details on tiromancy from Divination Dictionary