Rolling of Dice

Probably the most popular and relied upon form of divination in use in Tibet these days is the casting of dice. Llamas from all the traditions of tibetan buddhism engage in this practice. Since teachers are always striving to help others, they cast the dice for the faithful in order to advise them on how to deal with the problems which they face. It is, in fact, another way to open the 'Book of Fate'.

Astragalomancy and Cleromancy are two very closely linked methods of divination. The first used to rely on using knuckle bones of sheep whilst the second, the drawing of lots. Foretelling the future using dice (or their precursors) has not changed much since the days of ancient Egypt. The 'throw of the dice' is an old and deep metaphor for the way individual desire and the forces of destiny intersect. A number of African divination methods use sets of marked bone or wooden dice. Romans divined with 'Astragals', the knuckle bones of sheep. Greek dice divination, associated with the gods Hermes and Athena, was in the end, more popular than the great oracle centres. Nowadays both methods have become almost intertwined in the usage of dice.

The dice are also a hidden mirror of the cosmos. Their random fall shows the interaction between the order of the universe and the individual event. European fortunetellers used a simplified and formulaic dice divination system descended from the late antique astrological practice called 'The Part of Fortune'. Dice representing the planets would be thrown onto an astrological diagram of the 'Houses'. The result was read as the part that luck would play in the different areas of a person's life.

The standard way of divining with dice these days is to draw a 12" circle on a piece of cloth and then divide it with lines into 12 equal segments, the lines pointing as though to the numbers on a clock. Each segment in between is numbered, starting with 12 to the right of the 12 O'clock position and working clockwise down to 1 in the 11 O'clock position. (Some cutures draw in sand or on bare ground with a stick.)

The two dice roll (Cleromancy) - For asking a question.

The dice should then be shaken in a cup by the querant. Some say it should be done with the left hand, many Gypsies insist on the right. Two dice should then be poured or tossed into the circle. If one rolls out, it should then be ignored, if both roll out, the dice should be re-thrown. If they roll out of the circle again, the session should be stopped as this is regarded as a bad omen for those involved.

The three dice roll (Astragalomancy) - For a more general reading.

This system was used by the ancient Tibetans. The same rule applies concerning dice rolling out of the circle, but if one dice lands on top of another and stays there, it means that the querant will either receive a gift, something of value, or be forewarned about a situation - This to be interpreted by the Reader.