Art of Divination
A Visual History of Oracles, Prophecy, and the Search for Secret Knowledge
$49.56
- Hardcover
256 pages
- Release Date
5 December 2026
Summary
A global history of divination practices and tools, from tea leaves and tarot cards to pyromancy and palmistry
Throughout history, humans have aspired to explain the unexplainable, to understand phenomena beyond our control, and to peer into the future. In this captivating book, Owen Davies explores the global history of divination practices that seek to answer questions that range from the philosophical and metaphysical to the romantic and personal. Davies frames div…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780300282511 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0300282516 |
| Author: | Owen Davies |
| Publisher: | Yale University Press |
| Imprint: | Yale University Press |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 256 |
| Release Date: | 5 December 2026 |
| Weight: | 550g |
| Dimensions: | 24mm x 178mm x 229mm |
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Critics Review
“Owen Davies reveals the pervasive human longing to know the future. His incisive illustrations bring the reader closer than ever before to divination’s rich material culture, both past and present.”—Francis Young, author of Silence of the Gods: The Untold History of Europe’s Last Pagan Peoples
“Art of Divination is an absolute delight for the serious scholar and casual reader alike. Davies deftly blends art history, folklore, and ethnography to reveal tools of divination from around the world.”—Benjamin Radford, Skeptical Inquirer magazine
“Davies shows engagingly how people throughout the world have sought to see beyond their present experience. His scope is global, his attention to particulars is encyclopedic, and he illustrates the striking visual forms used to discern and depict what divination reveals.”—Richard Kieckhefer, author of Magic in the Middle Ages
Owen Davies
Owen Davies is professor in history at the University of Hertfordshire and an expert in the history of magic, witchcraft, ghosts, and popular medicine from the ancient world to the modern era. His many books include Art of the Grimoire: An Illustrated History of Magic Books and Spells.
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