Molybdomancy

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Molybdomancy (not to be confused with molybdenum) is the umbrella term for various divination practices involving molten metal (usually tin or lead, because they are common and have a low melting point). Practitioners usually pour the liquified metal into water, allowing it to solidify in a random shape that is then interpreted. (A similar type of divination is ceromancy, as well as pagtatawas, a Filipino folk tradition carried out by faith healers using either alum or wax candles.) The term "molybdomancy" itself comes from the Ancient Greek word for "lead": molybdos.

The practice allegedly originated in Ancient Greece and is still used, or at least known, in the Balkans (usually under some variation of the name "pouring lead"). It has been also adopted as a quaint New Year folk-tradition in Germany (Bleigießen, "lead-pouring") and in some Scandinavian countries (Norwegian: støyping, "casting"; Finnish: uudenvuoden tina, "New Year's Tin").

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  Specialized Bleigiessen set: melting spoon and pieces to be melted.

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  A candle is enough, which probably implies the use of some alloy with a low melting-point.

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  Metal shape after solidifying in water.

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  Bleigießen in 1957

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  As practiced in the Bohemian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (c. 1910)

References

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