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THE BOOK OF HOD Errata Due to a printer error the sidebar text on page 92 and 93 are unreadable on some copies - here is the text: Divinatory Specializations Ever since the first Shaman looked to the future to determine the best location for her tribe's hunt, Divination has played an important part of early human civilizations. Every culture possesses a Divination tradition, and in the world of WitchCraft and Armageddon, the Magician can choose from a wide variety of Divinatory Specializations. Astrology: Astrology is the study of celestial influences affecting individuals. In the West, Astrology is based on an individual's birth month, while Eastern Astrology is year-based. Either method provides a Zodiac sign on which to base Divinations, but without specific birth information (date and time), these Divinations remain generalized. Even a Very Good (four Success Levels) result on the Perception and Divination Task only reveals vague information if the Caster only knows her subject is a Taurus or a Dragon. Cartomancy: Cards were first invented as Divination tools-the first playing cards were developed from the Tarot Deck. A full Tarot Deck contains the Minor Arcana (the four suits of sword, wand, cup, and stars) and the Major Arcana (the non-suit cards like The Fool or the Tower). The Tarot deck is a very personal item that is attuned to one particular Magician. They only work well for the Magician who owns the deck and the person for whom she is casting the Invocation must handle them. If someone else casts the Invocation with a Magician's Deck, all the Magician's future attempts at Divination with that deck suffer a -4 penalty. The Magician must perform a cleansing ritual to restore the deck to its former ability. As the cleansing ritual requires expending Essence Points equal to one-third the mishandler's Essence Pool, most Magicians just get a new deck. Crystal-Gazing: Crystal Balls have become a cultural stereotype of witches, but they are still powerful Divination tools. A Magician must prepare a Crystal Ball with successful Craft (Glassblowing) Tasks-a Craft (Glassblowing) and Intelligence Task for the idea, a Craft (Glassblowing) and Dexterity Task to actually create the item. If the Magician uses a Crystal Ball she created herself, she receives a permanent bonus to her Divination Task based on the Task's Success Level. If the Magician prepares the Crystal Ball for someone else, the bonus does not apply. Like Tarot Cards, the Crystal Ball must be attuned to a particular Magician and no one else may handle it after a specific Magician has used it for Divination. In an emergency situation, a Magician with Divination (Crystal-Gazing) may attempt to cast the Invocation on any reflective surface, like a mirror or even a bucket of water. Doing so results in a -2 modifier to the Invocation and Perception Task. Haruspication: Haruspication, the art of foretelling by studying ritually slain animals' entrails, is one of the oldest Divination Specializations. Although commonly used in ancient times, modern diviners rarely use it-the exceptions being the Nomads, Legbans, and some Wicce and Shamanistic Covenants. Practicing Haruspication can result in gaining unwanted attention from the local authorities, so other methods are preferred. For instance, most Ghost Dancers practice Oneiromancy instead. I Ching: The Book of Changes, or I Ching, originated in ancient China. A dragon is said to have revealed the original I Ching to the first Emperor on the banks of the Yellow River 5,000 years ago. Around 1150 BCE, while imprisoned by the last Shang Emperor, Chous Hsin, Wen Wang wrote the I Ching known in modern times, developing the 64 hexagrams and the basic text. To use the I Ching, the Magician casts six flat sticks. Each stick has a broken line on one side and an unbroken line on the other (anything that gives two results may be used for this purpose; Magicians have been known to flip coins for this part). The six sticks' resulting pattern forms one of the 64 hexagrams, and the Magician meditates upon the accompanying text for that hexagram. Asian Covenants like the Society of the Harmonious Pattern use this technique, but it is becoming increasingly popular in the West. In fact, quite a few Wicce choose the Book of Changes as their Divination Specialization. Oneiromancy: Oneiromancy is the use of dreams to gain visionary insights. In order to specialize in Oneiromancy, the Magician must first have the Lucid Dreaming Skill. A successful Perception and Lucid Dreaming Task allows the dreamer to access the Realm of Akasha from her own Panorama. This is done with the usual Perception and Divination Task. If successful, the Magician experiences a dream that represents the answer to her inquiry. Like other forms of divination, the dream is mostly symbolic and ambiguous unless a Very Good (four Success Levels) Result is achieved. Shamanistic Covenants tend to use Oneiromancy. Rune-Casting: Rune-Casting is the Divination Specialization that developed in Northern Europe. Stones inscribed with each of the 25 Futhark Runes are the most common type, but other cultures use similar techniques. The stones are drawn from a bag and cast upon a surface. The resulting pattern determines the answer to the Magician's inquiry. For simple questions, the Magician may just draw one stone from the bag. Tables of Ifa: Caribbean Covenants like the Brotherhood of Legba use Ifa Tables. Ifa uses sixteen cowry shells that can be combined in 256 ways. The resulting pattern gives a result called the Obu, which connects to a specific mythological text. Reading the indicated text brings insight to a specific inquiry. In this regard, Ifa Tables are somewhat similar to the I Ching.
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