rhapsodomancy en · NOUN
Etymology
From French rhapsodomancie, from Ancient Greek ῥαψῳδός (rhapsōidós) + -mancy.
Meanings
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(uncountable) Divination by reading a random passage from a poem.
Rhapsodomantia sive divinatio ex rhapsodia aliqva poëtæ.
1723, Fabricii, Bibliographia Antiquaria xii:Using chance to arrive at a particular passage in the I Ching is a form of rhapsodomancy: the seeking of guidance through the chance selection of a passage in a literary work. Another early form of rhapsodomancy is represented by the sibylline books. [...]
1998, Deborah J. Bennett, Randomness, Harvard University Press, page 42:1953, Gaynor (ed.), Dict. Mysticism Rhapsodomancy: A form of divination, based on a line in a sacred book or book of poetry which strikes the eye when the book is opened, or which is the last line to be pierced by a needle stuck through the closed book.