Lesson plan
Botanomancy
Botanomancy is a form of divination in which plants or parts of plants are used to obtain omens or answers to questions. Historical descriptions include writing questions on leaves or branches, exposing inscribed leaves to the wind, observing whether a living plant flourishes or wilts, and burning plant material. Modern dictionaries sometimes use the term more narrowly for divination by burning branches or leaves. This form overlaps with pyromancy, because the fire or the behaviour of the burning plant material supplies the omen. Older sources, however, applied botanomancy to a wider range of divinatory practices involving plants.
Article summary
Botanomancy is a form of divination in which plants or parts of plants are used to obtain omens or answers to questions. Historical descriptions include writing questions on leaves or branches, exposing inscribed leaves to the wind, observing whether a living plant flourishes or wilts, and burning plant material. Modern dictionaries sometimes use the term more narrowly for divination by burning branches or leaves. This form overlaps with pyromancy, because the fire or the behaviour of the burning plant material supplies the omen. Older sources, however, applied botanomancy to a wider range of divinatory practices involving plants.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.