Earth Divination: Earth Magic: Practical Guide to Geomancy

by John Michael Greer

Geomancy, along with astrology and tarot, is one of the three major divination systems of the Western magical tradition. Medieval and renaissance traditions of geomancy use simple but powerful methods of interpretation that are easy to use, and based on the flow of elemental energies through the earth. This book teaches those methods, drawing from writings that have been completely out of print since the Renaissance.

Genres: Divination, Witchcraft, Paganism, Nonfiction, Occult, Spirituality, Magick

240 pages, Paperback

First published July 8, 1999

About the author

John Michael Greer is an author of over thirty books and the blogger behind The Archdruid Report. He served as Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America. His work addresses a range of subjects, including climate change, peak oil, the future of industrial society, and the occult. He also writes science fiction and fantasy. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife.

Reviews

[Weslyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved exploring this new-to-me form of divination. Various forms of divination are incredibly interesting to me and this one was no different. The first part of this book described how to use Geomancy in an easy to understand way with examples to explain them further. The second part had more ritualistic practices that are not fully what I was expecting. I don’t deal with Gods or Archangels, so there are many parts of the rituals that I would have to alter if I wanted to follow them.

Overall, this book was a great read and I will be referencing it in the future. Bonus points to the author for including a translation of a medieval handbook of Geomancy and a bibliography.

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s really great to get a good understanding of geomantic divination. The second part of the book though, is about magic, and while it was interesting I feel like it really went about the usage of geomantic figures in magic in a weird way. It almost exclusively talked about ceremonial magic and golden dawn techniques for the magic sections. While it could be useful for people interested, it’s not much for other varieties of magic. When listing planetary spirits, I also found that the sigils presented are different than the common ones found online, while it isn’t that much of a problem, it’s good to know to do more research on those if you are going to work with them. Also, when it gives a different way to draw the geomantic figures for use as sigils, it gives sets of symbols for one figure and no explanations. I think if you want to use different figures it’s kind of weird, but if you do they can definitely be more simple than what was provided. I do recommend this book for anyone trying to learn more about geomancy though. It was a great introduction and went over everything pretty well.

[Thalla Rothach · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough description.

[Patricia Woodruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting book on an ancient form of divination. The author lays his explanation out very logically. It strikes me as a very male form of divination appealing to those interested in High Magic, strict rules, and the symbols of alchemy. It does include some very good visualization exercises.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference book.