Posted by Nibbler | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 06-01-2009
I was reading through all my blog subscriptions (and there are lots of of them) when I stopped on The Old Foodie and saw this post: http://theoldfoodie.blogspot.com/2009/01/tyromancy.html
How cool is Tyromancy! I then googled it and found this definition at www.occultopedia.com
Tyromancy
Alternatively Tiromancy and Typomancy.
Derived from the Greek t?ros (‘cheese’) and manteia (‘divination’), it is the art and practice of divining the past, the present and the future by interpreting omens found in cheese.
In the Middle Ages, the shape, number of holes, the pattern of the mold, and other characteristics were used to prognosticate love, money, or even death.
Young maidens in countryside villages would divine the names of their future husbands by writing the names of all prospective suitors on separate pieces of cheese. The one whose name was on the piece of cheese that grew mold first was believed to be the ideal love mate. This also worked just as well for the opposite sex.
Another method of Tyromancy was to write the possible answers to a question on separate pieces of cheese and them place them inside a cage along with a hungry rodent. Whichever piece the mouse ate first would provide the desired indication. This manner of divination was also a form of Myomancy.
On yet another method, omens were drawn from the patterns and designs formed by the coagulation of cheese.