Buzz
Ever wondered what lies ahead for you? It seems your kitchen could provide the answers. Long before the rise of astrology apps and online psychic readings, people turned to the most basic resource at their disposal: food. While most are familiar with tea leaf and coffee ground reading, many other everyday foods have been used for predicting the future.
Kitchen divination, a practice once overshadowed by tarot cards, horoscopes, and crystal balls, is seeing a revival today, fueled by a growing interest in pagan traditions. Numerous online platforms now offer lessons on the art of food divination for anyone eager to explore this ancient practice.
10. Flour
Known as aleuromancy, divination with flour dates back to the second millennium BC, as evidenced by cuneiform texts. This form of soothsaying involved reading the shapes of small flour piles to predict the future. In ancient Greece, it was a collective practice overseen by Apollo, who was often referred to as Aleuromantis, the flour god.
In ancient Greece, people would inscribe symbols or messages on pieces of cloth or papyrus, which were then placed inside dough and baked into cakes. These cakes were mixed up nine times before being distributed, and the recipients would seek out a priest or diviner to interpret the symbol or message embedded in the bread to uncover their future. The modern fortune cookie, a 20th-century invention by Chinese immigrants in the U.S., is a modern adaptation of this divination practice.
There are alternative versions of this method, such as tossing flour onto the ground and interpreting the shapes it forms, or combining flour with water in a bowl, pouring it out, and reading the patterns left by the flour in the bowl.
9. Salt
Superstitions like spilling salt being unlucky or tossing it over one's shoulder for good fortune are remnants of alomancy, an ancient art of salt-based divination. Salt, known for its preservative qualities, was considered to have magical powers and was commonly used in rituals for purification, protection, and blessings. In ancient times, magicians would sprinkle a pinch of salt in each room corner before casting spells or performing rituals.
In ancient Egypt, salt was thrown into the air, and the patterns it created as it fell to the ground were interpreted for meaning. The Greeks and Romans also mixed salt into the cakes they offered to the gods. Additionally, the residue left by a salt solution in a bowl was read for hidden messages, and salt tossed into the fire was believed to reveal occult knowledge.
A modern technique used by some contemporary witches involves pouring salt into a square or rectangular pan, filling it to a depth of about three inches. A pencil is then loosely held over the center while a question is posed. The pencil is believed to move on its own, drawing figures on the salt bed. Common interpretations include 'Y' for yes, 'N' for no, and 'P' for perhaps. A long line signifies a journey, a short one for a visitor. A large circle indicates misfortune, a triangle represents success, and a square signals obstacles. A heart stands for love, while a broken heart suggests separation.
8. Barley Bread
Alphitomancy, an ancient form of lie detection, involved the use of barley bread for divination. In this practice, suspects in a crime were given a loaf of barley bread to reveal their guilt. If the person was guilty, they would reportedly suffer from indigestion. The oath 'If I am deceiving you, may this piece of bread choke me' originated from this ritual.
The barley bread test was not limited to criminals but was also used to expose unfaithful lovers or husbands. Pure barley flour was mixed with milk and a pinch of salt, then left unleavened. The dough was rolled in grease, baked, and rubbed with verbena leaves. The accused would then eat the bread, and if they couldn't digest it, their guilt was confirmed.
Legend has it that in the sacred forest of Lavinium near ancient Rome, young girls were blindfolded and given barley cakes to test their purity. The priests, according to the story, kept a serpent or dragon in a cave in the woods. The creature would eat the cakes of the pure virgins, rejecting those from the less chaste girls.
7. Cheese
The act of transforming liquid milk into solid cheese has long been regarded as a magical process. Hildegard von Bingen, the 12th-century mystic, referred to it as 'the miracle of life.' Since ancient times, milk has been linked to love, spirituality, nourishment, and care, which naturally extended to cheese. As such, cheese has been associated with the Moon, grounding, health, joy, and growth. The ancient Sumerians made cheese offerings to the goddess Inanna, and for centuries, cheese played a role in spellcasting rituals.
Tyromancy, or divination with cheese, was first documented by the 2nd-century Greek historian and diviner Artemidorus of Ephesus, who criticized cheese diviners for being fraudulent, arguing that they tarnished the reputation of genuine diviners like himself. Despite this, cheese was a convenient and widely available tool for fortune-telling, especially among rural common folk. It gained significant popularity during the Middle Ages and early modern period.
Medieval fortune-tellers would examine cheese for its shape, number of holes, mold patterns, and other distinctive traits to interpret omens. For instance, an odd number of holes was seen as a sign of bad luck. Young girls often carved the names of their crushes or suitors onto pieces of cheese, and the first one to develop mold would reveal the name of their true match.
Cheese divination began to decline in the 1920s with the rise of tarot cards, but recent interest in the occult has brought it back into the spotlight, partially fueled by the video game series The Witcher and Baldur's Gate.
6. Fruits
Across various cultures, different fruits have been seen as symbols with deep meanings. For example, an apple is often linked with health, wisdom, and knowledge, while a lemon signifies cleansing and purification. Practitioners of fructomancy, the art of fruit divination, examine a fruit’s size, shape, color, texture, blemishes, and imperfections to unlock its secrets. The way a fruit feels and smells can also provide valuable insights. One common technique involves peeling an apple or orange in a single long ribbon, tossing it, and interpreting the shape it forms as it lands. Alternatively, the fruit can be cut open, and the seeds examined for further messages.
In Britain, a popular Halloween game involves writing the names of guests on apples, then tossing the apples into a tub of water. Participants dip their heads into the water to catch a floating apple with their mouths. The name written on the apple is said to be that of their future spouse.
In 2018, a fruit oracle event took place on British talk show This Morning, when host Holly Willoughby cut open a 'psychic banana' to predict the gender of Prince William and Princess Kate’s third child. Cutting the tip of the banana revealed a Y-shape in the center of the fruit’s cross-section, a sign that the baby would be a boy. A dot would have indicated the opposite.
Prince Louis of Cambridge was born shortly afterward.
5. Onions
Onions, with their sharp odor that can either repel or attract depending on one's perspective, have long been connected with mystical practices. In ancient Egypt, they were thought to ward off evil spirits. Even today, people poke pins into onions and place them on windowsills to keep away malevolent forces. It is also said that placing an onion under your pillow while you sleep will reveal your future spouse in your dreams.
Cromniomancy, or divination through onions, was particularly popular in medieval Europe. The color, scent, direction, and shape of onion sprouts were considered important omens of the future. People would write their wishes or questions on pieces of paper, hide them inside onions, and bury the onions. The first onion to sprout was believed to hold the answer to the question. Some even believed that burning onion skins in the fire would make a wish come true. Similarly, unmarried girls would carve the names of suitors on onions and place them by the fire on December 1. The name on the first sprouting onion would be the name of their true love.
In the Italian town of Urbania, onions are still used to forecast the weather, a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, long before modern weather reports. Every January 25, a local diviner slices a yellow onion into 12 pieces, one for each month of the year. After laying them out and sprinkling salt over them, she leaves them facing east overnight. The next morning, she observes how the salt interacted with the onion and uses the results to predict the upcoming weather.
4. Corn
To the ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica, corn, or maize, was central to both life and spirituality. It was not only their primary food source but also a divine connection. The Popol Vuh, the Mayan creation myth, tells the story of how the gods fashioned humanity from yellow and white corn. In Mexico, maize was a gift from the god Quetzalcoatl. Given its importance, it was only natural for the people to use corn as a tool for divination, a means of understanding the future.
In ancient Mexico, numerous methods of corn divination were practiced, and some are still used by indigenous people today. As with many divinatory practices, these techniques often involve casting corn kernels and interpreting the patterns they form. Anywhere from four to 100 kernels, sometimes in varying colors, are cast. Some people cast the kernels onto a white cloth, while others may throw them into water, where their floating or sinking will offer different meanings.
Corn made its way to Europe in the 15th century and soon became a part of Halloween fortune-telling traditions. Scottish poet Robert Burns describes one such method: “You go to the barn, and open both doors, taking them off the hinges, if possible; for there is danger that the being about to appear may shut the doors, and do you some mischief. Then take that instrument used in winnowing the corn (grain), which in our country dialect we call a ‘wecht,’ and go through all the attitudes of letting down corn against the wind. Repeat it three times, and the third time, an apparition will pass through the barn, in at the windy door and out at the other, having both the figure in question and the appearance or retinue, marking the employment or station in life, of your future spouse.”
3. Beans
Favomancy, or bean divination, was a popular form of fortune-telling in the Balkans and Russia and may have its origins in the Middle East, possibly Iran. A tale is told of the prophet Muhammad’s daughter, Fatima, who secretly practiced divination with beans. One day, Muhammad caught her reading beans for a friend. The frightened girl quickly hid half of the beans under her dress. This event led to the belief that every oracle is a mixture of half-truths and half-lies, a notion that some skeptics use to explain inaccurate predictions.
Bean divination generally involves scattering beans and interpreting the patterns they form. In Bosnia, a ritual known as “bacanje graha” (bean throwing) is performed using 41 beans. During this practice, verses from the Quran are recited over the beans, which are then thrown three times, with each throw symbolizing the past, present, and future.
Favomancy was also practiced during the Renaissance in Italy, where many women were tried by the Inquisition for casting beans. The Church condemned this practice, viewing it as an attempt to summon demons and predict the future.
2. Wine
In ancient Greece and Rome, wine was poured as a libation to the gods. The Greek god Dionysus, associated with wine, was believed to grant inspiration and foresight. In a game known as “kottabos,” participants flung wine from their cups toward a bronze disk balanced on a pole, aiming to knock it over. The wine patterns created from the spill were sometimes interpreted as messages, much like inkblot tests.
In Rome, the god of wine, Bacchus, had a priestess called Bacchante who was known for performing wine oracles. This form of divination, called oinomancy, took many forms. In addition to reading the patterns of spilled wine, the sediment left in wine cups or casks was analyzed, with attention paid to its color, taste, and other characteristics.
Wine could also be poured into a glass container, with a lamp placed behind it. The diviner would then ask questions and gaze into the liquid, seeking answers from the reflections formed on the surface of the wine.
Wine reading is less common today, having been overtaken by more affordable methods like tarot cards and horoscopes. However, it is still practiced in certain exclusive circles.
1. Eggs
Easter eggs serve as a reminder that for much of history, many cultures have endowed the simple egg with deep mystical and religious significance. It is, for obvious reasons, a symbol of life, rebirth, the soul, and fertility. From Greece to China, ancient creation myths describe the birth of the universe emerging from a cosmic egg.
Eggs were considered magical and were used in spells for luck, love, protection, and transformation. The Druids believed egg amulets possessed healing powers. Ovomancy refers to divination with eggs. Among the practices is pouring egg white into lightly boiling water and interpreting the patterns it forms. Another method involves cracking a hard-boiled egg and reading the lines on the shell. Divine answers could also be found in the shapes made by the egg's shell, white, and yolk when the egg is cracked onto the ground or placed in a dish.
A spiritual cleansing can also be performed using eggs. A raw egg is rolled over a person's body to absorb negative energy. Afterward, the egg is cracked open and examined for signs such as webbing, blood, or black spots, which may reveal any physical or emotional afflictions. The egg is then discarded at a crossroads.
The Salem Witch Trials of 1692–93 began with an egg. The young girls in the Puritan household of Reverend Samuel Parrish, including his daughter and niece, were playing a game where they dropped an egg into a glass of water. The shape formed by the egg white was meant to reveal their future husbands and destinies. However, the girls claimed to have seen a coffin instead, which sent them into hysterics. The town believed that the girls had been possessed by the devil.
The situation quickly escalated, and by the time the frenzy and trials ended, 19 people had been hanged, and one was crushed to death by heavy stones.
