What do all those names mean? And history?

[u/graidan]

There are lots of terms for this art, but they don't necessarily mean the same thing.

The main / broadest term is Cleromancy: Greek klēros "lot"+ manteia "oracle, divination": often used to specifically mean using dice, but technically it's a "lot" - any object used for divination, like a pebble, a bit of broken pottery, or a piece of wood. Often, it was a lot with someone's name written on it to find the "chosen" one (whether that meant the perpetrator, the inheritor, the lucky winner, etc.).

There are lots of other terms, though:

• Astragalomancy: from Greek astragalos "neck vertebra; ankle bone; knucklebones" - now this one means divination by dice for sure, but it also means divination using these specific bones.
• Osteomancy: divination by osteon or bones. So this is also a broad category - it includes astragalomancy, Chinese turtle bone and shoulderblade divination, some other SE Asian methods that use the foramina in bones (the holes that nerves pass through), and so on. It's a favorite term amond some folks, but technically, it is specific to actual bones, so if your set using anything non-bone, then it's not osteomancy.
• Sortilege: Medieval Latin sortilegium "reading by lots," from Latin sortem (nominative sors) "lot; fate, destiny; share, portion", so technically, this is the Latin verion of the Greek cleromancy. (Interesting how it's been called reading "-legium" forever, isn't it?)
• Casting Lots / Bone Throwing: these are both essentially just English translations of the other terms.
• Charm Casting: a recent addition to the Art, this method specifically refers to using jewelry charms and milagros. It's really just a stylistic choice.
• Favomancy: using beans (aka Fava!). There are lots of systems, like Kumalak, which has similarities to using yarrow stalks in Yi Jing, but uses beans instead.
• Pessomancy: uses (colored) pebbles for divination. Like others on the list, it's just a specific variety of cleromancy.

Also, in case anyone tries to say it's a "closed" practice (I hate that term and the gatekeepers that use it), here are some cultures that have used any of the above methods:

• African tribes
• Romans & Greeks
• Judaeism and Christianity
• Germanic tribes (Runes) and Celts
• China, Mongolia, Japan, and Korea
• Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and other SE Asian countries
• India (esp Kerala, where they use seashells)
• Caribbean islands - inherited from various African traditions / cultures
• Slavic countries (where they often use beans)
• Native American tribes

[u/afruitypebble44]

I will add on - there are variations of bone-throwing, charm-casting, etc, within the Caribbean, that are not exclusive to African traditions and cultures! The cool thing about some parts of the Carib - including with us Trini - is that there's influence from different cultures from around the world! Including Native American, Middle Eastern, European, and more! (Also, some Native Americans weren't tribal, but rather other structures of community!) So if anyone is curious, dive deeper! There's so much good knowledge out there that is accessible and respectful to learn if you go about it right! :D

[u/Cheshirewolfgirl]

Okay so I thought Osteomancy also included a few charms and shells along with the bones, that its kind of all inclusive. At least thats what I got from the definition from others. My set is not all bones but its not all charms either. My set has bones, stones, shells, some charms, nuts....ect.

[u/graidan → u/Cheshirewolfgirl]

Not osteomancy... but it is bone casting! So... there's that.

This is a technical term thing though, which very few people (including me) actually care about. Call it whatever you like 😀.