The Collaborative International Dictionary
Astragalomancy \As*trag"a*lo*man`cy\, n. [Gr. ? ankle bone, die + -mancy.] Divination by means of small bones or dice. [1913 Webster] ||
Wiktionary
n. 1 divination by dice made from huckle-bones. They have four flat sides and two round sides which were marked. 2 divination by throwing astragaloi ''(see etymology above)'' onto the pages of a picture book. 3 Simply divination by dice.
Wikipedia
Astragalomancy, also known as astragyromancy, is a form of divination that uses dice specially marked with letters and numbers.
Originally, as with dice games, the "dice" were quadruped knucklebones or other small bones. Marked astragali of sheep and goats are common at Mediterranean and Near Eastern archaeological sites, particularly at funeral and religious locations. For example, marked astragali have been found near the altar of Aphrodite Ourania in Athens, Greece, suggesting astragalomancy was performed near the altar after about 500 BC.
Also known as cleromancy, the use of contacting the divine truth with random castings of dice or bones is a practice that stretches back before recorded history. The Metropolitan Museum of Art shows bone "dice" used by the Shona people of Africa. These are called Hakata. They have been in use for thousands of years, and remain extant.
Being that astragalomancy is a form of sortition, numbers are scrawled into the dice; the numbers are associated with letters, thus bearing on the questions of the diviner. The diviner then casts the dice, resulting with a random sequence of numbers. This sequence is to be interpreted by the diviner with regards to certain rules, which are usually specific to his/her religion (e.g. Buddhism).
Astragalomancy is considered the twin of Pessomancy (also known as Psephomancy), which is another act of divination that uses colored or marked pebbles as opposed to numbered dice. These pebbles are either thrown out of a bag after shuffling or drawn from the bag at random. The interpretation of the colors or symbols relate to issues such as health, communications, success, and travel.
Usage examples of "astragalomancy".
The least of these was sortilege, the drawing of lots, or astragalomancy, the use of dice or buckle-bones or sticks, neither of which, as Luria had pointed out, were practiced in the Department, although they were much abused by charlatans.