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Research at least one of the following traditional methods of divination with reference to ancient Greek usage: dream incubation or interpretation; omens (kledones, etc.); bird flight; reading signs in fire; lots; giving and interpreting oracles. In light of your research, determine whether or not you wish to perform divination as part of your clergy work in Hellenion.

Dream Interpretation

Of the seven parts that make up a mortal, one, called the daimon, is considered divine and, during sleep, the daimon leaves the body ("there is a divine energy in human souls.", Cicero, 178). The daimon survives death and can see things both past and future ("it recollects things past, examines things present, and anticipates things to come.", Cicero, 172). Prophetic dreams come from this foresight of the daimon, from one daimon communicating with another daimon and from a daimon communicating with the Immortals or lesser spirits. ("one, when the mind intuitively perceives things by the relation which it bears to the Gods; the second, arising from the fact of the air being full of immortal spirits, in whom all the signs of truth are, as it were, stamped and visible; the third, when the Gods themselves converse with sleepers.", Cicero, 172).

Daimons, spirits and the Immortals communicate by symbols since symbols carry much more meaning than words. ("they also resort to images, symbols, and analogies", Luck, 237) Like other things in our religion, each person can interpret their own dreams but will begin by asking for the help of an interpreter. ("Bad conjectures and incorrect interpretations are false, not because of any imposture in the signs themselves, but because of the ignorance of their expounders.", Cicero, 193). The recipient of the dream and the interpreter should have regular worship practices since the Immortals are unlikely to send prophetic dreams to those whose fate they are unconcerned about. ("Since dreams come from God - or from a god - only he who has the divine spirit in him will be able to understand them.", Luck, 232). The interpreter should have a good knowledge of the recipient and the personal meanings attached to the dream symbols. ("Synesius argued that since no two people are completely alike, there can be no rules for all dreams", Luck, 238). They should also have a good knowledge of people in general, the things that are troubling the recipient and the nature of the particular Immortal who apparently sent the dream. ("The best dream interpreter, according to Aristotle, is the man who spots analogies and recognizes the true image behind the dream image, for the true image is often broken or distorted or changed through the dream process", Luck, 235). The ancients had dream interpretation books similar to those found in book stores today and some were proud of the size of their collection but then, as now, the books were not very useful due to the personal meaning attached to dream symbols.

Dream Incubation

"A special way of inducing meaningful dreams is known as incubation (Gk. enkoimesis 'sleeping in a temple')." (Luck, 231). In ancient times, dream incubation came in two forms: a petition to an Immortal to send a dream and a dream deliberately sent from one person to another. In anticipation of the prayer for a dream, the recipient should maintain regular worship habits, should have a good diet and should strive for good physical fitness. The person wanting to send a dream to another should first practice controlling their dreams, called lucid dreaming. Finally, those interpreting dreams for others and those trying to send dreams to others should be very careful to not violate their ethical rules. An example of a petition for a dream is...

PGM VII. 250-54
Request for a dream oracle, a request which is always used. Formula to be spoken to the day lamp: "Ναιενχρη Ναιενχρη , mother of fire and water, you are the one who rises before, Αρχεντεχθα; reveal to me concerning NN matter. If yes, show me a plant and water, but if no, fire and iron; immediately, immediately, quickly, quickly. (Betz, 123)

Conclusion

At the beginning of this course, I stated that I believed the Immortals exist, that they can cause changes in the world and that they are concerned about the fate of mortals. These beliefs convince me that at least some forms of divination are valid messages from Immortals and intended as guidance. However, my encounters with both dream interpretation and incubation have been inconclusive. I have been completely unable to interpret the dreams of myself or others, and the times that I have incubated dreams in others were unintentional. Therefore, I'll continue to experiment with dream interpretation and incubation since I believe they may be useful or neccessary in my clergy duties but any serious divination for the near future will use other methods.

Works Cited

Theoroi Hellenionou.
Approved
05-Jan-04.