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Palmistry is also associated with Gypsies, who originated in India, and, at one time, it was thought that they brought the art to Western Europe. There is evidence, though, that palmistry was already taught in the West in the Middle Ages and Gypsies arrived later in the fifteenth century. Here is a brief outline of how palmistry is done. The first thing a palmist looks at is the shape of the hand, to see if it is square or long and if the fingers are longer than the palm or the other way around.

The word disaster, for example, is derived from the Latin word for star, astro. Originally it may have referred to an unfavorable star in an astrology chart but it could also refer to the disruption a comet makes in the night sky. Many early cultures considered a comet an attacker in the sky and, therefore, a bad omen. Comets as bad omens are mentioned in the story of Gilgamesh, in Revelation in the Bible, and in Nostradamus’s predictions. Sometimes, however, a comet may be interpreted as a good omen.

Some of the priests were called the prophetai, the origin of the i 31 j i 32 Astrology And divinAtion word prophet, but they were not actually the ones who would receive the visions from the god. Their job was to interpret the visions and utterances of the prophetess called the pythia. It was she who would actually listen to the god. At the entrance to the inner sanctuary, or adytum, the men chose lots (numbered stones) to determine their order of entry and, therefore, the order in which their questions would be answered.