The Rhetoric of Divination: A Comparative Approach

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In a comparative analysis of divinatory practices, such as Christian manna-grains, Yijing, Ifa divination, the Delphic oracle, and modern-day Tarot, this chapter argues that the rhetoric of divination may be studied in three phases: 1) The rhetoric of the act of divination is inherent in the stochastic procedure itself; its outcome parades as the result of fate, chance, a god, or dao. In addition, there is often a myth to account for the procedure. 2) The stochastic procedure nominates a text to be interpreted, e.g. a passage of holy writ, a time-honoured earlier prediction, or a proverb. It is not a straightforward verdict or prediction, but as ritually nominated, it claims relevance. The rhetoric of the text resides in its character as a model to be applied to the matter at hand. 3) The rhetoric of interpretation, then, consists in establishing a convincing continuity between the text and the matter at hand. In sum, the rhetoric of divination is very much a metamorphosis of signs: the act of divination produces a sign, from the beginning without meaning; this is turned into a linguistic sign that does not yet make sense. Finally, the interpretation establishes the full sense, uniting religious authority and relevance.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationTheoretical and Empirical Investigations of Divination and Magic : Manipulating the Divine
EditorsJesper Frøkjær Sørensen, Anders Klostergaard Petersen
Number of pages33
Place of PublicationLeiden
PublisherBrill
Publication date2021
Pages41-73
Chapter3
ISBN (Print)9789004447578
ISBN (Electronic)9789004447585
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021
SeriesNumen Book Series
Volume171
ISSN0169-8834

ID: 261408606