omen
An omen ( plural omen or omina , Latin omen 'sign, bird's eye view ') is a sign of a future event and is used in predicting it. Overall, the recognition of omens and the fortune-telling based on it is called divination . Even in Latin, a bad omen was often meant (cf. the German adjective ominous ).
more details
The belief in Omina goes back to the advanced cultures of the ancient Orient and describes a connection between two events, not necessarily a causal one . All over the world there is a belief in omens from which clues about future events can be interpreted. The individual believes that they either perceive an omen by chance or they go in search of it. The Roman armies led z. B. long specially priests with z. B. came into function before battles ( bird's eye view and liver view ). Even Wallenstein consulted his astrologer Giovanni Battista Seni before any military decision.
Every event and occurrence can be regarded as an omen, for example natural phenomena (storms, comets , behavior of animals), encounters with certain people or other inexplicable things, such as the result of a die roll. Today this idea only exists in the western world as a popular belief, often in professions that have risky traits (seafarers, soldiers, actors), but also grows again in times of war.
In addition, it is well represented in other cultures and subcultures (e.g. esotericism ).
See also
literature
- Omen. in: Hans Bonnet: Lexicon of Egyptian Religious History. 3rd unchanged edition. Nikol, Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-937872-08-6 , pp. 542f.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ken Eagle Feather: A Toltec Path. A user's Guide to the Teachings of Don Juan Matus , Carlos Castaneda , and other Toltec seers. Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Charlottesville VA 1995, ISBN 1-57174-023-6 , pp. 48ff.