The Living Archive
Glossary
Each definition names the tradition it belongs to. The same word can mean different things elsewhere.
- Àgéré Ifá
Bone, shell & object divination
A vessel associated with holding ikin.
Read in: Cowries: From Circulating Wealth to Sacred Speech- Ajq’ij
K’iche’ Maya and named Maya communities
Ajq'ij is a K'iche' term commonly translated as daykeeper; ajq'ijab' is a plural form.
Read in: Living Maya Time: The Chol Q'ij, Daykeepers and the Meaning of a Day- Akasha
Modern esoteric teachings
The Sanskrit word akasha has often been rendered in English through terms such as space or ether.
Read in: The Akashic Records: A History of the Idea of Cosmic Memory- Aspect
Western astrology
The lines through the center of many charts represent aspects, selected angular relationships between factors.
Read in: Inside a Birth Chart: Planets, Signs, Houses and the Relationships Between Them- Astragalomancy
Bone, shell & object divination
Divination involving knucklebones.
Read in: Knucklebones, Dice and Lots: A History of Casting for Answers- Astragalos / astragaloi
Bone, shell & object divination
Singular/plural terms for a knucklebone or an object shaped like one, encountered in historical gaming and divinatory contexts.
Read in: Knucklebones, Dice and Lots: A History of Casting for Answers- BodyGraph
Human Design
The BodyGraph combines planetary activations with a network of numbered gates and connecting channels.
Read in: Human Design: The Story Behind the BodyGraph- Casting
Bone, shell & object divination
Throwing or releasing objects as part of a procedure. A cast has no single universal interpretation.
Read in: Bones, Shells and Objects: How a Cast Becomes a Reading- Cleromancy
Bone, shell & object divination
Divination by lots. The form of the lots and interpretation depend on the method.
Read in: Bones, Shells and Objects: How a Cast Becomes a Reading- Correspondence
Tarot
For beginners, a correspondence is an asserted relationship between elements of different systems.
Read in: Before the Reading: How Tarot Became Tarot- Divination
Bone, shell & object divination
Practices intended by their participants to seek guidance or knowledge through signs or other interpretive means.
Read in: Bones, Shells and Objects: How a Cast Becomes a Reading- Gematria
Hebrew gematria and Greek isopsephy
Gematria is a way of working with the numerical values of written language.
Read in: Gematria: When Letters Become Numbers- Hexagram
Chinese Yijing
A hexagram has six positions, built from the bottom upward.
Read in: The Yijing: How a Book of Changes Became a Way of Thinking- Ikin
Bone, shell & object divination
Sacred palm nuts associated with Ifá practice.
Read in: Cowries: From Circulating Wealth to Sacred Speech- Interpretive framework
Bone, shell & object divination
The rules, associations, and contextual knowledge used to make sense of a result.
Read in: Bones, Shells and Objects: How a Cast Becomes a Reading- Isopsephy
Hebrew gematria and Greek isopsephy
Related letter-number practices appear in Greek contexts, commonly discussed under the name isopsephy.
Read in: Gematria: When Letters Become Numbers- Jātaka
Buddhist traditions
Jātakas recount lives associated with the bodhisatta, the being developing toward Buddhahood.
Read in: Buddhist Rebirth: Continuity, Karma and the Question of the Self- Karma
Buddhist traditions
In Buddhist traditions, karma (Pāli: kamma) concerns intentional action through body, speech and mind, considered in relation to its conditions and consequences.
Read in: Buddhist Rebirth: Continuity, Karma and the Question of the Self- Matariki
Māori Matariki
Matariki is the Māori name for the star cluster also known as the Pleiades.
Read in: Matariki: Stars, Remembrance and the Māori New Year- Osteomancy
Bone, shell & object divination
A broad label for divination involving bones. Use a more specific cultural or procedural name when known.
Read in: Bones, Shells and Objects: How a Cast Becomes a Reading- Plastron
Bone, shell & object divination
The lower part of a turtle's shell.
Read in: Shang Oracle Bones: The Questions a Kingdom Left Behind- Provenance
Bone, shell & object divination
An object's documented history of ownership or custody. Provenance information may be incomplete.
Read in: Southern African Bone Casting: Ancestors, Calling and the Meaning of the Fall- Puanga
Māori Matariki
Puanga is a single star, distinct from the Pleiades cluster.
Read in: Matariki: Stars, Remembrance and the Māori New Year- Retrograde
Western astrology
An R beside a planet generally marks retrograde motion.
Read in: Inside a Birth Chart: Planets, Signs, Houses and the Relationships Between Them- Scapula
Bone, shell & object divination
A shoulder blade.
Read in: Shang Oracle Bones: The Questions a Kingdom Left Behind- Transliteration
Runic writing
A transliteration represents its runic signs using another alphabet.
Read in: Viking-Age Runestones: Names, Memory and the Younger Futhark