Aeromancy (air)

Nephomancy

Cloud divination: reading the shapes, movement, and color of clouds to interpret messages from the heavens.

"A cloud shaped like a hand points nowhere — and everywhere at once."

Journal Isida, 1909, "Practical Divination"

Nephomancy, from the Greek "nephos" (cloud), is the practice of interpreting cloud formations as omens. Practitioners identified animal or human shapes in clouds, noted whether clouds gathered or scattered at the moment of a question, and observed their direction and speed. A cloud moving toward the querent meant approach; dispersal meant release. Dark clouds gathering at midday warned of obstacles. The practice blended naturally with augury, as birds often flew within cloud masses that were themselves being read.

Safety

Safe practice