Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 8, 2026

Gyromancy

Gyromancy is a method of divination in which a person spins around inside or walks the circumference of a circle drawn on the ground, the perimeter of which is marked with the letters of an alphabet. The divination is inferred from the letter at the position where the person either stumbles or falls across the circle's edge. The person would repeat the practice "...till he evolved an intelligible sentence, or till death or madness intervened." The dizziness brought on by spinning or circling is intended to introduce randomness or to facilitate an altered state of consciousness.

Last revised
Jun 8, 2026
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Wikipedia ↗

Gyromancy is a method of divination in which a person spins around inside or walks the circumference of a circle drawn on the ground, the perimeter of which is marked with the letters of an alphabet. The divination is inferred from the letter at the position where the person either stumbles or falls across the circle's edge. The person would repeat the practice "...till he evolved an intelligible sentence, or till death or madness intervened."1 The dizziness brought on by spinning or circling is intended to introduce randomness or to facilitate an altered state of consciousness.2

The word is derived from Medieval Latin, gyromantia, which is derived from Greek gyros (circle) and manteia (oracle).3

Gyromancy is mentioned in the PlayStation game Silent Hill (video game).4

References

References

  1. Waite, Arthur Edward. Occult Sciences: A Compendium of Transcendental Doctrine and Experiment. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1-56459-369-X.
  2. Mystica Encyclopedia
  3. Online Etymology Dictionary
  4. "Silent Hill - Gyromancy line". YouTube. Retrieved 11 February 2026.