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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Haldrik" data-source="post: 8056602" data-attributes="member: 6694221">Heh ... using "rune stones" for divination could be cultural misrepresentation because the Scandinavians never used runes that way. Apparently the main method of divination was drumming the ground with a staff to induce a trance.In the Hebrew Bible, the Great Priest had the "urim and tumim" for divination. One rabbinic tradition explains that the priest would interpret them based on how the oillamp lighting would reflect and refract of off them. I would need to doublecheck, but it is something like one stone was the message and the other stone was the context.Talking about animals. It reminds me I-Ching oracles originated from solid or broken cracks that happened when placing a tortoise shell in the fire. The tortoise shell represents the entire cosmos, including the skydome and flat landplate.Ultimately EVERY form of divination technique uses some kind of microcosm of the cosmos. Even the urim and tumim apparently refer to the universe being made out of light ( ≈ Big Bang).Mentioning other cultural possibilities for divination rituals helps avoid ethnic reductionism.</blockquote>