181. Divination

Avodas Kochavim 11:6

A diviner is someone who performs certain actions until he falls into a trance and his mind goes blank, in which state he predicts the future, claiming to know what will or won’t happen, or advising people as to what they should do. Some diviners use sand or rocks as props, others prostrate on the ground, make gestures and cry out. Others look at a mirror or into a crystal, then imagine and speak. Some carry a staff that they lean on and tap with until they fall into their trances. The prophet Hoshea discusses this, saying, “My people inquire of their sticks; their staffs speak to them” (Hosea 4:12).

Avodas Kochavim 11:7

One is not permitted to divine or to inquire of diviners. If one does inquire of a diviner, he is punished with the stripes for acting rebelliously. A diviner himself is given lashes if he performs one of the aforementioned acts, or similar ones, as per Deuteronomy 18:10, “There shall not be found among you...one who practices divination...”