Geomancy: history, the 16 figures and the mothers-daughters-nieces method

What is geomancy?

Geomancy is a divinatory art based on sixteen figures. Each one consists of four lines stacked one above the other, each line made of one or two dots, which gives 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 16 possibilities. Originally the dots were traced in sand or earth, hence its Greek name: divination "by earth". Today they are obtained with coins, dice, a pencil, or by drawing sixteen random strokes on a sheet of paper.

The figures carry Latin names (Populus, Via, Albus, Puella, Fortuna Major and so on). Their meaning unfolds within a frame borrowed from astrology: twelve "houses", planets, signs and elements. It is a learned art that looks austere, yet it is very simple to approach: everything comes down to parity, even or odd.

A history in three worlds

Medieval Arabic texts call it ʿilm al-raml, the "science of sand". They credit its invention to legendary figures, such as the prophet Idris, identified with Hermes Trismegistus, or to an Indian sage. These accounts are foundation legends: nobody knows where or when the practice first appeared, probably in the medieval Islamic world, before the 12th century.

Geomancy entered Latin Europe in the 12th century, through translations from Arabic made in Spain and Italy. Hugh of Santalla translated an Ars geomantiae; another text, often attributed to Gerard of Cremona, adds links with astrology; an anonymous work, Estimaverunt Indi, also circulated. Historians still debate the dating and the attributions. In the Middle Ages the Church classed geomancy among the "forbidden" arts, which did not stop it spreading among the learned.

The Renaissance enriched it: Agrippa (a treatise on geomancy circulated under his name), Christophe de Cattan (La Géomance, Paris, 1558, translated into English in 1591), then Robert Fludd (1687). The occult currents of the 19th century, including the Golden Dawn, brought it back into fashion. In parallel, related systems exist in West Africa (Ifá among the Yoruba, Fa among the Fon and the Ewe) and in Madagascar (sikidy). The exact link with Arabic geomancy is debated: transmission, common origin, or separate developments. These traditions are living religions with their own logic: do not confuse them with European geomancy.

The 16 figures

Here are the figures with their Latin name and a traditional keyword. Meanings vary from author to author; each figure has its own page.

The method step by step

1. Ask a clear question, preferably about a specific situation.
2. Obtain four Mothers: for each one, four lines. For each line, toss a coin (or trace dots at random and count them): keep one dot if the result is odd, two if it is even. You therefore need 16 tosses for the four Mothers.
3. Form the four Daughters by reading the Mothers across the lines: the first line of the four Mothers forms the first Daughter, the second line the second Daughter, and so on.
4. Calculate the four Nieces by adding two figures line by line: an odd number of dots gives one dot, an even number gives two. First Niece = Mother 1 + Mother 2; second = Mother 3 + Mother 4; third = Daughter 1 + Daughter 2; fourth = Daughter 3 + Daughter 4.
5. Derive the two Witnesses (right = Niece 1 + Niece 2; left = Niece 3 + Niece 4), then the Judge (right Witness + left Witness). The Judge always has an even number of dots.

The first twelve figures (four Mothers, four Daughters, four Nieces) occupy the twelve houses. The Witnesses and the Judge are used to reach a conclusion.

Worked example (one line = 1 or 2, from top to bottom): Mothers 1221, 2212, 1122, 2111. Daughters: 1212, 2211, 2121, 1221. Nieces: 1211, 1211, 1221, 1122. Right Witness: 2222 (Populus), left Witness: 2121. Judge: 2121 + 2222 = 2121, that is six dots, so even. Then look up the name of each figure on its own page.

Reading the chart: houses, Judge and Witnesses

The twelve houses are those of astrology: the first for the querent, the second for possessions, the third for close surroundings and short journeys, the fourth for home and origins, the fifth for pleasures and children, the sixth for daily work, the seventh for relationships, the eighth for losses and inheritances, the ninth for travel and studies, the tenth for career, the eleventh for friends and projects, the twelfth for hidden trials. See the page on astrological houses.

Tradition reads the Judge first, since it answers the question, then the Witnesses, which show where the situation comes from and what it is becoming. Next, you look at the house of the question and the figure that occupies it. Some authors add a figure of "reconciliation", derived from the Judge and the first Mother; the rule varies between schools. A simple and honest approach is to ask whether the answer is "stable" or "moving": some figures speak of continuity, others of change.

Limits and uses today

The figures are generated by chance: nothing demonstrates any predictive value. The interest of the method lies elsewhere, in its logic of construction (an exercise in parity and addition) and in the images it offers for thinking through a situation. The assignments of planets and signs differ between authors and should not be taken as law.

To practise, keep a reading journal, compare your readings with other arts, for example the Yi Jing (which also relies on solid and broken lines), and keep in mind that geomancy, like other forms of divination, is not medical, legal or financial advice.

Frequently asked questions

Also read

The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice. Back to Guide to geomancy.