Concerning the Casting of the Shield of Geomanteia

The act of divination is initiated by casting four primary geomantic figures, otherwise known as the Four Mothers because they give ‘birth’ to all the other geomantic figures. To manifest the Four Mothers cast the Geomantis should cast sixteen Root Lines required for judging the outcome by randomly squalling sixteen lines of dots. This process should take on the nature of automatic writing, with the Geomantis not being consciously aware of the number of dots being put on the paper. The Geomantis is then to determine whether each line has either an odd or even number of dots. If the line has an even number it is assigned two dots. If the number is odd, it receives one dot. The sixteen lines produce the Four Mothers. Each Mother is a figure formed from four of the sixteen Root Lines. The top Root Line is referred to as the Head; the second Neck; the third Body; and the fourth Feet. The Mothers are then placed in their respective Thrones on the Shield of Geomanteia.

The Mothers then give birth to the Four Daughters. The First Daughter is born from the rearrangement of each of the Heads of the Four Mothers. This rearrangement follows the procedure of the of the Head of the First Mother becoming the Head of the First Daughter, the Head of the Second Mother becomes the Neck of the First Daughter, the Head of the Third Mother becomes the Body of the First Daughter and finally, the Head of the Fourth Mother becomes the Feet of the First Daughter. This procedure of rearrangement is repeated for manifestation of the three remaining Daughters. The Daughters are then placed, like their Mothers, in their respective Thrones on the Shield of Geomanteia.

The following part of the procedure of unveiling the Geomantic Shield for the purposes of Divination comes into being by creating the Four Nieces. To manifest the Four Nieces add together the first and second Mothers to generate the First Niece. Add together the dots in each line of these two Mothers. If the two Mothers have the same Head, meaning that they add up to an even number, the Head of the First Niece is a double dot. If the Mothers have different dots, meaning that they add up to an odd number, the First Niece’s Head is a single dot. Following the rationale of this procedure generate the Necks, Bodies and Feet of the three remaining Nieces. The Nieces are then placed in their respective Thrones on the Shield of Geomanteia.

The same procedure that generated the Nieces also gives birth to the geomantic figures of the Witnesses and the Judge. The Right Witness is born by adding together the First and Second Nieces, and the Left Witness by adding together the Third and Fourth Nieces. These are then placed on the Shield of Geomanteia.The Judge is born by adding together the Witnesses according to the same rationale that generated the Witnesses and then is placed in the final Throne of the Shield of Geomanteia.

The method of interpreting the Shield of Geomanteia focuses on the querent, who is the person for whom the chart has been cast and is the main character in this Geomantic plot, and the quesited, who is the person or thing the querent wants to know about and is the force behind the Geomantic plot. The foundation of every form of Geomantic divination lies within the interplay and meaning of the two Witnesses and Judge. The Right Witness represents the querent and everything the querent represents. The Left Witness represents the quesited and everything this brings into the situation. Finally the Judge stands for the relationship between querent and quesited. The Right Witness also stands for the past due to the interpretation that the querent’s past experiences in life are influential factors in formulating the Geomantic quest. The Judge is also present, since the querent’s relationship to the quesited is brought into focus at the time of divination. The Left Witness represents the future, since the most important factors the quesited brings into the situation are the potentials it holds for the querent’s future life.

The Witnesses influence the overall meaning of the Geomantic interpretation. Thus a favourable Judge derived from the favourable Witnesses becomes more favourable, while an unfavourable Judge derived from two unfavourable Witnesses becomes even more unfavourable. The Right Witness represents in a way the querent’s own personal attitude and agenda. Whenever the Right Witness is favourable to the question it implies that the querent is in a favourable place at the beginning of the situation, whereas the opposite applies if the Right Witness is unfavourable from the beginning. The Left Witness provides an insight into the nature of the quesited, but this information focuses on what the quesited means to the querent. A favourable Left Witness indicates that the quesited would benefit the querent, while an unfavourable Left Witness shows that the quesited is something that will harm the querent. The Judge describes the interaction between the querent and quesited.

There is a method in Geomantia, known as the Four Triplicities, which reveals the overall forces at work in the life of the querent. They can also be combined with the Witnesses and the Judge to relate a more specific question to the broader picture of the querent’s life. The First Triplicity consists of the First and Second Mother and the First Niece. It represents the querent, including his or her circumstances, health, habits and outlook on life. The Second Triplicity consists of the Third and Fourth Mother and the Second Niece. It represents the events shaping the querent’s life at the time of reading. The Third Triplicity consists of the First and Second Daughters and the Thirde Niece. It stands for the querent’s home and work environment, the places he or she might frequent, and the nature of people he or she might associate with in these places. Family appears in this Triplicity.

The Fourth Triplicity consists of the Third and Fourth Daughters and the Fourth Niece. It stands for the querent’s friends, associates and authority figures.