What is Astragalomancy? Also Known As Dice Divination

Last Updated: September 5, 2022

Astragalomancy is a form of dice divination that uses astragalus dice. Astragalus dice (astragali) are special dice that have markings on all six sides. These dice can be used for many purposes, and originally Astragalomancy was a dice divination method that used the knucklebones of a sheep or goat.

It is said to have been used by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and Hermes had been associated with creating this method. Purposes for using it include finding out the future, diagnosing illness, and determining someone’s character. In this blog post, we will discuss how to use astragalomancy dice, what each number means, and some of the benefits of using this divination method!

The Ancient Greek’s adored astragalomancy and used it as a way to dice their future. The Roman’s would often use this method to diagnose an illness within someone. Other religious uses of dice include the use of four astragalus dice by Tibetan Buddhists. They would roll the dice and then interpret the results by looking at a special mandala.

The dice would be rolled three times and each time the dice landed a certain way it would have a different meaning. As the rest of this website, you won’t find me preaching a specific religious method for divination as a practice.

Using dice for divination in modern day

As opposed to seeing which of our sheep are about to become ill, or if we are enduring a harsh harvest much longer, now we can use divination for suggestions on how to move forward with clarity when we are stuck with important decisions. We can use dice to help us seek advice, offer guidance, and build additional layers on our other methods. I like to use dice with tarot, as it can offer a more rounded answer or it can completely fortify the main themes for me.

Dice divination chart/cheat-sheet

Using numerology as a support system we can use everyday dice that you get with gaming kits or you can buy beautiful sets like these from Amazon which have over 150 reviews, and completely fit with my aesthetic!

To use astragalomancy, you will need a set of dice that have markings on all six sides. You can find these dice at most game stores or online retailers that sell dice. Once you have your dice, you will roll them onto a flat surface. After rolling the dice, interpret the meaning of each number that appears face up:

One: New beginnings, fresh start, possibility
Two: Duality, balance, choice
Three: Growth, progression, community, friendship circles
Four: Stability, foundation, structure and organisation
Five: Change, adventure, movement
Six: Home, family, love and care
Seven: Secrets, spirituality, magick, connection to the divine
Eight: Power, strength, abundance
Nine: Completion, endings, culmination
Ten: New cycle, journey, beginning again
Eleven: Connection, healing, trust and diplomacy
Twelve: Spirituality, dreams, intuition and subsconscious
Thirteen: Transformation, major life changes, metamorphosis
Fourteen: Hope, humour, faith and freedom
Fifthteen: Balance, peace, harmony and calm
Sixteen: Wisdom, knowledge, research and hard work
Seventeen: Passion, love, sexuality, and assertiveness
Eighteen: Perserverence, success, efficiency and being ready for the next chapter

Once you have interpreted the meaning of each number that appears face up, you can then begin to form a reading. To do this, you will need to string together the meanings of each number in the order that they appear.

For example, if you roll a one followed by a three followed by a six, your reading would be “a new beginning that leads to growth and ends with home and family.” You can also interpret it as “it’s time to begin again and start a new cycle”. It depends on the question that you are asking to begin with, but you can see how adaptable dice are to this method.

Use your intuition and allow the dice to guide you! Astragalomancy is a great divination method for those who are just starting out with divination or who are adding an extra layer to their in depth practice already.

Astrology Dice

It’s lovely to find different ways to use dice, and the emergence of astrology dice specifically offer beautiful support to astrological readings. What a lovely way to look into your current transits for guidance! What a fun way to interpret themes in your natal chart!

How these dice work is instead of having the numbers on the dice, you have the astrological symbols. It’s common to find the following twelve symbols on astrology dice, and this is how I’d interpret them:

Mercury – themes of communication, travel and knowledge
Venus – themes of values, love and beauty
Moon – themes of home, family and feelings
Sun – themes of self, ego and vitality
Mars – themes of action, assertiveness and energy
Jupiter – themes of expansion, growth and success
Saturn – themes of structure, boundaries and career
Neptune – themes of subsconscious, dreams and intuition
Uranus – themes of innovation, abrupt change and pushing boundaries
Pluto – themes of transformation, shadows and power
North Node – themes of journeys, life lessons and soul purpose
South Node – themes of karmic lessons, past lives and reoccurring patterns

You can use two astrological dice with a third numbered dice that indicate houses and the themes from those. For example, if you rolled a Jupiter in the first house, it would indicate that expansion and growth are happening in the area of life ruled by the first house which is self, ego and vitality.

If you rolled a Venus and Saturn with the fifth house, it would indicate that the themes of values, love and beauty are being challenged by the fifth house themes of children, fun and creative self-expression as an area to work with.

There are endless possibilities with using dice for divination, so I encourage you to experiment with different dice until you find a method that works best for you! What other ways have you used dice for divination?

Drop me a DM over on social channels, or via email whenever you feel like it. Until next time xox