brizomancy

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Βριζώ (Brizṓ, “the goddess of dreams worshipped at Delos”), from βρίζω (brízō, “sleep”) +‎ -mancy. Compare Ancient Greek Βριζόμαντις (Brizómantis, “diviner of dreams, an appellation the goddess Brizo of Delos”).

Noun

brizomancy (uncountable)

1. A form of Ancient Greek divination by the interpretation of dreams with the aid of the goddess Brizo; hence, divination by dreams.
   • 1901, Maria Ward Brown, The Life of Dan Rice, page 352:

     Scaramouch took himself off and applied to all sorts of Divination for the purpose of discovering where the lost bottle was lying. He tried [...] Brizomancy, or by the nodding sleep[.]

   • 1961, H.E. Wedeck, Treasury of Witchcraft, page 220:

     The very fact that each specific method, or variant, had a name, testifies to the prevalence and widespread recognition of divinatory practices. The prophetic inspiration of Brizo, a goddess of sleep, gave rise to brizomancy.

   • 2013, Edward L. Nydle, The Legend of Lilith: The Origins of Evil and the Fall of Man, page 94:

     A common name for succubus was Brizo, after the Greek Goddess of sleep whose title came from brizein, to enchant, and referred to a special kind of incubation known as brizomancy. Like the Babylonian dream-Goddess, Nanshe, Brizo brought prophetic dreams which were later called wet dreams.

Anagrams

• zorbamycin