The early Romans and Greeks, who utilized the divinatory methods of daphnomancy and phyllorhodomancy, respectively, also practiced herbal divination. The art and practice of daphnomancy is believed to have been devised by the augurs of pre-Christian Rome and connected to a sacred grove of laurel trees planted there by various Roman emperors. In the year 68 A.D., the entire grove mysteriously withered and died, as if to portend the death of the Emperor Nero and the demise of the long line of Caesars, which occurred shortly after during that same year. Daphnomancy takes its name from the fabled Greek nymph Daphne, whom the gods changed into a laurel tree.

Libanomancy is a divinatory practice that can be traced back to the magicians of ancient Babylonia. According to the Three Collated Libanomancy Texts (translated by Irving L. Finkel), if when you sprinkle incense upon a fire and its smoke drifts to the right, this is an indication that you will prevail over your adversary. However, if the incense smoke drifts to the left, this means that your adversary will prevail over you. If incense smoke clusters, this is a favorable omen of success and financial gain. But if it is fragmented, a financial loss is portended.

Beware of incense smoke that “gathers like a datepalm and is thin at its base,” for this is a sign of hard times to come. If the rising smoke of incense is cleft (in two), this is said to foretell a loss of one’s sanity.

In Greece, divination by observing the leaves and petals of roses (phyllorhodomancy) was a popular method of foretelling future events. Rosa gallica (more commonly known in modern times as autumn damask) is believed by many occult historians to have been the flower of choice among the diviners of ancient Greece.

A rose petal with a concave form would first be selected, a yes-or-no question asked, and then a state of meditation entered into. Afterwards, the diviner would place the rose petal in the palm of his or her right hand and then firmly clap both hands together one time. If the petal burst, this indicated an affirmative answer. But if it failed to burst, this was interpreted as a negative reply.

Forecasting the future or gaining answers to questions by interpreting the various sounds produced by the rose petal during the clapping of one’s hands is but one of the many variations of phyllorhodomancy.

Herbal divination continues to be practiced in our modern day and age, and in a variety of ways. The plucking of a daisy’s petals to determine the true feelings of one’s beloved, the picking of a four-leaf clover to attain good luck or to make a wish come true, and counting the number of breaths needed to blow all the fuzzy seeds off a dandelion’s stalk to determine how many years will pass before one’s wedding day arrives, are all examples of botanomancy in its simplest (and most popular) forms.