Myomancy

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A wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus bosmuis.jpg
A wood mouse

Myomancy (from myo- "mouse" + -mancy "divination by means of") is the practice of reading omens from the behavior of rats or mice, [1] a "theriomantic" method of divination which might be implied in the Bible verse Isaiah 66:17. [2]

In the context of Western history, certain mouse or rat vocalizations ("their particular cries") and other phenomena, including severe cases of damage wreaked by the rodents, was taken to be a sign predictive of evil. [3] For example, Ælain relates that Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus resigned the dictatorship in consequence of a "warning" from these creatures; according to Varro, Cassius Flaminius retired from the command of the cavalry for the same reason. [2]

Horapollo describes the rat as a symbol of destruction. According to Herodotus, Sennacherib's attempt to invade Egypt was thwarted due to his army's weapons being systematically destroyed by rats the night before they were due to attack. [3]

The Hebrew word for "mouse" is derived from a root meaning "to separate, divide, or judge". It was remarked by one of the commentators on Horapollo that the mouse has a finely discriminating taste. An Egyptian manuscript in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris contains the representation of a soul going to judgement in which one of the figures is depicted with the head of a rat wearing a traditional judges' wig. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mouse</span> Small long-tailed rodent

A mouse is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse. Mice are also popular as pets. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are locally common. They are known to invade homes for food and shelter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rat</span> Several genera of rodents

Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus Rattus. Other rat genera include Neotoma, Bandicota and Dipodomys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fancy rat</span> Domesticated brown rat subspecies

The fancy rat is the domesticated form of Rattus norvegicus, the brown rat, and the most common species of rat kept as a pet. The name fancy rat derives from the use of the adjective fancy for a hobby, also seen in "animal fancy", a hobby involving the appreciation, promotion, or breeding of pet or domestic animals. The offspring of wild-caught specimens, having become docile after having been bred for many generations, fall under the fancy type.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kangaroo rat</span> Genus of mammals belonging to the kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, and pocket mice family of rodents

Kangaroo rats, small mostly nocturnal rodents of genus Dipodomys, are native to arid areas of western North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form. They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, but developed this mode of locomotion independently, like several other clades of rodents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rat king</span> Collection of intertwined rats

A rat king is a collection of rats whose tails are intertwined and bound together in some way. This may be a result of an entangling material like hair, a sticky substance such as sap or gum, or the tails being tied together.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heteromyidae</span> Family of rodents

Heteromyidae is a family of rodents consisting of kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, pocket mice and spiny pocket mice. Most heteromyids live in complex burrows within the deserts and grasslands of western North America, though species within the genus Heteromys are also found in forests and their range extends down as far as northern South America. They feed mostly on seeds and other plant parts, which they carry in their fur-lined cheek pouches to their burrows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laotian rock rat</span> Species of rodent found in central Laos

The Laotian rock rat or kha-nyou, sometimes called the "rat-squirrel", is a species of rodent found in the Khammouan region of Laos. The species was first described in a 2005 article by Paulina Jenkins and coauthors, who considered the animal to be so distinct from all living rodents, they placed it in a new family, Laonastidae. It is in the monotypic genus Laonastes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser bandicoot rat</span> Species of rodent

The lesser bandicoot rat, Sindhi rice rat, bengal rat or Indian mole-rat is a giant rat of Southern Asia, not related to the true bandicoots which are marsupials. They can be up to 40 cm long, are considered a pest in the cereal crops and gardens of India and Sri Lanka, and emit piglike grunts when attacking. The name bandicoot is derived from the Telugu language word pandikokku, which translates loosely to "pig-rat". Like the better known rats in the genus Rattus, bandicoot rats are members of the family Muridae. Their fur is dark or (rarely) pale brown dorsally, occasionally blackish, and light to dark grey ventrally. The head-body length is around 250 mm, and the uniformly dark tail is shorter than the head-body length.

Horapollo is the supposed author of a treatise, titled Hieroglyphica, on Egyptian hieroglyphs, extant in a Greek translation by one Philippus, dating to about the 5th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laboratory rat</span> Rat used for scientific research

Laboratory rats or lab rats are strains of the subspecies Rattus norvegicus domestica which are bred and kept for scientific research. While less commonly used for research than laboratory mice, rats have served as an important animal model for research in psychology and biomedical science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fear of mice and rats</span>

Fear of mice and rats is one of the most common specific phobias. It is sometimes referred to as musophobia or murophobia, or as suriphobia, from French souris, "mouse".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle East blind mole-rat</span> Species of mammal

The Middle East blind mole-rat or Palestine mole-rat is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae.

<i>Xeromys myoides</i> Species of rodent

Xeromys myoides, also known as the water mouse, marine mouse, mangrove mouse, false water rat, manngay and yirrkoo, is a species of rodent native to waterways of Australia and Papua New Guinea.

<i>Oryzomys antillarum</i> Extinct rodent species from Jamaica

Oryzomys antillarum, also known as the Jamaican rice rat, is an extinct rodent of Jamaica. A member of the genus Oryzomys within the family Cricetidae, it is similar to O. couesi of mainland Central America, from where it may have dispersed to its island during the last glacial period. O. antillarum is common in subfossil cave faunas and is also known from three specimens collected live in the 19th century. Some historical records of Jamaican rats may pertain to it. The species probably became extinct late in the 19th century, perhaps due to the introduction of the small Indian mongoose, competition with introduced rodents such as the brown rat, and habitat destruction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knockout rat</span> Type of genetically engineered rat

A knockout rat is a genetically engineered rat with a single gene turned off through a targeted mutation used for academic and pharmaceutical research. Knockout rats can mimic human diseases and are important tools for studying gene function and for drug discovery and development. The production of knockout rats was not economically or technically feasible until 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodent</span> Order of mammals

Rodents are mammals of the order Rodentia, which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are native to all major land masses except for New Zealand, Antarctica, and several oceanic islands, though they have subsequently been introduced to most of these land masses by human activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norbormide</span> Chemical compound

Norbormide is a toxic compound used as a rodenticide. It has several mechanisms of action, acting as a vasoconstrictor and calcium channel blocker, but is selectively toxic to rats and has relatively low toxicity to other species, due to a species specific action of opening the permeability transition pores in rat mitochondria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese zodiac</span> Lunar calendar classification in a 12-year cycle

The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain popular in many East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia, and Thailand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arvicanthini</span>

Arvicanthini is a tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. Almost all recent species in this tribe are or were found in Africa aside from one species, the Indian bush rat, which is found in South Asia and Iran. However, some fossil Golunda species from India and the genus Parapelomys are thought to have also occurred outside Africa, and one species in the fossil genus Saidomys may have also occurred in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydromyini</span> Tribe of rodents

Hydromyini is a very large, diverse tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. They are the dominant native rodents in Australasia and one of only two native rodent groups there, the other being the R. fuscipes group of the genus Rattus in the tribe Rattini. They are also found in parts of Southeast Asia.

References

  1. Chester, Rodney (February 8, 2012). "Radar: Appetising prediction". The Courier-Mail . Brisbane, Australia: News Limited. p. 22. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Myomancy". The Element Encyclopedia of the Psychic World. Vol. 1. Harper Element. 2006. p. 465.
  3. 1 2 3 Smedley, Edward; William Cooke Taylor; Henry Thompson; Elihu Rich (1855). The Occult Sciences: Sketches of the Traditions and Superstitions of Past Times, and the Marvels of the Present Day. R. Griffin. p.  335. Myomancy.