From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordA diviner defined by media, bird signs and a hostile evaluation.
- In the bookBerillus and Berillistica provide related mirror or crystal vocabulary.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 8; facsimile PDF page 336.
Historical definition
Augurista is a superstitious practitioner who works with looking-glasses, crystals and waters, and especially with the singing and flight of birds, to foretell events. The practitioner also observes other rites for the same purpose.
Meaning
The entry does two things: it describes practices and judges them superstitious. Its media include reflective or transparent objects and water, while bird song and flight receive particular emphasis. Those concrete details identify the kind of practitioner intended more clearly than a general replacement such as “magician.”
The judgement belongs to the historical dictionary’s voice. Our explanation preserves it as evidence of how the author separates accepted from rejected kinds of knowledge. A term can be technically informative and polemical at the same time. The dictionary does not present a neutral taxonomy of every practitioner it names.
Use in the book
Berillus and Berillistica provide related mirror or crystal vocabulary. Divinatio and Sortilegium open neighbouring categories of foretelling. Their comparison can reveal the differences among media, methods and evaluations within the book.
Places to read
- AuguristaRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- BerillusA divinatory looking-glass described with a critical judgement.
- BerillisticaA practice of viewing visions in the glasses described under Berillus.
- DivinatioA general term for foretelling.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 8; facsimile PDF page 336 — Facsimile