Sand Writing as Geomancy

In order to discover the supernatural and know the future, some of the common people invented a craft called “sand writing” (geomancy). They form combinations of dots in four “ranks.”

The resulting combinations differ in that the four ranks are made up of different or identical arrangements of even or odd. This makes 16 combinations.

If all 4 ranks hold evens or all odds, we have 2 combinations. If one rank only has an even, we have 4 combinations.

If 2 ranks have an even, we have 6 combinations, and if 3 ranks have an even, we have 4 combinations. This makes altogether 16 combinations.

The sand diviners have given different names to the different combinations and classified them as lucky or unlucky, as is done with the stars.

The 16 combinations stand for the 16 “houses” which they think correspond to the 12 signs of the zodiac and the 4 cardines.

They have attributed to each combination a “house,” lucky (or unlucky) influences, and significance with regard to one particular group (of people) in the world of the elements.

The sand diviners have thus invented a discipline that runs parallel to astrology and the system of astrological judgments. However, the astrological judgments are based upon natural indications, as Ptolemy assumes.

The indications of sand writing, on the other hand, are conventional.

Ptolemy discussed only nativities and conjunctions., He thinks that these come within the influence of the stars and the positions of the spheres on the world of the elements.

Subsequent astrologers, however, tried to discover the innermost thoughts a by attributing them to the various houses of the firmament and drawing conclusions concerning them, according to the judgments governing each particular astral house.

• They are those mentioned by Ptolemy.

The innermost thoughts concern psychic knowledge, which does not belong to the world of the elements.

They do not come within the influence of the stars or the positions of the spheres, nor do (the stars and the positions of the spheres) give any indications with regard to them.

The branch of questions (interrogationes) has been accepted in astrology as a way of making deductions from the stars and positions of the spheres. However, it is used where it is not natural for it to be used.

When the sand diviners came, they discontinued use of the stars and the positions of the spheres, because they found it difficult to establish the altitude of stars by means of instruments and to find the adjusted (positions of the) stars by means of calculations. Therefore, they invented their combinations of figures.

They assumed that there were 16, according to the houses of the firmament and the cardines, and they specified that they were lucky, unlucky, or mixed, like the planets.

They limited themselves to the sextile aspect. They made judgments in accordance with the combinations of figures, as is done in the interrogation (branch of astrology). In both cases, the use made (of the data) is not a natural one, as we stated before.

Many city dwellers who had no work, in order to make a living, 343 tried sand divination. They composed works teaching the foundation and principles of sand divination. This was done by az-Zanati 344 and others.

Some sand diviners attempt supernatural perception, in that they occupy their senses with study of the combinations of figures. They thus reach a state of preparedness, like those who are by nature fitted for preparedness, as we shall mention later on.

These men are the noblest class of sand diviners.

In general, they assume that sand writing originated with the prophets of old. They frequently ascribe its invention to Daniel or Idris, 345 as is being done with all the crafts.

They (also) frequently claim that (sand writing) is enjoined by the religious law. As a proof of this (contention of theirs), they quote the followingtradition of Muhammad= “There was a prophet who wrote, and whoever concurs with his writing this is it.” 346

However, this tradition contains no evidence for the claim that sand writing is enjoined by the religious law, as some people assume. The meaning of the tradition is= “There was a prophet who wrote,” that is, the revelation came to him while he was writing. It is not absurd to assume that such was the custom of some prophets, for prophets differ in their ways of perceiving the revelation. God said= “We distinguished the messengers (by giving the ones pre-eminence) over the others.” 347

When some of them received the revelation, the angel spoke first to them, without any request or motive (on their part). Others had a human motive, resulting from contact with human affairs, in that their people asked them to explain some difficult problem, some obligation of duty, or the like.

Therefore, they directed their devotions to the Divine, and in that way God revealed to them what they wanted to know. (Logical) classification here suggests the existence of another division. Revelation may come to a person who is not prepared for it in any way, as in the afore-mentioned instance, or it may come to a person who is prepared for it in some way. In the Israelite stories, it is reported that a prophet was prepared for the coming of the revelation by hearing sweet melodious voices 348

This report is not established as correct, but it is not improbable. God singles out His prophets and messengers for whatever (favors) He wishes. This 349 was reported to us on the authority of a great Sufi, who attempts to attain remoteness from sensual perception by listening to music.

By this means he becomes completely free for his (supernatural) perceptions, in the station he is in, which (it is true) is inferior to prophecy. “And there is nobody among us who does not have a known station.” 350

If this is established and if, as we have mentioned before, certain sand diviners attempt to remove (the veil of sense perception) by occupying their senses with the study of combinations of figures, they may attain intuitive supernatural revelation (kashf) through complete freedom from sense perception.

They may exchange bodily perceptions for spiritual ones-both of which have been explained earlier.

This is a kind of soothsaying, of the type of gazing at bones, water, and mirrors, and it distinguishes (these sand diviners) from those who restrict themselves to techniques that achieve supernatural perception by means of sagacity and conjecturing, but who do not relinquish corporeal perception and continue to wander in the realm of guesswork.

Some prophets achieved preparedness for being addressed by the angel, in their prophetical station, by writing, exactly as people who are not prophets may achieve preparedness for spiritual perception and the relinquishment of human perception by the same means.

Sand diviners achieve spiritual perception only, whereas prophets achieve an angelic perception by means of divine revelation. The prophets have nothing to do with the stations of the sand diviners, whose perceptions are based on sagacity and conjecturing. They do not make it part of the religious law for any human being to speak about and discuss the supernatural.

The statement in the tradition, “And whoever concurs with his writing - this is it,” 351 means= He is right, in view of the fact that the writing was supported by the revelation that came to that particular prophet, whose custom it was to have the revelation come to him while he was writing.

Or, the tradition may be a compliment and indicate that the prophet had reached a high competence in the use of sand writing - without (implying) the existence of a connection between (revelation) and (sand writing) - because in this way the prophet was prepared for revelation, which, therefore, concurred with (the conclusions reached from sand writing).

But were the prophet to take (those conclusions) from the writing alone, without the concurrence of revelation, they would not be right. This is the meaning of the tradition.

The tradition does not indicate that sand writing is enjoined by religious law, nor that it is permissible to practice sand writing to obtain supernatural perception, as sand diviners in the cities do. Some of them may be inclined to this opinion, on the basis that what (any) prophet did is accepted law, and that sand writing, therefore, is enjoined by the religious law according to the principle, held by some, that the religious law of those who came before us is religious law for us.

This does not apply in this (case). Law only results when it is enjoined by messengers upon the various nations. This (particular) tradition, however, indicates no (thing of the sort). It indicates only that the particular condition was that of one of the prophets, and it is possible that it was not enjoined as a religious law.

Therefore, it would not be a religious law, neither one restricted to the people of (that particular prophet), nor one common to his people and to others.

The tradition merely indicates that it is a condition that may occur in the instance of a particular prophet, without being generally applicable to mankind. This is all we wanted to make clear here. God gives the correct inspiration.

If, in their self-deception, (sand diviners) want to discover something supernatural, they take paper, or sand, or flour, and form dots in (four) lines 352 in accordance with the number of the four ranks. This is repeated four times. They thus obtain sixteen lines.

They then deduct (some) dots in pairs. The remainder, for each line, whether it is even or odd,353 is put into the rank to which it belongs according to order.

This results in four combinations, which they arrange to form one continuous line. From them, they then form four other combinations through horizontal confrontation, by considering each rank, the corresponding combination next to it, and the evens or odds found in it.354 These, then, make eight combinations, placed along one line.

From each pair of combinations, they then form one combination (to be placed) underneath the (eight), by considering the evens or odds found in each rank of two combinations.

Thus, we have four others under (the eight). From these four combinations, they then form two more combinations, which are likewise placed underneath (the four). From these two, they again form one more combination and place it underneath (the two).

They then combine this 15th combination with the first one and thus form one more combination, which completes the sixteen. 355 Then, they evaluate the whole “writing” in a curious manner, as to the good luck or misfortune required by the various combinations, taking them as they stand, speculating on them, analyzing them, combining them, making deductions as to the various kinds of existentia, and so on.

This craft is prevalent in all civilized regions and has a literature dealing with it. Outstanding ancient and modern personalities were famous for it.

But it is obviously based on arbitrary notions and wishful thinking. The truth that should be present to one’s mind is that the supernatural cannot be perceived by any craft at all. The only people who can acquire knowledge of the supernatural are those distinguished human beings who are fitted by nature to return from the world of sensual perception to the world of the spirit.

The astrologers, therefore, called all people able to perceive supernatural knowledge as “Venusians” because they assumed that the position of Venus in the nativities of these people indicates their ability to have supernatural perception.

If the person who takes up sand writing and similar practices is one of those distinguished beings, and if his study of dots, bones, and other things is intended to occupy his senses in order that his soul may return momentarily to the world of the spiritualia, then sand writing occupies the same position as castingpebbles, examining the hearts of animals, and gazing into transparent mirrors, as we have mentioned.

If this is not so, and if knowledge of the supernatural is sought by means of (sand writing), (then) it is meaningless in theory and practice.

The following are signs that a person is disposed by nature to supernatural perceptions:

• when he devotes himself to acquiring a knowledge of things and suffer a departure from their natural condition
• he yawns and stretches and show symptoms of remoteness from sensual perception

These symptoms vary in intensity according to the different degrees to which such people possess this natural disposition.

People who have no such signs have nothing to do with supernatural perception. They are merely trying to spread falsehoods.