MDDM: Chapter 48 Geomancer

Dave Monroe davidmmonroe at yahoo.com
Wed Apr 17 03:18:54 CDT 2002


Okay, I haven't had much time to play along at home
here, but ...

Main Entry: geo·man·cy 
Pronunciation: 'jE-&-"man(t)-sE
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English geomancie, from Middle
French, from Medieval Latin geomantia, from Late Greek
geOmanteia, from Greek geO- + -manteia -mancy
Date: 14th century
: divination by means of figures or lines or
geographic features
- geo·man·cer  /-s&r/ noun
- geo·man·tic  /"jE-&-'man-tik/ adjective

http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary

And from the archives ...

This description is from Eitel's "Feng-Shui, or the
Rudiments of Natural Science in China"(1873):

It is therefore one of the first requirements of a
geomancer that he should be able to tell at a moment's
glance which star is represented by any given
mountain.
As to the planets and their counterparts on earth, the
rules by which each mountain may be referred to one or
other of the five planets are very simple....

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9705&msg=15369&sort=date

600.4  `A geomantic Engine in the Wild' geomancy, LME
fr med Lat geomantia, geo = earth + mancy = forming
nouns with the sense of `divination by', (The
art of) divination from the configurstion of a handful
of thrown earth or a number of random dots. Also, the
art of siting cities, buildings, tombs, etc,
auspiciously. geomantic a & n L16, A Of or pertaining
to geomancy, L16, B A geomancer, only in M17. Sits
right between geomagnetism (qv) and geometer (fr Gk =
land measurer and in US L18-E19 = surveyor, L16-L17
geometrician = surveyor)! (ad)

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9803&msg=25436&sort=date

[that one from Keith McMullen to the "Pynchon
Shitlist" ...]


Quoted from 'The Ancient Science of Geomancy' by Nigel
Pennik:

The Chinese geomancer's compass is a complex
instrument which was developed over the centuries to
enable the practitioner to make precise calculations
in the subtle art of Feng-Shui. Owing to continuous
alterations in magnetic variation, three systems
superimposed one upon another became institutionalized
in the standard compass which practitioners of
Feng-Shui use today....

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9805&msg=26629&sort=date

[that one also from Keith, that time to "Geomancers
Anonymous" ...]

615.7  'Geomancer'  The feng shui master is referred
to as a geomancer.  In keeping with the concerns of
feng shui (i.e.: collecting and utilizing chi energy,
&c.), the geomancer is also concerned with the
lay-lines that form the world grid.  It is argued that
these lines converge at different points (high-energy
points) around the world.  It would seem that this is
what Shelby is referring to when he tells M&D that
"When at length your Visto is arriv'd here, the Mound
will become active" (599.35).  Lay-lines, when
combined with the theories of feng shui, could be
assumed to harness sha energy just as easily as chi
energy, thereby perhaps creating the potency for a
fairly dangerous weapon, as perhaps Stig already knows
(613.19-23).

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9804&msg=25887&sort=date

Hope that's of some help.  Try "geomancy" as well ...

--- CyrusGeo at netscape.net wrote:
>  
> Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I still can't figure
> out why he uses the word "geomancer".

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