In this class, contemporary cunning-man and historian of magic Dr Alexander Cummins will lead us in an exploration and celebration of the interrelations of gaming, gambling, and divination across the history of sorcery as particularly pertain to dice and their unique magics and meanings.

We will begin our investigation of these dice magics with close inspection of the archaeological records of Greco-Egyptian polyhedral dice, as well as the uses of the knucklebone astragals of antiquity. We will also consider the occult philosophy of Platonic solids and their elementalist understanding of polyhedral shapes and their mysteries.

Analyses of a range of dice-based Books of Fate will intersect with deepening our understanding of the practices of bibliomancy, as attested in various historical traditions employing dice to determine which chapter and verse of a sacred text one would consult for specific advice on a matter at hand; framing the Bible, as well as…