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A '''lot book''' is a divinatory tool which uses various kinds of [[Cleromancy]] in order to find the answer to questions which are frequently given at the beginning of the book. During the resurgence of [[Geomancy]] in the Victorian era, it was extremely common to find lot books which used it as part of the process of obtaining an answer. | A '''lot book''' is a [[divination|divinatory]] tool which uses various kinds of [[Cleromancy]] in order to find the answer to questions which are frequently given at the beginning of the book. During the resurgence of [[Geomancy]] in the Victorian era, it was extremely common to find lot books which used it as part of the process of obtaining an answer. | ||
==Structure== | ==Structure== | ||
Most commonly, lot books are organized in the following order: | Most commonly, lot books are organized in the following order: | ||
*An Introduction/Preface, oftentimes discussing the supposed manuscript from which the lot book is said to be copied or translated from in addition to giving basic instructions. | * An Introduction/Preface, oftentimes discussing the supposed manuscript from which the lot book is said to be copied or translated from in addition to giving basic instructions. | ||
*The questions, most of the time numbered, which may be answered through the use of the book. | * The questions, most of the time numbered, which may be answered through the use of the book. | ||
*A chart to be consulted, using the number of the question asked and the symbol, number, or name deduced through the processes described in the Introduction/Preface, in order to find the answer. | * A chart to be consulted, using the number of the question asked and the symbol, number, or name deduced through the processes described in the Introduction/Preface, in order to find the answer. | ||
*The answers, often broken into sections represented by letters or symbols and listed by the aforementioned symbol, number, or name. | * The answers, often broken into sections represented by letters or symbols and listed by the aforementioned symbol, number, or name. | ||
Notable works which deviate from this pattern include the 1824 manuscript version of ''the Book of Fate'' which instead categorizes the answers by question and doesn't include a chart, and the French book ''Le Palais des Curieux'', which instead uses a chart and certain mathematical processes to arrive at the page number the answer is on, and the number representing the answer on that page. | Notable works which deviate from this pattern include the 1824 manuscript version of ''the Book of Fate'' which instead categorizes the answers by question and doesn't include a chart, and the French book ''Le Palais des Curieux'', which instead uses a chart and certain mathematical processes to arrive at the page number the answer is on, and the number representing the answer on that page. | ||