Dactyliomancy

Dactyliomancy (Gr. δακτύλιος, a ring, and μαντεία, divination), a species of augury practiced among the ancient Greeks and Romans, performed by suspending a ring from a fine thread over a round table, on the edge of which were marked the letters of the alphabet. When the vibration of the ring had ceased, the letters over which the ring happened to hang, when joined together, gave the answer to the inquirer. SEE DIVINATION.