hydatoscopy means divination by interpreting rainwater. Omens are drawn from the various formations and sizes of rain puddles, and bowls of rainwater are gazed upon until clairvoyant visions appear on the surface of the water, or in the mind's eye. This is considered in some cases to be more important than hydromancy because rain has fallen from the heavens, making it sacred. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “hydatoscopy” is a great word
Divination by interpreting rainwater, especially through the study of puddles or by scrying with a vessel of rain. Formed from the Ancient Greek ὑδάτος (hydátos, genitive of ὕδωρ (húdōr), 'of water') and σκοπέω (skopéō, 'to observe, examine'). Unlike hydromancy, which may involve any water—rivers, seas, or tides—or pegomancy, which requires the specific, upwelling spirit of a spring, hydatoscopy is the practice of reading the transient, sky-given script. It is the patient stare into a brimming bowl for the first signs of a storm's character, the deciphering of a world reflected upside-down in a roadside rut, and the interpretation of patterns where a drip from a gutter fractures a surface—a quiet faith that meaning precipitates from the indifferent air.
Etymology
From hydato- + -scopy.
Hydat- is the stem of Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”), whence also hydro-.
noun
- Divination by interpreting rainwater. Omens are drawn from the various formations and sizes of rain puddles, and bowls of rainwater are gazed upon until clairvoyant visions appear on the surface of the water, or in the mind's eye. This is considered in some cases to be more important than hydromancy because rain has fallen from the heavens, making it sacred.