According to some sources (eg Shipley, Roget's Thesaurus) there is a distinction between the two forms with 'dactyliomancy' = a suspended ring, and 'dactylomancy' = a finger-ring. However considering that in ancient Greek daktylios means 'finger-ring' and daktylos simply means 'finger', this distinction cannot really hold true as it is etymologically arse-about. The OED did not note any such distinction and noted the dactylo- form as being erroneous.
1613 Purchas in OED.
1652 Gaule The Magastromancer xix. 165: ..Dactylomancy, by rings...
1777 Brand Popular Antiquities (1844) iii. 329: Dactalomancy [citing Gaule, though changing spelling]
1832 Hone Year Bk 1517/2: [citing Gaule (via Brand)]
1852 Mackay Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions 252: Dactylomancy, by rings. [citing Hone citing Gaule]
1855 Edward Smedley in Smedley et al. Occult Sci. 326: dactylomancy, Or divination by rings, is performed in several different ways. One method is to suspend the ring (a wedding ring is generally preferred) by a thread or a hair, either within a glass tumbler or within reach of it by swinging, and it will strike the glass - once for yes, twice for no, &c., as previously determined. Suspended over a sovereign it will indicate certain persons among those sitting round the table, and if a hair is used taken from one of the company, it will swing towards that individual only. An ancient method of divining by the ring is similar in principle to the modern table-rapping. The edge of a round table was marked with the characters of the alphabet, and the ring stopped over certain letters, which being joined together, composed the answer. Ammianus Marcellinus relates this method at great length, and states that it was used to discover the successor of Valens, when the first four letters of the name of Theodosius were indicated; the rite was religiously performed, the diviner, entirely clothed in white linen, and with his head shaven, held in his hand a piece of vervain, which is well known protection against evil spirits; the ring also was consecrated. In another method of practising Dactylomancy, rings were put on the finger nails when the Sun entered Leo, and the Moon Gemini; or the Sun and Mercury were in Gemini, and the Moon in Cancer; or the Sun in Sagittarius, the Moon in Scorpio, and Mercury in Leo. These rings were made of gold, silver, copper, iron, or lead, and magical characters were attached to them, but how they operated we are not informed.
1871 Tylor Primitive Culture (1891) i. iv. 127: These mystic arts..are rude forms of the classical dactyliomancy, of which so curious an account is given in the trial of the conspirators Patricius and Hilarius, who worked it to find out who was to supplant the emperor Valens. A round table was marked at the edge with the letters of the alphabet, and with prayers and mystic ceremonies a ring was held suspended over it by a thread, and by swinging or stopping towards certain letters gave the responsive words to the oracle. Dactyliomancy has dwindled in Europe to the art of finding out what o'clock it is by holding a ring hanging inside a tumbler by a thread, till, without conscious aid by the operator, it begins to swing and strikes the hour.
1880 J. Grant Mysteries of all Nations xlii. 383: Dactyliomancy was divination by means of a ring. The ring was suspended by a thread above a round table, on the edge of which letters of the alphabet were marked. The ring, in shaking or vibrating over the table, stopped over certain of the letters, which, on being connected, supplied the answer asked.
1893 Howitt tr. Ennemoser Hist. of Magic ii. 456: dactyliomancy - Is a sort of divination performed by means of a ring. It was done as follows: - viz. by holding a ring, suspended by a fine thread, over a round table on the edge of which were made a number of marks with the 24 letters of the alphabet. The ring, in shak- ing or vibrating over the table, stopped over certain of the letters, which, being joined together, composed the required answer. But this operation was preceded and accompanied by several superstitious ceremonies; for, in the first place, the ring was to be consecrated with a great deal of mystery; the person holding it was to be clad in linen garments to the very shoes, his head was to be shaven all round and he was to hold vervain in his hand. And before he proceeded to anything the gods were first to be appeased by a formulary of prayers, etc. The whole process of this mysterious rite is given in the 29th book of Ammianus Marcellinus. [copied in Daniels & Stevans 1903]
1897 ???? Urquhart tr. Rabelais Works of Rabelais iii. xxv. 163: [footnote] Ammianus Marcellinus pretends with Sozomenus, that the exploration..was by dactyliomancy.
1903 Daniels & Stevans Encyc. Occult Sci. (1971) III 1662: [text copied from Howitt 1893]
1913 Halliday Greek Div. x. 218: Daktyliomancy [heading] A very favourite kleromantic method of divining the future is to consult the automatic swinging of the pendulum. ..I have even assisted at a solemn consultation of the ring by superstitious ladies.
1920 L. Spence Encyc. Occult 112/1: Dactylomancy: A term covering various forms of divination practised with the aid of rings.
1931 Lock tr. de Givry Picture Museum of Sorcery (1963) viii. 303: Dactylomancy was performed by means of rings put on the fingernails...
1953 Gaynor (ed.) Dict. Mysticism (1974) 44: Dactyliomancy; dactilomancy: An ancient form of divination by means of a ring.
1959 Robbins Encyc. of Witchcraft and Demonology 139: [citing Gaule] Dactylomancy, by rings.
1970 Man, Myth & Magic v. 658: Dactyliomancy - by a finger-ring.
1970 Zolar Encyc. of Ancient & Forbidden Knowledge 466: DACTYLOMANCY: The early form of Radiesthesia, where a dangling ring indicates words and numbers by its swings.
1973 Collier's Encyc. x. 211/1: Dactylomancy...pendant ring
1973 K. Ellis Prediction and Prophecy iv. 61: In dactylomancy, a ring was suspended by a thread, which was set on fire. When the ring fell, the soothsayers noted which letters it rolled over.
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy (1989) 316: DACTYLOMANCY: Broadly, this covers divinations utilizing finger rings, but that should exclude cases where such rings are used chiefly as adjuncts to some cabalistic ritual, as in necromancy. Greek and Roman rings supposedly produced divinatory results when inscribed with words suited to their times. By the Middle Ages, the names of the Three Wise Men - Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar - were popular as inscriptions. Later, the custom was applied to wedding rings, which had the words "Love and Obey" engraved on the inside, but such a positive prediction could be nullified if the bride crossed her fingers. Gems, too, had power when set in rings, but they promised a vast variety of benefits, ranging from invisibility to immunity from snakebite, so only a few were specifically associated with divination. Of those, the turquoise was outstanding, and a popular procedure was to attach a turquoise ring to a string and dangle it within a goblet, where it would begin to swing and tell the hour by clicking against the sides of the glass, or even spell out words, if letters of the alphabet were recited in order until the final clink. Since the diviner holds the string between his thumb and forefinger, this is practically a form of cleidomancy, with a ting being used instead of a key, hence almost any type of ring will do unless the diviner finds that it takes one set with a turquoise to put him in the proper mood. There was also an ancient form of dactylomancy practiced with rings composed of different metals, which were placed on certain fingers according to planetary conditions then prevailing; hence it might more properly be termed a form of astromancy.
1983 Complete Bk Predictions 66: Other forms of the art [sc. radiesthesia] included divination with a suspended key (cleidomancy) or a suspended ring (dactylomancy) - methods that are still in use today.
1985 N. Drury Dict. Mysticism & Occult
1986 F. Gettings Encyc. Occult Dactyliomancy
1993 McCormack Q&A 70: DACTYLIOMANCY
- a suspended ring.
DACTYLOMANCY - finger rings.
OED List var. 'dactylo-' as erron. Defines as 'by means of a finger-ring'. This being etymologically correct. And also states "(For methods see E.P. Tylor Prim. Culture I. 115.)"
The OED gives a hwd 'dactalomancy' and defines it as an error for 'dactyliomancy', yet offers no citations. Is this an example of citations having been deleted without Murray's knowledge? Also on this page, under 'dactylio-', there are only two citations to illustrate eight secondary headwords.
[1632 Cotgrave Dictionarie of French & Eng. Tongues Dactiliomantie: f. Finger-Magicke.]
1740 Dyche & Pardon New General Eng. Dict.: dactyliomancy (s.) a kind of divination, performed by holding a ring suspended to a thread, over a round table, on the edge of which were marked the letters of the alphabet; the ring, by its vibrations, pointed to certain letters, which being joined together in words, gave the answer to what was asked: But this was preceded by a great deal of superstitious ceremony; for first, the ring was consecrated with a great deal of mysterious stuff; next, the person who held it was to be clad in linen down to his shoes, his head was to be shaved all round; and he was to hold vervain in his hand; lastly, before any thing was done, a formulary of prayers, made for that purpose, was repeated, in order to render the gods favourably disposed.
1852 Roget Thes. § 511. ..by a suspended ring, Dactyliomancy..by finger rings, Dactylomancy...
1871 Ogilvie Imperial Dict. i. dactyliomancy, or dactylomancy..The pretended art of divining by rings.
1882 Worcester Dict. of the Eng. Lang.
dactyliomancy..Divination by means of finger-rings.
Maunder.
Ibid. dactylomancy Dactyliomancy.
Brande.
1894 OED
1899 Century Dict. (1902) II dactyliomancy.. Divination by means of a finger-ring.
1908 Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dict. i. dactyliomancy..Divination by means of a finger-ring. dactylomancy\ddag .
1909 Encyc. Dict. (Cassell's) II
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict. dactyliomancy [main words list]; dactylomancy [minor words list; labelled erroneous]
c1920 Cassell's New Eng. Dict. dactyliomancy..Divination by finger-rings. [marked obsolete]
1955 Shipley Dict. Early Eng. (1963) 16. dactyliomancy, a suspended ring; dactylomancy, finger rings.
1961 Webs. Third New Int. Dict. dactyliomancy
1981 Macquarie Dict. (1st ed.) dactyliomancy..divination by means of finger-rings.
1984 Macquarie Thes. § 268.6 dactyliomancy (suspended rings)
1986 Urdang (ed.) -Ologies & -Isms (3rd ed.) 209. dactyliomancy a form of divination involving finger rings.
1988 Chambers Eng. Dict. dactyliomancy
Bailey 1727 gives the def. DAPHNOPHAGI..certain Prophets or Diviners in antient Times, that pretended to be inspired after the eating of Bay-leaves.
Recorded earliest in dictionaries. From French daphnomantie, probably from New Latin daphnomantia, from ancient Greek daphne the laurel tree.
1656 Blount Glossographia s.v. divination. The
third and last manner of Divination is that which we call
Superstitious, whereof there has been among the Gentiles divers
different kinds. As namely..Daphnomancy, by a Lawrel or Bay
tree.
Ibid. Daphnomancy (from the Gr. ëàívn i.
laurus and manteia i. Divinatio) divination by a
Lawrel Tree.
1676 Coles An Eng. Dict.: Daphnomancy, g. Divination by Laurels.
1882 Worcester Dict. of the Eng. Lang. [supplement] daphnomancy..Divination by means of the laurel.
1894 OED
1899 Century Dict. (1902) II daphnomancy.. Sooth-saying by means of the laurel.
1908 Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dict. i. daphnomancy..Divination by means of the laurel.
1910 Encyc. Dict. (Cassell's) supp. - cites Blount.
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict. daphnomancy [minor words list; labelled obsolete]
1955 Shipley Dict. Early Eng. (1963) 16. daphnomancy, a laurel tree, or branch therefrom. In other texts
[1713 Fabricii Bibliographia Antiquaria xii. 414: Daphnomantia, per lauri ramum in ignem conjectum, qvalent ille strpeitum ediderit.] 1920 L. Spence Encyc. Occult 114/1: Daphnomancy: Divination by means of a laurel. A branch is thrown in the fire, if it crackles in burning it is a happy sign, but if it burns without doing so, the prognostication is false.
1931 Lock tr. de Givry Picture Museum of Sorcery (1963) viii. 303: Dactylomancy was performed by means of rings put on the fingernails, and daphnomancy by means of a branch of laurel, which announced a fortunate augury if it crackled in burning.
1953 Gaynor (ed.) Dict. Mysticism (1974) 44: Daphnomancy: Divination by interpreting the crackling of a laurel branch thrown into the fire.
1961 H.E. Wedeck Treasury of Witchcraft xii. 220: An exhaustive listing would become overwhelming. Let there be mentioned hepatoscopy and critomancy, daphnomancy and empyromancy, ichthyomancy and lampadomancy, margaritomancy and molybdomancy.
1963 M. Bessy Pict. Hist. Magic & Supernatural 41: There was also..clidomancy (key), cromniomancy (onion) and daphnomancy (laurel); besides others.
1970 Zolar Encyc. of Ancient & Forbidden Knowledge 466: DAPHNOMANCY: This requires listening to the laurel branches crackling in an open fire; the louder the crackle, the better the omen.
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy (1989) 317. DAPHNOMANCY: An ancient Greek divination in which questions of great moment were answered in varying degrees of "Yes" or "No" by throwing laurel leaves on a fire. The louder the leaves crackled, the better the omen; the more profound the silence, the worse. Since the laurel had to be plucked from a grove sacred to Apollo and tossed on an equally sacred fire, it is doubtful that the process would work now, even if it did back then.
1983 Complete Bk Predictions 144. Daphnomancy Divination by the burning of laurel leaves. The louder the sound made by the leaves burning, the better the omen.
1985 N. Drury Dict. Mysticism & Occult
1986 P. Hellweg Insomniac's Dict. x.
1777 Brand Popular Antiquities (1844) iii. 329. [citing Gaule]
1832 Hone Year Bk 1517/1: Dæmonomancy... [citing Gaule (via Brand)]
1853 Mackay Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions 251. Demonomancy, by the aid of devils and evil spirits. [citing Hone citing Gaule; but modernising spelling]
1920 L. Spence Encyc. Occult 120/2: Demonomancy: Divination by means of demons. This divination takes place by the oracles they make, or by the answers they give to those who evoke them.
1959 Robbins Encyc. of Witchcraft and Demonology 139. [citing Gaule; but modernising spelling] Demonomancy, by the suggestion of evil demons or devils.
1970 Zolar Encyc. of Ancient & Forbidden Knowledge 466: DEMONOMANCY: Divination through the aid of demons.
1973 Gibson Complete Illust. Bk Div. & Prophecy (1989) 317. DEMONOMANCY: Divination through questions put to demons and the answers that they give. To do this, demons must first be evoked. This should not be difficult, if we accept the figures of medieval authorities, who claimed that exactly 1,758,064,176 lesser devils are constantly at large and ready to appear in some strange shape or form at anyone's mere wish. The problem is how to recognize demons when they do appear; and even then, how to know if their answers are correct, as they delight in deceiving those who summon them.
1985 N. Drury Dict. Mysticism & Occult
1986 F. Gettings Encyc. Occult
1899 Century Dict. (1902) II demonomancy.. Divination while under the influence or inspiration of the devil or of demons.
1908 Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dict. i.: demonomancy..Divination by inspiration of the devil or of demons.
1909 Encyc. Dict. (Cassell's) II
1912 Webs. New Int. Dict.: demonomancy [minor words list; labelled obsolete]
1955 Shipley Dict. Early Eng. (1963) 16; demonomancy, with the help of demons.
1981 Macquarie Dict. (1st ed.): demonomancy..divination through the aid of demons.
1986 Urdang (ed.) -Ologies & -Isms (3rd ed.)
209: demonomancy a form of divination involving a demon or
demons.
I have a feeling that this is probably a ghost word originally arising from a misconstruing of drymimancie. The juxtaposition in Reade of this word with the rare word scatomancy (for which the sole source is Agrippa, and where it appears alongside drymimancie) is very suspicious.
If this is indeed a ghost word, then this form and definition would be based on the etymological conjecture: - from driry, a 16th & 17th century form of dreary, representing Old English dreorig, a derivative of dreor gore, falling blood!
This etymology involves a number of problems: the word driry never had the meaning "(pertaining to) dripping blood"; the Old English word dreor did not continue into the Middle English period, let alone modern English; a hybrid compound of an obsolete native English word with a Greek ending is unlikely (though see spealomancy); and generally -mancy compounds take a noun as their first element, not an adjective.
If this is wrong, then I am unable to suggest any other etymon, as driri- corresponds to no Greek or Latin word recorded in the major dictionaries of those languages. That it may represent a word of some other langauge is highly unlikely.
The OED does not record this word, though it does appear in the
second citation for the word scatomancy.
1955 Shipley Dict. Early Eng. (1963) 16:
dririmancy, dripping blood.
1569 Sanford tr. Agrippa Of the vanitye and uncertainties of atres and sciences lxxxiii, 145 b: Doo you not daylie see howe they [sc. physicians] goo about the Citie with ringed fingers, and dirtie gownes, with a sadde countenaunce, and alwayes pale, and with a quicke pace, for hope of veray vile gayne, renne from one Apothecaries shoppe to an other, seekinge and begging, if in any place a man wil offer them urine, or a ball of ordure to looke upon, & as the hooded vultures are beste nosed about deade bodies, so these mē, are best nosed of al about excremēts: which they say: Hippocrates was wont also to taste, that thereby he might the better preceive the notion of the sicknesse: whiche thinge also many doo attribute to Esculapius: who for this cause was of Aristophanes called Scatophagos, in whiche worde they be signified, which feede upon the superfluities of meates, which name afterwards was derived to all Phisitians, in such wise, that wée call them Scatophagians and Scatomanters, that is ordure eaters, and lookers on ordure. For this cause Scatomācie, Oromancie, Drymimancie, be called the diuinations or Prognostications of Phisitiās, gathered by ordures and urines.
1603 Christopher Heydon A Defence of Ivdiciall
Astrologie 9: Others also in derision name them, [sc.
physicians] Scatomantes, Ouromantes,
Drymimantes, to signify that their chiefest divination
and living is by base matters; as by excrements, vrine, and
the like, according to the verse: Stercus & vrina,
Medicorum fercula prima.