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Ancient Techniques for Predicting the Future
Destiny Books 2005 ISBN #1-59477-085-9 Robert Temple is a man of many faces - author (including Netherworld, The Crystal Sun, The Sirius Mystery, China: Land of Discovery and Invention), scholar, archeologist, translator (of the epic Gilgamesh, and of Aesop's Fables), television producer, and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. Temple also holds a degree in Sanskrit and Oriental Studies. In Oracles of the Dead, Temple addresses the shadow side of prophecy. Originally published in the United Kingdom in 2002, under the title Netherworld: Discovering the Oracle of the Dead and Ancient Techniques of Foretelling the Future, Temple focuses on two Western and two Eastern traditions. From the Western tradition, he discusses oracles and divination by entrails. From the Eastern tradition he discusses Oracle-Bone cracking, and the Book of Changes from China. While this is a scholarly book, well researched and well written, the reader needs to know that Temple pulls no punches with his personal opinions. One of those opinions shows up almost immediately: the belief that Astrology is not a major form of institutionalized prophecy. He feels that it always had lesser importance than the methods of divination that he discusses in this book. Temple views the ancient rites held at the Oracle of the Dead, in Baia, southern Italy, the rites termed a descent into hell, as one of the most terrifying and dangerous rituals for foretelling the future that we know of. This is a real place, there were real priests, and the journey was a literal underground journey. It took many years for Temple to get permission to visit the site, which was alleged to contain dangerous gasses. Discovered by Robert Paget in 1962, the structure at Baia consists of a series of tunnels, going down into the ground. From first hand experience, Temple describes the odor in the tunnels as "dead earth". There is an underground river that serves as the mythical River Styx, across which a person dressed as the figure Charon (the Underworld Ferryman) rowed those requesting a prophecy. Temple goes into quite extensive background, weaving an interesting story into the hard core facts. Those seeking a prophecy were among the wealthy and privileged class, as it took a great deal of money to pay for the expensive oils and "tributes" required along the way (this was a journey of several days). The Seeker was required to bath and then apply oils to their body several times during the trip. They were also required to drink of the water - once to forget all that was on his mind, once to remember all that happened on the journey. This all served a very interesting purpose - which Temple proposes was to drug the Seeker so that he had no idea what was going on! The Seeker was alone - his friends and servants waiting for him in another location. It was said that those who sought prophecy came out of the tunnels in a deranged state, and took some time to return to normal. Temple also indicates that the priests spoke with the Seeker before they were reunited with their servants and friends. He indicates that if the Seeker seemed to have doubts about the journey, they never saw the light of day. They were reported to have not made it back from hell. And this was taken seriously, and accepted by those waiting. Another interesting idea that Temple presents is that to continue making money, the prophecies needed to appear to be valid. To accomplish this, the priests were said to make use of carrier pigeons, receiving news from a distance, and presenting it as prophecy. The "prophecy" would be validated when the news was brought from afar by human messenger. There is a great deal of interesting information here, including the fact that at one time the tunnels were sealed, to stop the practice of prophecy. They have not been fully excavated to this day. Temple mentions, in separate chapters, the importance of signs and portents. He views them as an alternative form of perception, and bemoans the fact that they are largely left to be dealt with by folklorists, whom he does not deem to be the right people to deal with all of their implications. (I did say that Temple does not hesitate to express his opinions!) Divination by entrails is exactly that - taking the life of an animal, and examining their entrails, usually the liver. There is quite a bit of explanation in this section ... most of which can be skimmed over by the squeamish, like me. There are some interesting things here, such as the drawing of a bronze liver where the 16 regions of the sky are associated with specific locations in the liver. In discussing the Book of Change (better known as the I Ching), Temple makes the statement that the foundation of the system that is the Book of Change is based on the nature of time, space, and the universe. He also expresses that some of the most passionate devotees of the Book of Change are deeply ignorant of the book, its history, and its deeper implications. I do have to say that Temple understands the subject well, and does an in depth presentation. The Oracle-Bones were something that I found very interesting. They were generally taken from the shoulderblade of an oxen, with cavities cut into them and scorched. The resulting breaks in the bone were then read in a prophetic manner. There is also a short section on the Oracular Hexagonal Lattice, which is well worth reading. The appendices to this book include a "Hitherto Unpublished Seventeenth-Century Account of the Area of the Baian Oracle"; the text of a talk given by Temple on "Fables, Riddles, and Mysteries of Death"; a paper by Temple entitled "An Anatomical Verification of the Reading of a Term in Extispicy"; and a reprint of the table of binary numbers converted into decimal numbers which appeared at the end of Immanuel Olsvanger's rare pamphlet "Fu Hsi: The Sage of Ancient China". Throughout the book are illustrations, many from Temple's private collection, that act to empower the subject of the book. For those interested in the history of prophecy as it relates to the I Ching, Oracle-Bones, the Baian prophecy site, and prophecy through entrails, this is a must read book. The references and endnotes are thorough, allowing this work to act as a reference for future work. Temple brought out ideas that I had not seen before (such as the drugging of Seekers, and the use of carrier pigeons), and I am sure that the same would be true for most readers.
Bonnie Cehovet
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