ADDITIONAL NOTES & A VARIATION OR TWO
One source says alectryomancy works best when it is practiced while the moon is in either the sign of Aries or the sign of Leo. Another source says it’s when either the sun or the moon are in Aries or Leo. Of course, people doubtless practiced this at any time of the year, regardless of where the sun or the moon was, but you may want to keep this bit of advice in mind if you ever try alectryomancy.
Remember, when laying out the letters in the circle, try to mix up the order of the letters a little, in order to increase the randomness of the chicken’s letter choices.
If you don’t keep chickens yourself, but you live near someone who does, there is a variation you may want to try. Call it Alectryomancy Version 2: at dawn, position yourself within hearing-distance of a rooster, then begin reciting the letters of the alphabet. When you get to the end of the alphabet, start reciting them again. Write down any letter you spoke at which time you simultaneously heard the cock crow. When you feel you have enough letters to work with, thank Deity/Spirit and go. Though the rules for this don’t say, it’s a good practice to say a brief prayer or set an intention before starting your listening and writing.
As a further variation on this, if you don’t live near someone who keeps chickens, but you do live within decent range of a public park which is frequently visited by ravens, crows, or grackles, you might be able to make-do with a bird from this family. They’re birds with a touch of the uncanny to them, anyway, being the bird sacred to Odin. Call this Alectryomancy Version 3.
Alectryomancy Version 4: If you don’t have a chicken but do have some other pet–a pet gerbil, hamster, guinea pig, rabbit, or parakeet, even dog or cat, you might be able to give alectryomancy a try, using your pet instead. Simply set up a circle, place letters inside it, and place a token amount of their favorite nosh by each letter. Of course, your pet may be the type to eat every treat on every letter, in which case, the order in which they do so may be important.
One source I consulted on this subject speculated the practice of gyromancy was descended from the practice of alectryomancy. As long-time readers of this blog may recall, Gyromancy Version 1 is a person instead of a chicken standing in the center of a circle of letters and the person spins themselves dizzy until they start staggering, and observers stationed around the circle note at which letters they staggered. Gyromancy Version 1 ideally needs a whole team of people participating, because some have to observe and you may need to switch-off spinners so one person isn’t spinning themselves sick. Gyromancy Version 2 employs chart and a spinning object like a top, gyroscope or coin. With that said, let me post below downloadable copies of both the lettered gyromancy chart I developed for Gyromancy 2, and the letter-cards I worked up for Gyromancy 1:
Letters for the original form of Gyromancy. Obviously, you’ll need to cut them apart before using:
If you have a pet bird, you may want to lay the Gyromancy 2 chart at the bottom of their cage, sprinkle some seed, and see if they spell out anything. Or you may want to lay either the chart or the letters on the floor of their cage, sans seed, and observe which letters they poop on. Call it Alectryomancy Version 5.