Oenomancy 2
The weird and wonderful art of wine divination, part 2
Life has to be given a meaning because of the obvious fact that it has no meaning. Henry Miller - The Wisdom of the Heart
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Shakespeare, Hamlet (1.5.167-8), Hamlet to Horatio
“Divination is intended to break from the mundane and court the numinous. It asks that we set logic aside, surrender doubt, and step unafraid into the space between realms. As with dreams, whatever arises will tell us something we don’t know and can use. Jung said that the “redeeming symbol is a highway, a way upon which life can move forward without torment and compulsion.” By opening ourselves to the inexplicable, we set forth on that highway with the intent of discovering our unique pattern for personhood and purpose in the world.”
https://thisjungianlife.com/episode-175-tarot-divination-the-symbolic-life/
Seeking the deeper meaning of life through divination, astrology, tarot cards, numerology, or any other means (oenomancy) can be both surprising and inconclusive, even disappointing. It can also just be fun and perhaps an inkling or glimmer of the ineffable. Humans are pattern seekers and so we tend to find meaning in random things and allow our minds to create stories conjured from nothing. As Theseus says in a Midsummer Night’s Dream:
Hippolyta
'Tis strange, my Theseus, that these lovers speak of.
Theseus
More strange than true; I never may believe these antique fables, nor these fairy toys
Lovers and madmen have such seething brains, Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend more than cool reason ever comprehends.
The lunatic, the lover, and the poet are, of imagination, all compact. One sees more devils than vast hell can hold – That is, the madman.
The lover all as frantic, sees Helen's beauty in a brow of Egypt. The poet's eye, in fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven. And as imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown, the poet's pen turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing a local habitation and a name.
Such tricks hath strong imagination, that if it would but apprehend some joy, it comprehends some bringer of that joy;
Or in the night, imagining some fear, How easy is a bush supposed a bear.
As we are still early in to 2025, it seemed like a good idea to see what the wine gods have to say about this coming year. Oenomancy, the ancient art of divination using wine (you can read all about it in my post of 7 November, 2024) involves spilling wine and then ‘reading’ the shapes to find answers to life’s grandest, most confounding questions. Or, on a more prosaic note, to see “what is my Saturday going to be like?”, as someone queried.
On this particular evening, though, no one seemed quite sure what they were seeking, or why they were even here. But they’d heard that the wine had secrets, and that was enough.
As it is important to set the right kind of ambiance, we built a fire again in the fireplace, which is a rather rare event in itself in Paris, and lit several candles to create a ‘spiritual’ setting. Instead of spilling on to cloth, we decided to use paper this time, which created quite different ‘readings’. We were also more numerous (8 instead of 4), so decided to do two readings simultaneously, collectively deciding what it was we were seeing.
Paper is nowhere near as absorbant as cloth so, after experimenting with absorbency by atomising water over the paper before spilling, we determined that it was best to spray one side lightly to moisten it slightly, then turn the paper over and spill wine on the ‘dry’ side.
Spill # 1
The reading of this first stain, cast by a visitor from the west coast of Canada, ranged from a woman with crazy hair; old woman; judge’s wig, to Africa, a question mark, hook and a person that was half serpent with a scorpion tail and half human. Personally, I saw a 60’s rock icon, with the face in the unstained part of the spill, surrounded by very big hair.
Spill # 2
This reading (like most) was all over the place. Contrails, fireworks, turkey baster, unicorn snorting fire, metamorphosis of a caterpillar, seahorse, Indonesia, planetary alignment, shooting star, Saturn in digressive sizes, broken beaded necklace, Thestral (Harry Potter).
Spill # 3
Oyster seashell, heart, radish, puffer fish, stumpy carrot, beetroot, blood splat, one-sided Christmas tree, seed cone, floating mask looking to the left…
Spill # 4
Half mask, which when set next to the previous ‘mask’ appeared to be chasing it. Everyone saw a face, or head with a crown. And there was also a foot; someone’s right foot.
Spill #5
Probably the most ‘vigorous’ spill: amoeba with eyes; Covid escaping the lab and infecting neighbour (stain); radiating cat from behind; brain.
Spill # 6
The sorting hat from Harry Potter (second HP reference), wild boar, bow of a ship, ice-cream cone when turned upside down (which is how it is presented below), bumble bee, parsnip, purple carrot, umbrella & rain, tornado, spinning top, whirling Dervish, witch riding a broomstick, moon & stars…
Spill # 7
The very first reading was a blow-dryer and then a toucan. Seahorse, mallard duck, and if read in landscape view, a snail with a trail. There was also a meerkat with a scarf, and a submarine with lights and bubbles.
Spill # 8
This spill was manipulated, so the long thin lines at the bottom were created by lifting the paper and allowing the wine to run down the paper. Intentional, but also random. The reading included skinny man with big head, African head with beard, medusa, jelly fish, volcano with lava running down. Someone of a rather macabre mindset also saw a decapitated head.
The night carried on in this fashion: spilled wine interpreted as life-altering decisions (or simply interesting shapes that lead us on a wild goose-chase of meaninglessness) and everyone’s vague desire for clarity met with wildly divergent, yet strangely comforting, interpretations.
Comments on the experience and the outcome include:
“It’s fun and lighthearted and a good opportunity to be creative with what images you make of the stain and also how you read the spills and try to relate the meaning to the question, no matter how big or small. Also attempting to see the shapes other people are seeing can be interesting and eye-opening to their interpretation of things.”
“A very natural, simple experience allowing for raw and real reflections. Everyone seemed to feel comfortable and encouraged to react authentically and make connections however bizarre they could have sounded. The concept of giving analysis to my picture without other people knowing my question was almost a form of tarot as others were making predictions for me yet they didn’t even know it. No analysis was wrong, and honestly, it was a very reflective experience in quite a random chaotic way.”
“I found it to be very symbolic in my own way as I have been trying to be more intentional in every aspect of my own life. For me, spilling the wine intentionally to create something so chaotic and beautiful symbolized the random nature of life and how differently every decision (or spillage of wine), whether intentional or not, produces unique results that are beyond one’s control. My take from the whole experience was that even with a steady hand trying to be ever so intentional with one’s self, you will always achieve unpredictable, yet sometimes unexplainably beautiful results.”
In the end, no one had solved the mysteries of the universe. But everyone had a good time. And in the end, wasn’t that what we were really after? We weren’t so much seeking answers as we were searching for the joy in the questions. We weren’t destined to uncover the hidden truths of the cosmos, but we did (re)discover that food and wine are universal truths that always bring people together.
So, what were we hoping for? Perhaps we were hoping for clarity—or maybe just a few moments of connection and a chance to laugh at how seriously we could take ourselves while so utterly lost in the swirling ambiguity of the universe. And who knows? Maybe, somewhere in the depths of that wine glass, there’s a hint of something profound… Either way, I think everyone went home a little more satisfied than when they arrived.
The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware. In this state of god-like awareness one sings; in this realm the world exists as poem.
― Henry Miller - The Wisdom of the Heart
In the end, oenomancy—or at least our wine fuelled version of it—was about the experience, not the answers. Because in the grand scheme of things, what is divination really, if not a very good excuse to eat, drink, and ponder the great unknown while just barely holding it together?
If you are interested in participating in an oenomancy session, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to oblige. Santé!
Thank you for letting me into your world and for reading the Paris Wine Walks Substack. Your support is invaluable as are your comments, suggestions, critiques, dreams, thoughts and remembrances. A little encouragement goes a long way, so please consider a paid subscription, which need cost no more than (a cheap) glass of wine per week. Or, book a wine walk!
My book, ‘The Hidden Vineyards of Paris’ (reviewed in Jancis Robinson’s wine blog, the Wine Economist, National Geographic Traveler UK, UK Telegraph) is available for purchase via our website and at anglophone bookshops and wine shops in Paris. You can also find it at the Musée de Montmartre and the Librairie Gourmande.
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