Scapulimancy

A druid lingers among the stones of Ulaid The fog breaches from the sea Hooded crows throng and cackle overhead This night he must augur the coming of war Scald-crows gather skyward ready for the violence He prepares the scapula waiting for a message Dancing shadows through the smoke of the sacred fire War sisters congregate to direct the outcome A ram's right shoulder blade to reveal fate It should be boiled clean – no remaining flesh! Blemishes and indents reveal premonitions Badb flies above in the misty dimness Féth Fíada conceals the sage impeding interruption He carefully coddles bone in his blackened cauldron The firelight stretches over ancient stones Goddesses encircle tight to instill ardor An adept reader of bone must read the largest hole Position should be confirmed – to reveal death! Scapula for survival of due carnage Morrígan sends a croak into the hazy gloominess A ram's right shoulder blade to reveal fate It should be boiled clean – no remaining flesh! Blemishes and indents reveal premonitions Nemain observes through the fog-strewn murkiness The eye of the bone faces upward to the sky Where the war crows reside in obscurity The seer inspects his token of fortune To evade death or die in great fury