Today’s quote:

« Les cathédrales sont belles
Et hautes sous le ciel bleu;
Mais le nid des hirondelles
Est l’édifice de Dieu. »

– Victor Hugo, Les Contemplations

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Augur Q&A

What does it mean to be an augur?

Being an augur means you observe and interpret natural signs, particularly the behavior of birds.

How do modern-day augurs differ from those of ancient times?

In the classical Roman world, an augur was a priest who practiced augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying events observed within a predetermined sacred space called a templum, along with its corresponding heavenly space above.

Today, augurs are more commonly referred to as “birdwatchers” or “bird nerds.”

How do you get better at augury?

Practice.

No, but really, how do I get better at augury? What does it take to go pro?

In the past, an augur’s decisions were based on what they saw or heard. This could be anything from weather events to falling objects. Omens. The most accurate of predictions came from taking the auspices.

“Taking the auspices” is what they called “birdwatching” and “birdlistening” combined in one action. Today, we call it “birdwatching” even if you listen to the birds, so we’ve adopted one word to encompass both actions.

To become a pro augur, you have to birdwatch and take notes and make predictions on the future state of the world and make sure everyone around you only knows of the predictions that turn out to be true. Then and only then can you start charging people for personal predictions using the chicken you keep by your side, just like the ancient Romans used to do.

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Brain teaser:

Identify the one letter that completes the following series:

• “Using” is E

• “Desist” is I

• “Visits” is E

• “Design” is ???