גורלות

How it works: Write each option on a separate slip of paper. Roll or fold each slip, then drop them all into a vessel of water. The first slip to float to the surface is your answer — the lot that has risen is your portion. Up to seven options may be cast. This is one of the simplest and most direct lot methods in the book, requiring no calculation — the water itself does the choosing.

How it works (R' Saadiah Gaon's Sand Goral): A method of geomancy attributed to Rabbi Saadiah Gaon (882–942 CE), the great Gaon of Sura. Write your name and your mother's name to focus the lot. For each of the four rows, random dots are struck into sand without counting. Then pairs of dots are erased — two by two — until only one or two dots remain in each row. The four remainders (each either 1 or 2) form a four-bit binary code pointing to one of sixteen possible answers drawn from the book. The full system includes 16 derived rows corresponding to life areas (soul, wealth, kin, health, children, wife, death, travel, reign, hope, enemies, etc.), but the "Goral" — row 16 — is the final verdict.

How it works (Abraham's Seeds): Take thirteen olive pits or seeds. While holding them covered in your right hand, recite seven times: "Tehillat Hashem yedaber pi" — "My mouth shall speak the praise of God" (Psalms 145:21). Then cast them onto a table. Count how many land face-up (the "mouth" side facing upward). The number — from 0 to 13 — determines your answer from the book's table. Seven face-up is the middle: half and half, signifying that the matter will succeed. The extreme counts (all one way) signal a result that comes only after suffering.

How it works (Goral HaNevi'im — Planetary Hours): Based on the ancient Chaldean system of planetary hours, attributed in Otzar HaGoralot to Daniel the Prophet. The seven classical planets cycle in a fixed order — Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon — and each day of the week begins with a specific ruling planet. Each passing hour advances to the next planet in the cycle. The planet ruling the exact hour of your question determines whether your matter is favorable or not. This method requires no casting — the answer is written in the current moment itself.

Planetary order: Sunday starts with Sun · Monday with Moon · Tuesday with Mars · Wednesday with Mercury · Thursday with Jupiter · Friday with Venus · Saturday with Saturn.

How it works (David's Psalms): Open the Book of Psalms and read the verse your eyes fall upon as a divine message addressing your question. This form of Jewish bibliomancy — seeking guidance in Tehillim — is one of the oldest and most widely practiced forms of lot-casting in Jewish tradition, found across Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Mizrachi communities. The 150 psalms of David are considered a vessel for all human experiences: joy, fear, hope, loss, and gratitude. Whatever your question, a verse from Psalms can illuminate it.