Bibliomancy at Sorteslibri

I specialize in answering your pressing questions using bibliomancy.

Discover how this ancient practice can illuminate your path and provide guidance.

Pesikta deRav Kahana 12

Whenever you seek to find counsel, it is in the Torah you should seek to find it. As David said: When I sought to find counsel, I would look into the Torah and there find counsel: “I will meditate in Thy precepts, and look into Thy ways” (Ps. 119:15), and again: “From Thy precepts I get understanding” (Ps. 119:104).

Babylonian Talmud, Chullin 95b

רב בדיק במברא ושמואל בדיק בספרא רבי יוחנן בדיק בינוקא

And Shmuel would check what would happen to him by opening a scroll and reading from wherever it was open to. Rabbi Yoḥanan would check what was in store for him by asking a child to recite the verse he was learning.

Shmuel then wrote and sent to Rabbi Yoḥanan explications of uncertainties pertaining to tereifot that had to be transported on thirteen camels. Rabbi Yoḥanan was impressed by this and said: I have a Master in Babylonia; I will go and see him. Before departing on his journey, Rabbi Yoḥanan said to a child: Recite to me your verse that you studied today. The child recited the following verse to Rabbi Yoḥanan: “Now Samuel was dead” (I Samuel 28:3). Rabbi Yoḥanan said to himself: Learn from this that Shmuel has died. Therefore, Rabbi Yoḥanan did not go to see Shmuel. ולא היא לא שכיב שמואל אלא כי היכי דלא ליטרח רבי יוחנן The Gemara comments: But it was not so; Shmuel had not died. Rather, the reason Rabbi Yoḥanan was given this sign was so that Rabbi Yoḥanan would not trouble himself to embark on the long

"Bibliomancy and the Sacred Lottery of the Vilna Gaon," Shraga Bar-On

Jewish legists were fundamentally opposed to various forms of augury, which were seen as violations of the prohibition against sorcery. By contrast, the divinatory use of the Torah was given special status in Jewish legal works. So, for instance, in the book Sodei Razayya, attributed to Rabbi Eleazar of Worms (ca. 1165-ca. 1230), the outstanding leader of the Ashkenazic Pietists, this means of soothsaying is ascribed even to the angels themselves: There are those angels who attain knowledge of the future and of the secrets of the divine Glory by looking into the cloud of God’s Glory, God’s voice, being told [the secrets], observing the constellations, and peering into the Torah.

A sacred silence filled the hall. The burning candles added to the aura of this awesome assembly. The Bible was opened without a specific folio or page in mind. After each opening, they again leafed through the book at random seven times, and then they repeated the procedure another seven times.

The Convoy of the Lamed-Heh was a platoon of 35 fighters who attempted to resupply the blockaded Etzion Bloc during the Israeli War of Independence. In the course of a difficult battle, the fighters were killed, and their bodies were subsequently brought for temporary burial to Kibbutz Kfar Etzion. However, by the end of the war, the settlements of the Etzion Bloc had fallen, and so they were transferred to Jerusalem for formal burial. Twelve of the dead could not be identified, a fact that would have complicated digging graves and setting up tombstones for them.

Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem Zevi Pesah Frank (1873-1960) recommended contacting Rabbi Aryeh Levin so that he would perform the kabbalistic ceremony. Those present at the event described how opening to a random biblical verse yielded results that matched the names of the fighters. Rabbi Levin documented the outcomes of the lottery in his own hand. So, for instance, the body of Binyamin Bugoslavsky was identified via the verse “and out of the tribe of Benjamin [Binyamin] by lot” (Josh. 21:4); that of Oded Ben-Yamin via “Am not I a Benjamite [ben-yemini]” (I Sam. 9:21); and that of Eitan Gaon via “But the pride [ge’on] of Israel shall testify to his face” (Hos. 7:10).

Why Bibliomancy?

Sometimes the trouble is not that we lack answers, but that we lack language for the moment we are in. Bibliomancy is the ancient practice of opening a sacred or meaningful text to a page chosen not by control, but by attention. It is not about prediction or certainty. It is about interruption: letting wisdom arrive from outside your habitual patterns of thought.

When you ask a question through bibliomancy, you are inviting:

  • A pause in reactive thinking, creating space for insight rather than rumination
  • A trusted voice beyond your own, whether sacred scripture, poetry, or ancestral text
  • A mirror instead of a verdict, offering resonance instead of command

Bibliomancy works because it shifts the question from “What should I do?” to “What is being revealed right now?” The text becomes a companion—one that speaks in symbol, metaphor, and moral imagination. Meaning emerges not because the book is magical, but because you are ready to hear differently.

In a world of constant choice and noise, bibliomancy restores a gentler form of guidance: slow, interpretive, and deeply human.

Potential Questions You Might Ask!

Below are 100 questions from which you can ask--or you may certainly ask your own question. Books I regualrly consult include the Tanakh, the New Testement, Illiad, Odyssey, Aneid, Paradise Lost, the Complete Works of Shakespeare, Dante's Divine Comedy, and selections of modern and postmodern poetry. You may request I consult with a certain book. 

Self‑Knowledge & Inner Life

  1. What part of myself needs my attention today?
  2. What truth am I avoiding?
  3. What inner strength should I focus on right now?
  4. What shadow aspect is asking to be acknowledged?
  5. What part of me is ready to grow?
  6. How can I better listen to my intuition?
  7. What belief must I release today?
  8. Where am I misunderstanding myself?
  9. What quality do I need to cultivate?
  10. What am I not seeing clearly about who I am?

Emotional Guidance

  1. What emotion is shaping my actions right now?
  2. How can I soothe my heart?
  3. What do I need to heal?
  4. How can I support my emotional well‑being today?
  5. What inner wound is requesting compassion?
  6. What lesson does my discomfort offer me?
  7. How can I cultivate hope?
  8. What longing in me needs to be honored?
  9. What is the deeper meaning behind my fear?
  10. What is ready to be released from my emotional life?

Discernment & Clarity

  1. What am I misunderstanding about this situation?
  2. What hidden factor should I consider?
  3. What is the deeper pattern at work?
  4. Where is the true source of confusion?
  5. What is the next layer beneath my question?
  6. What am I projecting onto others?
  7. What truth lies beneath the surface?
  8. What perspective will bring clarity?
  9. Which assumption of mine is incorrect?
  10. What information am I overlooking?

Decision‑Making

  1. What should guide my decision right now?
  2. What principle must I uphold?
  3. What consequence should I be mindful of?
  4. What path aligns most with who I’m becoming?
  5. What risks deserve attention?
  6. What opportunity should I not ignore?
  7. What step should I take next?
  8. What action would be most wise?
  9. What is the long view I need to consider?
  10. What is the short‑term priority?

Spiritual Development

  1. What spiritual practice is calling me?
  2. What teaching do I need in this moment?
  3. What aspect of the divine is reaching for me?
  4. Where can I deepen my sense of sacredness?
  5. What is blocking my spiritual growth?
  6. How can I better embody compassion?
  7. What is the invitation of my soul right now?
  8. What discipline would strengthen me?
  9. What lesson am I resisting?
  10. Where am I being guided next?

Purpose & Calling

  1. What is my work in the world right now?
  2. What is the deeper meaning of my current path?
  3. What talent should I nurture?
  4. What purpose is emerging?
  5. What contribution is mine to make?
  6. What part of my calling needs more courage?
  7. What am I being prepared for?
  8. What task is asking for my commitment?
  9. How can I align with my true vocation?
  10. What is the spiritual opportunity hidden in my current work?

Relationships & Community

  1. What does this relationship want to teach me?
  2. How can I show up more authentically?
  3. What does the other person need from me?
  4. What boundary needs strengthening?
  5. What wound is shaping this dynamic?
  6. How can I practice compassion in this relationship?
  7. What truth do I need to speak?
  8. What am I misunderstanding about the other person?
  9. How can I be a better community member?
  10. What invitation toward connection should I accept?

Cycles, Change & Transitions

  1. What phase am I entering?
  2. What cycle is ending for me?
  3. What change do I need to embrace?
  4. Where am I resisting transformation?
  5. What old pattern is ready to be released?
  6. What new beginning is emerging?
  7. What must I carry forward from this chapter?
  8. What must I leave behind?
  9. How can I move with the current instead of against it?
  10. What is the hidden blessing in this transition?

Mystery, Fate & the Unconscious

  1. What message is rising from my unconscious?
  2. What is the deeper mystery at play?
  3. What symbol should I pay attention to?
  4. What archetype is influencing my story?
  5. What hidden wisdom wants to emerge?
  6. What is the spiritual meaning of my dream/intuition?
  7. What destiny‑thread is pulling at me?
  8. What is the cosmic lesson of this moment?
  9. What portal is opening for me?
  10. What does the unknown want me to trust?

Daily Living & Practical Wisdom

  1. What should I focus on today?
  2. What challenge today contains a teaching?
  3. How can I bring more intention to my day?
  4. What action will ground me?
  5. What simple wisdom do I need?
  6. What habit should I strengthen?
  7. How can I be more present?
  8. What opportunity should I notice today?
  9. What energy do I need to embody?
  10. What blessing is available to me right now?

Unlock ancient wisdom for modern clarity

Ready to explore the profound insights that bibliomancy can offer? Let the sacred texts guide your path and illuminate your questions. Join Sorteslibri on a journey of discovery and spiritual growth.