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Today’s Dark Divinations post is about Alphitomancy  This intriguing technique goes back to Ancient Greece and involves testing a person’s innocence by feeding them barley cakes or slices of barley bread. In “Breaking Bread,” R.L. Merrill pens the tale of a young woman who fears her husband might be unfaithful, and the consequences of putting to use rites you don’t fully understand…

What is so special about barley? What is it about this cereal grain that suits it to this purpose? I think one reason is that it was hardy, plentiful, and relatively easy to grow. It would, therefore, have been on hand. Today, barley is mainly used in beer and other beverages and as animal feed. There’s even a song about barley’s importance to drink…

If you want to try this form of divination for yourself…here’s a recipe for Welsh Barley Bread. But be careful…

…and join the authors and HorrorAddicts.net as they host a party for Dark Divinations on Saturday, May 23, 2020!

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