ISCSD Book Talk: Global Yijing with John Lai

We are pleased to announce an upcoming Book Talk featuring the recent publication Global Yijing: Intercultural Encounters with World Religions and Thoughts, edited by John Lai of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The event will take place on February 19, 2026, at 13:00 CET. This volume, published as part of the Chinese Culture Series […]

MOSAIC Introductory Meeting 3 February 2026

ERC Synergy Grant Mapping Occult Sciences Across Islamicate Cultures (MOSAIC)

Petra G. Schmidl from FAU, together with a group of researchers from Belgium, Italy and the US, recently received a highly prestigious Synergy Grant from the European Research Council (ERC): MOSAIC: Mapping Occult Sciences across Islamicate Cultures is dedicated to the study of historical sources on occult sciences in Islamicate cultures. The MOSAIC team Erlangen […]

“Writing with the Phoenix Brush” in the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region – Recap

In July 2025, CAS-E hosted a delegation from a Taiwanese spirit-writing (fuji 扶乩 or 扶箕) community, organized by ISCSD president and CAS-E director Michael Lackner. The visit represented the first public demonstration of “writing with the Phoenix brush” in Germany, providing scholars and the public with an opportunity to observe this traditional religious practice. Following […]

Upcoming ISCSD Book Talk: The Legacy of Chinese Shamanism: The Wu and Their Successors

Date: July 28, 2025Time: 16:00 CETZoom Link: https://fau.zoom-x.de/j/65361545007 The International Society for the Critical Study of Divination (ISCSD) is pleased to invite you to our next Book Talk, which will spotlight the landmark volumeThe Legacy of Chinese Shamanism: The Wu and Their Successors, edited by Johan Hausen. This pioneering collection—the first of its kind to […]

Postponed-ISCSD Book Talk: Onomantic Divination in Late Medieval Britain

Dear friends and colleagues, Due to unforeseen organizational circumstances, we regret to inform you that the following event must be postponed to a later date. We will announce the new date as soon as it is confirmed. Thank you for your understanding and continued support. Best regards, The ISCSD Team. Date: June 25, 2025 Time: 13:00 CET […]

“Writing with the Phoenix Brush” in the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region

Spirit-writing community from Taiwan

We are very pleased to announce the visit of a spirit-writing (fuji 扶乩 or 扶箕) community from Taiwan, hosted by CAS-E at the invitation of ISCSD president and CAS-E director Michael Lackner. The practice of “writing with the phoenix brush” remains widespread in Taiwan and parts of China to this day. A religious temple community […]

Online Lecture by Erwan Dianteill on Ifa and Geomancy

Erwan Dianteill, "Ifa Divination: A Comparative Project"

On May 7, 2025, ISCSD member Erwan Dianteill (Université Paris Cité – UFR SHS Sorbonne; Hutchins Center Fellow, Harvard University) held an online presentation on the YouTube channel of The Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. The lecture entitled “Ifa and Geomancy: A Comparative Hermeneutics of Divinatory Systems in Africa, […]

ISCSD Book Talk: Gendered Fortunes in Postsecular Turkey

The International Society for the Critical Study of Divination (ISCSD) is pleased to invite you to our next Book Talk, featuring Gendered Fortunes: Divination, Precarity, and Affect in Postsecular Turkey by Zeynep K. Korkman (University of California, Los Angeles). The event will take place on Friday, May 16, 2025, at 18:00 CET. In this pathbreaking […]

Urgent: New Link for Today’s Book Talk

Due to some unexpected technical issues, the previous Zoom link is not working. Please kindly use the following one: https://fau.zoom-x.de/j/65778448047?pwd=swnDagxmF7JOiIA4vNYdGOVGibEZys.1