Daphnomancy took their laurel branches withered in 68 AD, which contemporary augurs associated with Nero's death. Daphnomancy Daphnomancy is a form of pyromancy whereby the future is predicted by burning bay laurel leaves. A loud crackling from the fire is a positive omen, whereas silence is a negative one. "Daphno" is thought to be a tribute to Daphne, an ancient Greek nymph turned into the first laurel tree by Apollo. Originally, the leaves were selected from the Sacred Grove of Apollo, but as time moved on the practice of daphnomancy spread to pre-Christian era Rome and Greece and was thought to
The Wood Nymph himself too much" in early "confessional" works, such as "En saga", "Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island", and "The Wood Nymph". In the absence of any new information from Sibelius's papers, however, the reason why "The Wood Nymph" was never published ultimately "appears doomed to remain a subject of speculation". Even after the wave of publicity that followed its reemergence, "The Wood Nymph" remains rarely recorded compared to other early Sibelius works. It received its world premiere in 1996 under the BIS label with Osmo Vänskä leading the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. Some musical material was unavailable until the publication