The prefix pyro- has the meaning
of fire 火 or flames 炎. Pyromancy (or pyromantic
divination) 火占卜 is the set of activities
associated with the divination 占卜 by fire 火 or flames 炎 carried out by
humans 人类.
An example of pyromantic divination activities is
the heating
up of animal bones, such as the shoulder blades of
oxen 牛马, and turtle shells (see oracle bones甲
骨文jiǎ gǔ wén)
that resulted in patterns that would be
interpreted 解释 as divine messages. In this case of
pyromancy, the first known group of Chinese
characters called the turtle bone scripts甲骨文
jiǎ gǔ wén was born.