an's house, that man will secure
whatever he desires.

And again:

If a bird throws a bit of meat or anything into a man's house,
that man will secure a large fortune.

The omens from the appearance of flocks of birds in a town bore, as
appears natural, upon public affairs rather than upon the fate of
individuals, and similarly the appearance of birds in a temple was an
omen for the whole country.

The public or private character of the omens was thus dependent in large
measure upon the question whether the phenomena appeared to an
individual directly or to the population of a place in general. Meeting
a snake or scorpion in the course of a walk through the fields was an
individual omen, and similarly the actions of sheep in a man's stall,
whereas, a mad bull rushing through the city was a general omen. So we
are told that

If sheep in the stalls do not bleat (?), that stall will be
destroyed.

Whereas[673]

A bull crouching at the gate of a city is an omen that the enemy
will capture that gate.

A bull goring an ox in the city is an unfavorable omen for the
city, but if the bull enters the precincts of an individual, it
is favorable for the individual.

A series of omens derived from the appearance of locusts again
illustrates this principle. When the insects enter private precincts,
the individual and his immediate surroundings are affected.[674]

If black and speckled locusts appear in a man's house, the
master of the house will die.

If black and yellow locusts appear in a man's house, the
supports of that house will fall.

If large white locusts appear in a man's house, that house will
be destroyed and the owner will be in distress.

If white and brown locusts appear in a man's house, that house
will be destroyed.

If small white and brown locusts appear in a man's house, the
house will be destroyed and the owner will be in distress.

If yellow locusts appear in a man's house, the supports of that
house will fall and the owner of the house will be unlucky.

If yellow-winged locusts appear in a man's house, the master of
the house will die and that house will be overthrown.

Omens From Dreams.

It made little difference whether one encountered something while awake
or saw it in one's dream. In fact, what one saw while asleep had as a
general thing more importance. A special god of dreams, Makhir