Seeing and foretelling
Divination, omens and oracles: asking what is hidden or still to come.
Divination is the attempt to learn what is hidden or still to come. It is found in nearly every culture, from the Chinese I Ching and Ifa in West Africa to the tarot, astrology, palm reading, the Roman augurs and the Greek oracle at Delphi. People consult diviners about marriage, trade, health, journeys and loss. This page covers who reads, what is read, and how the practice is regarded. It is among the oldest and most widely repeated forms of ritual.
What is read
Diviners read many things. Some read natural signs, such as birds, the entrails of animals, cracks in a heated shell or bone, and the stars. Some read objects thrown or drawn at random, such as bones, cowries, cards, runes, tea leaves or lots. Others receive answers in trance, dreams or possession. In China, oracle bones used in the Shang period are among the earliest written records. Many diviners say the reading is shaped by the question asked.
Who reads
The role can be a profession, a family inheritance, or a sign of calling. Ifa babalawo are men, while the Greek Pythia was a woman. Astrologers served courts in India, Persia and Europe, and card readers in cities serve poorer clients. Class and gender shape trust: a palace astrologer and a roadside parrot-reader may use the same texts and be judged very differently. Readers of the same system may disagree, and the best known diviners are expected to admit that signs can be read more than one way.
Law and religion
Responses vary. The Hebrew Bible forbids certain divination, medieval Christian authorities condemned it, and Islamic scholars largely reject claims to know the unseen, while still permitting dream interpretation and astrology in some schools. Modern states regulate fortune-telling under fraud laws, and some Indian states have passed laws against exploitative practices. Divination also persists inside religion, as in Ifa and Buddhist temple lots. Other traditions, such as Buddhism and Sikhism, reject much divination as a distraction from the path, while their followers may still visit astrologers for family matters.
Why it endures
Psychologists explain its appeal through the Barnum effect and confirmation bias, and a good reader also reads the client. Anthropologists add that divination can give a community a way to settle disputes and accept a choice. Practitioners often say their work is guidance, not prediction. A reading is not a substitute for medical, legal or financial advice. A reading is a performance of listening, and what a client takes from it often depends on what they already feel and on what they decide to do afterwards.
Seeing and foretelling on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 3 moreGematria讙讬诪讟专讬讛
A numeric writing system that assigns numerical values to words and phrases for interpretation.Text 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 2 moreSibylline Oracles
A mixed collection of ancient prophecies attributed to pagan prophetesses but shaped by Jewish and Christian writers.Text 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 3 moreCleromancy
A divination method that uses random chance to reveal divine willOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚠馃嚪 Iran and 5 moreMagi
Priests of Zoroastrianism and the figures who inspired the word for magicTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚫馃嚲 SyriaMetoposcopy
A divination method that reads personality and fate from forehead linesOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 1 moreMedieval European magic
A broad category of ritual and natural practices in the Middle Ages, blending healing, divination, and religious belief.Tradition 路 Healing 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 4 moreWinter solstice
The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked by rites of solar returnTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Protection Living
馃嚝馃嚠 Finland and 5 moreMolybdomancy
A divination method using molten metal poured into water to read omensRite 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚠馃嚤 IsraelJewish astrology诪址讝指旨诇讜止转 (mazz膩l么t)
A belief system within Judaism that celestial bodies influence earthly affairs and human destiny.Belief 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 1 moreDream questionShe'elat Halom
A Jewish divination practice seeking prophetic answers through dreamsOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Healing Historical
馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 5 moreJewish views on astrology讞指讻职诪址转 讛址诪址旨讝指旨诇讜止转
A long-standing debate within Jewish thought about the influence of stars and planetsBelief 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Magi: Colijn de Coter, CC0, source
- Metoposcopy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Jewish astrology: Talmoryair, Public domain, source
- Medieval European magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Molybdomancy: Micha L. Rieser, Attribution, source
- Sibylline Oracles: Domenichino, Public domain, source
- Cleromancy: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Public domain, source
- Gematria: Bethsheba Ashe, CC BY-SA 4.0, source