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.
馃嚠馃嚫 Iceland and 2 moreSei冒r
A Norse magic of fate and spirit, practiced by seers and sorcerers in the Viking Age.Tradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Cursing and harm Revived
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreJohn Dee
An English scholar and advisor to Elizabeth I who pursued angelic communication through scrying.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 2 moreHaruspex
A diviner who read the will of gods by inspecting animal entrailsFigure 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreMerlinMyrddin
A legendary prophet and magician from the King Arthur cycleFigure 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Legendary
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceDodona螖蠅未蠋谓畏
The oldest Greek oracle, where wind in oak leaves revealed the will of Zeus and DioneOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
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
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomMother Shipton
An English prophetess and herbalist from folklore, known for predictions printed long after her death.Figure 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Healing Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomSt Mark's Eve
An English folk custom to witness omens of death and future marriage on the eve of a saint's feast dayRite 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚜馃嚜 Estonia and 5 moreFern flower
A mythical bloom said to bring fortune and unlock secrets, found only on midsummer night.Belief 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Love and attraction Living
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 3 moreRenaissance magic
A 15th and 16th century revival of magical arts blending philosophy, astrology, and hidden knowledge.Tradition 路 Power and authority 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 France and 1 moreNostradamus
A French astrologer and physician known for a book of poetic propheciesText 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden and 3 moreRunic magic
The use of ancient Germanic letters for spells, divination, and protectionTradition 路 Protection 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚝馃嚪 FrancePlanchette
A wooden device for automatic writing used in Victorian spiritualist s茅ancesCharm 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomBarghest
A mythical black dog from Northern England that foretells death and haunts the countryside.Being 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 5 moreSibyl危委尾蠀位位伪 (Sibylla)
Ancient Greek prophetesses who spoke divine counsel at holy shrinesFigure 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Legendary
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 2 moreAugury
A Roman rite of reading bird behavior to learn the will of the godsRite 路 Power and authority 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyCumaean SibylSibylla Cumana
The priestess of the Apollonian oracle at Cumae, famous in Roman legend for her prophetic books and underworld guidance.Figure 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
馃嚜馃嚫 Spain and 5 moreAlfonso X of Castileel Sabio
A medieval king who sponsored astronomical tables and translated works on magic and astrology.Text 路 Power and authority 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚙馃嚪 Brazil and 5 moreWhite Lady
A female ghost in white clothing linked to tragedy and omens across many culturesFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Seeing and foretelling Legendary
馃嚠馃嚜 IrelandFetch
A spectral double of a living person, seen as an omen of death or long life.Being 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceTiresias韦蔚喂蟻蔚蟽委伪蟼
A blind Greek seer who lived as both man and woman and spoke to the dead.Figure 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
馃嚠馃嚜 IrelandBodach
A Gaelic trickster figure used to frighten children and warn of deathFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyEtruscan religion
The polytheistic beliefs and divination practices of the ancient Etruscans of ItalyTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomMyrddin Wyllt
A wild prophet of Welsh legend who inspired the wizard MerlinFigure 路 Seeing and foretelling Legendary
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceCassandra螝伪蟽蟽维谓未蟻伪
A Trojan priestess cursed to speak truth that no one acceptsFigure 路 Seeing and foretelling Legendary
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceMedea螠萎未蔚喂伪
A sorceress and princess of Colchis who aids Jason and uses magic for revenge.Figure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Healing Legendary
馃嚝馃嚪 FranceCartomancy
Divination using playing cards or tarot decks to foresee the futureOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚠馃嚫 IcelandFylgja
A Nordic guardian spirit that shadows a person and their fateBeing 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary
馃嚠馃嚜 IrelandBadb
An Irish war goddess who appears as a crow to sow fear and predict death in battle.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Seeing and foretelling Legendary
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 4 moreTarottarocchi
A set of cards for games and divination, with roots in fifteenth-century ItalyText 路 Wonder and entertainment 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 5 moreSpodomancy
Divination by reading omens in ashes, soot, and cindersOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Healing Living
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 3 morePyromancy
Divination by reading flames, smoke, or fire-heated objectsOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomTaghairm
A Scottish Gaelic divination rite using sensory deprivation and animal skins to summon spirits.Rite 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden and 2 moreFreyja
Norse goddess of love, war, and sei冒r magic who rides a chariot pulled by catsBeing 路 Love and attraction 路 Seeing and foretelling Legendary
馃嚝馃嚪 FranceEtteilla
The first professional tarot occultist who created a system for card divination.Text 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 2 moreAstragalomancy
Divination by casting marked bones, carved rods, or numbered diceOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 1 moreHydromancy
Divination using water to reveal the future or judge legitimacy.Oracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚚馃嚦 China and 3 moreTasseography
A divination method that reads fortunes in the sediment of tea or coffee cupsOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceAeromancy
Divination by reading the sky, wind, and cloudsOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyFortunaFort奴na
The Roman goddess of luck and fate, shown with a wheel and a horn of plentyBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreScottish folkloreBeul-aithris na h-Alba
The myths, creatures and beliefs of the Scottish people, recorded from ancient times to the present.Tradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Protection Living
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 3 moreRunes釟贬殺釟踞洘
An ancient Germanic script used for writing and magical signs.Text 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 5 moreNecromancy
A form of divination that seeks to speak with the dead for hidden knowledge.Tradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority 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
馃嚟馃嚭 HungaryT谩ltos
A Hungarian mythic figure with supernatural powers who acts as a spiritual mediator.Being 路 Healing 路 Seeing and foretelling Legendary
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomWilliam Lilly
A seventeenth-century English astrologer and author who shaped Western tradition.Text 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority 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
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 2 moreMichael Scot
A medieval scholar and astrologer who became a legendary magician in folklore.Figure 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Alfonso X of Castile: Otto Posse (1847-1921), Public domain, source
- Augur: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Etruscan religion: sailko, CC BY 2.5, source
- Fortuna: Charles Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Artes prohibitae: engraved by Ames of Bristol (according to Fincham, Artists and engrave, Public domain, source
- Tarot: World Web Playing Card Museum, Public domain, source
- Cumaean Sibyl: Elihu Vedder, Public domain, source
- William Lilly: Simon Harriyott, CC BY 2.0, source
- Michael Scot: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Myrddin Wyllt: Rosser1954 Roger Griffith, Public domain, source
- Cassandra: George Romney, Public domain, source
- Medea: Frederick Sandys, Public domain, source
- Cartomancy: Alma Erdmann, Public domain, source
- Badb: Commonists, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Spodomancy: Tim1965, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Astragalomancy: Roland zh, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hydromancy: Roger McLassus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tasseography: User:MochaSwirl, Public domain, source
- Aeromancy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Runes: Bengt Olof 脜RADSSON, CC BY 1.0, source
- Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Medieval European magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Haruspicy: Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Freyja: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Nostradamus: After C茅sar de Notre-Dame, Public domain, source
- Tiresias: Pietro della Vecchia, Public domain, source
- Sibyl: Filippino Lippi (1457-1504), Public domain, source
- Renaissance magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mother Shipton: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Fern flower: Antoni Piotrowski, Public domain, source
- Molybdomancy: Micha L. Rieser, Attribution, source
- Dodona: Marcus Cyron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Merlin: Howard Pyle, Public domain, source
- John Dee: Unidentified painter, Public domain, source