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Divination

Predicting the future has a long history, and is one of the trickiest magical arts to perfect. Over the centuries, people have practised Divination using a variety of weird and wonderful methods. Some attempts at Divination are, frankly absurd. According to The Old Egyptian Fortune Teller's Last Legacy, for instance, 'a mole on the buttock denotes honour to a man and riches to a woman'.

Installing the Chinese Oracle bones in the Divination roomThe British Library

'So you have decided to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts.'

Professor Trelawney in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

"Chinese oracle bones" (c. 1600–1050 BC)Первоисточник: Or 7694/1559, Or 7694/1560, Or 7694/1585, Or 7694/1595.

A Chinese Oracle Bone
This humble-looking bone is the oldest exactly datable item in Harry Potter: A History of Magic. On the front, the diviners observed that nothing of great significance would happen in the immediate future. On the reverse is a recorded a lunar eclipse viewable at Anyang, China, on 27 December 1192 BC. Oracle bones were known historically as ‘dragon bones’, emphasising their magical qualities.

"Wonders. Past, Present, and to Come; Being the Strange Prophecies and Uncommon Predictions of the Famous Mother Shipton Wonders. Past, Present, and to Come; Being the Strange Prophecies and Uncommon Predictions of the Famous Mother Shipton" (1797)Первоисточник: 117.d.44.(2.).

The Yorkshire Prophetess
Little is known about Mother Shipton, also known as the ‘Yorkshire Prophetess’, and we cannot even be sure that she existed. Her most famous prophecy was made in 1530: she foretold that Cardinal Wolsey, the new Archbishop of York, would see the city from afar but never reach it. True enough, Wolsey was arrested on his approach to York and he died soon afterwards.

She was supposedly incredibly ugly, and she was apparently able to levitate.

Wonders. Past, Present, and to Come; Being the Strange Prophecies and Uncommon Predictions of the Famous Mother ShiptonПервоисточник: 117.d.44.(2.).

'Unfogging the Future, very good guide to all your basic fortune-telling methods - palmistry, crystal balls, bird entrails. '
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

"A Thai divination manual (phrommachat), containing horoscopes based on the Chinese zodiac A Thai divination manual (phrommachat), containing horoscopes based on the Chinese zodiac" (19th century)Первоисточник: Or 4830.

Lucky in Love?
When looking for love, it is worth bearing in mind that, according to this Thai manuscript, a hot-tempered couple has a better chance of living happily together than a demonic male and an angelic female. In 19th-century Siam, people would have consulted a divination specialist (mor doo) on matters of love and relationships.

A Thai divination manual (phrommachat), containing horoscopes based on the Chinese zodiacПервоисточник: Or 4830.

These drawings show the animals from the Chinese zodiac, which would have been used to create horoscopes.

"Witch's Scrying Mirror" (20th century)Первоисточник: The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle, 342.

A Witch’s Scrying Mirror
The former owner of this mirror, the witch Cecil Williamson, warned that, if you gaze into it, ‘and suddenly see someone standing behind you, whatever you do, do not turn around’.

Divination with a mirror or another reflective surface is an ancient practice known as scrying. The term originates from the word ‘descry’, meaning ‘to catch sight of’.

Conservator with the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic's Crystal ballThe British Library

"John Melville, Crystal-Gazing and the Wonders of Clairvoyance" (1910)Первоисточник: YA.1988.a.9195..

Crystal Gazing
John Melville wrote this popular guide in the 19th century, as interest in crystallomancy increased. He recommended taking ‘an infusion of the herb Mugwort or of the herb Succory’, which, ‘if taken occasionally during the Moon’s increase would constitute an aid to the attainment of the most desirable physical conditions of the experimenter’s body.’ It is unclear how far Melville’s instructions helped those not gifted with Second Sight.

"Smelly Nelly’s Black Moon Crystal Ball" (20th century)Первоисточник: The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle, 341.

Smelly Nelly
‘Smelly Nelly’, the Paignton witch who owned this crystal ball, was named after her taste for strong perfume. She believed that the fragrance appealed to the spirits who helped her to divine the future. One witness reported, ‘You caught her scent a mile off downwind … to be out with a Full Moon, Smelly Nelly and her crystal was quite an experience.’ Known as a Moon crystal, the black globe should be consulted at night, so that the seer could read the Moon’s reflection in the glass.

Installing the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic's Palmistry HandThe British Library

Palmistry handПервоисточник: The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle, 855.

A Palmistry Hand
Palmistry, also known as chiromancy, requires the diviner to interpret the shape and lines of the hand. This ceramic palmistry hand shows the significant lines and mounts on the palm and wrist. Hands like this were first manufactured for teaching in Britain in the 1880s. A famous palmist around that time was William John Warner, also known as Cheiro, who reputedly predicted events such as the sinking of the Titanic.

"Fortune-telling manuscript Fortune-telling manuscript" (14th century)Первоисточник: Royal MS 12 C XII.

Reading the Palms
This 700-year-old manuscript contains a collection of prophecies and guides to fortune-telling. Here you can see the section which explains palmistry. On the right hand, a vertical line running across the palm reads, ‘this line represents love’. A vertical line running between the middle and index finger has a less fortunate meaning: ‘This line signifies a bloody death; if the line reaches unto the middle of the finger it signifies a sudden death.’ Other lines predict illnesses and attributes, including courage and humility.

The Art of Foreseeing (on the Arts of Divination)

The existence of time and space place a distance between events in duration and distance: the ancient continues to grow while the future is indefatigably balanced against our lonely vantage point, which is the here and now. Since times remote, human beings have tried to peer into the past and the future with the aim of widening our vision from this tremulous position of solitude, and to mitigate our fear of the future and the ghosts of the past that haunt us. And to that end humankind has resorted to numerous methods, or arts, of prescience.

The first to try to classify the mantic arts was Cicero in his book On Divination, in which he divides them into “natural” and “artistic.” The former are those based on prophecies, in spontaneous words or of a hallucinatory nature (such as fortune-tellers and clairvoyants that, immersed in a trance with many theatrical elements, channeled messages from the other side), while the latter are those that use an object or instrument that mediates between the seer and somebody seeking revelation of the future: runes, snails, coins (such as with the I-Ching) or animal entrails and, except for the anachronism of some ten centuries with Roman thinkers, Tarot.

Occult researcher Gwen Le Scouézec in the 20th century carried out a much more inclusive classification of the kinds of fortune-telling available, from those that depend entirely on the individual intuition of foreseeing to the mechanical manuals of dream interpretation, which border on superstition.

First and foremost there is prophecy: in classical literature and in Oriental sources (such as the Bible), prophecy is a faculty granted or revealed by the Gods. Think of the prophets of Hebraic tradition, or in the gift of prophecy as a punishment by God (such as the case of Cassandra, who was thus cursed by Apollo). It is a word said during wakefulness that comes from divine or intuitive inspiration.

And then we have hallucinatory vision that can be induced by consuming a certain substance (pharmacomancy), due to altered states of consciousness or even those connected with death, or even through spontaneous prediction produced during a dream trance (dream interpretation).

Later there came mathematical forecasting, and which has known periods of great prestige, such as Kabbala, which, according to Le Scouézec, is the most refined degree of arithmomancy, or prediction by numbers. In this group there is also astrology, geomancy and the I-Ching.

And on the other hand we have the fortune-telling by observation, such as that practiced by priests who carefully study the movements of the stars, of humans, plants and animals.

And lastly we have the systems that use some kind of intermediary, in the form of tables or oracles, books of horoscopes, cards (cartomancy, such as in the mechaniscal interpretations of the Tarot), and which generally seek to profit from the trust of the client who does not fully understand – and because they have let themselves be tricked by an untrustworthy seer – what happens in the prophesizing process.

We could be skeptical or trusting in the methods of prescience, whether from dowsing or from the horoscopes in gossip magazines. The fascinating thing is to study the ways in which different peoples have dealt with that which we call uncertainty, and which is nothing more than our perennial ignorance of the present, past and future. Escaping from that uncertainty with tricks appears to afford a slim favor to the person seeking insight, but it implies a determination to separate oneself from the movements of the future; an attempt to cease being a mere toy of fate.

Deep Space Looks Into the Future With “The Art of Divination”

Even if Pamela Coleman “Pixie” Smith and A.E. Waite hadn’t designed the modern prototype of the Tarot deck in 1909, people would’ve still used cards to tell fortunes. It just wouldn’t have been as fun, or as illuminating, or as spooky. The Rider-Waite deck (which really ought to be called the Smith-Waite deck) concentrated mystical symbols and arcane references into illustrated plates barely larger than a modern playing card, and in so doing, made profound ripples in the collective unconscious. For over a century, it’s been the Tarot gold standard, inspiring thousands of spinoffs, inversions, and reinterpretations, and providing vagabonds, Boardwalk fortune tellers, and rogue futurists a powerful tool for introducing enthusiasts — and skeptics — to the occult. “Land of Swords” by Deming King Harriman

That same spirit has descended on Deep Space Gallery (77 Cornelison Ave) for a five-artist show that amplifies the reverberations felt by those in proximity to the Tarot while staying true to its origins. “The Art of Divination” feels less like a trip to a fortune telling booth than it does a respectful, passionate, occasionally awestruck investigation of the deep roots and ancient symbols of Tarot, Zodiac, and other scrying systems. People have always been desperate to know what is coming around the bend. The Tarot is an accessible oracle; in the hands of an expressive artist, it can be a gorgeous thing to behold, too.

“The Art of Divination” includes a tableful of books on Tarot and Zodiac, and beautiful decks designed by artists in the show. Some of these, like the one created by Cheryl R. Riley, are purely intuitive, and tap into the imagination with rune-like shapes that correspond to varied emotional states. Others, like the symbol-studded stunner provided by Delilah Ray Miske, clearly take the Rider-Waite deck as their inspiration. Each deck shimmers with that weird, inexplicable power that Tarot radiates — power that has its roots in visual art and mythological literature as it has been relayed by mystics and storytellers across the centuries.

The Rider-Waite also exercises a full-moon tidal pull over the impeccably detailed work of Brooklyn artist Deming King Harriman, whose illustrations, like those of Pixie Smith, seem to exist out of time and allude to dozens of historical eras at once. Harriman has decorated the walls of Deep Space with a series of prints dedicated to each of the signs of the Zodiac — twenty-four total, two for each sign, male and female, captured in wordless dialogue. She’s also contributed a framed array of cards that strip the minor arcana of the Tarot of some of their common signification, and add strange patterns and odd suits of her own devising to their familiar design.

If you’re wondering whether Harriman can tell fortunes with a deck like that, or even with a more standard Tarot array, you can find out for yourself on Saturday (Feb. 18) at 6:00 P.M. The printmaker will be at Deep Space for the first of a series of events related to “The Art of Divination,” and visitors can check out the whole show, including the decks and books, the marvelously byzantine line drawings in ink by Erik Pyontek, and the cosmic-themed lunar calendars by Lewis Neef. The following afternoon (Feb. 19) at 3:00 P.M., Miske will be at Deep Space to talk Tarot with an earnest, bespectacled interlocutor who looks so much like Tris McCall that you might think you’re seeing things. He’s had a long history of run-ins and random fascinations with Tarot, and he’s got a few of his own personal stories to tell.

Then on Wednesday (Feb. 22), Harriman will bring her own observations and reflections on divination to a slightly less mystical location — Jersey City’s Downtown. She’ll be at &Co (201 Montgomery St.) for an event that Deep Space curators Jenna Geiger and Keith Van Pelt are calling “Ask the Oracle.” Rumor has it that I’ll be part of the fun that night, too. I’ll do my best to explain the basics of a Tarot deck and a little of the history behind the Smith-Waite partnership, and if a gypsy wind moves me, I might just demonstrate a Tarot spread. After all of that, you still might not be any clearer about your future. But it’s a safe bet you’ll have a better idea of why the signs and portents of Tarot have mesmerized so many across the decades.

Work at top “Aries” by Deming King Harriman

Additionally, this magical device has the power to heal. It can cure ailments, mend broken bones, and alleviate pain. Simply tap the stick on the affected area and watch as the healing powers take effect.

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The Science behind the X Magic Pocket Stick's Innovative Design