Divination has been used in cultures around the world for millennia. Many of these types of divination have recently become popular with young people, thanks to some popular wizard books that feature divination as a class at wizard schools. But...what is divination, and is there any merit to its practices in the real world?
In this class, we will examine fifteen types of divination through a historical lens. Where did these types of divination come from? How were they practiced in the past, and how does that compare to the practice found in the wizard world series? Along the way, we'll discuss examples of each type of divination found in the Harry Potter book series. Is the Divination professor's approach accurate to how divination was practiced in the "real world" throughout history? As a result of our exploration, we'll also be learning a bit about the history of China, India, Europe, and the Middle East!
This course covers the following topics:
Introduction to Divination
Tessomancy (tea leaf reading)
Pyromancy (fire omens)
Dream Interpretation
Runes (answering questions with rune stones)
Ovomancy (predicting the future with egg white patterns)
Astrology (using celestial objects to make predictions)
Palmistry (palm reading)
Cartomancy (tarot cards)
Numerology, Arithmancy and Heptomology (using numbers to determine personality)
Crystal Gazing (seeing visions using a crystal ball)
Ornithomancy (predictions with birds)
Myomancy (predictions with rats and mice)
Ichthyomancy (predictions with fish)
Xylomancy (patterns with wood or sticks)
Catoptromancy (interpretations with mirror reflections)
This course takes a historical approach to divination. In this class, it is taught that divination cannot be proven by science. Students will be asked to respect others' beliefs, and students are invited to try out the different types of divination on their own, but the main approach will be a historical one. Please note that the instructor is not a believer of divination; this course is taught from a historical point of view.
