Raymond Ara Yuko Third Year Slytherin Pureblood Parselmouth Reserve Chaser
Location : Divination - Monday @ 2:00pm
So far Raymond’s first day was going well he’d had defense that morning and had just finished potions. Now he had a new elective and one of the more interesting subjects. Divination was something he imagined Savannah was good at, not that he’d asked her. Though she seemed like the kind of person who would. Perhaps taking the class would help him to not only connect better with her but with the future. He’d always found interest in challenging subjects. Aside from not taking Alchemy which he felt he might regret not doing so. Perhaps he’d reconsider next year. He didn’t even know what he wanted to get into after school.
Climbing up the tower, Raymond found himself a spot in class. Prepared to learn the art of divination the Slytherin watched as Professor Somerset walked in. She reminded him of Savannah. She was certainly unique. Listening to his professor with great interest, Raymond knew he’d do well in the class. If he didn’t he’d push himself till he did. Taking detailed notes, he thought about what Divination was. What was Divination to him? What was its purpose?
“Divination is a way to figure out if we’re on the right path. A way for us to see what awaits us on the path we’re headed on. Be it good or bad.” Raymond answered. “That’s what I thought it was for…” He added. Raymond just wanted to understand what it was about so that he’d have better insight.
Hrm, rather intelligent, I see... Not to mention you seem to have a tendency to think of yourself first... I do believe this house is the perfect fit for you... Slytherin!
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 10:13 pm
╓xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xx»wнere«xx xxxDivination Classroom xxxxxxxx»wιтн«xx xxxxxxxxxThird Year Students xxxxxxxxxxxxxx»ғeelιng«xx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxHappy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx╜
αи∂ ιи м у м ι и ∂ , ιи тнє fαяαωαу н є я є αи∂ и σ ωxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ι'νє вє¢σмє ι и ¢ σ и т я σ ℓ ѕσмєнσωxxxxxxxxxxx αи∂ ι и є ν є я ℓσѕє му ω α ℓ ℓ є тxxxxxxxxx вє¢αυѕє ι ωιℓℓ вє тнє ρ ι ¢ т υ я є σf ∂ ι ѕ ¢ ι ρ ℓ ι и єxxxxxx иєνєя f υ ¢ к ι и g υρ α и у т н ι и gxxx
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spaceDrusilla entered the classroom in a daze. She was quite late, she was certain of it. Where did the time go? She'd been so caught up in her cards and runes that she'd completely lost track of it... or perhaps she'd simply stared off into space for a couple of hours. Both were equally possible, after all... except that when she arrived in the classroom and checked the clock, she was actually on time. She frowned; the clock in her office must be wrong, then. She'd have to fix it... if she remembered. Which she probably wouldn't, of course. She blinked a moment, then smiled at her students, her arms sweeping open in a grand gesture."Hello, my little ducks, and welcome to Divination. I am Professor Somerset. Now then, in this class, you will need to have an open mind, open eyes, and patience. Divination is a powerful art, but difficult. Also, there will be no disrespecting of my craft, or of the abilities of fellow students... now then! With that unpleasantness out of the way, we can begin."
spaceShe paused long enough to let the students absorb her words, and long enough to get just a tad distracted... what was she looking at, though? She scowled for a moment, actively redirecting her mind away from the path it'd tried to wander, and smiled widely again at her students before launching into the lecture."Divination is an old art, practiced by Magic folk and Muggles alike; though of course, they rarely read the signs correctly, they lack the ability to do so, usually. But you, my young one, can be taught to read the signs and to predict the future. I say predict because, of course, time is a fluid, ever changing thing. Every time you are faced with a choice, you could change the events that were to transpire. And everything is important; choosing something different for lunch; going to bed an hour earlier than usual; even stopping for one second on your way to a lesson to gaze out the window can set and entirely new wave of things in motion than would have had you gone about the usual path. And so, nothing is certain. But, we can always look. We can always search. In the future, we see signs, hints of things to come. Whether or not they are to be is largely up to us. Seeing is the first step.""She stopped then, curious. She had, of course, seen this play out, but in different ways each time... how would it happen then?
spaceThe Seer's eyes glazed, and she shifted a bit, her head tilting in an odd manner, rather like a bird's, her eyes unblinking and unseeing. After a moment, she gave her head a light shake, and smiled again."Where was I? Oh, yes. Searching. Divination is, first and foremost, the art of searching... for the future, for the answer, for the key. And now, I'll have an answer from you, ducky. What, to you, is Divination, and what purpose does it serve?"She waited patiently, eager to hear what her students had to say. It would tell her much about them... but didn't she already know? Sometimes she forgot...
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xxxαи∂ ιи м у м ι и ∂ , ι ιмαgιиє ѕ σ м α и у т н ι и g ѕ xxxxxxтнιиgѕ тнαт α я є и ' т яєαℓℓу н α ρ ρ є и ι и g xxxxxxxxxαи∂ ωнєи тнєу ρ υ т мє ι и т н є g я σ υ и ∂ xxxxxxxxxxxxι'ℓℓ ѕтαят ρ σ υ и ∂ ι и g тнє ℓ ι ∂ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxѕαуιиg ι н α ν є и ' т f ι и ι ѕ н є ∂ уєт
xx»╳♥╳«xx xx»oυт oғ cнaracтer«xx Please do not quote for replies! Questions will be answered later in the week, or when the lesson closes.
Divination Notes
Lesson 1: What is Divination?
The Definition of Divination:
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency.
The Categories of Divination:
• An omen (also called portent or presage) is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. Though the word "omen" is usually devoid of reference to the change's nature, hence being possibly either "good" or "bad," the term is more often used in a foreboding sense, as with the word "ominous". The origin of the word is unknown, although it may be connected with the Latin word audire, meaning "to hear." • Cleromancy is a form of divination using sortition, casting of lots, or casting bones or stones, in which an outcome is determined by means that normally would be considered random, such as the rolling of dice, but are sometimes believed to reveal the will of God, or other supernatural entities. • Augury ranks a set of given possibilities. It can be qualitative (such as shapes, proximities, etc.): for example, dowsing (a form of rhabdomancy) developed from this type of divination. Augury is normally considered to specifically refer to divination by studying the flight patterns of birds. • Spontaneous. An unconstrained form of divination, free from any particular medium, and actually a generalization of all types of divination. The answer comes from whatever object the diviner happens to see or hear. Some religions use a form of bibliomancy: they ask a question, riffle the pages of their holy book, and take as their answer the first passage their eyes light upon. Other forms of spontaneous divination include reading auras and New Age methods of feng shui such as "intuitive" and "fuzion"
The Purpose of Divination:
Divination is a means to attempt some form of understanding of events to come. The true purpose of this form of magic is hard to say. It is used by some to plan their day to day activities, and by some to attempt circumventing or ensuring that certain things come to pass. It is a fluid magic and is not understood by many who do not have either the Sight nor the patience to learn to See. In this lesson, you will be taught the methods for Seeing, but in order to be successful, you must believe, and put in a fair amount of effort. It will come easier for some than others; any among you might be a Seer, blind to your talents due to lack of practice. For others, visions and signs will be difficult to see. This is natural, and all it means is that you must try harder.
Homework:Do some research and write a short essay on one method of Divination we'll study this year.
xxxx× × ×xxxxSTUDENTSxxxx× × ×xxxx Any registered student who fails to post at least once this year will have their house docked ten points at the end of the term. Exceptions can be made provided you contact Cara MiaKitty and are able to provide a reasonable excuse.
╓xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xx»wнere«xx xxxDivination Classroom xxxxxxxx»wιтн«xx xxxxxxxxxThird Year Students xxxxxxxxxxxxxx»ғeelιng«xx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxHappy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx╜
αи∂ ιи м у м ι и ∂ , ιи тнє fαяαωαу н є я є αи∂ и σ ωxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ι'νє вє¢σмє ι и ¢ σ и т я σ ℓ ѕσмєнσωxxxxxxxxxxx αи∂ ι и є ν є я ℓσѕє му ω α ℓ ℓ є тxxxxxxxxx вє¢αυѕє ι ωιℓℓ вє тнє ρ ι ¢ т υ я є σf ∂ ι ѕ ¢ ι ρ ℓ ι и єxxxxxx иєνєя f υ ¢ к ι и g υρ α и у т н ι и gxxx
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spaceDrusilla entered the classroom in a daze. She was quite late, she was certain of it. Where did the time go? She'd been so caught up in her cards and runes that she'd completely lost track of it... or perhaps she'd simply stared off into space for a couple of hours. Both were equally possible, after all... except that when she arrived in the classroom and checked the clock, she was actually on time. She frowned; the clock in her office must be wrong, then. She'd have to fix it... if she remembered. Which she probably wouldn't, of course. She blinked a moment, then smiled at her students, her arms sweeping open in a grand gesture."Hello, my little ducks, and welcome to Divination. I am Professor Somerset. Now then, in this class, you will need to have an open mind, open eyes, and patience. Divination is a powerful art, but difficult. Also, there will be no disrespecting of my craft, or of the abilities of fellow students... now then! With that unpleasantness out of the way, we can begin."
spaceShe paused long enough to let the students absorb her words, and long enough to get just a tad distracted... what was she looking at, though? She scowled for a moment, actively redirecting her mind away from the path it'd tried to wander, and smiled widely again at her students before launching into the lecture."Divination is an old art, practiced by Magic folk and Muggles alike; though of course, they rarely read the signs correctly, they lack the ability to do so, usually. But you, my young one, can be taught to read the signs and to predict the future. I say predict because, of course, time is a fluid, ever changing thing. Every time you are faced with a choice, you could change the events that were to transpire. And everything is important; choosing something different for lunch; going to bed an hour earlier than usual; even stopping for one second on your way to a lesson to gaze out the window can set and entirely new wave of things in motion than would have had you gone about the usual path. And so, nothing is certain. But, we can always look. We can always search. In the future, we see signs, hints of things to come. Whether or not they are to be is largely up to us. Seeing is the first step.""She stopped then, curious. She had, of course, seen this play out, but in different ways each time... how would it happen then?
spaceThe Seer's eyes glazed, and she shifted a bit, her head tilting in an odd manner, rather like a bird's, her eyes unblinking and unseeing. After a moment, she gave her head a light shake, and smiled again."Where was I? Oh, yes. Searching. Divination is, first and foremost, the art of searching... for the future, for the answer, for the key. And now, I'll have an answer from you, ducky. What, to you, is Divination, and what purpose does it serve?"She waited patiently, eager to hear what her students had to say. It would tell her much about them... but didn't she already know? Sometimes she forgot...
╚════════════════════════════════════════════
xxxαи∂ ιи м у м ι и ∂ , ι ιмαgιиє ѕ σ м α и у т н ι и g ѕ xxxxxxтнιиgѕ тнαт α я є и ' т яєαℓℓу н α ρ ρ є и ι и g xxxxxxxxxαи∂ ωнєи тнєу ρ υ т мє ι и т н є g я σ υ и ∂ xxxxxxxxxxxxι'ℓℓ ѕтαят ρ σ υ и ∂ ι и g тнє ℓ ι ∂ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxѕαуιиg ι н α ν є и ' т f ι и ι ѕ н є ∂ уєт
xx»╳♥╳«xx xx»oυт oғ cнaracтer«xx Please do not quote for replies! Questions will be answered later in the week, or when the lesson closes.
Divination Notes
Lesson 1: What is Divination?
The Definition of Divination:
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency.
The Categories of Divination:
• An omen (also called portent or presage) is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. Though the word "omen" is usually devoid of reference to the change's nature, hence being possibly either "good" or "bad," the term is more often used in a foreboding sense, as with the word "ominous". The origin of the word is unknown, although it may be connected with the Latin word audire, meaning "to hear." • Cleromancy is a form of divination using sortition, casting of lots, or casting bones or stones, in which an outcome is determined by means that normally would be considered random, such as the rolling of dice, but are sometimes believed to reveal the will of God, or other supernatural entities. • Augury ranks a set of given possibilities. It can be qualitative (such as shapes, proximities, etc.): for example, dowsing (a form of rhabdomancy) developed from this type of divination. Augury is normally considered to specifically refer to divination by studying the flight patterns of birds. • Spontaneous. An unconstrained form of divination, free from any particular medium, and actually a generalization of all types of divination. The answer comes from whatever object the diviner happens to see or hear. Some religions use a form of bibliomancy: they ask a question, riffle the pages of their holy book, and take as their answer the first passage their eyes light upon. Other forms of spontaneous divination include reading auras and New Age methods of feng shui such as "intuitive" and "fuzion"
The Purpose of Divination:
Divination is a means to attempt some form of understanding of events to come. The true purpose of this form of magic is hard to say. It is used by some to plan their day to day activities, and by some to attempt circumventing or ensuring that certain things come to pass. It is a fluid magic and is not understood by many who do not have either the Sight nor the patience to learn to See. In this lesson, you will be taught the methods for Seeing, but in order to be successful, you must believe, and put in a fair amount of effort. It will come easier for some than others; any among you might be a Seer, blind to your talents due to lack of practice. For others, visions and signs will be difficult to see. This is natural, and all it means is that you must try harder.
Homework:Do some research and write a short essay on one method of Divination we'll study this year.
xxxx× × ×xxxxSTUDENTSxxxx× × ×xxxx Any registered student who fails to post at least once this year will have their house docked ten points at the end of the term. Exceptions can be made provided you contact Cara MiaKitty and are able to provide a reasonable excuse.
Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2016 8:23 am
You spread your rusty fingers across the ledge. You get your coat and peer down over the edge. You watch the city move and breathe and migrate. You're not a part of it, you're broken now like us. I turn and brush the birds from off my shoulders, And cross sidewalks with an earful of white noise.
𝓉𝒾𝑒𝓇𝓃𝒶𝓃 𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓉 𝓎𝒶𝓍𝓁𝑒𝓎 THIRD YEAR │ PUREBLOOD │ RAVENCLAW
Tiernan immediately liked the Divination professor, and sensed that she was going to very much enjoy this class. Obviously, she was no seer herself; being a parselmouth was far better- but that didn't mean the idea of being able to foretell the future didn't intrigue her. Maybe, a more logical part of her hissed, it was because she wanted the reassurance that she and her sisters would be alright, or that she would be alright, that she wasn't really a disappointment due to her sorting and her utter lack of ambition. That things would still turn out alright in the end. She pushed the voice away and raised her hand. "Opportunity," she said simply, and then added on, "Or well, a road map, if you will. To see the different routes one could take."
OOC:
Username
You sit up on your perch for the rest of the night. You watch the moon and hope the damn thing crumbles. You count the stars reflecting in the windows, And then you realize just how minimal you are. I stop and watch the airplanes leave the city And I silently wish I was on one.
Saio Mio Ukida Third YearHufflepuff Adopted ☼ Half-blood
Location : Divination - Monday @ 2:00pm
Saio had a day full of classes. The day started at nine in the morning with Defense, followed by Wandless and Wandlore. After lunch she had Potions and now she was headed to Divination. Finding a seat next to Tiernan the Hufflepuff was having an alright day. The only class she had a hard time in was potions but the class had just started. So, there was no need to worry about it.
Instantly the Hufflepuff liked her Divination professor. She was different. Saio listened carefully as she really wanted to be good at learning this. Divination was always such an interesting subject. She’d heard things about it and it was something she really wanted to learn. She was sure she could have an open mind and eyes. She knew she had the patients. There was no doubt in Saio’s mind that she could do this. See the signs and understand their meaning. Interrupt something that could maybe happen.
The Hufflepuff’s quill moved along the pages she wrote on with great anticipation. What a way to end her first day. When asked what Divination was to her and what is served, Saio had to think. Luckily Tiernan went first giving her time to think her answer through. Tiernan said it was opportunity, a road map of possibilities. “Divination is… It’s a way to see where you’re headed. What path you are headed down and what might happen if you stay on that path. To see what could happen…” She added as if in agreement with her classmate.
╓xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xx»wнere«xx xxxDivination Classroom xxxxxxxx»wιтн«xx xxxxxxxxxThird Year Students xxxxxxxxxxxxxx»ғeelιng«xx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxHappy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx╜
αи∂ ιи м у м ι и ∂ , ιи тнє fαяαωαу н є я є αи∂ и σ ωxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ι'νє вє¢σмє ι и ¢ σ и т я σ ℓ ѕσмєнσωxxxxxxxxxxx αи∂ ι и є ν є я ℓσѕє му ω α ℓ ℓ є тxxxxxxxxx вє¢αυѕє ι ωιℓℓ вє тнє ρ ι ¢ т υ я є σf ∂ ι ѕ ¢ ι ρ ℓ ι и єxxxxxx иєνєя f υ ¢ к ι и g υρ α и у т н ι и gxxx
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spaceDrusilla sat behind her desk, staring forward, waiting. She watched the clock on the opposite wall, her head bobbing back and forth, left and right, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick tock... her students should be arriving any minute now. As they filed in she sat up straight and gave a smile, her eyes bright. She wasn't particularly looking forward to this lesson, given that it was on the history of her art, but it couldn't be avoided. Students needed to know the history of what they were doing and where it came from before they could learn to practice the art. At least, that's what she thought, even if she often had trouble remembering the history properly."Greetings, duckies! It's lovely to see you all again. I hope you've had a pleasant week so far. Today, we'll be going over the history of the art of divination. There are notes on the board for you to copy."The Seer paused, giving them time to write down what she'd written on the board. When the scratching of quills began to die down, she tilted her head, finger tapping her chin."Divination is, of course, an ancient art. It is difficult to trace any particular source, because it goes back further than recorded history. It seems that, for as long as we have had the ability to reason, humans have been looking towards the future, and towards signs from the world around them to determine what it might be. Ancient humans from every part of the globe looked to patterns to try and ascertain what tomorrow might bring. Oftentimes, correlation of events was thought to equal causation, and so omens came about. Seers have also existed for as long as we can remember, which has only helped the art remain strong."
spaceThe professor blinked a bit, then shook her head. She'd very nearly drifted off-topic."Well, there is a lot more to be said on the subject of Seers, but that will be covered next week. For now, if you have any thoughts or questions on the history of divination, feel free to share, or ask now. Participation will, of course, be rewarded with House Points."Drusilla really did hope that she was thorough enough with this particular lesson. It was hard to be, sometimes, particularly since, as she'd stated, it was very difficult to trace the history back to its source. She couldn't speak for where her art had begun; only what had happened after people started keeping records.
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xxxαи∂ ιи м у м ι и ∂ , ι ιмαgιиє ѕ σ м α и у т н ι и g ѕ xxxxxxтнιиgѕ тнαт α я є и ' т яєαℓℓу н α ρ ρ є и ι и g xxxxxxxxxαи∂ ωнєи тнєу ρ υ т мє ι и т н є g я σ υ и ∂ xxxxxxxxxxxxι'ℓℓ ѕтαят ρ σ υ и ∂ ι и g тнє ℓ ι ∂ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxѕαуιиg ι н α ν є и ' т f ι и ι ѕ н є ∂ уєт
xx»╳♥╳«xx xx»oυт oғ cнaracтer«xx Please do not quote for replies! Questions will be answered later in the week, or when the lesson closes.
Divination Notes
Lesson 2 : History of Divination
History:
Human beings have always looked for the answers to life’s great mysteries. Why are we here? Who or what controls our destiny? How does life work? What does the future hold? There is archeological evidence that a need to know and deep spiritual seeking are universal human traits, and that some form of divination has been used since the earliest times, to support this quest. Even though various forms of divination have been used in all societies, the widespread use of sophisticated divination systems across all classes of people is a very recent development. The spread of divination systems had depended on oral transmission, which in preliterate times was largely the exclusive domain of the rulers, chieftains, official soothsayers, priests, sages, prophets and shamans. Although belief in magic was practically universal up to and through the Middle Ages, including primitive divinatory practices of folk magic, knowledge of divination systems and what Tarot scholar Bob O’Neill calls learned magic, could not spread until the invention of printing.
Early Methods:
• Chinese Taoists read patterns on tortoise shells, which evolved into the hexagrams of the I Ching. • Vikings consulted the runestones. • Ancient Roman shamans observed the entrails of slaughtered animals and grains that hens pecked at and formed messages (alectryomancy). • Other cultures have looked to inner space (such as the Australian aborigines with their dreamtime), or have used hallucinogenic plants for vision quests (such as the Mazatec Indians of Mexico who use Salvia divinorum for spiritual rituals and divination). • There are also numerous passages in the Old Testament documenting Jahweh’s instructions for using a sacred set of dice called Urim and Thummim to make decisions in His name.
Modern Methods:
There are, currently, five recognized 'branches' of modern divinatory systems: • Astrology: Using the locations of the planets and stars relative to the Earth and one another to determine the future. • IChing: An ancient Chinese manual of divination based on eight symbolic trigrams and sixty-four hexagrams, interpreted in terms of the principles of yin and yang. • Numerology: Understanding and interpreting the significance of numbers in relation to the future. • Tarot: Interpreting cards to determine the future. • Runes: Interpreting runic symbols to determine the future.
Homework:Write a short essay on the history of divination.
xxxx× × ×xxxxSTUDENTSxxxx× × ×xxxx Any registered student who fails to post at least once this year will have their house docked ten points at the end of the term. Exceptions can be made provided you contact Cara MiaKitty and are able to provide a reasonable excuse.
spaceDrusilla entered the classroom in a daze. She was quite late, she was certain of it. Where did the time go? She'd been so caught up in her cards and runes that she'd completely lost track of it... or perhaps she'd simply stared off into space for a couple of hours. Both were equally possible, after all... except that when she arrived in the classroom and checked the clock, she was actually on time. She frowned; the clock in her office must be wrong, then. She'd have to fix it... if she remembered. Which she probably wouldn't, of course. She blinked a moment, then smiled at her students, her arms sweeping open in a grand gesture."Hello, my little ducks, and welcome to Divination. I am Professor Somerset. Now then, in this class, you will need to have an open mind, open eyes, and patience. Divination is a powerful art, but difficult. Also, there will be no disrespecting of my craft, or of the abilities of fellow students... now then! With that unpleasantness out of the way, we can begin."
spaceShe paused long enough to let the students absorb her words, and long enough to get just a tad distracted... what was she looking at, though? She scowled for a moment, actively redirecting her mind away from the path it'd tried to wander, and smiled widely again at her students before launching into the lecture."Divination is an old art, practiced by Magic folk and Muggles alike; though of course, they rarely read the signs correctly, they lack the ability to do so, usually. But you, my young one, can be taught to read the signs and to predict the future. I say predict because, of course, time is a fluid, ever changing thing. Every time you are faced with a choice, you could change the events that were to transpire. And everything is important; choosing something different for lunch; going to bed an hour earlier than usual; even stopping for one second on your way to a lesson to gaze out the window can set and entirely new wave of things in motion than would have had you gone about the usual path. And so, nothing is certain. But, we can always look. We can always search. In the future, we see signs, hints of things to come. Whether or not they are to be is largely up to us. Seeing is the first step.""She stopped then, curious. She had, of course, seen this play out, but in different ways each time... how would it happen then?
spaceThe Seer's eyes glazed, and she shifted a bit, her head tilting in an odd manner, rather like a bird's, her eyes unblinking and unseeing. After a moment, she gave her head a light shake, and smiled again."Where was I? Oh, yes. Searching. Divination is, first and foremost, the art of searching... for the future, for the answer, for the key. And now, I'll have an answer from you, ducky. What, to you, is Divination, and what purpose does it serve?"She waited patiently, eager to hear what her students had to say. It would tell her much about them... but didn't she already know? Sometimes she forgot...
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency.
The Categories of Divination:
• An omen (also called portent or presage) is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. Though the word "omen" is usually devoid of reference to the change's nature, hence being possibly either "good" or "bad," the term is more often used in a foreboding sense, as with the word "ominous". The origin of the word is unknown, although it may be connected with the Latin word audire, meaning "to hear." • Cleromancy is a form of divination using sortition, casting of lots, or casting bones or stones, in which an outcome is determined by means that normally would be considered random, such as the rolling of dice, but are sometimes believed to reveal the will of God, or other supernatural entities. • Augury ranks a set of given possibilities. It can be qualitative (such as shapes, proximities, etc.): for example, dowsing (a form of rhabdomancy) developed from this type of divination. Augury is normally considered to specifically refer to divination by studying the flight patterns of birds. • Spontaneous. An unconstrained form of divination, free from any particular medium, and actually a generalization of all types of divination. The answer comes from whatever object the diviner happens to see or hear. Some religions use a form of bibliomancy: they ask a question, riffle the pages of their holy book, and take as their answer the first passage their eyes light upon. Other forms of spontaneous divination include reading auras and New Age methods of feng shui such as "intuitive" and "fuzion"
The Purpose of Divination:
Divination is a means to attempt some form of understanding of events to come. The true purpose of this form of magic is hard to say. It is used by some to plan their day to day activities, and by some to attempt circumventing or ensuring that certain things come to pass. It is a fluid magic and is not understood by many who do not have either the Sight nor the patience to learn to See. In this lesson, you will be taught the methods for Seeing, but in order to be successful, you must believe, and put in a fair amount of effort. It will come easier for some than others; any among you might be a Seer, blind to your talents due to lack of practice. For others, visions and signs will be difficult to see. This is natural, and all it means is that you must try harder.
Homework:Do some research and write a short essay on one method of Divination we'll study this year.
xxxx× × ×xxxxSTUDENTSxxxx× × ×xxxx Any registered student who fails to post at least once this year will have their house docked ten points at the end of the term. Exceptions can be made provided you contact Cara MiaKitty and are able to provide a reasonable excuse.
Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2017 4:08 pm
╓xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xx» wнere «xx xxxDivination Classroom xxxxxxxx» wιтн «xx xxxxxxxxxThird Year Students xxxxxxxxxxxxxx» ғeelιng «xx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAddled xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx╜
spaceDrusilla sat behind her desk, staring forward, waiting. She watched the clock on the opposite wall, her head bobbing back and forth, left and right, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick tock... her students should be arriving any minute now. As they filed in she sat up straight and gave a smile, her eyes bright. She wasn't particularly looking forward to this lesson, given that it was on the history of her art, but it couldn't be avoided. Students needed to know the history of what they were doing and where it came from before they could learn to practice the art. At least, that's what she thought, even if she often had trouble remembering the history properly."Greetings, duckies! It's lovely to see you all again. I hope you've had a pleasant week so far. Today, we'll be going over the history of the art of divination. There are notes on the board for you to copy."The Seer paused, giving them time to write down what she'd written on the board. When the scratching of quills began to die down, she tilted her head, finger tapping her chin."Divination is, of course, an ancient art. It is difficult to trace any particular source, because it goes back further than recorded history. It seems that, for as long as we have had the ability to reason, humans have been looking towards the future, and towards signs from the world around them to determine what it might be. Ancient humans from every part of the globe looked to patterns to try and ascertain what tomorrow might bring. Oftentimes, correlation of events was thought to equal causation, and so omens came about. Seers have also existed for as long as we can remember, which has only helped the art remain strong."
spaceThe professor blinked a bit, then shook her head. She'd very nearly drifted off-topic."Well, there is a lot more to be said on the subject of Seers, but that will be covered next week. For now, if you have any thoughts or questions on the history of divination, feel free to share, or ask now. Participation will, of course, be rewarded with House Points."Drusilla really did hope that she was thorough enough with this particular lesson. It was hard to be, sometimes, particularly since, as she'd stated, it was very difficult to trace the history back to its source. She couldn't speak for where her art had begun; only what had happened after people started keeping records.
Human beings have always looked for the answers to life’s great mysteries. Why are we here? Who or what controls our destiny? How does life work? What does the future hold? There is archeological evidence that a need to know and deep spiritual seeking are universal human traits, and that some form of divination has been used since the earliest times, to support this quest. Even though various forms of divination have been used in all societies, the widespread use of sophisticated divination systems across all classes of people is a very recent development. The spread of divination systems had depended on oral transmission, which in preliterate times was largely the exclusive domain of the rulers, chieftains, official soothsayers, priests, sages, prophets and shamans. Although belief in magic was practically universal up to and through the Middle Ages, including primitive divinatory practices of folk magic, knowledge of divination systems and what Tarot scholar Bob O’Neill calls learned magic, could not spread until the invention of printing.
Early Methods:
• Chinese Taoists read patterns on tortoise shells, which evolved into the hexagrams of the I Ching. • Vikings consulted the runestones. • Ancient Roman shamans observed the entrails of slaughtered animals and grains that hens pecked at and formed messages (alectryomancy). • Other cultures have looked to inner space (such as the Australian aborigines with their dreamtime), or have used hallucinogenic plants for vision quests (such as the Mazatec Indians of Mexico who use Salvia divinorum for spiritual rituals and divination). • There are also numerous passages in the Old Testament documenting Jahweh’s instructions for using a sacred set of dice called Urim and Thummim to make decisions in His name.
Modern Methods:
There are, currently, five recognized 'branches' of modern divinatory systems: • Astrology: Using the locations of the planets and stars relative to the Earth and one another to determine the future. • IChing: An ancient Chinese manual of divination based on eight symbolic trigrams and sixty-four hexagrams, interpreted in terms of the principles of yin and yang. • Numerology: Understanding and interpreting the significance of numbers in relation to the future. • Tarot: Interpreting cards to determine the future. • Runes: Interpreting runic symbols to determine the future.
Homework:Write a short essay on the history of divination.
xxxx× × ×xxxxSTUDENTSxxxx× × ×xxxx Any registered student who fails to post at least once this year will have their house docked ten points at the end of the term. Exceptions can be made provided you contact Cara MiaKitty and are able to provide a reasonable excuse.
spaceDrusilla entered the classroom in a daze. She was quite late, she was certain of it. Where did the time go? She'd been so caught up in her cards and runes that she'd completely lost track of it... or perhaps she'd simply stared off into space for a couple of hours. Both were equally possible, after all... except that when she arrived in the classroom and checked the clock, she was actually on time. She frowned; the clock in her office must be wrong, then. She'd have to fix it... if she remembered. Which she probably wouldn't, of course. She blinked a moment, then smiled at her students, her arms sweeping open in a grand gesture."Hello, my little ducks, and welcome to Divination. I am Professor Somerset. Now then, in this class, you will need to have an open mind, open eyes, and patience. Divination is a powerful art, but difficult. Also, there will be no disrespecting of my craft, or of the abilities of fellow students... now then! With that unpleasantness out of the way, we can begin."
spaceShe paused long enough to let the students absorb her words, and long enough to get just a tad distracted... what was she looking at, though? She scowled for a moment, actively redirecting her mind away from the path it'd tried to wander, and smiled widely again at her students before launching into the lecture."Divination is an old art, practiced by Magic folk and Muggles alike; though of course, they rarely read the signs correctly, they lack the ability to do so, usually. But you, my young one, can be taught to read the signs and to predict the future. I say predict because, of course, time is a fluid, ever changing thing. Every time you are faced with a choice, you could change the events that were to transpire. And everything is important; choosing something different for lunch; going to bed an hour earlier than usual; even stopping for one second on your way to a lesson to gaze out the window can set and entirely new wave of things in motion than would have had you gone about the usual path. And so, nothing is certain. But, we can always look. We can always search. In the future, we see signs, hints of things to come. Whether or not they are to be is largely up to us. Seeing is the first step.""She stopped then, curious. She had, of course, seen this play out, but in different ways each time... how would it happen then?
spaceThe Seer's eyes glazed, and she shifted a bit, her head tilting in an odd manner, rather like a bird's, her eyes unblinking and unseeing. After a moment, she gave her head a light shake, and smiled again."Where was I? Oh, yes. Searching. Divination is, first and foremost, the art of searching... for the future, for the answer, for the key. And now, I'll have an answer from you, ducky. What, to you, is Divination, and what purpose does it serve?"She waited patiently, eager to hear what her students had to say. It would tell her much about them... but didn't she already know? Sometimes she forgot...
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency.
The Categories of Divination:
• An omen (also called portent or presage) is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. Though the word "omen" is usually devoid of reference to the change's nature, hence being possibly either "good" or "bad," the term is more often used in a foreboding sense, as with the word "ominous". The origin of the word is unknown, although it may be connected with the Latin word audire, meaning "to hear." • Cleromancy is a form of divination using sortition, casting of lots, or casting bones or stones, in which an outcome is determined by means that normally would be considered random, such as the rolling of dice, but are sometimes believed to reveal the will of God, or other supernatural entities. • Augury ranks a set of given possibilities. It can be qualitative (such as shapes, proximities, etc.): for example, dowsing (a form of rhabdomancy) developed from this type of divination. Augury is normally considered to specifically refer to divination by studying the flight patterns of birds. • Spontaneous. An unconstrained form of divination, free from any particular medium, and actually a generalization of all types of divination. The answer comes from whatever object the diviner happens to see or hear. Some religions use a form of bibliomancy: they ask a question, riffle the pages of their holy book, and take as their answer the first passage their eyes light upon. Other forms of spontaneous divination include reading auras and New Age methods of feng shui such as "intuitive" and "fuzion"
The Purpose of Divination:
Divination is a means to attempt some form of understanding of events to come. The true purpose of this form of magic is hard to say. It is used by some to plan their day to day activities, and by some to attempt circumventing or ensuring that certain things come to pass. It is a fluid magic and is not understood by many who do not have either the Sight nor the patience to learn to See. In this lesson, you will be taught the methods for Seeing, but in order to be successful, you must believe, and put in a fair amount of effort. It will come easier for some than others; any among you might be a Seer, blind to your talents due to lack of practice. For others, visions and signs will be difficult to see. This is natural, and all it means is that you must try harder.
Homework:Do some research and write a short essay on one method of Divination we'll study this year.
xxxx× × ×xxxxSTUDENTSxxxx× × ×xxxx Any registered student who fails to post at least once this year will have their house docked ten points at the end of the term. Exceptions can be made provided you contact Cara MiaKitty and are able to provide a reasonable excuse.
Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 8:14 pm
╓xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xx» wнere «xx xxxDivination Classroom xxxxxxxx» wιтн «xx xxxxxxxxxThird Year Students xxxxxxxxxxxxxx» ғeelιng «xx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAddled xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx╜
spaceDrusilla sat behind her desk, staring forward, waiting. She watched the clock on the opposite wall, her head bobbing back and forth, left and right, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick tock... her students should be arriving any minute now. As they filed in she sat up straight and gave a smile, her eyes bright. She wasn't particularly looking forward to this lesson, given that it was on the history of her art, but it couldn't be avoided. Students needed to know the history of what they were doing and where it came from before they could learn to practice the art. At least, that's what she thought, even if she often had trouble remembering the history properly."Greetings, duckies! It's lovely to see you all again. I hope you've had a pleasant week so far. Today, we'll be going over the history of the art of divination. There are notes on the board for you to copy."The Seer paused, giving them time to write down what she'd written on the board. When the scratching of quills began to die down, she tilted her head, finger tapping her chin."Divination is, of course, an ancient art. It is difficult to trace any particular source, because it goes back further than recorded history. It seems that, for as long as we have had the ability to reason, humans have been looking towards the future, and towards signs from the world around them to determine what it might be. Ancient humans from every part of the globe looked to patterns to try and ascertain what tomorrow might bring. Oftentimes, correlation of events was thought to equal causation, and so omens came about. Seers have also existed for as long as we can remember, which has only helped the art remain strong."
spaceThe professor blinked a bit, then shook her head. She'd very nearly drifted off-topic."Well, there is a lot more to be said on the subject of Seers, but that will be covered next week. For now, if you have any thoughts or questions on the history of divination, feel free to share, or ask now. Participation will, of course, be rewarded with House Points."Drusilla really did hope that she was thorough enough with this particular lesson. It was hard to be, sometimes, particularly since, as she'd stated, it was very difficult to trace the history back to its source. She couldn't speak for where her art had begun; only what had happened after people started keeping records.
Human beings have always looked for the answers to life’s great mysteries. Why are we here? Who or what controls our destiny? How does life work? What does the future hold? There is archeological evidence that a need to know and deep spiritual seeking are universal human traits, and that some form of divination has been used since the earliest times, to support this quest. Even though various forms of divination have been used in all societies, the widespread use of sophisticated divination systems across all classes of people is a very recent development. The spread of divination systems had depended on oral transmission, which in preliterate times was largely the exclusive domain of the rulers, chieftains, official soothsayers, priests, sages, prophets and shamans. Although belief in magic was practically universal up to and through the Middle Ages, including primitive divinatory practices of folk magic, knowledge of divination systems and what Tarot scholar Bob O’Neill calls learned magic, could not spread until the invention of printing.
Early Methods:
• Chinese Taoists read patterns on tortoise shells, which evolved into the hexagrams of the I Ching. • Vikings consulted the runestones. • Ancient Roman shamans observed the entrails of slaughtered animals and grains that hens pecked at and formed messages (alectryomancy). • Other cultures have looked to inner space (such as the Australian aborigines with their dreamtime), or have used hallucinogenic plants for vision quests (such as the Mazatec Indians of Mexico who use Salvia divinorum for spiritual rituals and divination). • There are also numerous passages in the Old Testament documenting Jahweh’s instructions for using a sacred set of dice called Urim and Thummim to make decisions in His name.
Modern Methods:
There are, currently, five recognized 'branches' of modern divinatory systems: • Astrology: Using the locations of the planets and stars relative to the Earth and one another to determine the future. • IChing: An ancient Chinese manual of divination based on eight symbolic trigrams and sixty-four hexagrams, interpreted in terms of the principles of yin and yang. • Numerology: Understanding and interpreting the significance of numbers in relation to the future. • Tarot: Interpreting cards to determine the future. • Runes: Interpreting runic symbols to determine the future.
Homework:Write a short essay on the history of divination.
xxxx× × ×xxxxSTUDENTSxxxx× × ×xxxx Any registered student who fails to post at least once this year will have their house docked ten points at the end of the term. Exceptions can be made provided you contact Cara MiaKitty and are able to provide a reasonable excuse.
spaceDrusilla entered the classroom in a daze. She was quite late, she was certain of it. Where did the time go? She'd been so caught up in her cards and runes that she'd completely lost track of it... or perhaps she'd simply stared off into space for a couple of hours. Both were equally possible, after all... except that when she arrived in the classroom and checked the clock, she was actually on time. She frowned; the clock in her office must be wrong, then. She'd have to fix it... if she remembered. Which she probably wouldn't, of course. She blinked a moment, then smiled at her students, her arms sweeping open in a grand gesture. "Hello, my little ducks, and welcome to Divination. I am Professor Somerset. Now then, in this class, you will need to have an open mind, open eyes, and patience. Divination is a powerful art, but difficult. Also, there will be no disrespecting of my craft, or of the abilities of fellow students... now then! With that unpleasantness out of the way, we can begin."
spaceShe paused long enough to let the students absorb her words, and long enough to get just a tad distracted... what was she looking at, though? She scowled for a moment, actively redirecting her mind away from the path it'd tried to wander, and smiled widely again at her students before launching into the lecture. "Divination is an old art, practiced by Magic folk and Muggles alike; though of course, they rarely read the signs correctly, they lack the ability to do so, usually. But you, my young one, can be taught to read the signs and to predict the future. I say predict because, of course, time is a fluid, ever changing thing. Every time you are faced with a choice, you could change the events that were to transpire. And everything is important; choosing something different for lunch; going to bed an hour earlier than usual; even stopping for one second on your way to a lesson to gaze out the window can set and entirely new wave of things in motion than would have had you gone about the usual path. And so, nothing is certain. But, we can always look. We can always search. In the future, we see signs, hints of things to come. Whether or not they are to be is largely up to us. Seeing is the first step." She stopped then, curious. She had, of course, seen this play out, but in different ways each time... how would it happen then?
spaceThe Seer's eyes glazed, and she shifted a bit, her head tilting in an odd manner, rather like a bird's, her eyes unblinking and unseeing. After a moment, she gave her head a light shake, and smiled again. "Where was I? Oh, yes. Searching. Divination is, first and foremost, the art of searching... for the future, for the answer, for the key. And now, I'll have an answer from you, ducky. What, to you, is Divination, and what purpose does it serve?" She waited patiently, eager to hear what her students had to say. It would tell her much about them... but didn't she already know? Sometimes she forgot...
x Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency.
Categories of Divination:
xAn omen (also called portent or presage) is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. Though the word "omen" is usually devoid of reference to the change's nature, hence being possibly either "good" or "bad," the term is more often used in a foreboding sense, as with the word "ominous". The origin of the word is unknown, although it may be connected with the Latin word audire, meaning "to hear." x Cleromancy is a form of divination using sortition, casting of lots, or casting bones or stones, in which an outcome is determined by means that normally would be considered random, such as the rolling of dice, but are sometimes believed to reveal the will of God, or other supernatural entities. x Augury ranks a set of given possibilities. It can be qualitative (such as shapes, proximities, etc.): for example, dowsing (a form of rhabdomancy) developed from this type of divination. Augury is normally considered to specifically refer to divination by studying the flight patterns of birds. x Spontaneous. An unconstrained form of divination, free from any particular medium, and actually a generalization of all types of divination. The answer comes from whatever object the diviner happens to see or hear. Some religions use a form of bibliomancy: they ask a question, riffle the pages of their holy book, and take as their answer the first passage their eyes light upon. Other forms of spontaneous divination include reading auras and New Age methods of feng shui such as "intuitive" and "fuzion"
Purpose of Divination:
x Divination is a means to attempt some form of understanding of events to come. The true purpose of this form of magic is hard to say. It is used by some to plan their day to day activities, and by some to attempt circumventing or ensuring that certain things come to pass. It is a fluid magic and is not understood by many who do not have either the Sight nor the patience to learn to See. In this lesson, you will be taught the methods for Seeing, but in order to be successful, you must believe, and put in a fair amount of effort. It will come easier for some than others; any among you might be a Seer, blind to your talents due to lack of practice. For others, visions and signs will be difficult to see. This is natural, and all it means is that you must try harder.
