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)Original Source: 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)Original Source: 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 ShiptonOriginal Source: 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)Original Source: 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 zodiacOriginal Source: 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)Original Source: 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

Crystal gazing

John Melville, Crystal-Gazing and the Wonders of Clairvoyance (1910)Original Source: 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)Original Source: 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

Palm Reading

Palmistry handOriginal Source: 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)Original Source: 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.

Fortune-telling manuscriptOriginal Source: Royal MS 12 C XII

‘The signification of lines and other marks in the hands’, in Old Egyptian Fortune-Teller’s Last Legacy (1775)Original Source: C.194.a.825(2)

The Old Egyptian Fortune Teller
Supposedly a collection of Egyptian divination techniques, this pamphlet was compiled by an anonymous British writer. Although the guidance is dubious, it includes one sage piece of advice for Harry Potter himself: if you dream that you ‘fight and destroy serpents’, you will achieve ‘victory over enemies’. In addition to palmistry, it explains how to divine the future by interpreting the moles on your body: for example, ‘a mole on the buttock denotes honour to a man and riches to a woman’.

Curator looking at Divination exhibitsThe British Library

Tea-Leaf Reading

Fortune telling tea-cup Fortune telling tea-cup (c. 1932–39)Original Source: The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle, 1398

‘Many Curious Things I See’
Tasseography — from the French tasse (cup) and Greek graph (writing) — is a form of Divination that interprets the sediment in tea-cups. The first European accounts of this method of Divination appeared in the 17th century, following the introduction of tea from China.

Fortune telling tea-cupOriginal Source: The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle, 1398

This cup was made in England in the 1930s. Inside are symbols to help interpret the leaves, while this legend runs around the rim: ‘Many curious things I see when telling fortunes in your tea.’

Tea-Cup Reading and the Art of Fortune-Telling by Tea-Leaves, by a Highland Seer (1920)Original Source: 8633.c.9.

A Practical Guide to Tea-Leaf Reading
This detailed manual on tea-leaf Divination, written by ‘a Highland Seer’, provides advice on the ideal size and shape of cup and the type of tea to use. In The Prisoner of Azkaban, Professor Trelawney told Harry that the presence in his cup of ‘the Grim’, a large dog, signified death. In this book, in contrast, the appearance of a dog towards the top of the cup is said to be a favourable sign, denoting a faithful friend.

‘You will have a lot of trouble’, in How to Read the Future with Tea Leaves, translated from the Chinese by Mandra 2nd edn. (1925)Original Source: 8633.eee.31.

Shapes and Meanings Made Clear
This pamphlet traces Divination using tea-leaves to the year 229 BC, when this method was supposedly adopted by a Chinese princess. It provides a handy guide to decoding the shapes formed by leaves in the cup.

Some of these shapes are remarkably difficult to tell apart, such as numbers 38 and 42 — ‘You will meet a stranger’ and ‘You will make an enemy’. Other predictions are bizarrely specific: number 44 indicates, ‘You will be interested in the Navy’.

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