The method of knowing about something mysterious or beyond the reach of the people to know is called clairvoyance. Foretelling consists of knowing about the untold by means of portents. The two classes of clairvoyance are considered to be star divination and the heralds and presage. These practices had its presence in the lives of people since ages including the primitive world.
Various techniques form the classes of sortilege like crystal gazing, where in the diviner gets thoughts being self hypnotic through self consciousness , and Tarot card method which is based on the luck factor, as the person picks a card and fortune is told accordingly instances of it being automatic writing, dreams , use of knuckle bones in africa and coconuts in polynesia.One more prominent class of this system beholds aurospicy, the studies of footprints in ashes,inspection of entrails, flight of birds etc.
Shaman caste usually practiced the art of divination which is a sophisticated caste of Rome and mexico.
This art has ancientness in it. It was predominantly used in egypt along with astrology. Diviners were given a different office where they could focus, have visions and dreams. Diviners used to set themselves free to procure visions and dreams by drawing magic pictures and by chanting magic words along with scriptures.Evidences of dreams are found in the ancient Egyptian texts as in those of Thothmes IV, king of Egypt in 1450 B.C.E., and Nut-Amen, king of the Eastern Sudan and Egypt about 670 B.C.E. China predominantly used the portents for fortune telling , the examination of the marks and designs on the hard back of tortoise used to give them the leads resembling the way in maya of central america, used the examination of peccary .chinese monarchs used this way during 1146 BCE but was seen to be inefficient. As egypt followed more of star divination but foretelling by dreams and visions was also not underestimated; were too given importance.
Ancient Rome had a class of distinct priests known as augurs, these augurs were set apart for the interpretation of signs of approval or disapproval by god of a happening. This consisted of three people including the king. The prominent dogma of these augurs was to observe the signs and come at conclusion. They used to go to an isolated place like top of mountains so that can have a clear vision of the sky, settle there under a tent in a windless night ,ask god for a sign and wait for it. The lightning , thundering , stars, flight of birds were observed carefully. Even a conclusion was brought out by listening to the songs and sounds emanated by the birds, and classified , also the way birds ate was under the focus to decipher.
Major decisions like magistrate’s election , having a war, sending troops for war and passing a law were taken by giving importance to the boders.
In oriental countries Fortune Telling by astrology was as common as predictions by the prophets.In east, foretelling by crystal gazing, dreams and other self hallucinations method . Methodology like Egypt was followed in chaldea and assyria among babylonians and ethiopians.Witches used to sortilege by the means of bread crumbs in the jewish talmud,arabs foretold by means of shapes seen in sand,the Burmese and Siamese pierced an egg at each end, and having blown the contents onto the ground, traced within them the outline of things to be.
America has been practicing and still practices the art of clairvoyance. In mexico there was even a college of augurs like that in rome, where in training was carried out , conclusion was made out by listening to the songs of the birds and their flight. Peru practised divination by the course of action of spiders , leaves of tobacco ,shape of grains of maize , by taking at random and the direction of fruit fall. American tribes as a whole were keen observer of the bird life.
Among ancient romans , american birds were classified as those of good or bad portent.Brazilians used to consider the entrance of indian souls in the birds , whereas tribes from paraguay considered the enshrinement of the souls of their tribal relatives into the birds.This kind of approach initiated a corporation between divination and sorcery.
The priest of peru practiced oracular methods by making idols speak.The priests of brazil had a contrivance known as paxiuba, having a tree trunk of the height of a man, with leaves and branches left. Holes were bored and priest used to enchant through one and the trembling of the leaves was taken as a message from jurupari, their deity. All over american continent , methods of oracular foretelling was identical. Hypnotic communion with the dead was also prevalent in america.
Divination by dreams and visions was very common in America, Algonquians called the priests as “dreamers of the gods” the Maya called them, “listeners,” and others like this. The process of having visions and dreaming was catalysed by the use of drugs and opiums like tobacco , maguey, coca, the snake plant, and others.Many cultivated these kind of plants and evidences of these have been found.
Time and again the divination has proved itself to be authentic by giving out results and the prophecies have been true from finding lost man to seeking things.
Crystal gazing was very common in america. Aztecs of mexico used polished sandstones for this purpose which they used to feed by the blood of deer. Similar ways were practised by guatemala as well.
Divination by arrows was also widely used. As when kiche kingdom was about to be attacked by the white men , king asked to foretell and with the help of arrow which were aimed at the rocks were followed. With no impressions on the rocks it was taken as the worst case and the invasion by the white men . King went to other foretellers but the fortune remained the same and finally kiche kingdom fell.
Many objects such as small clay birds, boats, or boat-shaped vessels, have been discovered in sepulchral mounds in north america, and it is speculated that these may have been used for purposes of fortune telling.
Divination beholds its roots in modern civilization as well. Nostradamus(1503-66) has remarkably been successful with the happening of his prophecies in enigmatic verses. William lily, an astrologer in 17th century predicted the great plague of london in 1965 and the great fire in the following year. Apart from the existence these gifted people, some techniques have also flourished like dream interpretation, palmistry and tarot cards.Many such systems were revived in 1960s.Revival of the ancient Chinese system of the I Ching, where divination of present and future events is linked with a deeper philosophy of the function of destiny in human affairs.
Dowsing or water witching is another way of sortilege, wherein twig or rod is used a system under necromancy . Radiesthesia is a similar practice wherein pendulums are used. Popularity of divination prevails in modern times as well with the increase in the uncertainty and anxiety in economical and political life.Even with the presence of so many techniques, the art of clairvoyance requires basic or developed talent.