Divination across Cultures

After reading the "Interpreting Divine Will - divination in ancient Greece" chapter and the "Ensuring Cosmic Harmony - Chinese divination" chapter in A History of Magic, Witchcraft, & the Occult, I was fascinated by the similarities and differences across these two completely different cultures. More so, I am left to wonder how exactly these two societies, thousands of miles apart, were both able to come to the same conclusion in regards to the fundamental concept of divine will and its interpretation.

The association of seemingly random natural or unnatural occurrences with the prediction of the future is difficult to take seriously in the modern day. Plus, humans are unable to accurately conceive just how long ago these practices took place. For example, if you asked a stranger to describe the differences between life in 1600 BCE and 600 BCE, they would likely provide a minimal amount of useful knowledge (if any) despite an entire millennium of development. Therefore, we are tasked with putting ourselves in these ancient shoes and attempting to understand the possible legitimacies given the context of the time period.

I read Oedipus the King by Sophocles and Shakespeare’s version of Julius Caesar in high school, and in both of these stories a soothsayer warns the main character of their inevitable fate, which despite their best efforts, materializes in the final pages of the books. Even Disney utilizes a similar Greek tragedy-based plotline in the movie Sleeping Beauty, where the evil magician Maleficent curses baby Aurora at the start of the movie. The King burns every single spinning wheel in the town and locks up his daughter for her entire life. Nonetheless, her cursed fate comes to fruition when she pricks her finger on a spinning wheel that was magically constructed via magic. Even The Matrix incorporates the concept of a prophet.

Both Greece and China strongly believed in some form of predestination, or fate, and relied on specialists to analyze signs that might hint at the revelation. In addition, both cultures often gained their data at the expense of living creatures. The book cites the livers of sacrificed animals in Greece, and cracked bones / turtle shells in China. I found it interesting how the Chinese decided to switch from the standard bone analysis to that of turtle shells. This makes sense because turtle shells offer more surface area and existing sectors across the shell. When the heated rod is applied to the turtle shells, I would guess there are much more possible designs and interpretations available than that of a normal bone.

However, this concept of ambiguity is why the practice of interpreting divine will is ultimately speculation. I often wonder how someone grows up and decides that they are qualified to be a soothsayer. At what point do they convince themselves that they are so special and have some kind of other-worldly, omniscient vision? Regardless, in order to maintain their credibility I presume they often use cryptic, vague dialogue which can be applied to many different circumstances. Just like a Chinese fortune cookie, which is directly linked to the culture’s deep rooted belief in predestination and still circulates today. Granted, no one actually depends on the result of a fortune cookie in modern day.

Finally, I want to address the conundrum of predestination in regards to someone’s actions after being informed of their fate. This creates a circular reference, and as I mentioned before, everything this person does to avoid their fate has no bearing on its inevitable materialization. Therefore, if a person never sought the advice of a soothsayer at all, would their fate still occur? Under the assumption that soothsayers are accurate, what is the point of seeing them at all? These questions are easy to as today, but back then I think it is safe to assume that the citizens of these ancient cultures just needed something to believe in at all.