The Bodleian Library in Oxford has a free exhibition on divination. It's been on for a few months and ends in a couple of weeks, so I realised I needed to visit before it closed. I went on Sunday and took the photos on this post. It's an excellent exhibition and worth going if you can.
Oracles, Omens and Answers explores ways in which people have sought answers in the face of the unknown across time and cultures. From astrology and palm reading to weather and public health forecasting, the exhibition demonstrates the ubiquity of divination practices, and humanity's universal desire to tame uncertainty, diagnose problems, and predict the future. People have historically turned to divination in troubled times, so it's understandable that there's been an rise in interest in astrology, tarot and other forms of fortune telling in recent years.
Curated by Dr Michelle Aroney, whose research focuses on early modern science and religion, and Professor David Zeitlyn, an expert in the anthropology of divination, the exhibition takes a historical-anthropological approach to methods of prophecy, prediction and forecasting, covering a range of divination methods, including astrology, tarot, necromancy, and even spider divination.
Professor David Zeitlyn is himself a diviner and the exhibition features a case study of spider divination practised by the Mambila people of Cameroon and Nigeria, which is his research specialism. This process uses burrowing spiders or land crabs to arrange marked leaf cards into a pattern, which is read by the diviner. The picture above shows a set of spider divination leaves.
The questions we ask are universal
Dating back as far as ancient Mesopotamia, the exhibition shows that the same kinds of questions have been asked of specialist practitioners from around the world throughout history. What is the best treatment for this illness? Does my loved one love me back? When will this pandemic end? Through materials from the archives of the Bodleian Libraries and other collections in Oxford, the exhibition demonstrates how universally human it is to seek answers to difficult questions.
Highlights of the exhibition include:
- Oracle bones from Shang Dynasty China (ca. 1250-1050 B.C.E.)
- An Egyptian celestial globe dating to around 1318
- A 16th-century armillary sphere from Flanders, once used by astrologers to place the planets in the sky in relation to the Zodiac
- A nineteenth-century illuminated Javanese almanac
- The autobiography of astrologer Joan Quigley, who worked with Nancy and Ronald Reagan in the White House for seven years.
One of my favourite items on display is the Astronomicon Caesarium from 1540, pictured above, which uses moveable paper parts, including a superb dragon, to predict eclipses.
Oracles, Omens and Answers is on until 27 April at the S.T. Lee Gallery, Weston Library, Bodleian Libraries, Oxford. You can find details here: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/oracles-omens-and-answers
Learn to use a Crystal Ball and Mirror or Scry with Water and Fire
I'm teaching an in-person workshop on divination with crystal balls, mirrors and water on Saturday 7 June at Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. It starts at 1pm and tickets cost £22 per person. https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.
On Wednesday 3 September and 10 September I'm running a two-part online evening class on Scrying: Divination Using Crystals, Mirrors, Water and Fire via the College of Psychic Studies. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £65/£85 for both workshops https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/workshops/psychic-training/scrying-divination-using-crystals-mirrors-water-fire/
Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/03/occult-london-tarot-exhibition-at.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/02/pictures-tarot-origins-afterlives-at.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/08/exhibition-spellbound-magic-ritual-and.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/03/pagan-portals-scrying-sold-703-copies.html
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