Divination Classroom
 

Emma was intrigued by the subject of Divination and would never miss this class for the world. She was the first one in the classroom. "Good afternoon." she greeted the professor and sat down at a circular table.

Adrienne walked into the classroom. Her first thought was that it looked like New Age tea shop. It was cute, but mysterous at the same time. She liked it. She looked at ther Professor. "Um, hello." She looked down while saying this. Adrienne had always been intimadated by authority figures. She moved to one of the poofy chairs and settled in.

Rave walked into the classroom smiled at the professor. "Have an enjoyable summer?" she enquired politely.

Emma waited for more students to come in to class. She hoped one of her friends would come...

Romy walked into the classroom and look for a free desk as she passes by the Prof. she said politely "Hello Professor Kotkin" and the she sat down and put her bookbag on the floor. She lokes around it was her first time in the divination classroom. She was waiting for her friend Julie.

luna walked into the classroom and found a seat near the front of the class, she had really liked this class when she had looked into her orb and seen something, not everyone else did but she felt quite natural at it and it had became her fave subject ever scince. she had a good time with tea leaves too, she awnserd lots of questions and really shone during that lesson. as she sat down she shoved her bag under the table waiting for other students to come to the class.

Emma wondered when the class would really start.

Cassy entered the class cautiously and looked around before sitting near the back. Divination had always intrigued her and she was looking forward to her first lesson. She reached into her bag, pulled out parchment and a quill and placed them carefully on the desk. She looked up and smiled at the Professor. She couldn't wait for the lesson to start!

Professor Kotkin flitted around as the students started to gather. "Welcome, welcome. Adrienne, I hope you find your seat comfortable... and Rave, I had an amazing summer. I got to spend time in the water with the fish, lobster... oh, so many wonderful things to see there!" She then turned to Romy and Luna. "Hello Roma, and Luna, it's good to see you again!"


She then turned and nodded to Julie and Cassy and then said, "Ok, everyone be seated. To start with I'd like you to take turns to tell me what you would like to learn this term in Divination."

Rave looked up and saw Juile enter the classroom. She hadnt seen her cosin in a while and desided they had to meet somewhere and catch up. Waving to get her attention Rave mouthed "Meet me by the lake."

Emma saw that more people were coming. She was still the only person at her table and she craned her neck looking for someone she knew.

Sabrina raised her hand "Palmistry."

Seeing emma looking around Rave scooted over to her table and said "Hi I'm Rave Stone. MInd if I sit with you i dont fancy sitting alone."

Adrienne pondered the Professors question. Really, she din't know much about Divination, so she didn't know what there was to learn. She got out her quill and parchment, ready to take notes, and waited for her peers to respond.

Romy raised her hand: "I want to know more about the Inner Eye."

Emma grinned at Rave. "Neither do I." she said. "Sure you can sit with me."

She turned her attention to the class. "I'd like to learn how to tell the future by our dreams."

Rave raised she hand "I would like to learn more about crystal gazing and reading tea leaves."

"I would like to learn crystal gazing" Julie answered the professor's questions

Seeing what Raven mouther to Julie, she nodded to her that she got the message, and she will meet her at the lake after class.

"Crystal gazing, reading tea leaves, Inner Eye, palmistry......" Adrienne mumbled as she wrote down the other students responses. She had no clue as to what they were talking about, but that's why they call it learning, right?

Professor Kotkin listened carefully, taking notes and then stood up to write on the board. Waving her wand the words appeared.....Forms of Divination.... and then below it a list of terms to define....

Palmistry
Padomancy
Crystal Ball Reading
Tasseomancy
Hydromancy
Pyromancy
Cartomancy
Dream Interpretation
Seer

"First, I would like to cover some basics. As you all know, Divination is the form of magic where you can try to foresee the future. This magic can be imprecise, but it can be helpful to those who are gifted or talented in this area. I would like for you to define these terms for me starting with Palmistry."

(ooc: please take turns using one term only for each of you! feel free to add your own if they have been answered.)

Adrienne raised her hand. "Padomancy is the reading of the soles of the feet, as opposed to the palms."

"Palmistry is the ancient practice of studying the lines and signs of the hands. It is said that your palm is the blueprint to your life." she said after raising her hand.

"Palmistry is reading the lines in someone's palm. The lines, such as life and love lines, can be used to interpret and predict events yet to come." Emma said with her hand hitting the air like a bullet out of a gun.

Romy raised her hand and said" You can read the future in the hands "

Professor Kotkin listened.... "Good work Adrienne, Sabarina and Emma. Yes Romy, some can read the future in the hands, just as muggles use fingerprints to identify people with. Everyone's hands show patterns that are individual to them, and they tell a story if you know how to read them. In Palmistry, you look to identify where specific lines or fleshy mounds that are called mounts lie on the hand. These lines aren't fixed as you would imagine them to be. They can deepen and change even in a short amount of time, though usually slow. In Padomancy, you use the same principals, but with the feet. We'll cover more on this later when we get to the practical lesson.

Now, can anyone talk about Crystal Ball Gazing, or Reading the Orb?"

Dream Interpretation
 

Emma scribbled all this information down on a piece of parchment.

"Crystal ball gazing is when you look into the - obviously crystal orb - and if you are practiced enough, you will see an image come to you and foresee the future." Emma said once again, her hand first in the air.

Cassy was busy taking notes, so much so, her wrist ached. She raised her hand slowly and added "Crystal ball gazing relies heavily on the Inner Eye. Also it usually requires for you to be familiar with the Crystal ball you're using as it is more likely to respond. Clear quartz makes the best crystal balls but that can vary from person to person."

Emma added more to her notes.

Taylor wrote down the answers and taking notes on almost everything she said.

Professor Kotkin turned to Cassy. "Great answer Cassy. Crystal gazing involves peering into a misty orb as she mentioned, but it is important to note that you must learn to relax and be patient so that the Seer in you can provide you with a window into the future. The word 'Crystal' comes from the Greek word krystallos from krysos meaning 'icy cold'. It was believed that crystals were made from ice that was so cold that they would never melt. Greeks also believed that all quartz crystals were pieces of the archetypal 'crytal of truth'.

Yes Jessica, go ahead and answer another if you would like."

Cassy raised her hand again and hesitated. She knew another one of the answers but also knew that Jessica wanted to speak. She waited patiently for the go ahead before speaking as she didn't want to interrupt or appear rude.

Cassy smiled "I'm not a hundred percent certain but i'm guessing that Hydromancy given the 'hydro' has something to do with water. Does it involve interperating the ripples created when you drop a pebble into water?"

Alanna recorded all of the information that she could. Her parchment was son filled with notes only she could read.

Taylor thought about what Cassy had said. This did seem to make sense, but he thought that he would wait to see what the professor said.

Rave wrote as fast as she could in her neat and loopy scrawl. Soon she had a page and a half of notes.

Professor Kotkin replied. "Yes Cassy, but it is more common to use three pebbles or stones. They are thrown into standing water one at a time (one round, one triangular, and one square) and observations are made from the circles formed when they strike the water. You can also go underwater to observe them there. How they land, what is found on or around thee, or how they disturbed the area where they actually settled. Like ripples in the sand, leaves and such.

Can anyone tell us about Pyromancy?"

Taylor sat in his chair letting the other students answer the questions. He knew some answers, but didn't want to say them because the professor had only given Jessica permission to talk.

"The most basic form of pyromancy is that in which the diviner observes flames, from a sacrificial fire, a candle, or another source of flame, and interprets the shapes that he or she sees within them. There are several variations on pyromancy." Sabrina commented after raising her hand.

Taylor raised his hand "Pyromancy (from Greek 'pyros', fire, and 'manteia', divination) is the art of divination by means of fire"

Stacey raised her hand to the professor's question, "Given that Pyro deals with fire then that would mean that Pyromancy is fire magic, casting fireballs, create walls of fire, or protect allies against fire, depending upon power level."

Professor Kotkin smiled at the answers. "Great Sabrina and Taylor! And Stacey too, but we are trying to deal with the Divination form of fire magic. But it seems like you could teach even me different ways to protect yourself using fire.

Pyromancy is a form of Fire Scrying. First, you focus on whatever you want to learn, question you want answered, then observe the flame noting the various patterns and movements to determine the answer. Some will even throw an object into the flames to effect the flames before they read them."

Cassy was busy taking notes but then suddenly remembered the Professor asking about Cartomancy. She definately knew the answer to this question. She raised her hand and said "Cartomancy is divination using cards and sometimes Tarot cards."

Julie raised her hand and said " Cartomancy is a way to foretell the future using a regular deck of playing cards. It is not unlike tarot cards in the way one uses them to understand human emotions and feelings"

"Jessica, another excellent answer. Some people feel that only Seers, or those who have the Inner Eye, as the only true form of divination. It is considered a form of prophecy. Not everyone is gifted with the ability to 'see' and even to 'interpret' what they may see. The Seer usually has no control over what they are seeing. Many prophesies can be found stored at the Ministry of Magic."

Professor Kotkin turned the board. "Now if anyone wants to add anything to list feel free. We will soon be pairing up to start our practical lesson in Palmistry."

(ooc: I must leave the class till Tomorrow, but feel free to define other forms of Divination to earn points, but NO CHATTING! I will be giving points at the end of class for homework and for your classroom participation.)

Taylor forgot that she had asked about Cartomancy, but he decided not to answer; Instead, he took notes

Sabrina raised her hand again. "Professor, cartomancy is the art of divination using the standard playing deck of cards. This was the most popular form of providing "fortune telling" card readings in the 19th and 20th centuries. Each card is said to influence the following card."

Julie raised her hand and said "Professor Dream interpretation is to actually interpret the meaning of your dreams. There are two categories that they fit into, those that are generated from within your physical body and mind and those that come from your spirit guides or tutors". Julie paused hoping she was clear.

Tina wrote down everything as fast as she could. She had a feeling she would actually need this sooner or later.

Tina's thoughts suddenly drifted to other things, barely related to divination. Her eyes turned a cloudy blue, just the color she was feeling like. *I know I might take this power of mine, whatever it's called, for granted. But there are so many other interesting powers out there, that seem, no - are, much more useful in real life than mine.* she thought. Tina sighed, looking at the almost invisible flame on the girl before her's finger.

Tina added this infomation to her notes and went back to her thoughts.

Fancy, listening to Felisia's question, just shrugged her shoulders and smirked. She wasn't the type to disobey a teacher's orders, and she didn't want to make a bad impression on the first day of classes by chatting.

Fancy knew that Felisia had a secret ability with fire. Mostly they had just played with the talent during their childhood, seeing what Felisia could do with it. It had never been very useful. She watched as Felisia allowed the flame to dance on her finger, quivering ever so slightly. She hoped the professor didn't catch her. She then turned her attention back to Professor Kotkin and waited for her next comment.

Tina sighed. That was interesting - in it's own way, she thought. I wonder if my eye color changing has anything to do with this, should I ask? Tina pondered. Maybe tomorrow.

Meghan took down the notes of what everyone was saying.

She raised her hand shyly and said, "Is it ok if I have kind of alot...

The first one i have is bibliomancy.

this is when you open a book to a random page while keeping your eyes closed and you point at a line or passage in a book.

The next one i have is lychnomancy

this is when you use a candle flame. It is a branch of pyromancy. you arrange 3 candles in a triange and than ask a question. If the answer is positive 2 flames will burn higher than the other one. A wavering flame would indicate a journey. A spiral flame indicated plots by enemies. An uneven flame danger. Sparks would indicate you should be cautious and a sudden extinction indicated bad luck.

And the last thing is are we going to learn about Aura's at all? just out of curiousity." With that Meghan sat quietly listening to everyone else's answers.

Celestina scribbled furiously every bit of information that was told. Yes, nearly impossible but it has been done before. If she had more time or a clone she would have even included the pauses each speaker took when giving their answers. As she took down the class notes, Bucky racked her brain furiously for a form of Divination not yet discussed. There had to be something, surely, that she had read about a rare or yet undiscussed art of Divination.

"Professor, if I may," spoke Celestina, raising her hand. "Another form of Divination is the Tarot. Tarot is a set of 78 cards with pictures and symbols that are used for divination by connecting the reader to the subconcious mind. The origin of this art is unknown however some have guessed that its origin is from the Romany people, commonly known as Gypsies. The cards can be used to determine the past, present and future of an event or person and can become powerful tools in magical workings and rituals. Oh...also, the cars are devided into Minor Arcana, which includes 56 of the 78 cards, and Major Arcana which contains the remaining 22 cards."

Bucky lowered her hand, quite pleased with herself. She would have mentioned runes as well but perhaps she should let someone else give it a shot.

g_g raised her hand. The forms of divination i know of are Tarot, Tea leaf reading, Astral divination, catoptromancy, Domino divination, pendulum magic, and table tilting" g_g said.

c00kie scribbled down pages and pages of notes. She enjoyed Divination, it was great fun. But what she was most interested in the forms of Divination was Tarot cards. She raised her hand,

"Professor, Tarot is a French word derived from the Italian cartawhich means card,tarocchi which means triumps and Greek manteia which means divinition," she paused for a second before continuing, "if i am not wrong, the word tarot first apearred in the 15th Century, it consist of two parts, the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana," she said before looking back at her parchment

Ginny was busy scribbling notes down. She was amazed at how much her class knew about various forms of divination.

Adrienne took notes, pausing to look things she didn't know in her textbook. She felt kind of stupid, listening to her fellow students spout out answers. She raised her hand "Professor, what about Astrology, reading celestial bodies and their movement,and Numerology, reading numbers?" She only knew those from late night commercials and talk shows.

Whilst busy taking notes, Cassy remembered another form of Divination, one so obvious she was suprised none of her class had mentioned it yet, raising her hand she said "Astrology is a way to predict the future by noting the planetary movements and the stars. By learning which positions the planets were in at your birth can help to create a birth chart that will allow you to see qualities and events." Cassy also knew a little about sun signs and celtic signs but decided that wasn't really relivant.

Professor Kotkin was thrilled to see her students level of knowlege on the varied forms of Divination. "Really good, all of you. I see you came to class prepared. Now let us get back to the subject at hand."

She turned again to the board and waved her wand wiping it clean and replacing it with Palmistry. Then below that.... Hand Types.

"Can anyone tell me what the 6 Hand Types are?"

(For now, just list them please.... then we'll take on one at a time to describe them. I'm going with the list introduced by Cheiro, 1866-1936.)

Sabrina raised her hand "The elementary, spatulate, psychic, conical, square, and intellectual are the 6 hand shapes."

"Very good Sabrina!

Let's start with....." she waved her wand again

The Elementary Hand/Reflects Earth Energy

Can anyone tell me why they named it 'elementary'?"

Laurasia raised her hand. "The elementary hand is a hand that looks like it belonged to early man. This is not an attractive hand. The fingers are short and stubby, while the palm can be many different shapes but is normally thick. The hand is clumsy and course and there is often few lines on the palm. People who work really hard have these hands, people who chop trees for example, people who work hard and live hard instinctive life. They are usually good with animals, plants and the world of nature which is very important to them. They tend not to appreciate beauty and are not generally intellectual, they seem to react to instinct rather than reason, and have very little emotion or aspirations. This hand is rarely seen in woman and is thought to be the lowest type of hand."

"Excellent Laurasia! The Elementary Hand is one that contains only a few basic lines. The majority of people with this trait will be male. They also dislike change and prefer to see things in a simple, uncomplicated way. They are considered realistic. Most people with this type are actually The Higher Elementary Hand.
The consistency of the hand is more elastic with a finer textured skin. This shows they are more sensitive and flexible. A field suited to this type might be someone who likes to fix things.

Now, can anyone tell us about....

The Square Hand/Practical and Level Headed

....?" she waved her wand again revealing the words.

Sabrina raised her hand. "The square hand has a square palm, a square wrist, and the fingertips are also square. While the fingers are largely knotty, this hand is characterised by a large thumb and a square finger base. People with square hands are blessed with perseverance. They are downright conventional and love general order. They are honest and reliable, and like to lead disciplined lives, with little imagination. This hand usually belongs to businessmen, executives, lawyers, doctors, scientists and engineers."

"Wonderful Sabrina! It is known as the hand of the organizer or planner. They tend to love order, method, structure and stability. They don't adapt to change well. This is especially true if this type has a rigid thumb and/or hand. They like to follow rules so are not known for being spontaneous. They are also polite and reserved while dealing with others.

Now who wants to go next?" she said waving her wand as these words appeared.

The Spatulate Hand/Action

Susan listened carefully.

Laurasia once more raised her hand. "The active or spatulate hand, is a large wide hand, with thick, sometimes long fingers with broad tips. These hands belong to people who are active in the community, people who are restless and original, and prefer to act rather than think. They are gamblers and love risk and speculation. They will go on till they drop and are usually linked with the explorers and settlers and the pioneers. They love action, independence and energy which means these people will not be held back or restricted in any way. This is often displayed as a disrespect for the law and authority. They are often people who are athletic and sometimes musical. This type of hand can be found among all types of people in all sorts of professions. They are all intent on making their mark in life and are true individuals, making their own rules and regulations as they go along."

Taylor sat and listened to the asnwers. He scribbled down a few notes, then returned his concentration once again to the teacher.

OOC: Where are you finding these answers...

Cassy started chewing nervously on her thumb nail. She was confident enough with Divination as a whole but didn't know too much about palmistry. She listened intently whilst making notes, hoping that she'd got all the correct details.

"Thank you Laurasia! This hand is broad and strong with slightly knotted fingers. The fingertips 'fan out' like a spatula making the tips wider than the base of the first joint of the finger with broad nails. The palm is also wider at the knuckles than at the wrist.

This type also tends to be realistic. They can be original or inventive and are known for being restless and adventurous. They are independent and self-reliant but also creative and impulsive.

Next up is..."

The Conic Hand/Lover of Beauty

Sabrina raised her hand again "This hand has smooth fingers, the nails of which are shaped like cones, giving the hand its name. The palm is broad, thick and large, and the thumb is also unusually huge.People with this hand are usually connoisseurs of the arts with superb communication skills, and a love for the arc lights. He lives life on a purely sensual level. On the flip side, this person is impulsive and has a short temper."

Taylor raised his hand and said "Conic individuals are usually quick and impatient, with great artistic creativity. Their ambition and energy make them lively, enthusiastic company. People who posses the conic hand are also well organised individuals with great persuasive techniques. The conic finds it easy to get along with people from many different walks of life, making them a popular asset to any family or work function. Indeed, they are very instinctive people, using their intuition to help guide them in the right direction. Continually seeking new challenges, the conic cannot tolerate monotonous or boring tasks. Their short attention span makes the need for exciting new projects even more important. Although prone to making rash decisions, their intuition and natural instincts usually help them get back on the right track."

Raising her eyebrows, Eunice copied her notes down, her quill making quiet scratching noises on her parchment.

"Ah, wonderful Sabrina and Taylor! This hand tends to be slightly tapered at the base of the palm as well as the tips of the fingers. There are usually alot of fine lines, including vertical lines on these hands, and they have flexible thumbs and fingers.

They are also called 'artistic' hands and is most common among women. These people tend to be receptive, emotional, intuitive and changeable. They are impulsive and are not found to be consistent. They are excited to start a project, but tend to let others finish them. They are known to shift loyalties and have problems with commitment. If they have firm hands with well formed lines, they are very creative. When the hand is bland and fat they have a sensous nature and look for comfort in different forms such as food and money.

Next."

The Psychic Hand/Painfully Idealistic

Taylor raised his hand and said "Slim, delicate structure.
Long fingers with smooth joints.
Although easy to get along with, psychic types are plagued with fear. Even in comfortable, secure circumstances, they forever fear that their security will somehow be disrupted. However, in situations where problems do arise, their notion that it could be worse helps to soften most blows. The psychic also suffers most in love - despite strong intuition, they have great difficulty choosing the right partner. Although they crave peace and tranquility, they are often involved in the entertainment industry. Both impractical and unpredictable, psychics are also particular, organised individuals. Always seeking new challenges, their threshold for everyday tasks is limited. Their sensitive demeanour also makes them unable to deal with criticism very well. Although open to suggestions, it is important to them that their ideas and opinions are duly acknowledged."