The foggy future

[Steve Bates]

No: HPFGUIDX 529

Interesting to see that more people disagreed with me than I 
expected.  But I haven't changed my mind: I have said that 
Trelawney's gift isn't of much practical use, anyway, which pretty 
much goes with what everyone else says.  But I think she has 
*something* even if I can't describe what it is or its limits.  I 
know her predictions are almost always vague, but that is how the 
future might look like to someone who could see it.  Since we brought 
up Star Wars; remember that the Force can allow a Jedi to see into 
the futute, but "always changing it is."  So Trelawney probably sees 
things, but not all of them come true--people's choices come into 
play and change what she originally saw.  Still, I think there is 
more to it than guesswork.  The prediction of Lavender's rabbit's 
death and Hermione's leaving the class, taken together, are hard to 
explain away.  She made a pretty approximation of the time Hermione 
left, and she even got the exact date of right in Lavender's case.  
Sure, Lavender might not have been exactly "dreading" the rabbit's 
death; but the fact that a tragedy occurred at all on October 16th is 
pretty good evidence that Trelawney was doing some fortunetelling, 
hazy as it may be.
I do agree 100% that Trelawney is too negative; I notice that none of 
her predictions are positive.  Maybe she can see the bad things and 
not the good?
Why is Trelawney's class worth anything if it is not useful?  Just 
because it can't be put to immediate practical use doesn't mean it's 
not important for an educated wizard to understand the basics of 
fortunetelling.  Whether Dumbledore hired Trelawney or not, he 
wouldn't keep her on if he didn't have a good reason.  He apparently 
thinks the students need to know something about divination, and that 
Trelawney does an acceptable job.  
By the way, I don't think fate and free will are mutually exclusive.

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, mlleelizabeth at a... wrote:
> Comments from a tarot reader:
> 
> Surprise, surprise!
> 
> I think both Trelawney and the Centaurs are full of *it*.  
(whatever "it" may 
> be to you ).
> 
> I read tarot, but I do not believe that any tarot reader can 
predict the 
> future.  I use tarot to help my querants understand and put in 
order their 
> thoughts and discover the path they are traveling.  I do come up 
with 
> outcomes - but they are "this is where you want to go" outcomes, 
not "this is 
> what will happen to you" outcomes.
> 
> Trelawney takes herself too darned seriously, of course.  Except 
that - she 
> also apparently channels (on very rare occasions and not by 
choice).  When 
> she is receiving messages that may actually have some predictive 
value, I 
> believe she's much like the guy in 3rd Rock from the Sun who is 
along with 
> the rest because he's got a "thing" in his head and receives 
messages from 
> the Big Giant Head.
> 
> She's not getting it right because she's "attuned" or whatever she 
would call 
> it - she's just being used by higher powers.
> 
> JKR seems to have what I believe is an appropriate skeptisms 
regarding 
> fortune tellers.  
> 
> Love & Light,
> Elizabeth