Rules of Divination

[cynthiaanncoe at home.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 25478

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., caliburncy at y... wrote:
> <snip> But what I'm wondering is, what 
> reason do we have to believe that seeing also involves comments 
that 
> turn out to be true?  <snip>
> So what are the rules of Divination, do you guys think?  Under what 
> circumstances does one 'see'?  Surely it's not just a randomly 
> inspired statement that happens to also fit in with the current 
> direction of the conversation?
> 
> I guess the reason this strikes me as strange is that, generally, 
in 
> other fiction and in real-life, the ability to predict the future 
is, 
> like I said before limited to some 'mediums', like dreams or 
touching 
> objects that key sensory experiences or Tarot cards or whatever.
> 
> I'm quite curious to hear various opinions on this.
> 
> -Luke

My thought is that there may be various media for "seeing", but there 
also ought to be an innate talent for it.  I would think that if a 
wizard has that talent, it might show itself in spurts before the 
wizard has formal training.  (The way math a math genius might work 
out complex problems before being formally trained, for instance.)  
So in the case of a character like Ron, he might be having flashes of 
brilliance that reveal a talent that has not yet been developed.  

Most of the speculation about who is and who is not a seer, though, 
seems to be a reaction to -- brace yourself -- foreshadowing and 
misdirection.  I think the most that can be said of Ron, for 
instance, is that we are seeing some foreshadowing that he might one 
day be a seer.  Or it could just be that JKR is just using him as a 
convenient tool to confuse and bewilder us all.

Cindy
-----------

"It's Uranus, my dear,"  said Professor Trelawney, peering down at 
the chart.
"Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?" said Ron.  GoF