The difference between fortune telling and divination is a very basic one. In fortune telling, as practised by us Muggles, it is the cards/runes that tell the future and the person who reads them simply translates them in a way which can be understood by others. Divination, on the other hand, requires some kind of gift - an open mind, intuition, inner eye, whatever have you. In divination, the person with gift sees the future or is a conduit for 'force' which sees the future. Then, there are seers and prophets who are, for the lack of better words, vessels for some kind of unknown force which is able to tell the future.
Look at it this way: Trelawney couldn't divine your future for the life of her. However, when she was reading cards (book 6, anyone?), she was able to see what could happen. In this instance it was the cards that held the future. On the other hand, when she gave the prophecies before the books started and in book 3, she was a vessel for something which had the access to future. Let me reiterate here: she wasn't divining. She was a vessel, a seer or a prophetess, what have you, but it was an outside 'force' which allowed her to make the prophecies.
Another difference between fortune telling and divination. Fortune telling is more like giving guidelines of what can happen. Divination, on the other hand (along with prophecies) tells us about something that will definitely happen, something that is set in stone, so to speak.
To illustrate my point: I read (or rather used to read) Tarot cards. Many people for whom I read later told me most of things I told them came true. But that doesn't mean I know what will happen in the future; I simply passed along the message I read in the cards.
Do I think a Muggle would be able to teach kids divination? Well, that would depend if the Muggle had an inner eye, open senses, whatever you call it. I have to say, that for divination, you certainly have to have a gift, which is why I think it should only be taught to those who show an ability for it. The rest of kids should be taught fortune telling instead. Tarot, runes, things like that which do not require a gift but which instead require someone who can read them. And n this case even Hermione would be able to do it because there's not hidden tricks to it. You just need to learn the meaning of cards/runes and be able to contextualise them.
And we need to remember this: fortune telling is often validated by hindsight. Prophecies, on the other hand, are something that needs to be unravelled.
no subject
The difference between fortune telling and divination is a very basic one. In fortune telling, as practised by us Muggles, it is the cards/runes that tell the future and the person who reads them simply translates them in a way which can be understood by others. Divination, on the other hand, requires some kind of gift - an open mind, intuition, inner eye, whatever have you. In divination, the person with gift sees the future or is a conduit for 'force' which sees the future. Then, there are seers and prophets who are, for the lack of better words, vessels for some kind of unknown force which is able to tell the future.
Look at it this way: Trelawney couldn't divine your future for the life of her. However, when she was reading cards (book 6, anyone?), she was able to see what could happen. In this instance it was the cards that held the future. On the other hand, when she gave the prophecies before the books started and in book 3, she was a vessel for something which had the access to future. Let me reiterate here: she wasn't divining. She was a vessel, a seer or a prophetess, what have you, but it was an outside 'force' which allowed her to make the prophecies.
Another difference between fortune telling and divination. Fortune telling is more like giving guidelines of what can happen. Divination, on the other hand (along with prophecies) tells us about something that will definitely happen, something that is set in stone, so to speak.
To illustrate my point: I read (or rather used to read) Tarot cards. Many people for whom I read later told me most of things I told them came true. But that doesn't mean I know what will happen in the future; I simply passed along the message I read in the cards.
Do I think a Muggle would be able to teach kids divination? Well, that would depend if the Muggle had an inner eye, open senses, whatever you call it. I have to say, that for divination, you certainly have to have a gift, which is why I think it should only be taught to those who show an ability for it. The rest of kids should be taught fortune telling instead. Tarot, runes, things like that which do not require a gift but which instead require someone who can read them. And n this case even Hermione would be able to do it because there's not hidden tricks to it. You just need to learn the meaning of cards/runes and be able to contextualise them.
And we need to remember this: fortune telling is often validated by hindsight. Prophecies, on the other hand, are something that needs to be unravelled.
Lena/Gryffindor