But are they accurate in their predictions? Not necessarily all the time. When I was in the muggle schools, I learned that the Roman and Greecian empires had soothsayers, but they weren't correct all the time. I mean to say, translation is a matter of perception, isn't it? And everything you see has a multitude of meanings, so who knows which direction the scale is going to tip? So you could be right, you could be wrong. And in that respect, perhaps it's not really possible for just anyone to be capable of seeing the future.

"Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together...."

I do not think that anybody who is human should be able to foresee the future. That should be left to the gifted and unhuman. If you are human, I think, to foresee the future means that you will encounter things you do not wish to encounter. Humans are not capable or able to logically see the future.

I interpret this all to mean that I will have a success that will make me happy about my finances, but that I must tread carefully to avoid crows and prune breaking branches from my life so to speak. The gold will only come if I can effectively avoid the symbolic crow and hazardous tree limb. How I can apply this is to understand that I can be naive about people who would do me harm, so I must be more vigilant against them. I should be guarded and protect myself in order to move ahead with my own goals and plans.

The operative word in the above phrase however is "should" unfortunately; Muggles and wizards should be able to foretell the future but either cannot or will not. We all have the inherent ability whether it's slight or great, but there are those who close themselves off and lose touch with their Inner Eyes completely. Also, everything that I have mentioned as possible in my previous paragraph is easier said than done. True Seers are so rare not only because the future is both uncertain as a time and place but because even gifted witches and wizards can be skeptics.

According to the study book, shells symbolize the sea or good news. But my specific shell resembled a scallop, an image of healing and pilgrimages. I believe I’ll undertake a psychological journey: I’ll become a stronger person who can withstand breezes that the sea may throw my way; I’ll learn to stand up to my parents for wishing I were in Slytherin. And I’ll find peace within myself for not being perfect. The thin line could be a river, which means I’ll have emotional trouble along the way. And the clipped wing on the shell might indicate that I’ll never be fully healed. But, ultimately, I believe the shell stands for good news: cleansing.

When reading palmistry or tea leaves, for example, a lot of intuition and observational analysis are involved in order to access “paths”. But the predictions are merely speculation for most people. On my above reading, for example, the meanings were rather far-reaching. I could have gone with any number of “scallop” meanings—fertility, for example. But as I have no real desire to birth multiple children, I went with healing instead. I underwent a psychological analysis to apply specific characteristics to my personal problems in order to find meaning. I hypothesized, but I couldn't actually "see" the future.

Also, it's important to realize that each individual has different skill-sets, talents, and genes. I personally believe that one needs to be gifted in the divine to accurately foresee the future. This is an ability I can't claim to possess.

A: When I finished drinking my tea I looke dupon thebottom to find this. While at first it looks like nothing but a blob, it soon seemed to take the shape of a pear with its stem and a leaf attached.

In the research I've done about Tasseography, to get a pear means "Comfort, financial ease." This brings me some ease of mind as recently my family has been hitting some hard times, not enough work you see. So hopefully this is a positive and proper review of prosperity for us in the future.

A: I believe that this is an invalid statement. If everyone could see the future, even small glimpses, it would be more probable that we would all try to prevent bad things from happening and it would in turn disrupt the balance of the world. We would live in constant fear of horrible things. One could foresee something that hasn't happened; another might see something else that counters the others sight and still another might see something entirely different based on how one or more of the others act on what they see.

The Sight should only go to those who know how to balance it properly, who know that certain actions of prevention may cause such consequences that are beyond horrible if they tried to prevent what they saw. As it is, I don't feel there are enough responsible people in this world who could bear such a burden and still live a happy life.

“I see an open book with a cloth bookmark above it. This could symbolize learning for some, but for me I think it more represents my journey and serves as a reminded that our futures are what we make them. Nothing's carved in stone, yet we can’t go back, we can only move forward. The bookmark represents important memories that I could never forget. The remaining pages yet to be read, symbolize that I still have lots to learn and hopefully, lots of time to learn it in.”

In short, yes I think that everyone possesses the innate abilities to predict the future. But it ultimately comes down to whether or not they choose to devote time and energy into developing their sight.”

"I see a tree with bushy leaves with a shooting star flying over it. The tree represents growth; I do not know if the growth pertains to me, but I believe it does because I have grown a lot as a witch since I have been here at Hogwarts. The shooting star symbolizes a wish. I will have to think on what wish that may be. I wonder if it means my wish will be granted?"

Turning the cup over the first thing I see is nothing. I turned my cup around and starting from the handle I saw what looked like a kettle and an iceberg in the future area of the cup. The present seemed to be a frog and the past is a feather. I grabbed my Unfogging the Future and saw what each meant starting from the past through to the future.

A feather – need for concentration A frog - fertility A kettle - a special visitor is coming An iceberg – danger!!

I shivered at the last one. From my reading I deduced that in the past should have concentrated better (which did not bode well for the exam I was having the next day). I believed the rest had to do with the letter I received which shocked me. My aunt had wrote to me telling me that she was pregnant (fertility) and that she was worried about the father coming to hurt her. You see, she was in a bad situation with a guy who turned out to be a practitioner of the Dark Arts.

I think I better go write back to my aunt now!

There were some wavy lines with a camel near the top of the cup, which meant troublesome things that she would just have to put up with. Her parents, probably. They meant well enough, but they really didn't understand her at all.

There was a path of dots leading away from the camel further down into the cup, and ending in some kind of building. Too broad and pointy to be a normal horse. It could be a church, or an abbey. More than one spire, so probably an abbey! So she'd eventually journey away from her frustrations (the camel), and find freedom and piece of mind. She could probably call the specks around the path triangles if she squinted; those were always good luck!

Near the bottom of the cup was... a horse? No, there were some spaces. Could they be a zebra's stripes? Both meant journeys, but a horse reflected on fulfilling some specific desire, and zebras meant adventures in foreign lands. Both certainly sounded exciting, even if the position meant they were far away.

So! Overall, she had troubles in the now that she'd have to bear, a journey away from those troubles to some freedom in the moderate future - maybe a few years - and in the distant future, some kind of travel. Seemed like she'd be doing a lot of moving around then! It was a fairly positive fortune, and general and vague enough to most likely be true. All people had frustrations, many of which they could do nothing about and could simply bear. Most people would try to free themselves from said frustrations, and thus find a bit of peace for themselves. And a journey? Many people travelled. Even if divination was often nonsense, it was still comforting to have confirmation of her own goals for herself.

But seeing the future though divination? Everyone could try their hand at reading it, sure, but most auguries are vague, nonspecific things that could come to pass many different ways. It's for the best, really. Specific visions of the future rob us of choice; no one wants to feel as if their every second is predetermined. These general ones give us hints and guides, but let us interpret them and act upon them how we see fit."

I believe that everyone is born with an innate ability to see the future, but that failure to begin to cultivate this gift early in life leads to a dulling of the sixth sense. Perhaps if divination were introduced earlier in a child’s life and a child was encouraged to make predictions and to look ahead into the unknown more often, there would be more successful seers among us. At present, however, I feel as though many of us have lost the innate ability and must start from scratch in an attempt to redevelop it. The potential is there for all of us, but we must work hard in order to really all be able to see the future.

"I see... A man.. In a robe. He's there with a Chimaera, and they seem to be speaking to each other. The withering oak trees around them seem to whisper, their fallen leaves like long bygone love letters, stained by the tears of the heartbroken. The man in the robe tells the Chimaera 'keep her safe.' And with that the Chimaera bounds into the sky, seemingly ascending to the heavens. The trees weep for the man. They whisper to him 'You'll always be apart.' Along with other disheartening words. But he stands strong. The scene shifts. A beautiful eastern girl, surrounded by cherry trees in blossom on a red bridge. She seems to be a muggle, but a cat bounds down from the sky, and onto the railing. She smiles, and the trees whisper 'You will always be a part of each other.' Along with other encouraging words. The scene ends. That is all I could see."