A Journey Through Divination and Astronomy

Book excerpt: This non-fiction short-form eBook features content which is adapted from the audiobook Harry Potter: A History of Magic - inspired by the British Library exhibition of the same name. If you've gazed into the crystal ball you'll have seen that you are about to enter a place of prediction and fortune-telling that makes up the subject of Divination in the real and wizarding world. From the use of bones and shells thousands of years ago, to peering into teacups in the parlours of Victorian England, for millennia people have strived to see what fate and fortune holds. Trying to read our destinies, the study of the night sky has fascinated people for centuries, from the star atlases of ancient China to the celestial globes of 17th-century Venice. Astronomy holds a special place in the wizarding world as a source of inspiration and identity for Harry Potter's life at Hogwarts, and beyond. This eBook short examines the colourful characters and curious incidents of the real history of magic, and how they relate to the Hogwarts lesson subjects of Divination and Astronomy. The history of magic is as long as time and as wide as the world. In every culture, in every age, in every place and, probably, in every heart, there is magic.