'Professor' DiAnna Diaz
June 17, 2011 9:51 AM
Intermediate Divination: Horoscopes (3rd - 5th years) by 'Professor' DiAnna Diaz
Her first class of the year was with the intermediate students, which meant they were perhaps less familiar than the older students would be, but DiAnna was finding this less of a threat. She’d had the summer to prepare for her first few classes of the term, and standing in front of an, albeit small, room full of students was far less intimidating to her than it had been originally. She waited at the front of the class, full black make-up and garb in place, for her students to settle, and called a register before beginning the class. “Welcome, or welcome back, to Divination,” she greeted the third, fourth and fifth years taking the elective. “We’re going to start of nice and easy today with Horoscopes. I presume you’re all familiar with the concept of using astrology to predict day to day fortunes, but this is very rarely used accurately – even less so among Muggles. So before I set you your assignment, I want you to take notes on what astrology is all about.” She waited for those who hadn’t been prepared to find out their quills and parchment.“Every got something to write with? Okay, then. Studied and used throughout the world for thousands of years, Astrology is the study of the interactions among the Stars and the Planets, based on intricate, yet predictable, mathematical cycles.” DiAnna tried to keep her voice clear and level, and to speak slowly enough for the student to write down the important bits. “Since different constellations are visible at different times of the year, you can use them to tell what month it is. For example, Scorpius is only visible in the northern hemisphere's evening sky in the summer.” She didn’t know how familiar they would be with the assorted constellations, seeing as astronomy was only an elective class, too. “The earliest known astrological records date back to Babylon, 1645 BC, and the earliest horoscope to 410 BC. Astrology's origins can also be traced to several other locations and cultures. The Ancient Egyptians developed sophisticated timekeeping and calendar science. In Greece, Ptolemy authored influential astrological and astronomical texts, and several Roman Emperors wrote laws and counseled citizens based on the Stars.”
“As the Scientific Revolution occurred in Muggle history, Astrology and various other arts that Muggles are technically capable of performing fell by the wayside, leaving them to be developed by magic folk alone. The witch Evangeline Adams – make a note of that - was arrested by Magical government on several occasions for using her divining skills to predict the future for Muggles, and then was arrested by Muggle government and charged with illegal fortune-telling in 1914. She was later dismissed when she correctly read the horoscope of the judge's son. Her acquittal set an American precedent that if astrologers practiced in a professional manner that they were not guilty of any wrong-doing.” She hoped that this wasn’t going to encourage them to go out and practise fortune telling on innocent bystanders, but if they wanted to practise on their friends and classmates that that was all just good practise.
“Modern day astrology is much the same as it always has been; we rely on the relative positioning of the sun, moon, stars, and other planets at a person’s birth and at the moment of their life being predicted. Horoscopes assume that those born within the same zodiac will endure similar fates, as the astrology reading will be the same for one as for the other. I want you to assume this is the case for now, but note down that recent theorists on the subject have suggested this may be an error, and astronomical aspects such as eclipses, leap years, and other notable events that affect our lunar calendar should also affect the horoscope for a given individual. This also may explain why predictions based on astronomy readings might sometimes be off by several days.”
And now, to the point. “So, your homework assignment is to research Evangeline Adams, and tell me what she did to break which laws – Magical and Muggle - and whether her actions would have broken any laws if she did exactly the same thing today. Due in next week, please, and your assignment for today is to have a go at reading each others’ horoscopes. There are lots of relevant books around the classroom, and your textbook has lots of hints and tips, starting on page seventeen. If your horoscope seems to be off by a few days, see if you can work out why.” That should give them plenty to do to fill the rest of the class.
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'Professor' DiAnna Diaz
Intermediate Divination: Horoscopes (3rd - 5th years)
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'Professor' DiAnna Diaz
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