Seer
A seer is a person who
- an ability of the type of clairvoyance ( clairvoyant ) or of precognition or
- the allocation of a special religious experience in the form of a vision ( visionary ) or an appearance
is attributed.
Terms
Clairvoyant
Due to innate or acquired abilities, the clairvoyant should be able to obtain information about facts or events in a paranormal way, which are only imperceptible to the senses because of their spatial (clairvoyance) or temporal (precognition, retrocognition ) distance. The overarching term is extrasensory perception . A scientific proof for the alleged phenomenon could not be provided. If a clairvoyant makes statements about the future, these are called " prophecies ".
visionary
The visionary is said to have made perceptions about transcendent facts. Scientific proof of whether what is perceived corresponds to an objective reality is not possible. If a visionary reproduces statements of a transcendent authority ( God ) perceived as such, this is called prophecy .
effect
Depending on the focus, the phenomenon of the seer is examined in the context of psychology or parapsychology or religious studies or theology .
There can be smooth transitions between the clairvoyant and the visionary, as in shamanism and in the ancient cults . Both forms of the seer have in common that their statements are usually not verifiable. But they offer the attraction of otherwise inaccessible “information”. The acceptance of a seer therefore presupposes faith . The seer is recognized and recognized especially in a religious, spiritual context.
Well-known seers and seer institutions
In ancient times , seers were highly regarded.
The best known is the Oracle of Delphi : Vapors rising from the earth put the Pythia into a trance . Their words were then interpreted by the priests and passed on to those seeking advice.
Kassandra , a seer of Greek mythology , is said to have predicted the Trojan War .
In modern times , the prophecies of Nostradamus or Michel de Nostredame (1503–1566) received great public attention. He prophesied the future into our time. In retrospect, many of his admirers found most of his predictions to be correct. Among other things, he predicted the outcome of many wars; one of his predictions was interpreted as a doomsday prophecy for the turn of the millennium .
Also well known were Nikolaus Drabik (1588–1671; Latinized Nicolaus Drabicius), George Reichard , Johann Werner (1598 - after 1669), Hans Engelbrecht (born 1599), Christine Poniatovska (1610–1644), Marie-Anne Lenormand (1772 –1843) and Friederike Hauffe (née Wanner, 1801–1829), the “Seer of Prevorst ”.
In the second half of the 20th century, Madame Buchela (1899–1986) became known as the "Seer of Bonn". Contrary to the results of relevant opinion polls, she predicted Konrad Adenauer's election victory in 1953 . She helped solve a murder case and received part of the reward for clues about the perpetrators. Another seer of the recent past was Evangelia Pandewa Guschterowa (1911-1996), the "Seer of Petritsch " (Bulgaria). As Baba Wanga she achieved a high level of international recognition.
Prophecies and Promises
However, there is another category of seers that appear in the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments . They prophesy what will happen if something doesn't happen first, such as: B. " Repent of the Church". If it does - that of Nineveh did - the event does not occur. If she neglects the condition communicated by the seer , exactly the predicted evil happens, as if by chance . Martin Luther called this a promise with conditions. However, other types of prophecies by the seers are unconditional - they are predictions of the future that can often be meaningful. Here it doesn't matter whether you do something for or against it.
In Hinduism , saints and inspired poets are referred to as seers or rishi .
abuse
Abuse of the “position of power” of the seer over the persons who consult him, and charlatanism have been a recurring theme throughout history that has already been dealt with in the Bible (the question of the “false prophet ”), and continues to do so repeatedly questioning the credibility of seers.
See also
- augur
- oracle
- Druid
- Dads
- Sibylle (prophetess)
- Spokenkieker
- telepathy
- forecast
- Mühlhiasl
- Alois Irlmaier
Examples in literature and comics
- Kassandra by Christa Wolf
- The Seer of Prevorst by Justinus Kerner
- Asterix and the seer of Uderzo , Goscinny
- Harry Potter (esp. The Prisoner of Azkaban , The Order of the Phoenix ) by Joanne K. Rowling
- Snorri , Edda , appeared in various publishers
literature
- Jürgen Beyer: Prophecies. In: Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales. Concise dictionary for historical and comparative narrative research , Vol. 10. Berlin / New York: Walter de Gruyter 2002, Sp. 1419–1432
- Jürgen Beyer: Lay prophets in Lutheran Europe (c. 1550-1700) (Brill's series in church history and religious culture, vol. 74). Leiden / Boston: Brill 2017 .