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Prophecies

Omens β€’ Auguries β€’ Divination β€’ Oracles β€’ Dreams β€’ Apocalypse
Brief Description
How we search for meaning in our futures, as revealed by the divine, occult or supernatural, from ancient prophets to the end of days. What will happen to us next? From the earliest beginnings of human civilisation, people have searched for signs, patterns and clues to... Read More
Format: Hardback
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How we search for meaning in our futures, as revealed by the divine, occult, or supernatural, from ancient prophets to the end of days.

How we search for meaning in our futures, as revealed by the divine, occult or supernatural, from ancient prophets to the end of days

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

How we search for meaning in our futures, as revealed by the divine, occult or supernatural, from ancient prophets to the end of days.

What will happen to us next? From the earliest beginnings of human civilisation, people have searched for signs, patterns and clues to address the last unanswerable question. Looking into the future has obsessed human beings since written records began. As soon as communities could conceive of higher powers, they tried to look into the future. Prophets and priests have delivered divine messages. Shamans and seers have channelled spirits and interpreted visions, portents, revelations and omens.

This unique and richly illustrated volume reveals the long history of the future in every human society - from Egyptian oracles, Roman augurs and Aztec omens, to Japanese divination and the active magic of Norse seers. It traces the parallels in different traditions and cultures, exploring the signs and images found in antique documents, rare books, imaginative projections, and divinatory paraphernalia.

The nine chapters explore extraordinary oracles from ancient Greece and western Africa, to Mesopotamia and the mountains of Tibet. We discover omens, portents and auspicious signs in indigenous societies in Asia; meet the Zoroastrian priests of Iran and astrologers of China; share dreams and visions from Australia to North America; and finally, reckon with the many predictions of the end of the world, from ancient days to our present moment.

Prophecies by Christopher Dell offers a captivating journey through the fascinating history of human attempts to predict the future.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780500029633

Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 30 April 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Thames & Hudson Ltd

Illustration: 399 Illustrations, color

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 202.0mm

Height: 254.0mm

Weight: 1170g

Pages: 320

About the Author

Christopher Dell holds a degree in the History of Art from the Courtauld Institute, London. He has written and edited many bestselling titles on art and visual culture, including Freemasonry, Mythology, Monsters, What Makes a Masterpiece? and The Occult, Witchcraft & Magic, all published by Thames & Hudson.

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    Every culture has its own myths, and this lively and accessible compendium gathers in one place some of humankind's most enduring stories. Here, from every corner of the globe, are tales of the world's creation, undying love, jealous gods and sturdy heroes, terrible monsters, the afterlife and the underworld. Looking at mythology's overarching themes, Christopher Dell shows how many myths...
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    Monsters have preoccupied mankind from the earliest times: even cave art includes animal-human monsters. Certainly, monsters were present in the ancient religions of Egypt and Mesopotamia; the Old Testament describes the giant land and sea monsters Behemoth and Leviathan, while in the world of Classical mythology, monsters embody the fantasies of the gods and the cruellest punishments of human beings....
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