When will I find true love? Will I get the job? Will things get better in the new year? From the I Ching and palm reading to tarot and astrology, humans have long used all kinds of tools to predict the future, as the desire to exert control over uncertainty is seemingly deeply embedded in our psyche. No matter how much our world has changed over the course of history and technological advancement, this obsession remains constant: we turn to forces beyond the human realm for guidance to make sense of the unknown and find meaning in chaos.

This winter, the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford, U.K., delves into the histories of the practice of divination and the myriad ways we seek answers to our most pressing questions in the fascinating exhibition “Oracles, Omens and Answers.”

Magic 8 Ball. Courtesy The Bodleian Libraries.

The show features over 100 objects drawn from the Bodleian’s archives and other collections in Oxford. From Shang Dynasty oracle bones in ancient China to Renaissance astrology to today’s online “WitchTok” communities, the wide spectrum of prediction techniques and tools on view makes this exhibition a timely response to the recent comeback of practices such as astrology, tarot, and spirituality. According to a recent study from the Pew Research Center, 83 percent of U.S. adults believe in a soul or spirit, and some 30 percent said that they had encountered a spirit or an unseen spiritual force.

“Every day we confront the limits of our own knowledge when it comes to the enigmas of the past and present and the uncertainties of the future,” explained co-curators Michelle Aroney, a cultural and intellectual historian at Oxford, and David Zeitlyn, an expert in the anthropology of divination.

Fortune Teller Miracle Fish. Courtesy The Bodleian Libraries.

“Across history and around the world, humans have used various techniques that promise to unveil the concealed, disclosing insights that offer answers to private or shared dilemmas and help to make decisions,” said the curators in press materials. “Whether a diviner uses spiders or tarot cards, what matters is whether the answers they offer are meaningful and helpful to their clients.”

The curators adopted a historical and anthropological approach to the ways societies have turned to divination to navigate crises such as plague, war, and political upheaval. In addition to tracing the evolution of divination, the exhibition challenges visitors to consider how modern forecasting tools—from e-health platforms to predictive algorithms—echo ancient practices, demonstrating that humanity’s quest for knowledge remains as vibrant as ever.

An illustration depicting a fortune teller (right) trying to convince an onlooker to get a reading from him, taken from a collection of drawings created during the Qing Dynasty (before 1722). © The Bodleian Libraries

Among the show’s highlights are those oracle bones from Shang Dynasty China (circa 1250-1050 B.C.E.), used to seek guidance on matters ranging from agriculture to warfare. Nearby, a 16th-century Flemish armillary sphere illustrates how Renaissance astrologers placed the planets in relation to the Zodiac to answer questions about health, love, and politics.

Equally captivating is an Egyptian celestial globe, dating to the early 14th century, which maps the heavens with exquisite precision. Alongside it, a 19th-century illuminated Javanese almanac offers insights into divination practices in Southeast Asia. Visitors can also explore the autobiography of Joan Quigley, the astrologer who famously advised U.S. President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan in the White House, highlighting the enduring influence of astrology in modern political decision-making.

Le Sorti di Francesco Marcolino da Forlí (The Oracles of Francesco Marcolino of Forlì) (1540). © The Bodleian Libraries

The exhibition also delves into divination’s more tactile forms. A cuneiform tablet from ancient Mesopotamia describes the practice of extispicy, where diviners interpreted patterns in the entrails of sacrificed animals. This contrasts with Oscar Wilde’s palmistry sketch, which reveals the Victorian fascination with fortune-telling through human anatomy.

A chart of the directions of deities of the year in the 25th year of the Yongli era, also known as Southern Ming dynasty, which corresponds to the year 1671 in the Gregorian calendar. © The Bodleian Libraries

Zeitlyn curated a special section dedicated to spider divination, a practice of the Mambila people of Cameroon and Nigeria (he is also a practicing Ŋgam dù diviner). This process involves spiders arranging marked leaf cards into a pattern that diviners interpret. Visitors will also encounter African basket divination, where diviners toss objects into a basket and interpret the resulting configurations. This practice highlights the communal and performative aspects of divination, offering a stark contrast to the solitary, algorithm-driven forecasts of today’s digital age.

“Oracles, Omens and Answers” is on view at the ST Lee Gallery in Weston Library, Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, U.K. through April 27, 2025.