fandomhigh | Good Omens...And Bad: Prophecy in Theory and Practice, Class Fifteen

Monday, December 18, First Period

Extra care seems to have been put into the spread of breakfast offerings this morning -- muffins, bagels, coffeecake, spice bread, and scones. As well as plenty of hot beverages, and several types of juice. Aziraphale appears to be in a particularly mellow mood, although he frowns now and again when the thought crosses his mind that this is the very last meeting for this class.

"First off, I want to tell all of you how very much I've enjoyed teaching you, and just getting to know you. I'm going to miss this class terribly, and I do hope that even if you don't enroll in my class next term, you'll still stop by for a visit now and again.

Today, in place of a lecture, we're going to have an open discussion. I want to hear your views on what we've covered in class this term, and I also want to hear any questions that might have gone unanswered. There'll be a drop box for your final group projects to be turned in outside my office door, and it will remain there until Friday afternoon.

Truly, this has been a remarkable experience for me, and although I do expect to be seeing some of you for our final lab session on Friday, I want to thank all of you for making my very first teaching experience a wonderful and memorable one."

[ooc: No lecture today, but there ~~will be~~ are OCD threads for the discussion Aziraphale mentioned.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Share your views on divination, prophecy or the class material. Or ask those questions you've been dying to have answered.

Pippi talked about the results of a particular reading not always being apparent right off the bat, but in that there's always the danger of shoehorning something into an interpretation.

She mentions that, at the time, the reading she got in Vegas didn't mean anything to her, but she thinks she understands now.

She doesn't want to describe the reading or what it may or may not relate to however... So she rather trails off.

Dawn had pretty much the same view of prophecy she had when she started--it sucked to be the person who had the prophecies come to them and to be the person the prophecy was about and the people who recorded prophecies needed to learn to be a little more accurate. Not that she said that.

At least she knew all the different ways to divine now.

"If someone has a gift of prophecy, or gets visions, is there a way to get rid of it?"

Aziraphale frowned a bit as he considered Dawn's question.

"I suppose it's possible to find a way to block such a gift, and of course I imagine it could be taken away by the source of the prophecies themselves, but I don't know if you could simply remove it. Imagine it as any other sort of talent -- you can't take away a person's knack for music or mathematics, and think this would into the same sort of category. On the other hand, I don't know very much about magic personally. So I won't say for certain that there isn't some way to produce a...sort of curse, if you will, that would take away one's gift of prophecy."

Hmmm. Yeah, not cursing the boyfriend. That never ended well. "So, how would you suggest managing it, then?"

Smiling ruefully, Aziraphale replied, "Well...it isn't the answer you want, I expect, but the best way to 'manage' a gift like that is to learn how to use it. The practice you received keeping your dream journals would be a good starting point -- keep track of not just what the prophecies are, but when they tend to come, what form they take, how you feel before, during, and after. The more you can learn about your end of things, the easier it should be to deal with actually receiving the predictions. Learning a meditative technique may be useful -- even for active divination, the basics of meditation can help a great deal in your preparations. And I think talking to someone else who also has the gift, and has learned how to live and deal with it, would be quite helpful."

Dawn nodded and took careful notes. "No, that makes sense. Like learning how to fight or shoot."

"Quite." Aziraphale nodded, pleased. "I think you've got the right idea, there. Just like learning to use any other skill that you've realize you have a talent for. Only in this case, it's a bit more necessary that you learn it, because the skill is going to be used whether you want it or not. Rather like...a deaf person who is suddenly able to hear. The sounds aren't going to go away, and you either learn to understand and manage them, or find a way to ignore them, but you can't make them go away."

"Sir? I still don't know if I'll be able to tell true prophecies from the self-fulfilling kind."

"You're not alone, Mr Connor," Aziraphale replied. "I think the best way to handle a situation where you've got a prophecy, especially one you're trying to avoid, is to study it carefully and then not go out of your way to do things you wouldn't normally. For instance, use the Oedipus story as a model -- the prophecy fulfilled itself in part because Oedipus's father went to extraordinary lengths to avoid it, taking actions that normally would have been completely out of character for him. It's a fine line to walk, but I think that a good rule of thumb is to continue to be yourself, to not change the way you would normally respond to a situation in order to specifically avoid bringing about a prophecy."

"It just... I mean... It sounds like a whole 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' thing, or a fool's errand, or whatever. I mean, you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure out if this is what the prophecy means or if that is, and if trying to avoid it will bring it about. Or bring it about sooner. Gives me a headache."

"Quite," Aziraphale agreed. "Which is why it would be better not to try and figure out what you should or shouldn't do. But rather to simply go about doing what you would normally do. I know it's difficult, dealing with a prophecy that affects you personally is a terribly daunting prospect. But if you let the prophecy dictate your actions, that's where you run into trouble, I think. And...well, I do hate to say it, but sometimes you can't avoid the outcome. And perhaps, in the long run, you wouldn't want to."

Maia reached into her bag and pulled out a box of english tea and some scone mix. "I'm going away for the holiday. Wanted to give this to you before I left. Merry Christmas."

There was a little card attached to it in the shape of an angel that read To my most special angel may all your Christmas wishes be granted in a single thought. Love always, your Maia.

Aziraphale's eyes lit up, and he smiled warmly. "My dear, thank you so much." He read the little card, then wrapped his arms around Maia and gave her a tight hug.

"That's so thoughtful of you. Where are you headed for your holiday?"

Maia beamed at the hug and the question. "I'm going to Babylon 5 with Susan and I think Blair is coming as well." She was almost floating. "She invited me and G'Kar wrote me a letter inviting me as well. Are you doing anything for the holiday?"

Aziraphale didn't know where Babylon 5 was, but Maia's exuberance was enough to tell him that it was a desirable place to spend a holiday.

"James and I have decided just to stay here, and have a quiet weekend. With all the excitement lately, it sounds rather nice to just spend a bit of time at home."

Sam listened carefully as Dawn asked the question he wanted to ask, and thought about his own response.

"I learned that not all prophecies are necessarily bad, and that being able to see the future isn't always a curse. For some people, at least," he said.

Good Omens...And Bad: Prophecy in Theory and Practice, Class Fifteen

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