Seer

The celebrated Seer Cassandra Vablatsky

"True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney..."

— Minerva McGonagall doubting Sybill Trelawney's abilities as a Seer

A Seer was a gifted wizard or witch who had the ability to see into the future with their Inner Eye.

Description

Seers predicted prophecies, which were then recorded and stored in the Hall of Prophecy in the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries.

According to Minerva McGonagall, true Seers were extremely rare, and she had doubt that Sybill Trelawney could be considered as one despite her sporadically accurate predictions. Furthermore, according to Sybill Trelawney when she told Dolores Umbridge about the Inner Eye, it apparently skipped three generations in families.

Albus Dumbledore once told Harry Potter that seeing into the future was incredibly difficult because of the complexity of every single action and their consequences.

Some Seers did not have control over their seeing. Sybill Trelawney only made two actual prophecies, however, she did make plenty of claims. These claims ranged from future troubles to Neville Longbottom accidentally breaking a teacup. When she made an actual prophecy, Trelawney went into a trance and spoke in a completely different voice. After a trance she did not remember either of her predictions, having no recollection of even going into a trance-like state in the first place. However, Gellert Grindelwald retained focus and awareness of the outside world when he had visions, could remember all of his predictions, and could even project his visions via the use of a skull-hookah for other people to see, like in the Lestrange Mausoleum.

Hermione Granger expressed scepticism of divination as a branch of magic, regarding it as imprecise at best and entirely fabricated at worst. Although, it should be noted that Divination was the one subject at Hogwarts that she failed to excel at, so her opinion on the practice may have been a bit biased. Her lack of respect for Divination notably placed her squarely at odds with Sybill Trelawney.

Professor Trelawney claimed Seers had always been feared and persecuted throughout the course of wizarding history.

Additionally, the Divinus Haruspex Association of Clairvoyants granted some sort of certification for Seers, although it is not known if all its members were Seers themselves.

Silver lime wands had a reputation for performing best for Seers and those skilled in Legilimency.

Naming Seers

A Naming Seer was a wizarding occupation that used divination to see into the future. A Naming Seer predicted what a wizard and witch's child would be like and would suggest an appropriate name according to their predictions.

Known Seers

"Harry wheeled around. Professor Trelawney had gone rigid in her armchair; her eyes were unfocused and her mouth sagging... But Professor Trelawney didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes started to roll. Harry sat there in a panic. She looked as though she was about to have some sort of seizure. He hesitated, thinking of running to the hospital wing — and then Professor Trelawney spoke again, in the same harsh voice, quite unlike her own..."

— Sybill Trelawney in a trance while making a prediction

Mopsus†

Percival Rackham

Sylvia Pembroke †

Mudiwa Onai

Gellert Grindelwald

Cassandra Vablatsky †

Sybill Trelawney

Barnaby Lee (possibly)

Celeste (possibly)

• Calchas
• Cassandra Trelawney
• Inigo Imago (possibly)
• Johan Hoffman
• Tycho Dodonus
• Canadian Seer (possibly)
• Liz Tuttle's mother
• Professor Mopsus
• Susie Sooth (possibly)
• Female Seer
• Male Seer

Behind the scenes

• Centaurs may have been considered Seers, despite not being human wizards, as they had their own brand of divination and could take several years to interpret what they saw in the skies.
• Proof that Seers do not always receive the right visions from the future would include Gellert Grindelwald having a vision that an Obscurial killed the man that he feared the most (presumed to be Albus Dumbledore). Albus Dumbledore mentions this vision of Gellert Grindelwald's to Newt Scamander in a deleted scene in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
  • In Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Aurelius Dumbledore, an Obscurial, fails to kill Albus Dumbledore. At the end of the film, he betrays Grindelwald and joins Albus Dumbledore. Since Albus Dumbledore lives until 1997, this means that either Grindelwald's vision was wrong, or he feared someone else more than he feared Albus.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First mentioned) (Indirectly mentioned only) (As Gellert Grindelwald)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film)
• The Case of Beasts: Explore the Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• The Archive of Magic: The Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Mentioned only)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore: Movie Magic
• Pottermore
• Wizarding World
• Harry Potter: The Creature Vault
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Harry Potter Limited Edition (Mentioned only)
• LEGO Harry Potter
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• LEGO Dimensions
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
• Hogwarts Legacy