Seers are individuals gifted with the ability to perceive future events. Some Seers receive prophetic visions through dreams, while others glimpse the future through magical practices such as Scrying. Despite the different methods by which they obtain their visions, all Seers share the power of foresight.

Types of Foresight

Gift of Prophecy

Seers with the gift of prophecy are able to see visions of the future in their dreams. According to Gaius, it is an innate ability which cannot be learned; those that have it are born that way. It also appears to be involuntary (The Gates of Avalon).

Morgana Pendragon possessed this ability. She believed her dreams to be little more than nightmares at first, an idea that Gaius encouraged because the gift of prophecy was too close to the work of magic in Uther's eyes (The Gates of Avalon).

Some of Morgana's more noteworthy visions include:

• Sophia attempting to kill Arthur (The Gates of Avalon).
• Arthur being attacked by the Questing Beast (Le Morte d'Arthur).
• Guinevere being crowned Queen of Camelot (Queen of Hearts).
• The Battle of Camlann (The Darkest Hour).

Morgause may also have been able to see the future in her dreams, as she once told Morgana that she, too, suffered from nightmares. However, she may have been referring to normal dreams without the prophetic element (The Sins of the Father).

Nimueh also claimed to have powers of prediction, though it is unknown whether she was referring to the gift of prophecy (Le Morte d'Arthur).

Scrying

Scrying is a magical practice that allows a Seer to see visions in reflective surfaces such as water or crystal. It can be used to view events in the past, present, or future.

Nimueh often used her scrying fount to spy on her enemies (The Mark of Nimueh, The Poisoned Chalice).

Morgause used a crystal to observe both Camelot and Cenred's army (The Sins of the Father, The Tears of Uther Pendragon).

Merlin was able to see visions in both the Crystal of Neahtid and the Crystal Cave (The Witch's Quickening, The Crystal Cave, The Diamond of the Day). He also saw a vision of Arthur's death in a pool of water (Arthur's Bane).

The Seer Taliesin was also said to have divined prophecies in the crystals of Crystal Cave (The Crystal Cave).

The Disir were said to use an ancient pool to divine the will of the Triple Goddess. The pool was fed by a sacred stream at Caerlanrigh, the source of which was the Grove of Brineved (The Disir).

Types of Foresight

Seers perceive future events through a variety of methods. While some are born with the Gift of Prophecy and receive visions in their dreams, others use magical practices such as Scrying to glimpse events across time. Certain magical beings and ancient entities also possess prophetic knowledge through means that remain unknown.

Gift of Prophecy

The Gift of Prophecy is an innate ability that allows a Seer to receive visions of future events through dreams. According to Gaius, this power cannot be learned; those who possess it are born with it. It also appears to manifest involuntarily (The Gates of Avalon).

Morgana Pendragon possessed this ability. Initially believing her visions to be nightmares, she was encouraged by Gaius to dismiss them because prophetic dreams were considered dangerously close to the practice of magic in the eyes of Uther Pendragon (The Gates of Avalon).

Among Morgana's most notable visions were:

• Sophia attempting to kill Arthur (The Gates of Avalon).
• Arthur being attacked by the Questing Beast (Le Morte d'Arthur).
• Guinevere being crowned Queen of Camelot (Queen of Hearts).
• The Battle of Camlann (The Darkest Hour).

Morgause may also have possessed the Gift of Prophecy, as she once claimed to suffer from nightmares similar to Morgana's. However, it is unclear whether she was referring to prophetic dreams or ordinary nightmares (The Sins of the Father).

Nimueh likewise claimed to possess powers of prediction, though it is unknown whether she was referring specifically to the Gift of Prophecy (Le Morte d'Arthur).

Scrying

Scrying is a magical practice that enables a Seer to perceive visions through reflective surfaces such as water or crystal. Unlike prophetic dreams, scrying can reveal events from the past, present, or future.

Several notable figures practiced scrying:

• Nimueh frequently used her scrying fount to observe her enemies (The Mark of Nimueh, The Poisoned Chalice).
• Morgause used a crystal to monitor both Camelot and Cenred's army (The Sins of the Father, The Tears of Uther Pendragon).
• Merlin witnessed visions through the Crystal of Neahtid and the crystals of the Crystal Cave (The Witch's Quickening, The Crystal Cave, The Diamond of the Day). He also foresaw Arthur's death in a pool of water (Arthur's Bane).
• Taliesin was said to divine prophecies within the crystals of the Crystal Cave (The Crystal Cave).

The Disir also used an ancient sacred pool to divine the will of the Triple Goddess. The pool was fed by a holy stream at Caerlanrigh, whose source lay in the Grove of Brineved (The Disir).

Other Forms of Foresight

Not all prophetic knowledge derives from dreams or scrying. Numerous magical beings, Druids, and ancient entities possessed awareness of future events through unknown means.

The dragon Kilgharrah possessed extensive knowledge of prophecies and frequently guided Merlin regarding his destiny (The Dragon's Call).

The Druids likewise demonstrated knowledge of prophecy and appeared to understand Merlin's role in the future (The Beginning of the End).

The Fisher King foresaw Merlin's arrival in the Perilous Lands and waited centuries for him to appear (The Eye of the Phoenix).

The Cailleach warned Morgana that Emrys would ultimately bring about her downfall (The Darkest Hour).

The Dochraid knew that Morgana was destined to restore the Old Ways (Lancelot du Lac).

The Seer Lochru used his final moments to warn Merlin of Arthur's bane. Kilgharrah later revealed that Lochru was a Vates, a Druid Seer whose prophetic power surpassed even that of a High Priestess (Arthur's Bane).

The Diamair was reputed to hold all knowledge, including knowledge of future events (Arthur's Bane).

Prior to the rescue of Gwen from the Dark Tower, Queen Mab warned Merlin that one of their companions would not survive. Her prophecy was fulfilled when Elyan was slain by Morgana's enchanted sword (The Dark Tower).

For centuries, the Catha safeguarded an ancient prophecy concerning the Battle of Camlann. As the battle approached, Alator instructed Finna to deliver the prophecy to Merlin, along with a personal warning not to trust Mordred (The Kindness of Strangers).

Potential Consequences

Though useful, the power of foresight is not always helpful or harmless. It has been shown that more often than not, the very people who have visions are the ones who cause them to come true. For example, Merlin made his own vision come to pass when he set off a chain of events by accidentally injuring Morgana (The Crystal Cave).

According to Gaius, the future is yet unshaped and there is nothing on earth that can know every possible future (The Witch's Quickening). Similarly, Morgause once told Morgana that there are many futures, some shrouded in mist and others clear as cut glass (Queen of Hearts).

However, some viable futures were stronger than others. When Morgana's healing bracelet failed to stop her vision about Gwen becoming Queen, Morgause warned her that it was a prophecy too powerful to ignore and told her to do whatever she could to prevent it (Queen of Hearts).

In the end, however, Morgana was the one who indirectly made her vision come to pass by setting off a chain of events that began when she enchanted Gwen to betray Arthur with Lancelot (Lancelot du Lac, The Sword in the Stone).

Known Seers

Seer	Status	Ability	Photo
Court of the Disir	Alive	Soothsayers Used scrying to divine the will of the Triple Goddess.
Kilgharrah	Alive	Knowledge of prophecies and future events.
Lochru	†	Gift of Prophecy
Merlin	Alive	Could see visions in the Crystal of Neahtid and the crystals of Crystal Cave.
Morgana Pendragon	†	Gift of Prophecy
Morgause	†	Often used crystals to scry ongoing events.
Nimueh	†	Scrying Unspecified powers of prediction.
Taliesin	†	Could see visions of the future in the crystals of Crystal Cave.

Trivia

• It is unknown whether scrying is an ability possessed only by Seers or a skill that any sorcerer can learn. However, Taliesin once stated that the future is hidden to all but a very few, which might imply that only certain people are capable of seeing the future under any circumstances (The Crystal Cave).
• There are enchantments that can prevent a Seer from dreaming, such as the one Morgause placed on Morgana's healing bracelet. However, they cannot stop prophecies (The Sins of the Father, Queen of Hearts).
• Under certain circumstances, it is possible for non-magical people to have visions. Arthur, for example, was able to transcend his body so that a quest would be revealed to him (The Eye of the Phoenix).

In the Legend

The gift of prophecy was one of Merlin's chief abilities in Arthurian Legend. In fact, in many early versions Merlin was depicted not as a magician, but as a prophet and a wild man of the woods. Morgan le Fay, meanwhile, was often portrayed as a highly skilled healer. In many versions of the legend she took Arthur into her care after he was wounded in the Battle of Camlann.

Interestingly, the series appears to have reversed this dynamic. Morgana possesses the gift of prophecy and can see the future in her dreams, while Merlin is the ward and apprentice of Gaius, Camelot's Court Physician. However, he later learns to see the future with scrying.

See Also

• Destiny
• Scrying
• Creatures of Magic