Harry Potter's wizard chess

Harry Potter and friends engage in wizard's chess

In this fictional world of Harry Potter, there is a game along with quiddich called wizard's chess which is training for young wizards to hone their power.  What is surprising is that there is actually a modified chess game which allegedly used the game to both instruct and channel the occult.  Chess as a game has an unclear origin, but most believe it was a cross breed of european, hebrew, and some Asian games.  A favorite of nobility...chess became the game of kings, and has retained a mystical aura from its beginnings to modern times.

The modern magic movement started in the late 1800's with the hemetic order of the golden dawn, and they adopted and modified the enochian magic system of occult astrologer John Dee who was an important part of Queen Elizabeth I.

Royal magician of the court, John Dee

S.L. Macgregor Mathers, Leader of the Golden Dawn finished the wizard chess rules of Dee into the form where it could played as both divination and as a regular game of strategy.  The order was in demand in Ireland at the turn of the century bringing in artistic persons such as the poet Yeats.

Mathers on right performing the rites of Isis

Ultimately the order was broken up by Mather's friendship with infamous Aliester Crowley, who evoked such antagonism Yeats and others who found him and his spells repugnant.  Ultimately, the enochian chess is still taught and played today, a complex chess variation that may or may not have the power of divination. 

Enochian chess game

magic 8 ball and the occult connection

magic 8 ball, and it's occult connection

Everyone has dabbled with the magic 8 ball at least once.  A crystal ball novelty toy with a free floating die in a blue dissolved fluid with 20 possible answers from 'yes' to 'reply hazy'.  What is less known is that this novelty toy has roots in automatic writing and spiritualism.  Albert C. Carter, son of a medium from Cincinnati, created the prototype for the magic 8 ball or as it was known The Syco-Seer, and was based on his mother's automatic writings devices.

Syco seer variation called the Syco-slate late 40's

Carter approached storekeeper Max Levinson, and together they created the novelty devices for his shop and acquired the patent for the syco seer.  Levinson and his brother in law modified the original patent into something Though the original syco seer didn't grab the national attention, the revamped product caught the attention of Chicago's Brunswick Billiards, and in 1950 they commissioned  a version in the form of a traditional black and white 8-ball.

Like automatic writing, the magic 8 ball is novelty device that will give an answer to someone's question.  They concentrate on the question, shake the ball, and a random answer will foretell the future.  The magic eight ball also has some ties to the ancient fortune telling method of tossing coins called, I ching.  Now, a part of popular culture, Carter's device has achieved a fame even he could not see with his pocket fortune teller.