The Pythia – commonly referred to as the Oracle of Delphi – was the title of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Considered one of the most powerful women in the classical world, the Delphic Oracle was present in some form as early as 1400 BC, offering visions to members of Greek society. For nine of the warmest months, on the seventh day of each month, the Pythia accepted questions from farmers and kings alike, on topics ranging from plague, famine, drought, the welfare of cities and states, the worship of gods, war, plans to found colonies and crises of rulership. The Pythia’s rise coincided with the rise of democracy in ancient Greece, making her an authoritative voice in the development of Greek society and civilization.

AK: How are you able to see the future?

Pythia: If you are asking about my process, it is one of discipline: I fast, I pray, I thank my ancestors and the Gods. I listen only to rocks, streams and light. When night falls, I open my mouth to the stars which freeze my tongue, watch the moon sculpt the olive trees to statues of frost. I bathe in the crystalline spring till I become a pale ghost. I make a fire, light my hands, allow the smoke to blind me. I forget and forget and forget. Who I am, where I am, where I come from. I leave behind names and places, allow the scent of laurel to make me anew. I sit in silence till all the words have left me. I become permeable, porous, a vessel of the divine. Only then does the future come to me.

AK: Where does the future come from?

Pythia: The future comes from the realm of dreams. And all dreams are spun from the same web. The web is here. And there. And everywhere. Follow one thread and it will show you everything. You live in one part of the web but you believe it is the whole world. This is why you cannot see what I can. 

AK: But the ability to see the future is a gift exclusive to see-ers and oracles, no?

Pythia: My “gift,” as you call it, is a common one. The difference between you and me is that I have embraced and nurtured it, made my body and mind an instrument of the divine. This world is built on the divine. One needs to understand this in order to become an intermediary. To see is the kiss of Apollo; it feels like falling over the edge, into the abyss. It is the deepest form of falling in love because to see is to fall in love with the world. Most are afraid to venture where I routinely go because they fear tumbling over the edge. This is understandable. In your world, those who exhibit gifts of the divine are pathologized, medicated, shunned, burned at the stake. You fear getting lost in the darkness, but you live in an upside down world. You are already lost in darkness, entrapped in a trance.