Since publishing my book, I've been asked many times what a Soothsayer actually is. The literal translation is, speaker of truth (Sooth = truth, sayer = to speak). A Soothsayer is someone, who has the ability to see, the past, present and future and therefore able to speak the truth on a situation or event.
Throughout history and pop culture, Soothsayer's have always been around in one form or another. Pictured to the left is a Soothsayer from a Dr. Who episode where Pompeii is destroyed. In this episode, the Soothsayer's are able to see the future because they breathe in the fumes from Mt. Vesuvius, which is inhabited by aliens. How a Soothsayer receives their gift is always different, but the gift of sight remains the same.
One of the most famous Soothsayer's the world has ever know was Nostradamus. To this day, people are still fascinated by his predictions. Doing a quick Google search, you will find videos, blogs, and articles dedicated to Nostradamus' predictions. Regardless of whether you believe or not, it's interesting that cultures all over the world, have always had some version of a Soothsayer woven into their lives.
Perhaps the most famous Soothsayer in literature was penned by The Bard himself. We do not know her by her name, only by her words: "beware the ides of March". The predicted of Julius Cesar death by a Seer in Shakespeare play is known around the world. The quote "beware the ides of March" can be found on social media every year around the second week of March. That one line, spoken by a Soothsayer in a play has moved across time and touched our lives just the same as it did when Shakespeare's words were performed on stage. It is a warning that we all link back in our heads to Julius Cesar an Emperor who lived centuries ago.
A Soothsayer's main function is to help tell a story. They are able to show the characters and audience things they might not otherwise have access to. Take King Arthur for example, Merlin is a gifted Soothsayer and it is because of his visions that Arthur is able to rise into power. Merlin helps to move the story along both in the Disney version and in Thomas Malory's, Le' Morte d'Arthur. Without the Soothsayer character, the story of Arthur may be wildly different.