Let us preface this article with the disclaimer that the things written below are how they were taught to me, if you already have an elder please go ask them about this subject and do not take the teachings you find online by someone who is not your elder as the gospel. If you do not have an elder and are self-taught by way of researching you are doing yourself and others around you a major disservice.
First of all we have to get to the root of what it means to be a seer. In most cases people are talking about someone with the ability to see the spiritual world. In some cases there are other meanings but for the most part this is what is the subject at hand. The implication is that the person can literally see spirits and the past, present and future. This is a good baseline but is not the full definition as per what I was taught. Being a seer is about so much more than just the ability to see, it is about the usage of said ability and the responsibility of said person.
My definition of a seer is that of a historian, a keeper of secrets, a person blessed with great wisdom because they can see into things be it literally or with other methods that the average person cannot. In some cultures they would be called other things like an oracle, a medium, a sage, a witchdoctor, and a prophet. All of these definitions boil down to someone of great insight and importance. Someone that uses that insight in such a way to bridge present people with their ancestors and gives council on how to proceed in the future.
Seers have been instrumental in the rise and fall of civilizations for thousands of years, giving council from the shadows and barely spoken of openly. Their methods have varied according to what their practice actually was and what their roles actually were but they were there. In the more common understanding that strips away the importance and responsibility of a seer, we see that people are labeling themselves something really grand because they have the ability of sight but their usage of said sight is not so great. In many cases, these people self-proclaiming to be seers are self-taught and do not understand their role fully but they are aware of their gifts.
If they were to seek out proper guidance of elders and traditions, they can take this gift of theirs and sharpen it to a finely tuned one, learn how to properly use this gift to guide others and become the fullest and best version of themselves. But only under the correct leadership. A good elder will not be your personal hype man, they will challenge you to do better. This often translates to you being corrected for your bad behaviors or beliefs. If you are above correction, your issue is not with finding a good elder, it is with understanding that you are not the all-knowing.
A properly trained seer can do such things as leading ceremonies, giving council to others, and a historian that gives the ancestors a mouth to speak from, among many others. In many cultures, when a child is born, they call for the seer to come and give the child a name that aligns them with their destiny in this lifetime and binds them to the blessings of their ancestors. The effects of these ceremonies are usually felt by that child for the rest of their life because this is how their name is chosen. The seer at hand cannot afford to make mistakes or be someone that is unreliable.
A seer can give council to others in many ways, not just one. They can consult with the ancestors and have visions, relaying their message to the people seeking council. This method has been around for a long time in many cultures but is not the only one. A seer can also use tools to see, so they can also be diviners. Their divination gives them glimpses of the past, present and future. It is in this context that you begin to see that being a seer is not just about having literal sight. In a lot of cases, seers become physically blind as the universe balances itself. They are seeing far beyond the scope of what any normal person should and as a balance, they are left without the physical ability to see. This does not diminish their gift at all. A blind seer is still a seer and most likely an older one at that, meaning they are probably better than most of the younger seers whose eyes still work.
In most of the traditional cultures where seers are seen, they are seen communing with the ancestors to deliver messages on their behalf. Some would call this mediumship but this goes a step further than that. The seer being the intermediary between the ancestors and the living is a huge role that is often overlooked. In many of these cultures, erasure has been a huge problem. Having someone available that can reach beyond certain chronological barriers is a major bonus to every culture and its traditions but only if said seer is properly trained and upholds a level of integrity that builds trust and respect in both themselves and the ancestors they represent.
For the sake of keeping this article from going too far, I will conclude that a seer is much more than just someone that can see spirits. It is a whole grand gift, accompanied with wisdom and responsibility. One that is worth learning and carrying with dignity, integrity and pride. This is a gift that almost always requires an elder to teach you how to use this gift to the highest levels and is almost always wasted when self-taught. There is so much more to discuss on this subject but the subject is most definitely something that is mostly kept private for initiated members of this Temple.
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