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All Iceland Skagaströnd Museum of Prophecies

Museum of Prophecies

This museum dedicated to divination also honors a local 10th-century prophetess.

Skagaströnd, Iceland

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Samantha
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Tarot Room.   samanthagarnett / Atlas Obscura User
Tarot Room.   samanthagarnett / Atlas Obscura User
Runic Reading Room.   samanthagarnett / Atlas Obscura User
Palmistry Room.   samanthagarnett / Atlas Obscura User
Þórdís the Spákona “Fortune-Teller.”   samanthagarnett / Atlas Obscura User
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About

This folklore museum is small and unassuming from the outside. But don't be fooled by its modest exterior. Its flag proudly indicates that you've arrived at the “temple of fortune-tellers.”

When you enter, you're greeted by two crows and a humble broomstick on display. There is a small seating area with reading material and a room devoted to teas, coffees, and various witchy (or otherwise) Icelandic trinkets. There is also a small café. 

The museum is staffed by any number of its five founding ladies, only two of which are admitted spákona—fortune tellers. They are quick to correct you on the difference between "psychic medium" and "fortune-telling." While psychic mediums glean their powers from mystic hidden realms, a fortune teller is merely a "vessel" by which the wisdom of the objects like runes, tarot, cups, and intestines is interpreted. 

You are free to roam the museum at no charge. Around the museum are many exquisitely painted murals detailing the life and mythology of Þórdís, the local 10th-century prophetess. For a modest fee, a guide will interpret the murals for you and tell you about the prophetess, who every day climbed the mountain Spákonufell to brush her hair with a golden comb. 

There are separate rooms devoted to different divination practices: tarot, palmistry, and coffee or tea leaves. Paying visitors may have their past, present, and future laid out for them. There are also small placards in both English and Icelandic that teach various divination techniques both across the world and unique to Iceland.

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Museums Murals Mythology Folklore

Know Before You Go

The museum is open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and is closed on Mondays. In the winter, it's open to visitors by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, email dagny@marska.is or call (+354) 861 5089

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samanthagarnett

Published

August 15, 2019

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  • https://www.northiceland.is/en/what-to-see-do/service/the-museum-of-prophecies
  • http://www.sagatrail.is/en/museums/museum-of-prophecies/
Museum of Prophecies
6 Oddagata
Skagaströnd, 545
Iceland
65.822295, -20.304186
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Nearby Places

Grettislaug

Saudarkrokur, Iceland

miles away

Hvítserkur

Iceland

miles away

Drangey Island

Iceland

miles away

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Iceland

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Places 149
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Grettislaug

Saudarkrokur, Iceland

miles away

Hvítserkur

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miles away

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miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

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Iceland

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Places 149
Stories 41

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