The atmosphere in the room is intoxicating with presence of incense from the burning lamps. Such was the performance of the priestess that the fascinated female onlookers were although enthusiastic were also tense and became agitated, so much so, that they too believed that they had heard the Oracle’s low voice speaking of what was to happen in the future. In Waterhouse’s painting, the Teraph or Oracle was fixed against a wall and in front of it were lighted lamps. It was believed that Teraphic heads could talk and give guidance. The head was then shaved salted and spiced. A Teraph (plural Teraphim), according to the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, a western translation of the Torah from the land of Israel, the Teraphim were originally human heads, taken from first born male adults who had been sacrificed. The Oracle was sometimes referred to as the Teraph. There is excitement in their facial expressions as they listen to the words of the priestess who is interpreting the words of the Oracle. The painting depicts a group of seven young women, all seated in a semicircle around a lamplit shrine. Consulting the Oracle by John William Waterhouse (1884) His 1884 work entitled Consulting the Oracle was a depiction of one such ritual. Miracles, magic, and the capacity to prophesise were common motifs in many of Waterhouse’s paintings. Despite Waterhouse marrying his wife Esther in a Church of England church and attending services there, he continued to be fascinated by the occult and magic rituals.