Dune Prophecy is a Terrible Show, But…

…it does support a theory that I have regarding the use of prophecy in politics. From Frank Herbert’s first book, Dune, prophecy is presented as a tool by the Bene Gesserit to advance their political agenda: ‘The wisdom of seeding the known universe with a prophecy pattern for the protection of B.G. personnel has long been appreciated’; but in Dune Prophecy, it is the Bene Gesserit themselves who are under the influence of an augury made by their first leader, Raquella Berto-Anirul. Prophecy is, therefore, such an effective form of rhetoric that even those who cynically manufacture prophecy can succumb to its influence.

The prophecy that Berto-Anirul reveals to her successor is referred to as Tiran-Arafel, which means ‘a holy judgment brought on by a tyrant’, and it is in preparation for this ‘reckoning’ that the Bene Gesserit dedicated decades of planning. The problem is, and this is the problem with all prophecies, they have a tendency to become self-fulfilling. As the following exchange reveals, even the attempted prevention of a prophecy tends to fulfil it:

Valya: Now is not the time to lose faith in a plan that has been decades in the making.

Kasha: And what if this plan of yours causes the very thing we seek to prevent? What if we’ve brought on the reckoning Raquella spoke of?