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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/12188
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In a (non-comedic) story where the philosophical implications of the existence of any way of predicting the future (except by accident) happen to be unacceptable or incompatible with the laws or the spirit of the story, **what are some good ways to foreshadow important** (either on a personal or a grand scale) **future events?**

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I should explain myself a little. Any story with strong foreshadowing that I know of matches at least one of the following descriptions:

- It's in the high fantasy genre, where [prophecies](http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Dagor_Dagorath) are acceptable and make sense in the idealistic and often religious framework of the story world.
- It contains supernatural elements that affect the lives of the characters, such as magic or deities, that allow the characters [some kinds of foresight](http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Greensight).
- The artist didn't really care about the (in-story) philosophical and metaphysical implications of the existence of prophecies, signs, divination, etc.
- The thing that's foreshadowed is an obvious [premise of the story](http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/There_and_Back_Again:_J.R.R._Tolkien_and_the_Origins_of_The_Hobbit).
- It was [done for comedic effect](https://i.imgur.com/kpHLl.jpg). 

Is there any way to foreshadow events in a story where none of the above is applicable?

Original score: 5