In German New Year folklore, Bleigießen was a fortune-telling practice involving molten metal dropped into cold water.
Participants heated a small piece of lead, poured it into water, and interpreted the shape that formed. The resulting figure was treated as a symbolic prediction for the coming year. Similar practices using wax or tin developed as safer alternatives, because heating and handling lead can expose people to a toxic heavy metal.
The custom was associated with New Year’s Eve, especially in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and neighboring regions. Its appeal came from combining a dramatic household activity with the desire to forecast romance, work, money, or other events.
European Union rules restricted the sale of traditional lead-containing fortune-telling sets because of lead’s health risks. Modern kits commonly use wax or other materials, but the older name remains associated with the lead version. The shapes have no demonstrated predictive power.