The German New Year’s Eve fortune-telling tradition of pouring molten lead into water is called Bleigießen.
In the traditional practice, a small piece of lead is heated until it melts and then dropped into cold water. The resulting shape is interpreted as a symbol that supposedly offers clues about the coming year. People may use a chart or their own imagination to assign meanings to the forms.
Bleigießen was a popular New Year custom in German-speaking Europe, but health concerns led to restrictions on selling lead-containing kits in the European Union. Modern versions commonly use wax or another safer material instead.
The name literally means “lead pouring.” It belongs to the large family of New Year divination customs found across Europe, rather than being a method with scientifically demonstrated predictive power.