![]() ![]() ![]() And of course, it appears in even more recently in the Harry Potter series.Īny smooth and reflective surface will do…a bowl of water, a mirror, glass, or a candle. We also see it in Snow White, when the evil queen uses the mirror to confirm her identity as the fairest in the land. In more recent culture, we see scrying in the Wizard of Oz, first when the fortune teller Dorothy meets after she runs away from home uses a crystal ball to focus in on her Auntie Em and again when the wicked witch uses one to follow Dorothy’s movements. The ancient Greeks and Celts practiced scrying as did the “wizards” of Mesopotamian and Mesoamerican cultures, the latter known for using polished obsidian. The art of scrying, the practice of gazing into a reflective surface and becoming focused on a single point to remotely view another person, place or time, has been around as long as the human desire to foretell the future. Practice is necessary to learn the meanings behind the symbols seen.Ever wish you could just look into a crystal ball and see into your future? Would it be a blessing or a curse to have such vision? Sometimes the visions are symbolic and must be interpreted. Methods vary, but after a period of concentration upon the speculum, the scryer either sees visions upon its surface or receives mental images and impressions. The best results are obtained at night, when the reception of psychic impressions is believed to be clearer. Scrying may be done within a magic circle. The witch fills the cauldron with water and drops in a silver coin to represent the Moon in the night sky. Another scrying tool used by witches is a cauldron painted black on the inside. The glass was slightly curved and had been coated gray-black on the concave side. Gardner practiced scrying with a mirror in an old picture frame he found in a London junk shop. Witches may make magic mirrors themselves, painting and decorating them with magic sigils during the waxing of the Moon and consecrating them in rituals like other working tools (see witches’ tools). A favoured speculum is the magic mirror with a concave side painted black. Glass-ball fishing floats are commonly used, as are witch balls, colored glass balls intended to be hung in homes to keep out witches and the Evil Eye. Few witches throughout history have used crystal balls, which are heavy and expensive. Crowley’s speculum was a topaz set in a wooden cross of six squares, painted vermilion. Like many other magicians, Aleister Crowley used a precious gem for scrying. John Dee, the royal court magician in 16th-century England, used a crystal egg and a piece of obsidian said to have been brought from Mexico by Cortés. In the 16th century, Nostradamus used bowls of water to see the visions from which he produced his famous prophecies. Egyptian scryers used ink, blood and other dark liquids. Most scryers use objects with reflective surfaces, such as mirrors, polished stones or metals and bowls of liquid. ![]() Many early scryers simply gazed into the still water of a lake or pond at night. Scrying is not limited to crystal balls but includes any smooth and shiny object that makes a good speculum. In earlier times, a scryer was likely to be a wise woman or wise man-perhaps also called a witch-who was naturally gifted with second sight. The term scrying comes from the English word descry, which means “to make out dimly” or “to reveal.” The services of a scryer typically are sought for predictions of the future, answers to questions, solutions to problems and help in finding lost objects and in identifying or tracking down criminals. Scrying is the ancient art of clairvoyance achieved by concentrating upon an object-usually one with a shiny surface-until visions appear. ![]()
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