Today is the first day that I have seen spring bulbs breaking through the ground. Even though we have had such a mild winter, for New England, they are right on time. That is for bulbs first planted last autumn. Bulbs that have been established in the ground for a few seasons may very well be up already, but no sooner than typical because of the mild winter. In a mere few weeks we will be enjoying daffodils, hyacinths, crocus and many other early spring blooming flowers.
Crystal Gazing
I have personally been using a crystal ball for several years now and wanted to talk with you about this almost forgotten practice. Historically, crystal balls or using crystals goes as far back as the ancient Celts (pronounced with a K sound as in Coffee) with the Druid's using crystals and other semi and precious stones and minerals. There is evidence that crystals were used magickally in eastern Europe and in Scandinavia for over 1000 years.
In the latest edition of Archaeology magazine March/April 2012 edition there is a very interesting article in the 'From the Trenches' section on pg 20 about a Viking ship wreck from 1592 found in the English Channel 30 years ago. Amidst the items uncovered was a transparent calcite crystal found to have been used by the Vikings for navigation purposes during cloudy days at sea. Crystals have been used for practical as well as magickal purposes since about the time they were first discovered. The Druid's found transparent crystals to be a natural item that fell 'in between' the worlds as they knew and understood them. A transparent crystal felt like rock but could be looked through as if water. Glass was not known to the Druid's. Something with these properties was considered an object 'between the worlds' and was held to be sacred to the ancient Druid's and the Celtic people they ruled.
Fortune tellers, Oracles, Diviners, Seers, Sorcerers, Gypsies and Witches have all been known to use stones, crystals and minerals in magickal ways for hundreds of years. Throughout history 'reading' or scrying using a crystal sphere was often the mark of an advanced fortune teller. Dr. John Dee (1527 - 1609) was a famous British mathematician, geographer, astronomer, astrologer who was a consultant to Queen Elizabeth I, and was noted as using crystal spheres in his work.
The practice of using a crystal ball or crystals in divination is called crystallomancy or scrying. One can also scry using flames, smoke and water in a pool or bowl, to name but a few methods of scrying. The practice of scrying goes back thousands of years and is mentioned in the Bible in the story of the Witch of Endor in the Book of Samuel 28: 3-25. This story is about King Saul who first banished the witches and declared them all evil, but then sought out the Witch of Endor again when a battle was being waged and he needed information on how his soldiers fared. She conjured up the ghost of the recently deceased prophet Samuel by using smoke, hence the scrying and using her skills as a medium was able to let the fickle King know how his soldiers were waging the war.
Historically crystal balls were created out of beryl, a semi transparent crystal stone and later on from natural quartz crystal. I have had customers come into Enchantments looking for 'flawless' crystal balls not poured from molten crystal and I can tell you they no longer exist in the market place. Here's a picture of the largest completely flawless crystal ball in the world now on display at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC and it's considered priceless.
Today, there are those that say when one uses a crystal ball that one sees things more psychically in their minds and not necessarily images in the crystal ball. I can only tell you how it works when I use it, and I'll do that now.
I myself started using the crystal ball not as a divination tool but more of a prop around Halloween or Samhain for us Pagans. I often do parties where I do quick ten minute tarot card readings and would decorate the table with a large crystal ball, a real one, and many polished stones and candles for that 'spooky' effect many look for around Halloween. When using the tarot I will take a few moments and hold the cards and center and allow my psychic sight to open up before I start laying out and reading the cards. I started to use the crystal ball to allow my sight to shift and by gazing deep within the crystal sphere my psychic centering seemed to come about faster and deeper. After a time I kept the crystal ball on my reading table and used it to help me prepare for a reading . . . until one day things changed. I was gazing deep within the ball, waiting for the shift that overtakes my mind to flow over me and then I saw something. Deep inside and it was moving!
I could see a tiny horse and rider cantering through a green field. I looked up at my client and asked if she rode horses or was planning on going riding soon. She had just gone riding that morning! Ah, ha! I thought. Hmmmmm, there's definitely something to this! I went on to read her cards, she seemed happy with her reading and I started using the crystal ball in all its glory for my readings ever since. As far as how I 'see' things within the sphere? I see actual images inside the ball. I also see abstract images that need translating and at times pictures flash into my mind's eye, my psychic sight if you will and that gives me information.
I recently read cards for a girl and looking into the crystal ball I saw two distinct cats, looking back at me. I asked her if she had two cats and she said she had, had two but one recently passed. I told her her cat was still with her and she started to cry, but she was amazed that without a card being placed that I could know that she had two cats. I have often seen animals that have passed away but are still very much close to the client's heart looking back at me from the depths of the crystal. They always look happy and very healthy and they go when the client leaves, so I know they are not in my crystal ball, but just use it as a portal for me to tell their owners hi from them.
If you are interested in a crystal ball reading, I do this for all my tarot readings along with throwing the witches runes and stone divination. Please read my last discussion on March 1, 2012, for more information on Stone divination, a method I created and developed.
Peace and Happiness
© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.
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