An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present - Doreen Valiente 2018

Scrying

Scrying is an old word for the practice of crystal-gazing or using some similar means to obtain clairvoyance. It is akin to the word ’descry’, which originally meant to reveal, as well as to discover by seeing. Scrying is a more general term than crystal-gazing, because it embraces all forms of developing clairvoyance by gazing at or into some object.

The object used in scrying is called a speculum; and throughout the ages a great many different objects have been used for this purpose. The transparent crystal globe, with the use of which most people are familiar, is only one of a great variety of such specula.

The practice of scrying is common to magicians of all ages and countries. Like magic in general, it is as old as man himself; and it is still as popular with contemporary witches as it was long ago.

However, witches seldom possessed a crystal ball, for two reasons. Firstly, a genuine crystal ball is a valuable and expensive object. Most so-called ’crystals’ are actually simply glass. The very latest development in this field is that of transparent globes of acrylic plastic. These are nevertheless described as ’crystal balls’ in the advertisements for them in American magazines. Real rock crystal is a semi-precious stone; a ball made from it is heavy, and icy cold. It takes an expert to distinguish the real thing from imitations. Hence, valuable crystals, usually round but sometimes egg-shaped or pear-shaped, became precious heirlooms handed down for generations, and beyond the pocket of the poorer witch.

Secondly, such a possession was not only expensive and valuable; it was dangerous. To have such a thing found in one’s house, immediately convicted the owner of magical practices. In the days when witchcraft was a hanging matter, witches found it wise to improvise their speculum out of things which could be found innocently in any cottage; a rule which they followed with many of their other tools as well.

Consequently, a black bowl filled with water is quite popular. So also are the old-fashioned glass globes used by fishermen as floats for their nets. These often come in beautiful dark green or blue glass, and make fine specula. Witches in sea-coast towns particularly liked these, because they could always be passed off as an innocent fishing-float, something which could be lying about in any cottage near the sea. Today, antique dealers sometimes sell these old fishing-floats as ’witch balls’. These they are not, although witches did use them. The real ’witch ball’ is either brightly shining and reflecting, or else a kaleidoscopic medley of colours, as in the examples made of Nailsea glass. (See WITCH BALLS.)

The famous Irish witch, Biddy Early, used a blue glass bottle as a speculum. So did other witches, such bottles being usually filled with water. A ball of black glass would be particularly prized, some thinking it superior even to a genuine crystal ball. Others considered that the best speculum was a ball of pale greenish-coloured beryl. The natural beryl crystal comes in bluish and greenish shades, as well as the completely transparent kind.

Dr. Dee, the famous occultist of the first Queen Elizabeth’s time, had two specula. (See DEE, DR. JOHN.) One was a crystal globe, which he called a “shew-stone”; and the other was his famous magic mirror. This was described in Notes and Queries (1863) as follows: “This magic speculum of Dr. Dee is composed of a flat black stone of very close texture, with a highly polished surface, half an inch in thickness, and seven inches and a quarter in diameter; of a circular form, except at the top, where there is a hole for suspension.” When not in use, it was kept in a leather case.

Precisely what kind of stone this mirror was made of is uncertain. It is usually described as ’polished cannel-coal’, which is a very fine kind of coal; but there are other descriptions of it as being of jet, or of obsidian. (The latter is a kind of volcanic glass.) A magic mirror of a similar kind (that is, with a shining black surface, instead of a brightly reflecting one), can be made by a witch, simply by obtaining a round, concave piece of glass and painting the back of it with some good black enamel or similar substance. Many witches prefer to make their own magic mirror, and consecrate it themselves.

A piece of round glass of suitable shape can sometimes be got from an old round picture-frame. Such glasses are set convexly in the frame, and just need to be taken out and turned over, when of course they will be concave (i.e., slightly bowl-shaped or hollowed). Alternatively, a small mirror of this kind can be made by obtaining the glass from an old clock-face of suitable shape; though naturally it is best if you can get a piece of suitably shaped new glass, which has never been put to any other use.

The mirror should be made in the increase of the moon, and given three coats of black upon the back of it; that is, upon the convex or upward-curving side. Let each coat dry thoroughly before applying the next. Then the mirror needs to be framed, according to the worker’s own ingenuity. My own magic mirror is let into a box, which has a lid that can be closed. This is useful, because no speculum should be exposed to bright light, especially direct sunlight, as this can completely upset its sensitivity. Moonlight, however, is good for it, and has the effect of charging it with power.

Consequently, witches choose the full moon as the right time to consecrate a magic mirror, or any other speculum they may use. When not in use, such a speculum should be kept in a special case or box, or at least wrapped up in a black silk or velvet cloth.

The instructions for using a speculum, a crystal ball or a magic mirror, are to sit in a dim light, preferably by candlelight. The light should be behind the scryer. Some like a point or points of light to be reflected in the speculum, others do not. Clairvoyance by this or any other means is an individual affair, subject to certain broad and general rules.

There is no need to gaze in a strained, unwinking manner at the speculum. Simply relax, and look intently but naturally. A little burning incense, or a joss-stick, usually helps. The art of scrying needs concentration and practice; but eventually, if you have the faculty, the speculum will seem to mist over. Then something will be seen, dim and shadowy at first; and with perseverance the pictures will become brighter and clearer.

The things seen are sometimes actual, and sometimes symbolic. One has to learn to interpret symbols, as in any other form of clairvoyance. An important point is that clairvoyance can be sometimes objective and sometimes subjective. That is, sometimes the scene actually appears before you in the speculum, and sometimes it presents itself as a vivid picture within your mind. What really matters is, not how the picture appears, but how accurate and meaningful it is. Sometimes you get a blending of both. That is, you see something in the speculum, and at the same time you get an impression in your mind as to what it means.

I have been personally interested in scrying as part of witch rites, for some years. Two experiences of mine may be of interest, and serve to illustrate what has been said above.

In the first of these, I was using my black concave magic mirror. I was sitting within the magic circle, and enquiring about the outcome of a letter I had just sent to someone, a fellow witch with whom I had lost contact for some time. I saw quite objectively in the mirror the symbol of an X-shaped cross. The thought immediately came into my mind that my letter had crossed with a letter from the other person. Then I reasoned that this was too fantastic, and it must mean something else. However, I could get no other symbol or impression. Sure enough, on the mat the next morning was a letter from the person I had written to; our letters had crossed.

On another occasion, also within the magic circle, I was using a fishing-float, a hollow ball of dark green glass, as a speculum. This was mounted on a little wooden stand. I saw the visionary picture of a rather desolate valley, dotted here and there with strangely-shaped boulders. I received the mental impression that this was an actual place, and that in the past it had been the scene of pagan rites of some kind.

Shortly after this, I went on a visit to Cornwall, where I had never been before. Passing in a train through a wooded valley, I realised that this was the very place I had seen in my vision. I noted the name of it, and from subsequent enquiry I was able to confirm that it was believed to be have been a place where what were described as “Druidic rites” were performed in the distant past.

Another method of scrying is that used by Italian witches as described by Charles Godfrey Leland in his Legends of Florence (David Nutt, London, 1896.) He says:

I once asked a witch in Florence if such a being as a spirit of the water or one of the bridges and streams existed; and she replied: “Yes, there is a spirit of the water as there is of fire, and everything else. They are rarely seen, but you can make them appear. How? Oh, easily enough, but you must remember that they are capricious, and appear in many delusive forms. And this is the way to see them. You must go at twilight and look over a bridge, or it will do if it be in the day-time in the woods at a smooth stream or a dark pool—che sia un poco oscuro—and pronounce the incantation, and throw a handful or a few drops of its water into the water itself. And then you must look long and patiently, always thinking of it for several days, when, poco a poco, you will see dim shapes passing by in the water, at first one or two, then more and more, and if you remain quiet they will come in great numbers, and show you what you want to know. But if you tell anyone what you have seen, they will never appear again, and it will be well for you should nothing worse happen.”