Crystal Ball

Agathe, I can't find my english dictionary and I looked it up in the Occult dictionary. It ain't in there either. I've always thought it meant seeing things as in shiny/reflecting surfaces. But I think it's also about using pendulums to find things etc.

Cheers
purple_scorp

Purple-scorp, scrying means divination by means of an object which you gaze at or into. It is roughly equivalent to projecting an image onto a screen -- a scene, image or impression is seen within the object, which seems to act like a screen for projections from the psyche. The crystal ball is perhaps the best known of such tools, but there are many others. Either large or small balls work well, as the image/impression adjusts to "fit the screen."

Ros, you can either place the crystal ball in a dark bowl or nestle it within the folds of a dark cloth -- the idea is to frame the ball with a dark field, in order to improve the focus of images within the ball.

Edited to say that I've always associated scrying with inner sight, but I suppose a pendulum involves vision of a sort, as well -- at least potentially.

I was going to ask how to use it lol - at the moment I'm sitting with it in my lap, my skirt is dark so nothing is reflected in it - I've been having a bit of success with it - I keep seeing colours that I'm sure aren't reflections.

My 7 year old son looked in it too and he saw a rainbow, it had the same effect on him as it had on me in the market, I had to wrestle it out of his hands- especially when he started looking through it and using it as a magnifying glass lol

I'm going to google a few searches later to see if it comes up with any interesting crystal ball sites.

Emily, the best way I've found to work with the ball is just to spend some time with it on a regular basis, and be in a calm, receptive and accepting frame of mind when you do so -- anxiety and/or specific expectations act as blocks to the psyche. If you are already seeing clouds and colours, you are doing just fine!

Astraea has some good advice there.
I hold mine during my meditation everyday.
I collect spheres and I like them to fit comfortably in my hand, so I can roll them around and play with them as I gaze.
I find that 60mm is a good holding size for me.
I also like a candle back light for gazing.

Help please

*hijacks post*

I asked the store if they still had that crystal ball-like object, and she said they just got a bunch more in. I'm going to look next week, and I'm excited. She called them "globes". The one I remember seeing was clear and full of rainbow colours, kind of like gasoline. I'm a little skeptical as to whether these are actual "crystal balls" since it is a weird item to be in a drug store even in the gift section.

So my question is, as silly as it may seem....if they are not actually "crystal balls" to be used as divination tools, but hold the same basic properties of one (ie. spheres, glass or crystal, in a stand) could they still be used as one even if that wasn't actually the purpose?

I also read somewhere that glass is much harder to see things in than crystal, because it doesn't add much to the energy....anyone believe this? I'd prefer a mixture of both than just glass for sure, but...just wondering.

Dead Star, as you can imagine, there are many different views on this. My own take on it is that in principle, many unlikely objects could be used as a scrying devices (rather like Umbrae's concept of toothpick-reading); but in practice, the organic properties of crystal enable it to meet one halfway, so to speak. This is probably due to the crystalline matrix, which acts as a template or "containment field" for projected inner vision. Glass, while it is silica-based and therefore organic in a sense, does not partake of the particular structural forms and materials of crystal.

Judging from your description of the drugstore globes as looking gasoline-like (iridescent), they are probably made of treated glass. If you feel drawn to one of these, I'm sure it will work for you; but perhaps it would be helpful for you to compare it with genuine crystal globes and crystal/glass blends before purchase. You might detect a quality of one or the other that makes your decision easier.

I did only see one of the globes. There are apparently more now, but I have no idea if they are the same or not. I'm hoping there is some crystal in them but I'd really have to take it out and look at it to know for sure.

Edit: Apparently they are crystal. I'm just worried about the high prices! But I'll try to check them out soon.

Mine is on a stand, fits nicely in your hand & is very heavy. I'll try the dark bowl or dark cloth someday.
Thanks for the thread & the ideas. I just have to get mine out now!

crystal vs. glass vs. quartz

Don't mean to be a stickler here, but I think that maybe we need to define what each of these things are, because when you buy a globe that is labeled "genuine crystal" it might not be what you think it is.
First, glass, is indeed made from silica, and has the same molecular make-up as quartz crystal; it's just not in a crystalline stucture - it's actually in an extremely viscous liquid state. Most cheap stuff is made of glass. The often, but not always, have tiny bubbles or waves. The color is clear, but has just a slight aqua/greenish tinge.
If something is labled as "crystal" or "leaded crystal" or "fine crystal", then it is essentially glass that has had some lead added to it. The lead adds weight and gives more brilliance the higher the percentage of lead is. Swarovsky crystal is an example of this kind of "crystal." It must have a certain percentage of lead to be considerd "crystal," and a higher percentace to be called "fine crystal."These almost never have any sort of imperfection or even a tinge of color. They are "too" perfect, heavy, and they reflect light like crazy and are truly brilliant.
Quartz crystal, which is what I'm assuming that most of you want, will be almost as heavy as low-grade leaded crystal. And usually will have inclusions, sheets, rainbows, cracks, etc. They usually have a slight yellowish or white tinge. Even if they are "perfect," with no inclusions or cracks, they don't reflect light as brilliantly as fine crystal. They are a lot more rare, and are usually only carried in rock shops and metaphysical stores.
I'm no expert, but I have been a quartz-aholic for about 20 years, have some college experience with geology, and worked for a company that sold fine crystal items. I can usually judge what something is (glass, crystal, or quartz) just by looking and holding. I would venture to guess the little "crystal balls" at the drugstore are probably leaded crystal, though probably a lower grade (usually around 24%).
I also wanted to point out that all of these are silicon-based, and do not contain carbon - therefore, inorganic.