Crystal Balls
The crystal ball has always been a symbol of the occult, of hidden wisdom and fortune telling. In Love Is In The Earth (1995)written by Melody, she gives this synopsis of crystal balls. “Crystal balls [i.e., spheres] which have been contoured in the spherical configuration send energy in all directions and are the most unified of all shapes. These spheres facilitate smoother communication in group gatherings by rounding-off rough edges. They are often used as “windows” to faraway places—the past and future. They have been used in the activity of “gazing,” as if from afar, in order to assist one in the evaluation of a present situation or circumstance. Crystal balls have been used to purify and to fill the gaps in the entire auric field when worn or held. Small spheres are also used as charms and worn or carried, to prevent and/or to ameliorate degenerative diseases. The fabricated and naturally occurring shapes exhibit identical properties.”
Katrina Raphaell, in her book, Crystal Enlightenment (1985), says that Quartz crystal balls possess power that one must attune with and train to use. She recommends using them “during crystal healings [assisting] the healer to become more in tune with the person being healed.”
There are differing opinions as to how exactly the crystal ball works in helping its user see the past or future. From Uma Silbey’s book, The Complete Crystal Guidebook (1986), she offers this reasoning. “All objects, thoughts, emotions, events, etc., which appear on the physical plane first manifest as vibrations on the subtle planes (i.e., causal, mental and/or astral plane). The vibration in the subtle planes can be seen as the cause which sets into motion the events which are to follow on the physical plane. When you are seeing into the future you are actually sensing or seeing that subtle plane vibration and interpreting the physical plane event which is to follow from it.” And as far as seeing into the past, she says, “Anything that has occurred on the physical plane affects the vibrations on the subtle planes, leaving its impression...When you are seeing into the past you are seeing this latter vibrational pattern. This is sometimes referred to as viewing the akashic records.” In summary, “When you are seeing the past or the future you are just sensitizing yourself to and interpreting the vibrational or psychic “shadows” which precede and follow physical plane events.”
Katrina Raphaell, in Crystal Enlightenment (1985), offers this explanation as to how crystal balls work. “When psychics use crystal balls in their readings, what they are doing is seeing an image of the person’s aura reflected into the ball. Being able to interpret those images, it is possible to ‘see’ and know many things about a person.”
Now, the segment of the above quote that is most important to understand is the part, “being able to interpret those images.” This is the part of the whole process of crystal ball reading that requires a certain amount of training and experience to grasp. Psychic potential does dwell within all of humanity, and if we are so inclined, we may awaken it, own it, and begin to work with it.
The rapidity with which you can start receiving impressions or visions depends on the degree to which you are developed in those necessary qualities. All crystal and other metaphysical work naturally develops those qualities that enable you to eventually read a crystal ball, and allow the method that is most suited to you to emerge. The method will find you, according to Uma Silbey in The Complete Crystal Guidebook (1986).
Crystal Ball History
There is much in the way of history regarding the uses of crystal balls in different cultures around the world. An interesting passage is found in the works of Ibn Kaldoun, a Persian writer, born in 1332, who gives the following very acute analysis of the phenomena accompanying crystal-gazing. (Ibn Kaldoun, in Notices et Ext. de MSS. de la Bib. Imp.) This information comes from the website http://www.jjkent.com/articles/beryl-rock-crystal-balls.htm.
"The diviner looks at the surface fixedly until it disappears, and a curtain, like a mist, is interposed between him and the mirror. Upon this curtain are designed the forms he wishes to see, and this permits him to give indications, either affirmative or negative, concerning the matter on which he is questioned. He then describes his perceptions as he has received them.” Kaldoun then goes on to describe the type of reality the diviner is locked into. “The diviners, while in this state, do not see what is really to be seen (in the mirror); it is another kind of perception, which is born in them and which is realized not by sight but by the soul."
From Ancient Persia to the highlands of Scotland, round gemstones were commonly known and used. The sceptre of the Scottish regalia is surmounted by a crystal globe, two inches and a quarter in diameter, and the mace by a large crystal beryl. In former times these stones were regarded as amulets and their use was traced back to the Druids. Sir Walter Scott tells us that in his time they were still known among the Scottish Highlanders as "Stones of Power." Description Of The Regalia Of Scotland (1877), by Sir Walter Scott, Bart., Edinburg, n. d.
Under the comprehensive chapter heading: "How to conjure the crystal so that all things may be seen in it," Paracelsus (1493-1541) declares in that "to conjure” means nothing more than "to observe anything rightly, to learn and to understand what it is." So, Paracelsus thought of crystal ball gazing as nothing particularly “magical” as understood by his definition of “conjure.” He said further, “The crystal was of the nature of the air, and hence all things movable and immovable that could be seen in the air could also be seen in the crystal or speculum.” The Hermetic and Alchemical writings of Aureolus Philippus Theophrastus Bombast of Hohenheim, called Paracelsus the Great trans. by Arthur Edward Waite, London, 1894.
Directions for the use of an Erdenspiegel, or "earth-mirror," are given in an old German manuscript written in 1658 by a Capuchin priest. Unterricht vom Gebrauch des Erdspiegels, (1658) The process is as follows: The mirror (crystal sphere) is to be set about two inches above a board, and the questions to be answered are to be placed beneath it. The scryer is recommended to place three grams of salt upon his tongue (yuck!), whereupon he is to repeat a prayer and cross himself. He now takes the mirror in his hand and breathes upon it three times, repeating the words, "In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen." These preliminaries having been accomplished, the following prayer, or rather invocation, is repeated:
"O thou holy Archangel N. N., I pray to thee most fervently through the great and unsearchable name of the Lord of all Lords and King of all Kings, Jod, He, Vau, He, Tetragrammaton, Adonay, Schaday, receive my greeting and give ear to the humble petition which I offer in the name of the great and highest God, Elohim, Zebaoth, that thou shalt appear to me in the world-mirror, and give me knowledge and instruction in answer to my questions."
The strong religious tone of these directions for the use of the mirror and the fact that it is a priest who gives them, shows that there was a disposition to tolerate the employment of such "white magic." This information comes from the website http://www.jjkent.com/articles/crystal-balls-history-religion.htm.
From the Llewellyn Encyclopedia online, further crystal ball history can be found. The ancient Chinese and Japanese regarded quartz as the perfect gem. The artists who carved spheres were thought to be the most capable of spiritual and artistic purity. They considered the quartz crystal ball the heart or "essence of the dragon," symbolic of the highest powers of creation. The Chinese and Japanese shared the term sui ching for quartz, which means "water essence," the source of peace and power.
Tibetan monks called crystal balls the "windows of the gods," using them as holy objects of great power. The Taoists believed that looking into the crystal’s clarity "crystallized" one's being, and they considered quartz the "gem of enlightenment." Buddhist altars included quartz spheres as an invocation of the "visible nothingness" that delineates the duality of the material and spiritual world.
Contemplation of this "visible nothingness" gave rise to crystal-gazing, which has been practiced since time immemorial. Crystal gazers use the spheres as windows to the unknown. http://www.llewellynencyclopedia.com/article/272.
Crystal balls are a fun and exciting way to attune with crystal energy. They can be quite expensive, however, so save your money if you believe it’s a practice that you’d like to pursue. When visiting a crystal and gem shop, go to the crystal balls and tune into their energy. Put your hands around their spherical shape and discover if it feels like a tool you’d like to use for your practice.