Wicca Spirit Newsletter Divination and Scrying

Scrying is a type of "seeing", where the seer stares and focus usually using a reflective surface. Galadriel's Mirror in the Lord of the Rings was a type of scrying mirror or dish....in the movie version it looked a bit like a bird bath. You can make a scrying dish yourself and it can be very nice as a ritual/statuary piece in the garden. Placement in the garden is crucial if you actually plan to use the dish for scrying. It should be in an open area if possible, with as few reflective nuisances as possible. However, you can always move the dish around since it is not a permanent placement, and this aspect works well since the Moon actually moves in the sky from season to season.

To make the dish you will need the following basic materials:

one saucer at least one inch deep and 10-12 inches across

(this can be a terra cotta pot saucer or a glass saucer, but it needs to be able to hold some water so it cannot be flat)

flat black paint (outdoor/weather resistant works best)

water resistant sealer, matte finish

The saucer must be cleaned and if you use terra cotta it must also be prepped with the sealer. The paint should be applied as evenly as possible to the inside of your saucer (at least two coats, bottom and sides inside only). Then you just need to topcoat the black paint with the sealer (one or two coats) to waterproof the dish. You can decorate the outer edge of the saucer in any way that you like, but if it is in a Moon garden or specifically for Moon Scrying, you may wish to use colors appropriate to that....like white or silver or very pale blue.

You can place the dish on a pedestal in the garden or build a pedestal using overturned terra cotta pots. If you build a pedestal with more than one terra cotta pot, you can make it more secure by gluing them together with a sturdy outdoor adhesive.

To use your dish, place it outdoors in your garden and pour about an inch of water into the dish. Check the surface of the dish for distracting reflections and move the dish to a place where the water appears completely black.

It is nice if you can sit near the dish unless you are very good at standing still for long periods....once the water is still, begin to look at the surface of the water. Then try looking at the bottom of your dish....refocus your eyes and try to look "into" the water without looking at the surface or the bottom.

This takes practice and I find that meditating for a few minutes with my eyes closed at first is helpful...and I always remove my glasses too (it is just easier for me). It may also be helpful to you if you perform a ritual of some type before you scry. Try to do your scrying when there are as few distractions as possible.

Moonshine....(Moon water - just in case you forgot :-) To make lunar water place your water into a silver bowl or into a clear glass bowl on top of a mirror. Place this outdoors in an open area when the moon is full after the sun has set and bring it indoors before the sun rises. It is important that the sunlight does not touch the water. Place your "moonshine" into a dark container - that cannot be penetrated by light and then place your container in a dark cupboard. Moonshine can be used for rituals, sacred brews, herbal concoctions, etc. and scrying! It can be stored, but should be used and replaced every

three months.

(take special care if you are using it for ingestion...teas, brews, etc...make sure your vessels are clean and that your storage is clean.)

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What is Divination?

by: David Allen Hulse

By stars, cards, and alphabets. These are the three most popular methods of divination that have survived into the twentieth-century. The three occult sciences governing these oracular techniques are astrology (divination by the placement of the stars), cartomancy (divination by the random fall of the tarot or playing cards), and numerology (divination by the numbers concealed in the letters of a name or the digits of a birth date).

The word "numerology" comes from the Latin numeralis, meaning figure, character, or number. The dictionary definition of modern numerology is, "the belief in the occult influence of numbers upon the life of an individual."

Of the three methods of astrology, cartomancy, and numerology, numerology is the easiest oracular technique to learn and master. The term "numerology" appears to have become popular in the nineteenth-century literature of popular occultism. The source for this term in the European medieval magickal tradition is "arithmologia" (coined by Athanasius Kircher in 1665).

Arithmologia is the combination of number (arithmo) and word (logia). It is the ancient divinatory and meditational technique of giving number value to the letters of any word or name, and can be found in 13 distinct esoteric languages from ancient cuneiform to modern English.

Even though most people are familiar with popular divination methods such as astrology, tarot, and numerology there are dozens of ancient forms of divination that many people seldom hear about.

We have provided a divination glossary that defines dozens of practices. Click Here to download. You may discover some ancient practices that appeal, or ’call’ to you - give them a try. And prepare to be amazed!

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