In my podcast The Ghostly Courtrooms and Cells of Shirehall I discuss the main examples of scrying and using scrying firsthand during an investigation of Shirehall in Hereford.
Scrying is a type of divination performed by gazing into a smooth surface to receive messages, guidance, or visions from the spirit world. The practice of scrying is an old tradition and one that many can be cynical off because of those stereotypical images of a fortune teller leaning over a spooky crystal ball, calling out the cryptic images he or she is seeing. The fact is you don’t have to be a professional psychic to experiment with scrying in your spiritual practice as this form of divination is absolutely accessible to anyone’s and nor do you need any fancy tools. As long as you follow a few simple guidelines, you’ll be able to safely use the practice of scrying to deepen your connection to your intuition and to the spirit realm something you may wish to do as regular practice, and as I did, also use this as a technique during an investigation at a haunted location.
How To Protect Yourself While Scrying
Because you’ll be tapping into unknown energies and receiving messages from the spirit world, it’s important to take a few safety measures before you begin scrying.
First, perform some kind of grounding meditation to prepare your energy for this practice. There are many ways to do this such as listening to calming meditative music or using bells and Tibetan singing bowls. You can also just offer up a prayer or request. My personal favorite is a “Red Roots” meditation something that I enjoy doing whilst listening to singing bowls. To do this, sit in a comfortable position and bring your awareness to the places you are touching on the ground. Then, in your mind’s eye, visualize red glowing roots sprouting from those places. See the roots grow longer as they weave through the dirt and rock until they reach the center of the earth. When you feel a sense of relaxation and stability (whatever that means for you), you can open your eyes.
Setting The Mood For Scrying
You can set the mood however you want for your scrying ritual- or not at all. These are just there to help The basic principle here to enhance your experience and also help maintain a calming atmosphere. Make sure to be comfortable if this means having a cushion or being seated then do that. Experiment with being indoors or outdoors. The beauty with this technique is that there are no rules it is what works for you.
Lighting
I love to light 7-10 candles and turn off all the lights when I scry. It gives me enough light to see, but it’s dark enough to make my space feel secretive and sacred. Experiment with what works for you and times of the day or night.
Music
Music can instantly change the energy of a space. I love putting on a mystical-sounding instrumental playlist while I scry. It sets the mood without distracting me. You don’t have to go with instrumental tunes it is predominantly about what works for you. So again experimenting here is needed. It may be you prefer no music at all or something upbeat. Something to consistent would be using music from a time period if that energy is one you are trying to tap into in a particular location.
Incense or Essential Oils
Cedar incense or Frankincense resin are known for enhancing psychic abilities or connecting to the spirit world. The scent and smoke drifting through the air can raise the vibration of your space. Lavender and Jasmine essential oils can also be helpful for this kind of work. If you don’t have access to an oil diffuser simply placing some of those oils on you temple, wrists and other points will work equally effectively.
How To Record The Messages You Receive
You’ll likely be in a deep meditative state while your scrying, so you might not consciously remember everything you see when you’re done. It’s a similar process and meaning to how you sometimes forget your dreams after you wake up.
A way to make sure you don’t lose any of the messages is to record your scrying session with your phone or another recording device. Describe aloud the images and messages you receive as they come up, and listen to the recording after you’re done.
Just like with dream journaling you can also keep a journal nearby to jot down notes during or immediately after scrying, but you may have to look away from your scrying surface to write.
Tools For Scrying
In the podcast I mentioned the nine common forms of scrying. To help you with this technique I wanted to give you some ways to achieve some of these at home in your own space as well as some useful tips for best practice.
A Crystal Ball
This is the most obvious choice, but it’s definitely not the most cost-effective way to go. Specialty crystal stores may carry different sphere-shaped stones. Clear quartz, rose quartz, smoky quartz, obsidian, or selenite are popular options. You can also find crystal balls online from retailers like Etsy or Ebay. Whenever you can, set the crystal ball near a window or outside during a full moon to energetically cleanse it.
A Polished Crystal
This is similar to a crystal ball, but it doesn’t have to be round or very large. You can use any crystal that has a smooth surface for scrying.
Bowl of Liquid for water scrying, oil or wax scrying
Any bowl will work just fine. Fill it with water and gaze at the smooth surface of the water. If available, use water that has been charged by the energy of the full moon or natural water such as rainwater or mineral water. Any water will do however- even tap water! A way to help focus when water scrying would be to place a crystal or object into the water to use as a focal point.
Another variation is to add a few drops of food coloring and watch as the color spreads through the water.
Oil scrying can also be used here. Simply add oil into your bowl of water and scry by watching the oil interact with the water and watch for any shapes or reflections that you see.
Another method is to pour melted wax into a bowl of water and notice the shapes that form. All very simple and cost effective techniques.
A Sheet of Glass
This can be any kind of flat glass, but picture frames work very well for this. Cut out a black sheet of paper and place it in the frame. Alternatively spray painting the frame black can work really well.
Scry using only the picture frame, place a candle in front of the picture frame and gaze at the glass as it reflects the dancing light of the candle flame.
A Candle Flame Or Any Other Form Of Fire
The flame of a candle can be used for scrying. Gaze at the base of the flame, or just to the right or left of the flame (so the flame is in your peripheral vision). This can help protect your eyes.
A Mirror
Some specifically prefer a black mirror (which is what I used in Shirehall), but a regular mirror works, too! Set the mirror on the ground and look into it, or set it up on your altar or wall, and light a candle nearby.
How to Scry
Once you’ve energetically prepared yourself and your space for scrying, you can choose your medium. From this point set your intention.
If you’re new to scrying, I recommend setting a very broad intention.
A good intention could be:
“I open my heart to any messages or visions that will guide me towards my highest potential.”
An intention like that is broad but communicates that you specifically want positive or constructive messages regarding your life.
If you’ve been scrying for a while, you may want to ask for guidance on specific issues such as your love life or your career path or about a particular building/ spirits you are trying to connect with.
A more specific intention could be:
“I open my heart and mind to receive any constructive messages regarding ..........”
Receiving Messages While Scrying
Gaze into your scrying surface, and allow your body to relax. Don’t forget to breathe. Deep steady breaths will help you slow down your mind and help you keep your thoughts centred. The 4-4-4-4 breathing technique is a useful one. Breathing in for four, holding for four, breathing out for four, holding for four.
Soften your gaze by letting your eyes become unfocused. Once this happens you may begin to see shapes, people, or symbols on your scrying surface. Give the images time to appear, often it can take 5-10 minutes of gazing before you see anything. The messages may come in the form of thoughts, mental images, memories, or actual things you see on your scrying surface. Be open to all of these different ways the spirit world may communicate with you.
If you go through all the steps, and you don’t see anything while you’re scrying, try and remember scrying is a skill and like any skill, you’ll improve with practice. Sometimes all you need to do to get better results is to change your medium or your environment. You can even practice by looking at the shapes and movement of the clouds in the sky.
Don’t forget to check out the latest podcast episode to discover more about this ancient divintion art and how I would use this at a particular location and the outcome that I had. Link to that podcast is here: The Ghostly Courtroom and Cells of Shirehall
