What is Scrying and How to Use Scrying For Divination by Psychic Donovan

Let’s talk about scrying. This is an action you have done many times whether you are aware of it or not. And I assure you it has been more than helpful. “Scrying” comes from an Old French and Middle English verb “descry”: to see or discern. You can see how it is a root for the verb “describe.” Scrying is a type of divination, just like swimming is a type of exercise. 

Scrying is a method of divining answers and insight by viewing images from reflective surfaces. The idea is to bypass the filters and the biases of the conscious mind by accessing imagery provided by the liminal. The liminal is a border zone between the conscious mind and our subconscious.

Why You Want to Practice Scrying

Scrying is an effective tool for exploring your own liminal perception. Divination techniques like this also help develop your intuition and psychic abilities, adding dexterity to your personal GPS and emotional guidance system. It’s an edge, and it’s free. Having a scrying practice will also sanctify and sharpen your relationship with your favorite Psychic Source readers.

Different Types of Scrying

The first step in starting, trying, or continuing a scrying practice is to choose a scrying medium. The types of scrying are usually defined and categorized by the type of reflective surface used. I suggest picking a surface that is convenient and exciting.

Nine Popular Scrying Surfaces and Tools

1. Smoke. Smoke rising from a fire takes on shapes and scenes, images form and fold in on themselves. This type of scrying is convenient and may very well be the oldest.
2. Oomancy. This is egg scrying. You crack an egg into a bowl of hot water. The many shapes and scenes formed by the egg whites are your images.
3. Fire. Watching a fire flame or candle flame for images and scenes is tied with the smoke scrying for being the oldest method. I suggest using a candle as opposed to a fireplace flame or campfire flame.
4. Scrying Mirror. “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” Heard that before? The original quote was a little closer to "Magic mirror on the wall, who's the fairest one of all?" Mirror scrying is definitely the most popular. Why? Convenience. Mirrors come in all sizes. You can transport your scrying mirror anywhere. A small mirror with black backing is all you need. If you have an artistic side. Making a black mirror will likely be a real joy for you. A black mirror is a mirror that has a black backing—that is, framed glass with a backing made of black paint over glass.
5. Water. My second favorite method is water scrying. Ocean, lakes, ponds, silver bowl, copper bowl, crystal bowl, etc. I like water scrying because of the ease, the convenience eliminates getting bogged down in ritual. Hiking into the mountains to my favorite pond or stopping at my favorite lake on the way to a meeting make it really easy to have moments of truth with myself.
6. Crystal Ball (also known as a Scrying Ball). I have to say this is my number one, despite it being number six here. For crystal scrying I use a crystal ball. There are so many ways to use crystals for scrying, and types of crystals that can be used for scrying, it is really too many to name.
7. Throwing Bones. This type of scrying does not involve a reflective surface. It grew from HooDoo practices that came out of West Africa. I don’t use it often because it is noisy, but I sure love trying it when I can. The bones are actually a mix of deer bones, seashells, pebbles, and polished wood squares. You cast this mixture the way you cast dice. I have always found the process fascinating and accurate.
8. Copper Bowl with a Dime. This is what Grandma used. She would drop a dime into a bowl of water, a copper bowl. How the dime splashed and sank and sat at the bottom were the portends.
9. Proxy. Last but not least, and certainly the most accurate, divination by proxy. Call or chat with someone from Psychic Source and let us do the work for you.

When to Choose Scrying

The second step to starting, having, or trying a scrying practice is to select a purpose or a mission. This is an important part. Before you practice scrying, you need to have a quandary or at least a subject in which you intend to get answers. You need to have something in your heart and mind for which you want more information. I would not simply start scrying to see what comes through. Why? Connecting with the subconscious, opening to the liminal shores, you are opening yourself to an unlimited immensity.

Scrying with no question in mind, no subject matter in which you wish to plumb, would be remarkably similar to walking around downtown New York, (or any big city), and starting conversations with denizens at random. Your results would a be a verisimilitude of information that may or may not apply to you at all.

I recommend scrying with the same focus used while shopping at Costco. You have a tight list; in your heart and mind you have a subject in which you want insight. You are going to fill that list. But you are open to deals and surprises, as long as they pertain to your list.

How To Do the Scrying Part

Plenty of people will suggest finding a sacred space which may include the following:

• Light lots of candles.
• Use dark scenery.
• Sage the air.
• Make things look mystical.
• Clear your mind, meditate, use what grounding ritual you have.

Essentially get yourself into a mood where you are feeling connected to Spirit, Angels, Guides, God, Goddess, Source, Creator, etc. This is really good guidance.

I have two suggestions that will make scrying both helpful and practical.

1. Convenience. I mentioned above choosing a scrying tool that was convenient. Choosing a location for scrying and a pre-scrying ceremony for scrying that is also simple and convenient is equally important. You can use scrying like a GPS system any time of day by eliminating any robust preamble. Calm and simple. If you can scry from somewhere as pedestrian as the restroom at the office, or in a busy airport, you are a baddie.
2. Relax. When it is time to sit, stand, or walk and observe your reflective surface of choice, do not try to glean anything. Instead, focus on how good it feels to relax. Observe the reflective surface the way you would view a seashore or a lakeshore at low tide on a trip to collect seashells. Don’t define or decide anything, just take notice, and let the floodgates open wide. “Oh, look what washed up! Look at that. My, my, that is interesting.”

Interpreting the Results of Your Scrying

1. Write down your perceptions. Even if nothing showed, write that down, “Nothing showed but I could smell cinnamon and I felt silly.” Why? You will be doing this again. Scrying is a practice. Just like playing golf, the more we do it, the more effective we get. Having previous notes from an earlier scrying session will help subsequent scrying interpretations, even if you are a little inconsistent with your scrying practice. These notes will also be handy when you consult your go-to Psychic Source reader.
2. Stay playful. This is practice not perfection. Have a child-like mindset. Science and history have proven over and over again that true power is gentle. Be playful and gentle. Grandma was pretty adamant about repeating two questions while scrying: “I wonder what the answer is?” and “I wonder what I will see?” The beauty of repeating these mantra-like questions is that they keep the reading on task yet render a certain flexibility that will allow you to take what resonates and leave the rest with grace and aplomb and without bullying yourself.
3. Categorize the results. This is no different than the way you would categorize results from your favorite Psychic Source reader or any other divination technique. Some answers are predictive while some are consultative. And some will be both. Here is an example: Mr. Joe sits by his favorite lake in the morning to enjoy the calm beauty and is open to insight regarding the quandary of “What is coming up for me and my career?” The sun on the water, the reflections, the ripples, the birds, the ambiance keeps bringing up images of a schoolhouse. An old timey schoolhouse. A-frame building, lectern on the inside, rows of chairs and desks. An archetypal little red schoolhouse. The school is not a literal school, but a caricature. A symbol. Any kind of school is an antecedent to growth. So, the prediction for Joe is that he is about to go through some growth, he’s about to get schooled. The consultative part is Joe can get himself ready to go up a level and embrace the learning-curve that comes with advancing.

Some Final Words of Caution about Scrying and Divination

I have been asked plenty of times if scrying invites evil, negative forces, dark forces, promoters of blasphemy, etc. These are valid concerns. Let’s be honest, anytime you open yourself you give openings to other influences. So, this is what I suggest, surround yourself with love and a prayer (protective circle), exactly how you would surround yourself right before entering a bustling city like Paris, San Francisco, Chicago, etc. The same self-protective prayer you mutter to yourself right before starting a journey, a class, attending some performance/concert, or beginning an important project.

Take what feels right and leave what does not.

You can choose what you radiate.

And what you radiate will be drawn to you.