Crystal Gazing

Here's the bit I'm sure a lot of you have been waiting for : )

Crystal gazing has been a method of divination for centuries, and probably the one most well known with muggles. Before the Crystal Ball was used, water scrying* was popular.  Have you ever tossed a coin into a well, fountain, or lake and counted the ripples to see what it might foretell? No? If you haven't give it ago it's a lot of fun and one very easy form of divination : ) It's usually done with yes and no questions if the number of ripples from the toss was an odd number then the answer was no and if it was an even number then the answer was yes.

Then some would just gaze into a body of water to see what images might form to receive answers to their most perplexing questions. Some still do this but instead of using a body of water (though it is a method still commonly used) they use a crystal bowl filled with water. This was also done with cloud gazing...seeing what symbols the clouds would create and the same would be done with tea leaf reading, like you've read previously in this book.

*Scrying: The ancient art of clairvoyance achieved by concentrating on an object - usually one with a reflective or semi-rreflective surface (mirror, crystal ball, water, etc.) - until visions appear. Magicians and witches of all ages have practiced scrying. The term scrying comes from the English word descry , which means 'to make out dimly' or 'to reveal.' The services of the scryer typically are sought for predictions of the future, answers to questions and tracking down criminals, just to name a few.

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