Introduction

Welcome to The Scrying Bowl, a website devoted exclusively to the ancient art of scrying.  Scrying (or skrying, to use an alternate spelling) is the practice of gazing into a dark, reflective, and/or randomly patterned object to produce visions.  Modern occultists disagree about the exact mechanics, but it is generally understood to be a form of self-hypnosis that allows the seer to access the deep mind.  Scrying is arguably the most versatile (and challenging!) form of divination that exists.  It is also probably one of the earliest mystical practices, along with ancestor worship and ceremonial burial.  Dr. Raymond Moody traces crystal-gazing back to at least 10,000 BC, when early humans in what is now Iran carved the first known hand-held crystals.

My purpose in creating this site is to assemble the kind of resource that I, as a student, would like to read myself.  There is now more occult information online than I had--even a few years ago--dreamed there ever could be.  And yet, it's still fairly difficult to find caches of quality information on specialized topics.  (This is equally true of the print world, as anyone with shelves full of "Wicca 101" or "Beginning Tarot"-type books can attest.)

The Scrying Bowl exists to bring you, the curious seeker, the best information on scrying methods, theory and history.  We may also occasionally venture off into some adjacent divinatory and visionary practices.  As this project progresses, I will be compiling the available resources on this topic, as well as offering some original commentary.  This is not intended to be a personal magical record (although there are some excellent such journals online), but I may be tossing off a few of my own experiences as they seem relevant or helpful.  It is also not mainly a beginner's guide or how-to (again, tons of good stuff online), but I hope beginners will still find it accessible and useful along the way.

Happy searching!

-M