Ripples in a pond: Lecanomancy

Lecanomancy (from Greek lecane, "dish" or "pan") is the practice of divination by dropping objects into water.  The diviner observes the sound or shape of the water to gather omens about the future or distant present.  Stones or precious gems may be dropped in the water, and their ripples noted.  Or, the diviner may pour oil or dark colored liquid into clear water, and interpret the shapes formed as it pours.  Lecanomancy is closely related to water-scrying, and at times the two methods may overlap.  Unlike, say, tea-leaf reading, I haven't been able to find a source explaining what different types of ripples traditionally mean.  Which suggests that lecanomancy, like scrying, is mainly dependent on the seer's intuition and judgement, rather than on a prescribed set of rules.

Lecanomancy was recorded first in ancient Greece, where natural springs were considered to be sacred to the gods and good for scrying.  The popular practice of throwing coins into "wishing wells" may be descended from a European custom in which a maiden would drop a piece of gold into a well in order to catch a glimpse of her future husband.  Here's an example of a modern lecanomantic ritual, from the book Healing Crystals by Cassandra Eason:

For personal divination, ask a question and drop five moonstones into a crystal bowl of water lit by the moon or by silver candles. The ripples as each falls into the water will suggest an image in your mind’s eye and the five images will answer your question.

On her website, Eason also recommends scattering herbs across the surface of the scrying vessel, then reading the clusters of herbs, or the space in between.  Another tradition is to drop a shiny coin or pebble into the basin, then gaze at the submerged object instead of the water's surface.  Similarly, I've heard of painting a spot on the bottom of the vessel and fixing the eyes on the wavering point.  And recently I stumbled across this so-called Tibetan scrying bowl:  It has handles attached to the sides, which allow the scryer to gently agitate the surface of the water by gripping them with the hands.

Having read and experimented with water-scrying fairly widely, I've come to the conclusion that it is often useful to disrupt the surface of still water with one of the methods discussed.  A smooth plane of water can be too reflective--or just too blank.  Ripples, submerged objects, etc., can act as points of entry for the scryer to same way that rainbows, fractures, and inclusions in crystal are sometimes helpful.  Water has an advantage, though, in that you can disrupt it as much or as little as you need to in order to create the perfect canvas for your visions to emerge.