The first thing I've noticed, and most people probably would tell you, is that if you're really confused, upset, drunk (yes, i tried that once), or otherwise unbalanced emotionally, the chances of being able to divine are extremely lowered. Likewise, one key to being able to read a divination tool is to be able to focus (obviously) and to be calm and collected enough that you're not distracted. To this end, if you're particularly prone to distraction, you might try meditating first, or engineering your reading environment to eliminate distraction.
I can't vouch for this, but I've read somewhere along the way that crystal balls and scrying mirrors often work well in dim environments, such as in candle-light. I also seem to remember reading somewhere that one way to use a scrying mirror or crystal ball is to fix your eyes on it, but to let your eyes go slightly unfocused, rather than trying to actively find shapes in it. Somewhat akin to looking at clouds or stars--just an openness to whatever's there and a totally relaxed, "oh, never noticed that" kind of deal.
There are surely also some herbs and gems that might help with the clarity issue. Maybe something like amber for cleansing the aura of negative energy (which would affect your ability to read), a bit of bloodstone or citrine for power/strength, moonstone for openness and intuition? Some helpful herbs might be sage for wisdom, rosemary for its connections to the sea (intuition, flow, the subconscious), mint or catnip for relaxation. If you have an affinity for air, you might also want to have a feather you've found lying about, since birds are often psychopomps. Sparrows and crows are particularly suited to psychopomp status, and though they're usually credited with ferrying dead souls about, the whole gateway opening symbology should still work here.
Of course, there's also the possibility that you're not seeing much in it yet because you haven't bonded with it. It took me months to 'bond' with my tarot deck and to figure out how i personally read before I could start to make steps towards accuracy or even seeing anything at all besides "the booklet says...". Oddly enough, when i get a new deck, it takes a little bit of playing about with it to bond enough to really 'get' that particular tool. Maybe you just need to give it some time.
Random afterthought--and i know this from experience--don't set a crystal ball in a patch of sun. Mine focused the sunlight and melted a nice little hole in one of my cds once; fortunately, I caught it before it set anything on fire...
Message Thread
« Back to index