What is Scrying? Can Ghosts and Spirits be Contacted Through Scrying?
Scrying is an ancient practice of gazing into reflective surfaces to invoke visions into the supernatural usually for divination (think Nostradamus). However, some use various methods of scrying to make contact with ghosts and spirits.
Reflective surfaces such as crystal, water or mirrors are employed for their reflective properties. People who use scrying as a means to capture visions of ghosts will typically look at the colors and ripples within water, or the inclusions, cloudiness, faults and light refractions within crystal or a crystal ball. In modern forms of scrying, photography or videography of rippling water or crystals illuminated by light may be employed to help “see” the images of ghosts and spirits. Modern methods of scrying with electronic devices are types of instrumental transcommunication.
The Psychomanteum Form of Scrying
One of the oldest known types of scrying is the form of reflective pool constructed by the Greeks known as a psychomanteum for the purpose of “mirror gazing.” Staring into a pool of water or blood was thought to produce a conduit directly to the spirit realm, inducing visions and visitation by apparitions (ghosts or enlightened spirits). Long lines of people waiting in the dark (think deprivation) in order to eventually gaze into a cauldron made of bronze and filled with water were said to see phantoms.
Modern versions of the psychomanteum can include the use of a dark room, flickering candlelight, and a mirror set at a specific angle. It was proven through the Ganzfield experiment that what's known as the Ganzfield Effect, a temporary state of perceived blindness, is achieved through a trance invoked by creating a uniform field of vision. The flickering candlelight helps the induction into the stare, causing the eyes to relax into the depth of the darkness found within the mirror. Some, such as Dr. Moody, have used the psychomanteum to reunite experimenters with loved ones in spirit.
The Magic Mirror and Ghosts
A black scrying mirror, also known as the “magic mirror,” is another method of seeing into the spirit world. By meditating and then staring into the mirror, the eyes' focus is allowed to relax. After a while, the surface of the mirror is said to become fluid or dissolve, allowing the gazer to enter into a journey of visions. The visions are said to be more mental than something seen with the physical eye. It is through such a method that the presence of spirits and ghosts can be encountered and journaled about. Scrying is said to help people to quiet the mind in order to connect with spirits and ghosts and is not used as a tool to summon entities.