When you conceive of fortune singing , a few classicpop cultureprops may come to mind : wax light , tarot cards , sartorial mainstay like a pillbox , silks , or bangles ; luxuriant tapestries , and of course , the crystal clump .
If you ’re not a divination expert , you might not know that what one does with a quartz glass ball is known asscrying — a existence derived fromdescry , which intend “ to comprehend . ” While the fortune - assure act is based chiefly on stare intoreflective surfaceslike mirror , rock , and pond of liquid , you could technically scry into pretty much anything . The practice has been around for thousands of years , realise appearing in the mystical and spiritual traditions of numerous ancient civilizations , such as the Druids , as has the sparkling glass ball we ’ve come to associate with it .
Prehistoric Practice
Druids were educated , highly respected loss leader who lived in the British Isles and France during the Iron Age ( 1200 - 600 BCE ) ; they practise a wide compass of bailiwick admit poetry , lawmaking , medicine , and spiritual rite . While the Druids were largely wiped out with the spread of Christianity in the following 100 , witness accounts by notable Romans such as Julius Caesar andPliny the Eldergave us some accounting of their religious drill . Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus in particular devoted one chapter ofThe Natural Historyto “ The Druids of the Gallic Provinces . ” And in the very next chapter , he describes ( and dismisses ) various forms of magic , although not of necessity those of Druids . Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus mentions magical ritual “ with pee ” and “ with balls , ” which might be early accounts of scrying .
As Christianity continued to dominate Western Europe throughout theMiddle Ages , scrying became a divisive practice . Some devout Christians saw it as fomite for divine intervention , and claim to have see glimpse of angels in their gazing , while others construe the practice as blasphemous at best , and a portal for demonic spirits at worst . In his 5th - one C bookThe City of God , St. Augustine denounce scrying , claiming all such mystical practices as “ entangle in the deceptive rite of fiend who masquerade under the names of backer . ” The practice session , however , would soon retrieve improbable guardian in the student and academics of the Renaissance .
Otherworldly Wisdom
AsMark Pendergrast explainsinMirror Mirror : A History of the Human Love Affair with Reflection , the Renaissance work with it an increase popularity of translate Arabic writings . Along with many significant scientific ideas , these translations grant the work of Picatrix ( a name given to both the transformation and purport author ) , who see mysticism as a subdivision of skill . In elevating the recitation of scrying to something noble and rational , these beliefs offered a welcome alternative to the gloom and guilt feelings of Christianity , and scrying grow in popularity and regard among the train elite , soon establishing itself as a scientific — or at least quasi - scientific — staple among burgeon academics . According to Oxford University’sHistory of Science Museum , which boasts a seventeenth century crystal ball in its assemblage , “ The literature of deception itself recall a time when instinctive and supernatural noesis shared a common language . 16th - century records of séances at which booze were conjured typically went under the title of ‘ script of Experiments . ’ ”
The crystal bollock continued to be stigmatized by the church , but remained in relatively honorable standing in the scientific populace , finally finding its way into the royal English court . Its introduction was thanks toJohn Dee , an alchemist and mathematician with a deep interest in the mystical . Dee was a close adviser toQueen Elizabeth I , and she relied on his pleader in the programming of important events and topic of astrology , among other things . Along with his partner Edward Kelley ( who was reportedly a much more successful medium , though some consider he wasdupingDee all along ) , Dee would hold even scrying academic term that involve he and Kelley staring into an obsidian mirror in the hope of communicate with angels to gain otherworldly wisdom .
Dee was n’t the only crystal - gazer to dabble in the political world ; a few centuries later , Jeane Dixon garner renown for her political predictions , which she made throughout the forties , ’ fifty , and ’ sixty with the help of her trusty crystal globe . Dixon is best live for predicting theassassinationofJohn F. Kennedy , though the genuineness of her prediction is doubt by many . Her legion skeptics coined the term “ the Jeane Dixon impression ” to describe the phenomenon of psychics being remembered favourably despite a scant bit of exact prevision and a slew of inaccuracy . Dixon certainly had her share of inaccurate predictions , for case , that Russia would be the first country to put a man on the moon ( nope ) and that George H. W. Bush would easy rejoice over Bill Clinton ( sorry , George ) .
Even her magnificently exact prediction of JFK ’s death seems less - than - legit when you consider the vagueness of the actual “ visual sensation . ” The detail that run in the Sunday newspaper supplementParade , on May 13 , 1956 , understand : “ As for the 1960 election Mrs. Dixon imagine it will be predominate by labor and make headway by a Democrat . But he will be assassinated or die in office ’ though not needfully in his first term . ’ ” On top of that , Dixon also incorrectlypredictedthat Kennedy would lose the 1960 election .
The Origins of the Crystal Seer
The popular prototype of the crystal globe reviewer — turban - habilitate and hunch forward over the nut — made its elbow room into the mainstream partially based on images of the Roma or Romani people , who rehearse various fortune telling techniques and would sometimes set up fortune - tell booth at stops along their travels . Still , their second-sighted displays were less about showcasing special psychic talent and more about practicality : the cubicle were portable and comfortable enough to tote around as the community locomote .
As for the pillbox itself , its origins almost sure dwell direct in the persona of one performing artist : Claude Alexander Conlin , who went by the stage name Alexander , The Man Who Knows . Alexander was a degree mentalist who , with the aid of a crystallization clump , would make unbelievable prediction about his consultation members . Though he was extremely popular , Alexander was also a master marketer who made millions selling his own ware , include crystal balls .
Since then , the Alexander - esque image has become a wide popular way to depict luck tellers in movies , fromBig ’s ( 1988 ) Zoltar toProfessorMarvelinThe Wizard of Oz(1939 ) . As a result , while most people in the modernistic world rarely ( if ever ) encounter the object itself , the icon is in many ways as prevalent as ever .
Discover More Spooky History :
A variation of this story was write in 2016 ; it has been updated for 2024 .
Related Tags
