Crystal Divination: Three Techniques for Insight & Healing
Crystal divination is an excellent way to connect with divine for the purposes of guidance, wisdom, and healing. But how exactly do you use crystals for divination, you might ask? Check out the following methods of crystal divination and see which one best resonates with you. With some patience and practice, crystal divination can help you connect with your own special guides for insight, healing, and more.
UPDATE: This article previously mentioned White Sage and Palo Santo among the recommended methods for cleansing your stones. Smoke cleansing using these materials is culturally appropriative in the context it was previously described, especially shared by the author here (who is white). Further, the term “smudging” has been updated to “smoke cleansing,” since the term smudging was incorrectly applied to the act of cleansing crystals without the cultural context and deeper meaning connected with the act of smudging by Indigenous people. Additionally, this article previously used the term “totem animals” to describe animal archetypes that may hold meaning for someone. Using this term is culturally appropriative (as this is a term rooted in Indigenous spiritual practice) in the context it was previously used. This article has been updated to reflect these changes.
Humans have been practicing the art of divination for thousands of years. Practicing the art of divination allows you to communicate with and to receive guidance from the divine.
Be it from your guides, angels, animal archetypes, ancestors, or some other higher power, these insights often actually come from within the self. Divinatory tools are just means by which you are able to access this inner knowledge.
From the Ancient Egyptians, to the Elizabethans, and even modern psychics, crystals have played an enormous role in many divinatory techniques. There are several divination methods in which you can utilize the power of crystals for guidance. Crystallomancy, Lithomancy, and Dowsing are just a few of these powerful divinatory methods.
There are a number of steps to performing a reading using crystals as divinatory tools. These steps may be utilized for any type of crystal divination.
First, you must formulate a general question about a particular issue in which you need guidance.
The question should be open-ended (i.e. it should not have a yes or no answer). Then, you must focus on the question at hand. It may help to write the question on a sheet of paper and/or to ask it aloud at least three times.
Next, you must prepare yourself for the reading.
You must select the crystal(s) to be used while focusing on the question at hand. You should then clear your mind and become attuned to the energy of the crystals.
Then, you need to clear and cleanse all of the crystals that will be used.
There are a variety of ways you can clear a crystal. One way to cleanse a crystal is by soaking it in a solution of sea salt and distilled water. Lavender oil is also often added to this solution due to its purification properties. Another method involves holding the stone under running water or in a stream to be purified.
Yet another method to cleanse a stone is by smoke cleansing. To do this, you must pass the stone through the smoke of an herb or incense (lavender, rosemary, mugwort, juniper, and cedar are all commonly used smoke cleansing herbs). Also, you may choose to bury a stone in the soil of the earth for a length of time in order to cleanse it.
The clearing process should be carried out until you intuitively feel that the stone has been cleansed, or by feeling the stone’s energy. Then, after the reading, you should always cleanse and clear the crystals. This will remove any energy that may have been transferred during the session. Now, you are ready to begin crystal divination.
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Crystallomancy is a form of scrying divination that utilizes crystals (most commonly those shaped into spheres [i.e. crystal balls]).
Gazing into a crystal ball takes patience and practice. You may need to form a relationship with your crystal ball before any meaningful images appear. You should always treat the crystal ball with respect as it is a powerful divinatory tool. Also, your crystal ball is a very personal object. You should not allow others to handle it (or even to view it when it is not necessary). You should safely store the ball in a silk cloth when it is not in use. This will help to keep its energetic vibrations clear and radiant.
It is best not to use the crystal ball if your energy is not clear. If you are not serious about the reading, or if you are in a negative state of mind, you should not use your crystal ball. You should always intend the reading to be for the highest good of all beings, with the love and light of the universe.
To begin scrying, place your light source (preferably a candle) off to the side.
This is so that the light does not interfere with the image you see when you are scrying. Now gaze into your ball. The crystal may begin to go out of focus or become blurry to your eyes as you stare into it. After a time, images may begin to appear within the sphere.
Most commonly, you will observe symbolic images. However, as you become more advanced, the images may become more literal. Symbolic visions should always be interpreted according to your current life situation.
It is suggested that you keep a scrying journal so that you are able to track your skills as a crystallomancer. Keeping a journal also aids you in tracking a more complete interpretation of the images you obtain while gazing. A journal can also be helpful if you are performing readings for others. It can act as a reminder for where you left off with your client.
If you prefer the art of casting crystals, or lithomancy, then you should follow the same steps for preparation as in crystallomancy (i.e. cleansing your stones and forming a relationship with them).
Then, you should create a casting area. The casting area is a sacred space that is created by your intention. Many diviners utilize a cloth to mark the casting area. The cloth should ideally be made of silk and should only be used in this sacred space for the purpose of divination, as it is a ritual object.
You should then clear the divining space of negativity. This can be done by creating a ring of sea salt or Himalayan salt around the divining area. Another method to cleanse the space is by smoke cleansing it. The clearing process should be carried out until you intuitively feel that the space has been cleansed, or by feeling the energy of the space.
After the space has been cleared and the intention has been set to create a sacred space, you may begin to cast the stones.
To do this, you should hold them between the palms of your hands, approximately 2-3” above the casting area. Then drop them while pondering your question.
After this, you should interpret the pattern created by the position of the crystals. You should disregard any crystals that fall outside of the casting area. These are not relevant to the question at hand. If a crystal is cast into the center of the divining space, its meaning should be integrated with all others. This crystal provides a central theme for the answer to the question asked. Emphasis should be placed on any area in which multiple crystals are cast. If no stones are cast onto the casting area, you should repeat the cast. You may even need to reformulate the question.
Next, you should interpret the message.
To do this, you should look over the area as a whole and use your intuition to interpret the meaning of the way in which the stones were cast. Then, you should use the associated properties for each crystal combined with the meaning given for each specific section of the casting area. You can now draw a conclusion about the question at hand.
It is best that you keep a journal so that you are able to track your skills as a lithomancer. Journaling also aids in tracking a more complete interpretation of the insights you obtain while divining. Again, a journal such as this can also be especially helpful if you are performing readings for others.
Yet another divinatory method is dowsing, or divining with a pendulum.
A pendulum is a tool that is held between your thumb and index finger. It consists of any sacred object such as a crystal, a key, or a ring, which is suspended from a piece of cord or string. You may use a pendulum to receive precise yes or no answers to your proposed questions. However, you may sometimes receive neutral answers. If this happens, the question should be reformulated or asked again at another time.
You should used the same preparation techniques as in crystallomancy or lithomancy, but instead of formulating a general question, you should articulate a question with a precise “yes” or “no” answer.
Once you have properly prepared, you should grip the end of the string, opposite the sacred object, between your thumb and index finger of the dominant hand. Then, you should ask (aloud or silently) to be shown your “yes” answer and note the manner in which the pendulum swings (i.e. forward and backward, side to side, clockwise, counterclockwise, wildly, slowly, etc.). You should then repeat this asking to be shown your “no” answer. Do not move the pendulum intentionally. Let it move according the subtle energy currents of your body.
You should practice divining with the pendulum by asking general questions to which you are not emotionally attached.
When you are neutral about the outcome of the divination, you will obtain clearer insights as they will not be influenced by your desires. Once you have had enough practice and are consistently receiving accurate readings, you may begin to ask more personal questions.
Again, it is suggested that you keep a dowsing journal. This will act as a record of your accuracy and progress with this divinatory tool.
Divination methods that utilize crystals can be useful in healing because they can aid you in detecting the energy field of your client.
Since crystal divination connects you with your higher self, it can help to stimulate your intuition. It will also enable you to be better able to detect subtle energetic imbalances in your client.
By scrying, you may receive messages about the subject’s energy in the form of images or symbols (i.e. a specific chakra, organ, or emotional state may be indicated through these symbols). If casting stones, you may choose to cast onto a chart representing the subject’s body (i.e. the corresponding stones may indicate over-active or under-active energy in the areas on which they land). By dowsing with a pendulum, you can hold the pendulum over the subject’s body to detect his or her energy (i.e. the pendulum may remain still for stagnant energy or swing wildly to show that the energy is concentrated in a particular spot).
Want to deepen your crystal divination practice?
Tune into the Wheel of the Year and connect with ancestral wisdom through the art of charm casting at Samhain. Because Samhain is such a powerful time for intuition and divination, this is a great time of year to practice charm casting. In this method of divination, you’ll look at how the charms fall in relation to one another and use their positions and energies to tell a story. Get started with my Samhain Charm Casting Divination Kit!
Are you interested in becoming a Certified Crystal Healer? Find out more about the CCH and Advanced Crystal Practitioner Program HERE!
