Crystal Ball Gazing - Types of Crystal Balls

This year for Yulemas (Because at my house I celebrate Yule and everyone else does Christmas), I received a Crystal ball, 2 different stands, and Crystal Ball Gazing by Uma Silby. Therefore, I thought I would do a few segments on gazing in a crystal. The photo above, by the way, is Me and my friend, Jennifer. It was taken at Witch Pix in Salem, Massachusetts. 

There are many types of crystal balls. The one I was given is Quartz Crystal, but I have other smaller balls in different crystals.

There are three kinds of clear crystal balls: natural quartz, laboratory- grown crystal, and glass.

Natural-quartz, often referred to in ancient tradition as "veins of the earth," "frozen water," or "frozen light," were formed naturally from the elements through millions of years of heat and pressure. Carving and polishing the stones into spheres made them most powerful not only because you could see into them better, but because it was believed that spherical shape would effortlessly draw your undivided attention. Many gazers prefer veils, inclusions, phantoms, or rainbows in their balls. They provide both beauty and help for your reading. Veils are what look like wispy clouds inside the sphere. Inclusions look like cracks or fracturing inside the stone.

Laboratory-Grown Quartz are "raised" for their easily manipulated, high rate of vibration. Initially used by the computer and electronics industry, they have the amplifying qualities of natural quartz. Because they are grown in a controlled manner that you'd never find in nature, they are all perfectly clear and very bright, with no veils or inclusions. People who read these balls prefer their clarity to veils, inclusions, and other inner markings, which they find distracting. The clear sphere suggests boundless space or infinity.

 It is recommended that you do not use a glass ball for a reading. The reason for this is a glass sphere, made from blown glass instead of rock, has none of the vibrational qualities of lab-grown or natural quartz. So, it is much harder to read. It doesn't store information or amplify, so it has no history and, other than its shape, offers no help for your reading.

Generally speaking, the brighter a crystal ball is, the more powerful it is. By brighter think of an old white shirt vs a new white shirt.

Also, even though quartz is the most common used for scrying, it is not the only one. Any colored translucent ball can also be used. Throughout history people have also used opaque stones like pyrite, hematite, obsidian, and black onyx. Because these are solid rather than see-through, people read the patterns of light and shadow on their reflective surfaces much as if using a mirror.