Divination is a practice that many mystics, magicians, and healers rely upon. It offers insight, guidance, and feedback along the path. With seemingly countless forms of divination available, there's at least one tool out there for everybody, from oracle cards to crystal balls and everything in between. As a crystal lover, I'm particularly fond of divination with crystals and gemstones, and there is no method of crystal divination more iconic than scrying.

Scrying is typically practiced by gazing into or upon a reflective surface. Though spheres of polished crystal and glass are what many people imagine when picturing the art of scrying, virtually any reflective surface will do. When a crystal is used, scrying is often called crystallomancy, meaning "divination by means crystal." The tool used for scrying is known as a speculum, from the Latin word for "mirror." Historically, small spheres of quartz and beryl were commonly the vehicle for crystallomancy, while in other parts of the world polished mirrors of obsidian were preferred. Scrying can facilitate contact with spirits and angels, and it can also be used to externalize the subconscious mind to the scryer. Thus, it is a versatile practice that finds its use in a variety of situations.

When you're starting out on your scrying journey, it can be difficult to consistently achieve good results. If your crystal-gazing needs a bit of troubleshooting, follow these seven tips for better scrying.

1. Prepare Yourself Adequately
When you're excited to try something new, it can be tempting to dive right into crystal gazing without any preparation. Though some folks will find immediate results, most of us benefit from setting the stage effectively. If you live a fairly peaceful and mystical life, you could move seamlessly between your day-to-day activities and your scrying practice. However, the average person has a sufficient amount of distraction, stress, or other baggage that can make scrying more difficult.

Before you begin your scrying session, make a ritual of unwinding the tension in your mind and body. Find a good relaxation routine that works for you. I enjoy some simple breathing exercises followed by a visualization that enables me to be better grounded and present when I do begin to scry. Don't forget about your spiritual hygiene, either—it's imperative that you cleanse yourself and your space first. Doing so helps eliminate intrusive, disruptive, or otherwise unwanted energies, thus clearing the way for your divination. You can burn your favorite cleansing incense, soak in the tub with some salts, or sweep your aura with selenite for a swift and low-effort purification ritual.

After you're physically, mentally, and energetically prepared, you're ready to start your scrying exercises.

2. Cleanse & Charge Your Crystals
It stands to reason that if you can scry better after cleansing yourself, you really ought to cleanse your crystals, too. If we are in a rush, then we might overlook this crucial step. Crystals by their very nature are blessed with the ability to store and retain energy of all kinds. This means that whatever and whoever your crystals are near will leave an energetic imprint. Cleansing crystals is not something we do because of bad or harmful energy; we cleanse because we want to reset our crystals back to their default, perfected state.

There is no dearth of options when it comes to cleansing crystals. You can use water, salt, sound (such as from a drum, chime, or singing bowl), moonlight, sunlight, smoke, dried herbs, breath, and prayer—to name just a few. One thing to bear in mind is that some crystals can be damaged by water or salt, and others might lose their color in sunlight. Always remember to check the hardness and composition of a mineral before cleansing to make sure it won't be damaged. Other techniques—like smoke, sound, or breath—are safe for all crystals.

Once a crystal is adequately cleansed, we can also charge it with our intention, through a process sometimes called programming. The simplest charging methods consist of holding or gazing at a crystal and projecting a specific intention, goal, or frequency into it. You can add other ritual elements, like incense or candles, to enhance your crystal programming, or you can keep it simple. Many scryers employ a special kind of charging technique, called magnetizing, right before scrying. Unlike other kinds of charging methods, magnetizing the speculum doesn't merely set your intention. Instead, it seeks to activate and empower your speculum to be especially receptive to psychic forces and astral images. (You'll find detailed instructions for this in chapter two of Crystal Divination.)

3. Find the Right Tool(s)
A crystal is not a one-size-fits-all kind of tool. That means you may need to experiment a bit to find the perfect partner for crystallomancy. Despite the persistent image of the crystal ball, you can (at least in theory) scry with practically any kind of crystal or gemstone. Today we have a wide spectrum of crystals at our disposal in virtually every size and shape imaginable, which offers a lot of flexibility in choosing the right crystal for scrying.

If you have a particular affinity for a crystal, start there and see how it fits into your practice. It's also worth trying out crystals that are traditionally celebrated for supporting psychic ability and inner vision, like clear quartz, amethyst, obsidian, or beryl. Gemstones with particularly reflective or luminous qualities are also great allies for scrying, including labradorite, mica, and hematite. Try crystals of different types and appearances; some scryers prefer opaque stones, while others benefit from transparent or translucent ones.In addition to material, the shape of your speculum can also affect the outcome. Spheres are a classic, but the way that their round, convex surface plays with light can distract some scryers (more on this in the next tip). You can scry with palm stones, polished slabs and mirrors, gemstone bowls, natural crystal points, and other polished forms. The sparkling interior of a geode or vug can also be a great choice for a speculum.

Take a few different crystal types and shapes for a test drive to see which holds your focus and helps you connect to your inner vision. You might find that having more than one option works best, as you can match your needs to different crystals every time you scry.

4. Lighting Makes a Difference
The ambient light of your scrying environment can make a bigger impact than you'd imagine. There's no universal answer to the best lighting, so you should feel empowered to find whatever helps you the most. Some scryers like a well-lit speculum, while others enjoy a dark room. Natural light often works wonders, but it can be unpredictable depending on the weather and lunar cycle.

I have vivid memories of learning to scry as a teenager. Every full moon, I'd wedge myself into a cramped corner of my bedroom beside the window in order to illuminate my crystal ball with moonbeams. The dim glow of the nightlight across the room provided just enough additional light to navigate, without adding any extra glare to the surface of my speculum. For years, I found this the perfect level of light for my scrying practice, but it meant that I was limited to scrying on just a handful of nights each month when the moon was bright enough. In the ensuing decades, I've explored other options with good results.

Many teachers and books recommend scrying by candlelight, often suggesting that artificial light somehow dampens the crystal's efficacy. Personally, I find the dancing flames reflected on a crystal to be too much of a distraction. Explore how lighting impacts your scrying under various circumstances: different sources of light, at different times of day, in different locations, and with different crystals. Labradorite comes to life with bright light, but a misty piece of quartz might seem to glow from within under moonlight. Eventually you'll find the right combo that enhances your focus and minimizes distractions.

5. Be Patient
It probably doesn't come as a surprise that scrying, like most skills, takes dedication and a little effort to build proficiency. Many people get discouraged when they don't see immediate results, particularly when they are new to scrying. The important thing to remember is that new skills take time to learn, and they take even longer to hone.

My best advice when it feels like nothing is happening during your scrying session is to pause and come back later. If you feel confident about your preparation, choice of crystal, and the environment in which you're practicing, there's nothing to do except try again when you feel more focused and receptive. It's easy to strain too hard and incur a kind of mental or psychic fatigue. Rest is a good remedy in these instances. If you grasp too hard for results, or strain your eyes to stare into a crystal, the tension created in these instances can cut you off from your psychic ability. A gentle, relaxed focus without any attachment is key to effective scrying.

Cultivating patience also reminds us all to take time and experience the moment as fully as we can. Though it might sound counterintuitive, many scryers don't actually see images in their crystals. Instead, messages can come from one's inner vision or imagination, or via other impressions, like changes in mood. You might also experience messages via any of the clair-senses, not just clairvoyance ("clear seeing"), including clairaudience (hearing), clairsentience (feeling), claircognizance (knowing), clairalience (scent), or through some other psychic impression. If you feel frustrated that you don't yet see anything, be patient and open to any other sensory input, from within or without, that arises.

6. Take Notes
Taking notes every time you scry might sound tedious, but it can provide some game-changing insight when you review your journal later. Not only does taking notes help you remember what you saw or received in your crystallomancy practice, but it can also reveal trends that create a roadmap to successful scrying.

When you scry, be sure to note the date, time, and any other relevant information. I like to keep track of the moon phase and sign, too, as well as any other significant astrological phenomena. If you scry with more than one stone, keep a record of which tool you use in each session. It's also worthwhile to describe the environment or other factors, such as what kind of lighting, incense, candles, or background music you might have employed. When you come back to your notes later, you might notice that particular phases of the moon or a specific crystal consistently give the best results.

Recording all the impressions, images, or symbols that occur during scrying is also paramount for success. Sometimes we see an image that has a crystal-clear meaning; other times a symbol or scene is shrouded in mystery. If we keep diligent notes of every image, we can reflect back on them later, which allows us to revisit anything that seemed mysterious or difficult to interpret. With a bit of hindsight, many of those cryptic images start to make sense in the context of our lives.

7. Seek Inspiration for Interpretation
Successful scrying does not end with seeing images in your crystal or otherwise receiving some kind of psychic impression or message. As mentioned above, sometimes the information and symbols that appear can have meanings that are hard to find. A thoughtful scryer aims to shed light on these opaque symbols in order to find hidden meaning within them.

Although you'll find some basic instructions for interpreting your visions in Crystal Divination, all of us encounter images that need additional support to reveal their meaning. You can look to traditional sources, like dream dictionaries and encyclopedias of signs and symbols, for inspiration. Bear in mind that the meaning of a symbol, sign, or glyph can vary from one person to the next. Yellow can be an uplifting color to one person, but a bad omen to someone else with a vivid memory of a sad experience in a yellow room.

Images can range from the literal—what you see is exactly what it means—to the very abstract. With experience, you'll come to know the difference as you scry. In the meantime, however, you can meditate on the symbols afterward and compare them to traditional interpretations to help you unlock the hidden messages. Don't forget to review your notes often; you'll start to see patterns in the symbols you receive and the outcomes that follow, which empowers you to build your own lexicon of scrying symbols.

In spite of the challenges that one might face, scrying is a powerful means of divination that can provide insight and inspiration along your spiritual path. Whatever method of scrying you are called to work with, I hope these seven tips help you strengthen the skills required to be an effective diviner.