Scrying
From Charmed
Contents |
In Reality
Scrying is a method of divination. It consists of gazing into a crystal, a mirror or some water for example. One method combines both by pouring water down a mirror and then staring into its surface, often as a method of meduimship. Another method of scrying divination is to take a metal or crystal pendant and hold it in front of onself as Prue does in the picture on the right. One then asks the pendant questions as one would with a "magic eight ball". If the answer is yes then the pendant will swing in a circular motion in certian direction, if no then it will swing in the other direction. If no movement occurs the answer is ambiguos.
There are two highly advanced form of Scrying tied to the power of Premonition; the first is known as Oculomancy; it is a form of scrying where the diviner gazes into the questioners' eyes and reads the reflections. The second is Hydromancy, it is a method of divination by means of water, including the color, ebb and flow, or ripples produced by pebbles dropped in a pool.
In Charmed
In Reality one may use the pendant version of scrying to find a lost object or person, something that is the purpose of Scrying in Charmed. All one must do is hold the pendant over a map of the area where it is thought the lost object will be. The more violent and vigorous the swing of the pendant the closer you are to the object on the map coordinates, like a "warm or cold" method of looking for something i.e. the more vigorous the swings the "warmer" one is. However on Charmed the pendant will eventually pinpoint the exact location of the object or person by pulling down on to a spot on the map after a certain amount of time. In reality this, of course, does not happen. There is only variation in the strength of the rotation of the swings.
For a scry to pinpoint the exact location of something, usually an item of that person or demon is needed, like clothes or blood. Piper used the eyes of a snake to scry for a reptile demon, so it is assumed that the object can also be related to the thing you are scrying for. In Charmed, scrying is one of the three basic powers a witch has. Elders can also use this power.
Amethyst (on the show) is said to work best as the most powerful scrying substance. This is probably taken from the real life idea that amethyst is a substance that can heavily augment one's psychic (or in this case magical) abilities.
In Season 4 the Charmed ones come into contact with a zen master and his student/daughter (Ang-lee). The latter tells the Charmed ones that her father could use a surface of water as a looking glass into other worlds. This seems very similar to the real world method of scrying and may be the Zen master's version of it, especially as Ang-lee said it was a power and one she could learn as well as her father. In Season 8, we discovered that Billie can scry with her computer using a GPS on-screen map and a large quartz crystal attached to her mouse, moving it over the mousepad to move it around the on-screen map. When the target was located the on-screen map would put a red square over the area and the crystal would stick fast.
Appendices
- (Book of Shadows text:)
Scrying for something lost
- Over a map
- a crystal on thread
- should flow
- a crystal on thread
- Name what is sought
- and the point will show.
Scrying for Other objects
- With the flame of a candle,
- light a personal object of the person you wish to
- find and place it into a ceremonial bowl along with
- the scrying crystal and other personal belongings.
- Before the flame subsides, let the wax from the
- candle drip onto the crystal.
- Once consecrated, scry with the crystal for the
- one who is sought.
Spells
In season 5 Paige created a spell to cause a scrying crystal to reveal the last location that was magically divined via scrying:
- Scrying secrets come to me
- Drop again so I might see
