Start with the gaze, because this is where most of it goes wrong. You are not staring. A hard stare fights you, your eyes water, you blink, you reset, and you never settle. What you want is a soft, slightly unfocused gaze that looks through the surface rather than at it, the way your eyes drift past a window to the street beyond the glass. The surface should lose its hard edge and go a little vague.

Then the surface starts to change, and beginners almost always misread what happens next. Within a few minutes it tends to cloud, go smoky, darken, or seem to breathe. People take that as their eyes playing tricks, snap back to a sharp focus to check, and that ends it. The clouding is the doorway, not a glitch. Part of it is simply your vision softening on a featureless field, and that softening is the exact state you are trying to reach. Let it fog over and keep your attention loose inside the fog.

It also helps to know what a vision is actually like, because the expectation is the thing that blinds you. It is almost never a clear picture floating in the glass. It is shifting shapes, a color that was not there a second ago, a shadow moving against the grain, a face that assembles for a moment and dissolves. Sometimes it is not visual at all, just a feeling, a word in the mind, or a flat knowing. If you are holding out for a sharp image, you will look straight past the real signal, which tends to be quiet and partial.

A lot of what people call a block is really the setup. Work in low light with a single candle placed behind you or off to the side, never throwing a bright reflection straight into the surface. Use a black mirror or a dark bowl of water set on a dark cloth. Sit so you cannot see your own face clearly in the surface, because a sharp reflection of yourself locks your eyes at the glass instead of through it. Fix the light and the angle and half the I cannot scry problem tends to disappear.

On patience, the honest number is that most people need somewhere between five and twenty sessions before a first real impression. The early sittings where nothing happened are not failures. They are you teaching your eyes and your attention to hold the soft state without bailing out the moment it gets strange. Ten quiet minutes a few times a week will take you further than one heroic hour.

There is a discernment line worth holding too. Not everything you see is a message. Floaters, the afterimage of the candle, the surface graying out, that is ordinary eye behavior and it is the doorway, not the content. The scried material is what comes through that state, the shape that carries meaning, the word, the pull toward something. You learn the difference by keeping a log and only trusting what recurs or genuinely lands.

It's a SPIRIT BOARD CARD DECK!!!!! Isn't that cool?!!? I've done workshops with Sterling and I talk very highly of her so her releasing this deck is just so rad and so useful! It's only 40 doll hairs to back it & receive the deck, plus shipping!

Here's info from the Kickstarter page:

Use Spirit Says Talking Deck for:

Spirit Communication: Connect with spirits, going beyond traditional archetypes and symbolism

Psychic Development: Practice honing your psychic senses

Tarot Clarifiers: Pull a card when your readings need additional details

Self-Reflection: Intuit messages from your own psyche

What’s Inside the Deck?

Spirit Says Talking Deck is a system for your intuition. The deck includes:

A-Z Alphabet Cards: For spelling out names, initials, places, and direct messages

Numbers 0-10: Perfect for questions on dates, times, or specific amounts

Quick-Response Cards: Yes, No, Maybe, Hello, and Goodbye

Blank Cards: Use these as a signal to trust your intuition or customize them with your own symbols and words

Even if you don't back it, please share if you think it's cool to boost!

Hello beautiful souls ✨

You stare into a black mirror, a bowl of water, a candle flame. You're waiting for visions. Images. Messages from beyond.

Instead, you see: Your own reflection. Random light patterns. Maybe a vague shape that could be anything.

You try harder. You focus more. You want to see something.

And that's exactly the problem.

Scrying isn't about making visions appear. It's about getting out of the way so they can.

Today we're diving into one of the most misunderstood divination practices: scrying—gazing into reflective surfaces or natural phenomena to receive visions, symbols, or information.

We'll cover:

What scrying actually is (beyond crystal balls and fortune tellers)

The neuroscience of how it works

Why most people fail (they're projecting, not receiving)

How to train your mind to enter receptive state

Different scrying methods and what they're good for

How to distinguish real visions from imagination

This isn't fortune-telling. It's learning to quiet your conscious mind enough that your subconscious (or something beyond it) can speak through images.

Let's get into it.

WHAT IS SCRYING?

Scrying (from "descry" = to make out dimly, to reveal) is the practice of gazing at or into a medium to induce visions, symbols, or intuitive information.

TRADITIONAL MEDIUMS:

Reflective surfaces:

Crystal balls (catoptromancy)

Black mirrors/obsidian (scrying mirrors)

Water in bowls (hydromancy)

Regular mirrors (especially old/tarnished ones)

Polished metal surfaces

Natural phenomena:

Fire/flames (pyromancy)

Smoke (capnomancy)

Clouds (aeromancy)

Ink or oil dropped in water (lecanomancy)

Tea leaves (tasseomancy)

Wax patterns from melted candles (ceromancy)

The principle is the same: Stare at something until your normal perception shifts and images/information arise.

WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY DOING:

Physiologically: Inducing a light trance state through sustained, unfocused gazing.

Psychologically: Bypassing conscious thought to access subconscious imagery.

Energetically (if you believe this): Opening a channel between your awareness and non-ordinary information sources.

The medium itself isn't magical—it's a focal point that helps your brain shift gears.

THE NEUROSCIENCE: HOW SCRYING WORKS

Your brain has different states of consciousness:

Beta (13-30 Hz): Normal waking consciousness. Active thinking, problem-solving, analyzing.

Alpha (8-13 Hz): Relaxed awareness. Daydreaming, light meditation, the state between waking and sleeping.

Theta (4-8 Hz): Deep meditation, light sleep, REM dreaming. Subconscious access. Hypnagogic imagery.

Scrying aims to shift you from beta to alpha/theta—where visions naturally occur.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING SCRYING:

1. SUSTAINED GAZING RELAXES THE VISUAL CORTEX

Staring at one point without shifting focus triggers something called neural adaptation—your visual system stops actively processing because there's no new information.

This is similar to what happens when you stare at a word until it stops looking like a word (semantic satiation).

Your brain essentially gets bored and stops trying so hard.

2. THE GANZFELD EFFECT

When your visual field is filled with uniform stimulation (blank surface, flickering flame, still water), your brain starts generating its own imagery to compensate for the lack of input.

It's literally creating something to see because there's "nothing" there.

This is the same mechanism behind hallucinations in sensory deprivation tanks.

3. PAREIDOLIA

Your brain is wired to find patterns—especially faces—in random visual noise.

You see faces in clouds, figures in wood grain, shapes in fire. This isn't a bug; it's a feature.

Scrying leverages this tendency. You're not "making up" the images—your pattern-recognition system is doing what it's designed to do.

4. ACCESS TO SUBCONSCIOUS IMAGERY

In alpha/theta states, the barrier between conscious and subconscious thins.

Images, symbols, memories, and intuitive information that your conscious mind can't access directly start bubbling up—often in visual form.

This is why dreams are so symbolic and surreal. Scrying taps into the same state while you're still partially awake.

THE CORE PROBLEM: PROJECTION VS. RECEPTION

Most beginners fail at scrying because they're trying to make something happen.

PROJECTION (What Most People Do):

You stare into the mirror and think:

"I want to see my spirit guide"

"Show me my future husband"

"I need to see something or this isn't working"

"Maybe if I imagine harder, it will appear"

This is active mental effort. You're pushing images into the medium with your conscious mind.

It feels forced. Exhausting. Nothing feels real.

RECEPTION (What Actually Works):

You stare into the mirror and:

Empty your mind (as much as possible)

Let go of expectations

Notice what arises without forcing

Allow images to come to you

Stay passive, curious, open

Images appear from the medium, not from your conscious will.

It feels effortless. Surprising. Images show up you didn't expect.

THE DIFFERENCE:

Projection: You're the artist painting on a canvas.

Reception: You're the gallery viewer noticing what's already there.

Most people spend years projecting and call it scrying. Real scrying is receptive, not active.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR MIND TO RECEIVE

STEP 1: LEARN TO DEFOCUS

Your eyes have two modes:

Focused gaze: Sharp, clear, directed. This is normal vision. This activates your conscious, analytical mind.

Soft/unfocused gaze: Blurry, peripheral-aware, relaxed. This induces trance states.

Practice:

Hold your hand in front of your face

Focus sharply on your fingertips

Now let your eyes go slightly out of focus—see your hand blurry

Notice the difference in your mental state

In scrying, you maintain soft gaze. You're looking at the surface, not into it sharply.

STEP 2: SURRENDER EXPECTATION

The more you want to see something specific, the harder it is to receive anything real.

Before scrying, say aloud: "I release all expectations. I am open to whatever arises. I trust what I receive."

Then actually mean it.

If you're desperate for visions of your soulmate, you'll project your fantasy. If you're open to "whatever wants to be seen," you might actually receive something.

STEP 3: PRACTICE STILLNESS

Scrying requires mental and physical stillness.

Before scrying:

Ground and center

Take 10 slow breaths

Let thoughts settle like snow in a snow globe

Body relaxed, mind alert but quiet

If you're anxious, angry, or manic, you can't receive. You're too loud internally.

STEP 4: RECOGNIZE THE SHIFT

You'll know you've entered scrying state when:

The surface seems to shimmer, pulse, or become three-dimensional

Your peripheral vision becomes more prominent than central

Time feels distorted (minutes feel like seconds or vice versa)

Your body feels heavy or distant

Thoughts slow down significantly

You're not trying anymore—you're just there

This is alpha/theta. This is where visions happen.

If you haven't felt this shift, you're not in scrying state yet—you're just staring.

STEP 5: NOTICE, DON'T INTERPRET (YET)

When images begin to form:

Don't immediately analyze. Don't jump to "that's my grandmother!" or "this means I'll travel!"

Just notice:

Colors

Shapes

Movement

Emotion the image evokes

Where in the surface it appears

Record what you see. Interpret later.

Active interpretation pulls you back into analytical mind, which breaks the trance.

STEP 6: DISTINGUISH SIGNAL FROM NOISE

Not every image is meaningful. Some are just visual static.

How to tell the difference:

Meaningful visions:

Feel significant, even if you don't know why yet

Come with emotional weight or bodily sensation

Repeat or persist

Feel like they "arrived" rather than "appeared"

Often surprising (not what you expected)

Visual noise:

Random, fleeting

No emotional resonance

Disappear immediately

Feel like pareidolia (seeing faces in clouds)

Match what you were already thinking about

Not every scrying session produces visions. Sometimes you're just looking at a bowl of water. That's okay.

DIFFERENT SCRYING METHODS & WHAT THEY'RE GOOD FOR

BLACK MIRROR / OBSIDIAN SCRYING

What it is: Gazing into a black, reflective surface (mirror painted black, polished obsidian, bowl of ink).

Best for:

Deep subconscious work

Shadow work and facing difficult truths

Seeing past lives or ancestral information

Intense, serious divination

Why it works: The darkness eliminates visual distractions. Your brain has almost nothing to process, so it generates imagery more readily.

Difficulty: Advanced. The darkness can be psychologically intense. Not recommended for beginners.

WATER SCRYING

What it is: Gazing into still water in a dark bowl.

Best for:

Emotional insight

Relationship questions

Intuitive guidance

Gentle, flowing visions

Why it works: Water is reflective but softer than mirrors. The slight movement (even still water moves slightly) helps induce trance without being too active.

Difficulty: Beginner-friendly. Less intense than black mirrors.

Tip: Add a drop of oil or ink to the water's surface to create subtle visual interest.

CRYSTAL BALL SCRYING

What it is: Gazing into a clear or cloudy crystal sphere.

Best for:

Traditional fortune-telling aesthetic

Future-oriented questions

Symbolic visions (less literal than other methods)

Why it works: The reflections, refractions, and internal inclusions in the crystal create subtle visual complexity—enough to hold focus without overwhelming.

Difficulty: Medium. Real crystal balls are expensive. Glass works but is less "alive" energetically (if that matters to you).

Tip: Cloudier crystals (like cloudy quartz) work better than perfectly clear ones.

FIRE SCRYING

What it is: Gazing into candle flames, bonfires, or hearth fires.

Best for:

Transformation questions

Passion/creativity/action inquiries

Quick, spontaneous divination

Active, energetic visions

Why it works: Fire is constantly moving, which keeps your visual system engaged without letting it settle into boredom. The flicker induces trance quickly.

Difficulty: Beginner to medium. Easier to enter trance, harder to hold it (fire is stimulating).

Danger: Don't stare so long you burn your retinas. Blink. Look away occasionally.

SMOKE SCRYING

What it is: Watching smoke rise from incense, smudge, or fire.

Best for:

Air element questions (communication, thought, change)

Watching patterns unfold (how situations will develop)

Short sessions (smoke doesn't last long)

Why it works: Smoke forms ever-changing shapes. Your brain naturally finds patterns (dragons, faces, symbols) in the movement.

Difficulty: Medium. Smoke dissipates quickly, so visions are fleeting. Requires fast recognition and memory.

CANDLE WAX SCRYING

What it is: Melting a candle and reading the shapes the wax forms (in water or as it hardens).

Best for:

One-time questions (the wax shape is permanent)

Symbolic interpretation (like reading tea leaves)

Physical record you can return to

Why it works: The randomness of melting wax creates shapes your subconscious can interpret symbolically.

Difficulty: Easy. More like symbol-reading than trance-visions.

Not technically "scrying" in the gazing sense, but related practice.

A BEGINNER'S SCRYING SESSION (STEP-BY-STEP)

You'll need:

A dark bowl filled with water

A quiet, dimly lit space

A candle (optional, for mood/focus)

20-30 minutes of uninterrupted time

THE PROCESS:

1. SET UP (5 minutes)

Fill bowl with water, place on stable surface at comfortable eye level

Dim lights or wait for dusk/evening

Light a candle nearby (not reflecting directly in water)

Sit comfortably, spine straight but relaxed

2. GROUND & CENTER (5 minutes)

Close your eyes

Breathe slowly—4 counts in, 6 counts out

Feel your body settle

Set intention: "I am open to receive whatever wants to be seen"

Release expectations

3. BEGIN GAZING (10-15 minutes)

Open eyes, soft focus on water's surface

Don't stare hard—let your gaze rest gently

Breathe naturally

When thoughts arise, notice them and return to gazing

Notice when the shift happens (surface shimmers, time distorts, mind quiets)

4. RECEIVE IMAGES (5-10 minutes)

Don't force

Notice what appears: colors, shapes, symbols, scenes

If nothing appears, that's okay—stay present

If images arise, observe without analyzing

5. CLOSE THE SESSION

Blink, shift your gaze away slowly

Stretch your body

Write down everything you saw immediately (you'll forget quickly)

Dispose of water (outside, not down the drain—release the energy)

6. INTERPRET (later)

Review your notes after at least an hour (or next day)

What felt significant?

What connects to your question?

What surprised you?

Don't expect Hollywood-level visions your first time. This is a skill. It builds over weeks/months of practice.

COMMON CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS

CHALLENGE 1: "I see nothing."

Possible causes:

You're trying too hard (tension blocks reception)

You haven't entered trance state yet (still in beta/analytical mind)

Your medium isn't working for you (try a different one)

You need more practice (this skill takes time)

Solution: Practice entering trance state without scrying first. Meditate daily. Get familiar with alpha/theta. Then return to scrying.

CHALLENGE 2: "Everything I see is obviously just my imagination."

This is the hardest distinction to make.

Questions to ask:

Did the image surprise you, or was it what you expected?

Does it have emotional weight, or is it flat/meaningless?

Does it connect to your question in ways you didn't consciously think of?

Remember: Even if it's "just imagination," your subconscious is using imagery to communicate. The source matters less than the information.

CHALLENGE 3: "I see scary/disturbing things."

This happens, especially with black mirror scrying.

What to do:

Close the session immediately (you're not obligated to continue)

Ground yourself thoroughly (eat, touch earth, physical activity)

Cleanse your space and tools

Consider whether you're ready for this level of shadow work

Work with lighter mediums (water, fire) before returning to mirrors

Not every vision is a message. Some are your fears manifesting. Discernment required.

CHALLENGE 4: "I can't hold focus for more than 2 minutes."

Your attention span is weak. That's fixable.

Practice:

Start with 3-minute sessions

Gradually increase to 5, then 10, then 15

Meditation builds this muscle

Don't force 30-minute sessions before you're ready

CHALLENGE 5: "My eyes hurt/dry out."

You're staring too hard.

Solutions:

Blink naturally (you don't need to hold eyes open the whole time)

Maintain soft focus, not hard stare

Use dim lighting (bright light strains eyes)

Limit sessions to 15-20 minutes maximum

INTERPRETING VISIONS

Scrying produces symbolic, impressionistic imagery—not literal photographs of the future.

TYPES OF VISIONS:

SYMBOLIC: You see an owl. This might mean wisdom, death, transition, night, solitude—depending on context.

Not literal: You won't necessarily encounter a physical owl.

EMOTIONAL: You see a color (red) or feeling (heaviness). The vision is conveying mood or energy, not specific events.

LITERAL: Sometimes, rarely, you see actual future events or past scenes. This is less common than movies suggest.

FRAGMENTED: Most visions are brief, partial, unclear. You see a hand, a doorway, a face—not full narratives.

This is normal. Your job is to piece together meaning.

INTERPRETATION TIPS:

1. Write everything immediately. Visions fade fast.

2. Note emotions and body sensations. Often more informative than the images themselves.

3. Look for patterns over multiple sessions. One vision might be noise. The same symbol appearing three times is signal.

4. Trust your first instinct. If you saw a snake and immediately felt "betrayal," that's probably the message—not a literal snake.

5. Give it time. Some visions only make sense days or weeks later when events unfold.

6. Don't force meaning. Not every session produces profound revelation. Some are just practice.

ADVANCED TECHNIQUES

TECHNIQUE 1: TARGET SCRYING

Choose a specific question before you begin.

Example: "Show me what I need to know about this job opportunity."

Then release the question and enter receptive state. See what arises.

More focused than general scrying, but requires discipline not to project your desired answer.

TECHNIQUE 2: SEQUENTIAL SCRYING

Ask a question. Scry. Note visions.

Ask a follow-up based on what you saw. Scry again.

Build a narrative through multiple sessions.

Example: Session 1: "What's blocking me?" → Vision of closed door Session 2: "What's behind the door?" → Vision of light Session 3: "How do I open the door?" → Vision of key

TECHNIQUE 3: COLLABORATIVE SCRYING

Two people scry the same medium simultaneously.

Compare notes afterward. What did both see? What was unique to each?

Shared visions suggest external/objective information. Unique visions reflect individual subconscious.

TECHNIQUE 4: SCRYING FOR OTHERS

Use their question/energy as focus.

Best if they're present (their energy influences what appears).

Ethics: Get permission. Be honest about accuracy limitations. Don't give medical/legal advice.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Scrying is training your mind to shift from doing to being. From projecting to receiving.

It works because:

Sustained gazing induces trance states (alpha/theta brainwaves)

Visual monotony triggers the brain to generate its own imagery

Subconscious information surfaces as symbols and visions

Pattern recognition finds meaning in randomness

Or maybe it works because:

You're opening a channel to non-ordinary information

The medium acts as a portal between worlds

Spirits, guides, or universal consciousness communicates through imagery

Or both.

How to practice:

Choose a medium that resonates

Learn soft, unfocused gaze

Practice entering trance/receptive state

Release expectations

Record what you see, interpret later

Build the skill over weeks/months, not one session

Scrying isn't about trying harder. It's about trying less—and allowing more.

The visions were always there. You just had to get quiet enough to see them.

YOUR TURN

Do you scry? What medium do you use?

What's the clearest vision you've ever received?

How do you distinguish projection from genuine reception?

Let's talk. Scrying is deeply personal—every practitioner's experience is unique.

Blessed be 🔮

On April 25th, 2026, the following message was posted on Specularium, blog of Peter J. Caroll:

AuDHD — the combination of ADHD and Autism — isn’t just a label.

It’s a lifelong tightrope walk between chaos and exhaustion, between feeling too much and nothing at all.

People don’t understand what it really feels like to live inside an AuDHD brain.

They think it’s just being quirky, distracted, or socially awkward.

But they don’t see the daily war — between your ADHD pushing you to go faster, louder, bigger…

and your autism begging you to slow down, shut out the world, and breathe.

It’s like having one foot on the gas pedal and one on the brake — all the time.

You’re either overstimulated, under-stimulated, or both at once.

Your mind races with a thousand ideas but your body freezes.

You crave connection yet get drained by the smallest interaction.

You want structure but your ADHD rebels against routine.

You want freedom but your autism needs predictability.

It’s not just confusing — it’s exhausting.

You wake up already overwhelmed.

The world feels too loud, too bright, too demanding.

The sounds, the textures, the expectations — everything presses on you at once.

And while your ADHD wants to start ten things, your autism panics because nothing feels “right” or “safe.”

You try to mask it — force yourself to appear “normal.”

You smile when you want to cry, you pretend to listen when your mind is spinning, you say “I’m fine” when you’re not even close.

And that masking… it costs everything.

It drains your energy, numbs your emotions, and chips away at your sense of self until you can’t remember who you are beneath the performance.

People don’t see the aftermath of surviving a day like that.

They don’t see you collapse in silence afterward — unable to talk, think, or move.

They don’t see the shutdowns, the meltdowns, the guilt that follows.

They don’t hear the internal voice that whispers, “Why can’t I just be normal?”

AuDHD is horrific because it’s constant contradiction.

Your ADHD says, “Let’s go have fun, explore, take risks!”

Your autism says, “Please stop. This is too much.”

Your ADHD says, “Try something new!”

Your autism says, “No, it’s not safe.”

And you end up stuck in the middle — doing nothing — and hating yourself for it.

It’s horrific because no matter how hard you try, you rarely feel like you belong anywhere.

You’re “too much” for neurotypicals.

You’re “too scattered” for other autistic people.

You’re “too sensitive” for the world, but “too chaotic” to rest.

You spend your life searching for a space that doesn’t exist — a world built for your brain, your rhythm, your energy — but it’s nowhere to be found.

Even simple things are hard.

Starting tasks feels impossible.

Finishing them feels even worse.

You forget appointments, miss messages, lose focus mid-sentence — and then spend hours overthinking what you said, how you acted, or whether someone’s mad at you.

You crave validation but fear attention.

You want love but struggle with closeness.

You want calm but get bored.

You want excitement but get overwhelmed.

And through all of it, people still say —

“Everyone’s a little ADHD.”

“Everyone’s a bit autistic.”

As if that invalidates the chaos you wake up to every day.

AuDHD isn’t just about quirks — it’s about survival.

It’s trying to function in a world that demands consistency from a brain built for extremes.

It’s trying to find peace when your mind won’t stop running and your senses won’t stop screaming.

It’s trying to exist in a body that never feels at home — too restless to rest, too tired to move.

But you keep going.

You keep showing up.

Even when your brain betrays you, even when your emotions crash without warning, even when you feel like a ghost moving through noise and confusion — you keep going.

That’s the part people never see.

They don’t see the strength it takes to live with AuDHD.

The courage it takes to face a world that constantly misunderstands you.

The resilience it takes to rebuild yourself after every burnout, every shutdown, every disappointment.

So yes — AuDHD is horrific.

But it’s also powerful.

Because in all that chaos, there’s brilliance.

In all that contradiction, there’s creativity.

And in all that struggle, there’s survival.

You might never fit perfectly into this world — but that doesn’t mean you’re broken.

You are complex. You are layered. You are different — and that difference is not a flaw.

If no one told you today:

You are doing incredible things with a brain that makes every day a battle.

You are not lazy. You are not too much. You are not alone.

You are surviving something most people will never understand.

Planet: Jupiter / Mercury Element: Air Correspondences: - Meditation - Protection - Psychic Development - Luck - Purification