Scrying with Black Water

Scrying is gazing at an object, a black mirror, a crystal ball or a bowl of water with the intent of telling the future. Usually the practitioner will sit in a comfortable position gazing at a shiny surface until images appear in your mind’s eye or on the surface of the material you are gazing at. There are many types of divination practices out there, and scrying is probably one of the hardest. It is hard because it requires one to really let go of the mind chatter and allow the spirit world to speak to you. Many witches have a favorite scrying tool, and they can vary from a black mirror, to the surface of a lake, favorite scrying bowl, or even an obsidian ball. Truth be told any reflective surface will work! However for the sake of this blog post I will be talking about scrying with water, specifically Blk Water.

Blk water is water that is black, it is a brand name, and it is sold by the bottle most liquor stores and amazon.com sell bottles. You can also visit their website here http://getblk.com/. Blk Water is spring water that has been infused with Fulvic Acid, this creates a very alkaline black colored water. It is very fun to experience this black water for the first time! When you first purchase it you will notice that when the water is in the bottle the water is very black in color, but under certain lights it can look very brown. For a water witch who wants to learn how to scry this is the best water to start with! 

Scrying on black surfaces is very common in the witchcraft communities. Witches and fortune tellers have used everything from blackened mirrors, to obsidian balls to access messages from the otherworld. Perhaps you have tried to scry before with a bowl of water and it has left you wanting more, perhaps you already scry with a black mirror and just want to bring water in to your practice. Either way picking up a bottle of Blk water and using it with your sacred vessel is a great start. Blk water is mysterious and the darkness of it connects us to the nocturnal, the darker aspects of ourselves and shadow work. 

To start, find a comfortable position and prep your work space, you may choose to cleanse your space with incense, burning sage or saining with your favorite herb. Be sure you use a sacred vessel and not just any old bowl from the cupboard. Scrying with Blk water can be done in a fully lit room, but diming the lights and lighting a candle, placing it close to the bowl and letting the light dance on the surface is a wonderful way to start scrying. Start by clearing your mind and relaxing, don’t try to rush this, and don’t get too disappointed if you don’t get any images at first. It took me a good 2 years of practicing before I got good at scrying and to be honest it is still not my strongest fortune telling medium. When you are relaxed, call upon any spirits or ancestors you may work with when doing oracular work. Ask them for clear messages and the wisdom to understand the meaning of the images you see. Then allow yourself to slip into trance and let your mind wander, as you see images jot them down in your notebook, and keep a log so you can begin to sort through ego and true messages from the other side. When you are finished thank your spirits and ancestors for their messages and connect firmly with the earth and bring your mind back to the present moment.

If you have tried scrying and it has just been too frustrating for you perhaps try scrying with inks!  Inks can be a really fun way to begin to flex your scrying muscles and learn how to become great at scrying. I actually started playing with inks in water because I wanted to become better at scrying and I’m an artist,  I just happen to have some lying around and thought “Hey! If I can’t scry with the surface of the water I will try playing with the shape the ink makes.” The good news was, it worked! Years later I am much better at scrying than I was and I love playing with the different colored inks. My personal favorites are a light blue ink in clear water and Blk water with silver ink. You may need to give the water a spin if the ink is not moving, I use a chopstick for this and I just give the water a push and then sit back and watch the ink take shape.

The Evil Eye

Over the last 6 months, I have recently found myself telling my students over and over, "It sounds like you need an evil eye talisman." I have said this so much that

I have started to see my Roses (aka students of various mediums) regurgitating the same information back to others, implementing it into their own work, and actively shielding against it! “Well”, I said to myself, “If you keep saying this so much, perhaps it is you that needs the talisman.” So I set to work making some!

 If you have ever visited my home and paid close attention, you will see various sizes shapes and placements of different evil eye talisman, including a dinner plate sized one that faces the front door. With the recent move to Portland, we have put much of our stuff in storage while we find our forever home. With the exception of the dinner plate evil eye and one other small glass eye, they are all packed away. Recently I have begun to wear a wonderful glass eye ring that was bought in the Istanbul Grand Bazaar years ago by a wonderful and very talented dance student of mine from Japan and so I thought it was time to write about protecting yourself from the evil eye with different types of talismans, including designs made with henna on the skin, and reversing the effects via two older spells from England.

In the end, we will discuss how to use water to help cleanse your body of these negative energies, but first a little history and cultural information!

The curse of the evil eye is a cross cultural belief that has a deep and culturally diverse background that ranges from protection and incorporation in henna designs to reversing the effects of the curse. Now, let’s explore protecting yourself from the evil eye with a talisman, reversing the effects via a spell recorded by Charles Godfrey Leland and lastly how to make water to help cleanse your body of these energies, but first a little history and cultural information! The evil eye curse, or a malevolent stare, which does produce curse energy can easily be reversed and protected against using a talisman or other methods. It is believed in, used, and actively protected against in countries such as Brazil, Spain, Portugal, India, Italy, Greece, Morocco, Africa, The UK, Turkey, and most of the Arabic speaking countries. It is present in Folk beliefs of the Berbers, Witchcraft, Islam and Judaism, and is even mentioned in Greek, Roman and Biblical texts. The Evil Eye, simply put, is a jealous or evil gaze from someone who is envious. This belief is so wide that it is hard to ignore! In fact, there is quite a bit of weight to the belief. The Evil Eye is a curse; it is often unconsciously projected from a jealous person to the victim who is typically the one they are jealous of. It is the same exact thing as the “stink eye”.

We’ve all done it and we all have even had it done to us! It is when this “stink eye” is projected onto the recipient over and over that a curse takes hold. It is important to note that most often, when people feel they are truly cursed (rather than just unbalanced paranoia) it comes from the evil eye. There are those rare times when an actual Witch sends a malevolent curse to another practitioner or person; however those seem to be the exception and not the rule.

These take much more to undo than the evil eye curse.

However, the evil eye or a malevolent stare, which does produce curse energy, can easily be reversed and protected against.

There is a long folk history of using spit to help reverse the effects of an ill placed glare or compliment on a child, however the most common evil eye talisman are usually a blue glass eye, seen below, is often used to protect against this evil glare. The classic evil eye motif that most of us are familiar with uses 4 layers of blue and white to create the bull’s eye design. Other designs include the hamsa or Hand of Fatima containing an eye or eye motif and five fingers, sea horses and the very popular Peacock eye or the eye of a peacock’s feather. The hamsa is both a protection amulet and a symbol of God. It can be traced back all the way to Mesopotamia, but is used by Arabic and Berber cultures to protect against the evil eye. Specifically it is a right or a symmetrical five fingered hand that is created with the eye motif in the center to help protect from, reverse, or ward off the malevolent glare of others. In addition, raising the right hand with the fingers slightly apart can help to break or stop the curse. Today it is sold on jewelry, wall hangings and in henna art as both protection and luck bringing.

I have been working with evil eyes since I first started learning belly dance in the very early 2000s. One of the most important things about learning something new is to show its culture proper respect. To do this, I immersed myself in the Middle Eastern Dance culture. After art school my interest in henna began to grow and I began to study different aspects of henna culture and again a very important thing about being a henna artist is knowing the right design to place on the right client. What is culturally acceptable in India may not be in the Middle East and the designs will be much different than those in Morocco and the Sudan. In Morocco and Turkey, the use of a realistic eye is often incorporated into henna, jewelry and other artistic designs, but in other countries these types of symbols are forbidden. In Morocco women use henna and/or tattoo around their ears, nose, eyes, and mouth to protect from the evil eye or a malevolent spirit. In addition, Moroccan Henna art specifically uses the eye, or eye like designs featured below, in their henna designs to ward off the evil eye. However the evil eye is not exclusive to the Eastern cultures, Europe and the UK have a long history of magic and folklore surrounding the evil eye curse.

In Europe, we see that water plays a large factor in helping to both protect and reverse the effects of the evil eye. In England, a sea horse is often used as a protection against the evil eye.

“Seahorses; those strange and beautiful creatures, Otherworldly in their movements, would, in their appearance, be at home amongst the wonderful and bizarre entries in a medieval magical bestiary. They seem to have been employed in many parts of the world as charms and amulets against the evil- eye. Dried specimens might be carried, or hung within the home, sometimes with the incorporation of tiny glass beads. Which have their own tradition of use in the averting of evil. The image of the seahorse, made from glass might also be employed in this manner, as would images of fishes, also in glass or mother of pearl.” (Gary .84)

In Scotland “silvered water” was often used by a Faery doctor to cure the curse of the evil eye. “Silvered water was water into which silver coins had dropped; and it was prepared in a special way.” (McArthur. 119) The water was taken from a liminal place and the silver dropped in the water. After which the one afflicted with the curse would drink 3 sips of the water and then the faery doctor would sprinkle the rest around the person while reciting incantations, perhaps like the one below, thus the person was healed of the evil eyes curse. If you choose to perform a similar spell you may choose to add a bit of your own spit as both a means of curing the curse and as a taglock. Another such way to cure the curse of the evil eye is outlined by Charles Godfrey Leland below.

An eye covered thee,

A mouth spoke thee,

A heart envied thee,

A mind desired thee

(McNeill. 165)

To reverse the effects of the evil eye curse Leland recorded a spell in his work

Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling. In this work he suggests that one

go to a sacred water source, river or stream. They collect the water with the current rather than against it. Then they combine in a pot or cauldron over a flame, 7 cloves of garlic, 7 coals and 7 hands full of meal. The 7 seas can be represented here with the repetition of the number 7. The pot is then heated and stirred with a three forked twig while the incantation below is recited. This connects us directly to the trident and Neptune, though there is no mention of any trident connected to this spell. The three pronged twig, much like the stang, is a representation of witchcraft and specifically sea witchcraft. So what next? Sarah Lawless suggest simmering the mixture down and adding it to a cloth which is sew in into a talisman

here.

However, you can simmer the mixture down and bottle what is left in a jar with sacred or holy water, be sure to seal it tight and place it close to where you spend most of your time. You may choose to use a blue jar or even paint one with an evil eye. Or you can add a small portion of the liquid mixture into a seahorse bottle like below. If this is too complicated, and you prefer to simply work with water, you can make an evil Eye reversing water by adding special items to prepare and charge your water with the effects of evil eye reversal.

"Evil eyes look on thee,

May they here extinguished be

And then seven ravens

Pluck out the evil eyes

Evil eyes (now) look on thee.

May they soon extinguished be!

Much dust in the eyes,

Thence may they become blind,

Evil eyes now look on thee;

May they soon extinguished be!

May they burn, may they burn

In the fire of God!"

I have modified the above incantation for use by the Sea or Water Witch it goes as follows…

Evil eyes look on thee/me*

May they here dissolved be

And then seven ravens

Pluck out the evil eyes

Evil eyes (now) look on thee.

May they soon dissolved be!

Much salt and sand in the eyes,

Thence may they become blind,

Evil eyes now look on thee;

May they soon extinguished be!

May they drown, may they drown

In the depth of Neptune’s grave…

*Use “thee” when working for a friend or loved one and “me” when working for yourself.

 Working with water is also a good way to cleanse yourself from the evil eye. You can gather water from your sacred source and place it in a bottle (like the seahorse one below) and employ it to protect you against the evil eye. You can create an evil eye cleansing water with sacred water made of silver and set out under the full moon. Then add a clean glass evil eye to the water and let it soak in the energies, or even place a photo of the evil eye like the blue bulls eye in the picture above underneath the glass bowl. Be sure to spell or charge your water with the intent of cleansing and protecting from the evil eye, and employ your symbols through sympathetic magic to do the same. If you would like to make your own talisman you can follow the tutorial

here

and work in a similar fashion as I have outlined here.

You can buy glass evil eye beads online and they do very well if they are charged properly, but there is no reason to break the bank or even wait for a paycheck and shipping because you can start your own collection now by making your own.

I happen to also believe that the more you put into something the stronger it is, so if you buy one be sure to charge it well. I am a big fan of natural fibers, but I also am a dancer, so I love just a tiny bit of metallic fibers as well! I chose to use the fibers to “trap” the energy. I selected the traditional blue and white bulls eye pattern, and 3 sticks rather than 2 sticks when creating the “gods eye” I chose three because of the 3 colors used, and to align myself with the magical number 9 which is a theme that runs in Avalonian lore and the 9 maidens, 9 waves, 9 priestess etc. After I finished making these, I took them to the Pacific Ocean and performed a ritual to cleanse, consecrate and bring life it to these protective talismans. It is important to note that really anything that resembles an eye can be employed in the same fashion; snail shells, cowrie shells and other eye like stones will have similar results.

To dispose of them you can burn flammable talisman, bury glass or other talisman that cannot be disposed of in fire or cast them into the ocean. Please note to only send shells, stones and other natural talisman back into the ocean. Do not pollute our land or ocean! 

Belief in the evil eye, while not a worldwide belief does spans multiple cultures and countries. Each country has its own belief system that is similar but different surrounding this curse. From the traditional bull’s eye and mystical Hamsa to spit, water and a few coals, many Witches and folk healers have been working with this curse, successfully breaking it and restoring ones energy back to normal. Much of the lore about the evil eye is about actively protecting yourself before it takes hold. Don’t wait till you think you have received this malevolent glare, grab your tools and start crafting! Choose your method based on what resonates with you and don’t forget to charge your talisman with intent!

Click

here

to visit the etsy shop and buy one of your own blessed in the waters of the Pacific Ocean!

Sources:

• http://www.livescience.com/40633-evil-eye.html

• Whist Waters- Gemma Gary

• Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling- Charles Godfrey Leland

• Faery Healing the lore and the legacy- Margie McArthur

• The Silver Bough – F. Marian McNeill

Sea Spell for Prosperity

Here is a little Sea Spell for Prosperity!

Recently a fellow Witch sent me a box which contained many watery things, there were shells, feathers, mermaid's purse(s) and other things. With the arrival of the new mermaid's purse, I decided to use some of my smaller ones for some magic! A Mermaid's purse is shark and/or sting ray egg pouches. They are also called Devil's purses which hints at its powerful nature. You can find them on the shore of almost any beach. They are usually found by the surf mixed in with washed up seaweed. Using the casing that once held a baby string ray or shark that was birthed into the sea for spell work is incredibly powerful. They are also the perfect vessel for magic that involves growth, prosperity, birth, and renewal.

I recently came across the Janarric Runes. Raven Grimassi has written about them. He believes that they are runes used by Witches in an Italian coastal town. So, in a way they are associated with the sea and water witchcraft. I decided to use three of the runes in bind rune fashion. I worked them together until I was happy. The result is below. I had just picked up some new paint and decided to use it on the egg pouch. I also wrote my spell on paper and placed it inside the pouch. Once the paper was safely inside, and the paint dry, I said my incantations and finished my spell. The mermaid's purse speaks of birth, growth renewal, and bounty, these energies along with the fierceness of the animal, the sigil, the spell, and symbolism of the egg pouch. All these combine together with the spoken incantations, makes one power packed charm! Below are some helpful hints so you can make your own.

• Find a hatched mermaid purse on a near by beach. Clean it up and let it dry. 
• Prepare your sigil and intent. Paint or draw it on. 
• Prepare your spell and any incantations you may have.
• Gently roll up the spell
• Find the opening of the pouch and gently push in the rolled up paper containing your spell and/or sigil
• Whisper your incantations and then seal it by anointing it with sea water and leave on the altar until it is finished. 

Also Mermaids purse's and various sigils can be used in protection charms as well. Using the egg pouch to call upon the spirits associated with these powerful animals.