existed among the primitive Hebrews has been found in the story of
Joseph and his brethren. In Genesis xliv, 1-5, we read that Joseph
concealed a silver cup in the sack of grain borne away by Benjamin,
making of this a pretext for requiring the return of his brethren.
He sent messengers to overtake them and directed them to demand the
return of the cup, using these words: “Is not this it in which my lord
drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth?”
The Arabic author, Haly Abou Gefar, tells of a golden ball used by
“the Magi, followers of Zoroaster,” in their incantations. It was
incrusted with celestial symbols and set with a sapphire, and one of
these magicians, after attaching it to a strip of bullhide, swung it
around, reciting at the same time various spells and incantations.[271]
Probably the magician, by fixing his gaze upon the brilliant revolving
sphere, gradually fell into a hypnotic trance, during which visions
appeared to him. These he could afterward interpret to those who had
sought his aid to read the future, or obtain information regarding
things that were happening far away.
An important side-light on the beliefs of Western Europe, in the fifth
century, regarding crystal-gazing, is afforded by one of the canons of
the synod held about 450 A.D. by St. Patrick and the bishops Auxilius
and Issernanus. Here it is decreed that any Christian who believes
there is a Lamia (or witch) in the mirror is to be anathematized,
and is not to be again received into the Church unless he shall have
renounced this belief and shall have diligently performed the penance
imposed upon him.[272] In this case, as in many others, the vision in
the crystal or mirror did not represent some former or contemporaneous
happening, but the figure of an evil spirit, who, either by signs or
words, imparted to the scryer the information he was seeking.
The power to see images of evil spirits on the surface of water was
claimed by those called _hydromantii_ in the ninth century. This is
attested in a work composed about 860 A.D. by Hincmar, Archbishop
of Rheims, who characterizes the supposed appearances as “images or
deceptions of the demons.” These diviners asserted that they received
audible communications from the spirits, and they therefore evidently
believed that the appearances were realities.[273]
Although, as we have seen, many different materials were used for
scrying, the preference was often given to polished spheres of beryl;
in modern times, however, the rock-crystal is considered the best
adapted for the purpose.
In his introduction to “Crystal Gazing,” by N. W. Thomas,[274] Andrew
Lang writes of what he terms hypnagogic illusions—images which appear
when the eyes are closed and before sleep supervenes. When faces
appeared to him in this way, they were always unfamiliar ones, with the
single exception of having once seen his own face in profile. The same
was almost invariably true of landscape and inanimate objects. These
forms seemed to grow out of the bright points of light which frequently
appear when the eyes are closed, and Lang suggests a similar origin for
the visions of the “scryers”—namely, the development of the images
from dark or light points in the glass.
In regard to this, we have an interesting passage in the works of Ibn
Kaldoun, a Persian writer, born in 1332, who gives the following very
acute analysis of the phenomena accompanying crystal-gazing.[275]
Some believe that the image perceived in this way takes form on the
surface of the mirror, but they are mistaken. The diviner looks at
this surface fixedly until it disappears, and a curtain, like a mist,
is interposed between him and the mirror. Upon this curtain are
designed the forms he wishes to see, and this permits him to give
indications, either affirmative or negative, concerning the matter on
which he is questioned. He then describes his perceptions as he has
received them. The diviners, while in this state, do not see what is
really to be seen (in the mirror); it is another kind of perception,
which is born in them and which is realized not by sight but by the
soul.
As to the character and quality of the crystal to be used, Abbot
Tritheim, the master of the famous Cornelius Agrippa, says:[276]
Procure of a lapidary a good, clear, pellucid crystal of the bigness
of a small orange,—_i.e._, about one inch and a half in diameter;
let it be globular, or round each way alike; then you have got this
crystal fair and clear, without any clouds or specks. Get a small
plate of pure gold to encompass the crystal round one-half; let this
be fitted on an ivory or ebony pedestal. Let there be engraved a
circle round the crystal; afterwards the name: Tetragrammaton. On
the other side of the plate let there be engraved, Michael, Gabriel,
Uriel, Raphael, which are the four principal angels ruling over the
Sun, Moon, Venus, and Mercury.
The four letters constituting the Tetragrammaton are the Hebrew
characters _yôdh_, _hê_, _wâw_ and _hê_, יהוה. As this divine name
was regarded in later Judaism as too sacred to be pronounced, the
word lord, _adonai_, was substituted for it in the reading of the
Scriptures. For this reason, when the vowel signs were added to the
text to indicate the traditional pronunciation, the consonants Yhwh
were provided with the vowels of _adonai_ and the name was therefore
read Jehovah by Christian scholars.
The Persian poet Jâmi writes thus of a magic mirror in the poem
“Salamân and Absal”:[277]
Then from his secret Art the Sage Vizyr
A Magic Mirror made; a Mirror like
The bosom of All-wise Intelligence,
Reflecting in its mystic compass all
Within the sev’nfold volume of the World
Involved; and looking in that Mirror’s face
The Shah beheld the face of his Desire.
Roger Bacon (1214-1292) was probably the most gifted man of the
thirteenth century, and his writings testify to an extraordinarily
clear perception of the essential principles of scientific research.
However, his true greatness was not generally appreciated in his own
age, and popular fancy wove about his name a fabric of legend in which
he appeared as an arch-necromancer and magician. The curious old work
entitled “The Famous Historie of Fryar Bacon” gives a number of the
strange recitals which became current in England in regard to Bacon’s
wonderful powers.
[Illustration: GLASS BALL, PERFORATED AND MOUNTED IN METAL, SO THAT IT
CAN BE SUSPENDED AND USED FOR OCCULT AND CURATIVE PURPOSES.
Period of about tenth or twelfth century. Collection of Sir Charles
Hercules Read.]
[Illustration: BALL OF JET, PERFORATED, MOUNTED IN METAL, SO THAT IT
CAN BE SUSPENDED AND USED FOR OCCULT AND CURATIVE PURPOSES.
Period of about tenth or twelfth century. Collection of Sir Charles
Hercules Read.]
[Illustration: EYE AGATE, SHOWING A NUMBER OF CIRCULAR MARKINGS.
Mounted in metal and kept in a box, as a votive or curative stone.
About fourteenth century. British Museum. (See page 149.)]
One of these treats of a marvellous “glass” made by the friar, in
which events happening at far-distant places were mirrored. On one
occasion two young men, between whom the friendliest feelings existed,
came to Bacon and requested him to let them see in the mirror what
their fathers were doing at the time. The friar consented, but the
experiment, while successful, was the cause of a terrible misfortune.
The story is as follows:
The Fathers of these two Gentlemen (in their Sonnes absence) were
become great foes: this hatred betweene them was growne to that
height, that wheresoever they met, they had not onely wordes, but
blowes. Just at that time, as it should seeme, that their Sonnes were
looking to see how they were in health, they were met, and had drawne,
and were together by the eares. Their Sonnes seeing this, and having
been alwayes great friends, knew not what to say to one another, but
beheld each other with angry lookes. At last one of their Fathers, as
they might perceive in the Glasse, had a fall, and the other, taking
advantage, stood over him ready to strike him. The Sonne of him that
was downe could then containe himselfe no longer, but told the other
young man, that his Father had received wrong. He answered againe,
that it was faire. At last there grew such foule words betweene them,
and their bloods were so heated, that they presently stabbed the one
the other with their Daggers, and so fell downe dead.
The sceptre of the Scottish regalia is surmounted by a crystal globe,
two inches and a quarter in diameter, and the mace by a large crystal
beryl. In former times these stones were regarded as amulets and their
use was traced back to the Druids. Sir Walter Scott tells us that
in his time they were still known among the Scottish Highlanders as
“Stones of Power.”[278]
The testimony of John of Salisbury (1120?-1180) shows that in the
twelfth century, in England, divination by means of the arts of the
_specularii_ was often practised. The prelate writes that when a boy,
he himself and a companion a few years older received instruction from
a priest who was addicted to the use of these magic arts. This priest
used to polish the finger-nails of the boys with a consecrated oil or
ointment, and then direct them to look upon the polished surface until
some figure or form should appear. Sometimes the smooth, polished
surface of a basin was used. John of Salisbury regarded it as a mark of
divine favor that he himself saw nothing upon the smooth and lustrous
surface, but he states that his companion observed certain vague
and shadowy forms. Certain names pronounced by the priest on these
occasions terrified the boy, for he believed them to be the names of
evil spirits; indeed, such was his reluctance to participate in the
unholy rites that his presence was believed to interfere with the
production of the phenomena.[279]
In another part of his “Policraticus,” John of Salisbury states that
the specularii claimed that their gift of seeing visions on polished
surfaces was never used to injure any one, but was often useful in the
detection of theft and in counteracting magic spells.[280]
Under the comprehensive chapter heading: “How to conjure the crystal
so that all things may be seen in it,” Paracelsus (1493-1541) declares
that “to conjure” means nothing more than “to observe anything rightly,
to learn and to understand what it is.” The crystal was of the nature
of the air, and hence all things movable and immovable that could be
seen in the air could also be seen in the crystal or _speculum_.[281]
Paracelsus showed keen insight, and his conclusions are excellent. One
might add, however, that it is a fact that these are images condensed
in the double convex lens, forming as it were, an internal crystal
sphere. These images are reversed, distorted and twisted, and when they
become visible to one who is expecting strange things, they form mental
impressions which it is often very difficult to erase. Many crystal
gazers are frequently very highly wrought, nervous and susceptible, and
other influences uniting with the impressions produced, may give the
brain for a time the power to evolve kaleidoscopic effects.
Directions for the use of an Erdenspiegel, or “earth-mirror,” are given
in an old German manuscript written in 1658 by a Capuchin priest.[282]
The mirror is to be set about two inches above a board, and the
questions to be answered are to be placed beneath it. The scryer is
recommended to place three grains of salt upon his tongue, whereupon
he is to repeat a prayer and cross himself. He now takes the mirror in
his hand and breathes upon it three times, repeating the words, “In the
name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
These preliminaries having been accomplished, the following prayer, or
rather invocation, is repeated:
O thou holy Archangel N. N., I pray to thee most fervently through the
great and unsearchable name of the Lord of all Lords and King of all
Kings, Jod, He, Vau, He, Tetragrammaton, Adonay, Schaday, receive my
greeting and give ear to the humble petition which I offer in the name
of the great and highest God, Elohim, Zebaoth, that thou shalt appear
to me in the world-mirror, and give me knowledge and instruction in
answer to my questions.
The strong religious tone of these directions for the use of the mirror
and the fact that it is a priest who gives them, shows that there was a
disposition to tolerate the employment of such “white magic.”
In medieval times it was believed that the vision in the crystal was
produced through the agency of an indwelling spirit, and, therefore,
it was necessary to use some very potent spell to force this spirit
to enter the stone. Many of these ancient spells have been preserved,
and they contain a strange and incongruous mixture of religious and
magical formulas. In one of these, dating from the end of the fifteenth
century, after a recitation of a long and rambling conjuration, we
read: “And y^{en} ask y^e chylde yf h^e seethe any thyng, and yf no,
let the m^r begin his conjuratyō agayn.” As usual the scrying was done
by a child, the conjuration being spoken by the minister. An important
part of the conjuration consisted in the repetition of a number of
divine names, most of them originally Hebrew, but so much corrupted
by reciters who did not know their meaning that it is now exceedingly
difficult to interpret them correctly.
A proof that this form of magic was often regarded as quite compatible
with religion is offered us in a passage from a sixteenth century
manuscript,[283] where we read that the crystal should be laid on the
altar “on the Side that the gospell is read on. And let the priest say
a mass on the same Side.” If the conjuration is successful, the same
manuscript tells us that “these angells being once appeared will not
depart the glasse or stone untill the Sonne be sett except you licence
them.” It also seems that “scrying” was looked upon as a special gift,
only granted to a favored few as a peculiar privilege, and we read
that “Prayer and a good beleefe prevailed much. For faith is the cay to
this and all other works, and without it nothing can be effected.” The
child scryer, either maid or boy, should not be more than twelve years
old.
That a certain religious spirit, however mistaken, often animated the
crystal-gazers of the sixteenth century, is shown in the case of the
“speculator” of John a Windor, who confessed that when he led an impure
life the “dæmons” would not appear to him in his glass. He would then
proceed to fumigate the apartment, as though believing that the very
air was contaminated by the sins of the operator. We may hope that
the seer was not content with this, but also tried to reform his evil
ways. Another scryer, a woman named Sarah Skelhorn, declared that the
spirits that appeared to her in the glass would often follow her about
the house from room to room, so that she at last became weary of their
presence.[284] Both of these scryers had regular employment, for it was
quite customary for a gentleman to have a household seer, just as he
would have a body-physician, if he could afford it.
A sixteenth century work on magic, the “Höllenzwang” of Dr. Faustus,
whose name has been immortalized for all ages by Goethe, gives very
particular and detailed directions for the preparation and consecration
of a crystal, whether glass or quartz. Faust asks his “Mephistophelis”
whether such crystals can be made, and the spirit replies: “Yes,
indeed, my Faust,” and directs Faust to go, on a Tuesday, to a
glass-maker, and get the latter to form a glass. It was requisite that
this work should be done in the hour of Mars, that is, in the first,
eighth, fifteenth or twenty-second hour of Tuesday. The crystal when
completed must not be accepted as a gift, but a price must be paid
for it. When the object had been secured, Mephistopheles directs that
it be buried in a grave, where it must be left for the space of three
weeks; it was then to be unearthed; if a woman purchased it, she must
bury it in a woman’s grave. However, these preliminaries only served to
prepare the crystal for the final consecration, as the mere material
mass was regarded as inert and possessing no virtue until certain
spirits were summoned to dwell within it. Mephistopheles confesses
that he alone would not be powerful enough, and he directs Faust to
call upon the spirits Azeruel and Adadiel also. Faust is assured that
the three spirits will show him in the crystal whatever he may wish to
know. If anything has been stolen, the thief will appear; if any one is
suffering from disease, the character of his malady will be revealed,
etc.[285]
Another way of preparing a crystal glass or mirror is given in the same
work. After the glass has been bought it is to be immersed in baptismal
water in which a first-born male child has been baptized, and therein
it is to remain for three weeks. The water is then to be poured out
over a grave and the sixth chapter of the Revelation of St. John is to
be read. Hereupon the following conjuration should be pronounced:
O crystal, thou art a pure and tender virgin, thou standest at one
of the gates of heaven, that nothing may be hidden from thee; thou
standest under a cloud of heaven that nothing may be hidden from
thee, whether in fields or meadows, whether master or servant, whether
wife or maid. Let this be said to thee in the name of God, as a plea
for thy help.[286]
The visions seen in crystal gazing were often supposed to be the work
of evil spirits, seeking to seduce the souls of men by offering the
promise of riches or by according them an unlawful glimpse into the
future. Here, as in other magical operations, there was both white and
black magic, recourse being had in some cases to good, and in others to
evil spirits. As an illustration of the latter practice, a sixteenth
century writer relates that in the city of Nuremberg, some time during
the year 1530, a “demon” showed to a priest, in a crystal, the vision
of a buried treasure. Believing in the truth of this vision, the priest
went to the spot indicated, where he found an excavation in the form of
a cavern, in the depths of which he could see a chest and a black dog
lying alongside it. Eagerly the priest entered the cavern, hoping to
possess himself of the treasure, but the top of the excavation caved in
and he was crushed to death.[287]
The famous charlatan, Dr. Dee, who was for a time a prominent figure at
the court of Emperor Rudolph II, was highly favored by Queen Elizabeth.
The queen visited him several times, and even appears to have consulted
him on political matters. In his diary the doctor relates that the
queen called at his house shortly after his wife’s death, which took
place March 16, 1575. Of this visit he gives the following details:
The Queen’s Majestie, with her most honorable Privy Council, and other
the Lords and Nobility, came purposely to have visited my library: but
finding that my wife was within four hours before buried out of the
house, her Majestie refused to come in; but willed to fetch my glass
so famous, and to show unto her some of the properties of it, which
I did. Her Majestie being taken down from her horse by the Earle of
Liecester, Master of the Horse, at the church wall of Mortlake, did
see some of the properties of that glass, to her Majestie’s great
contentment and delight.[288]
It was at Mortlake, on December 22, 1581, that Dr. Dee made his first
essay with his crystal ball. The proceedings were conducted with a
certain religious ceremonial, and began with a pious invocation to
the angel of the stone. This celestial being soon graciously deigned
to manifest himself in the stone and—presumably by the voice of the
scryer—answered the questions put by those present.
There can be little doubt that Dee used more than one crystal in
the course of his experiments; that now in the British Museum is of
cairngorm, or “smoky-quartz.” This variety of quartz may have been
chosen because of the Scotch superstitions regarding its virtues; for,
as a rule, charlatans seek to avail themselves of already existing
superstitions in order to make their innovations more acceptable.
[Illustration: DR. DEE’S SHEW STONE.
Natural size. British Museum. This sphere of smoky-quartz came to the
British Museum in 1700 with the Cottonian Library, donated at that time
by the grandson of the original collector, Sir Robert Bruce Cotton
(1571-1631).]
[Illustration: OBSIDIAN MIRROR, WITH NATIVE TEXTILE STRING.
Used by Aztecs and ancient Mexicans for various purposes. British
Museum. Identical in shape and size with that known as “Dr. Dee’s
Mirror,” now in the possession of Prince Alexis Soltykoff, of Russia.
This was enclosed in a leather-covered case.]
To give assurance to those who consulted such crystals that no
diabolical agency was involved in the production of the phenomena, it
was customary that a child should be the crystal-gazer. In Dr. Dee’s
experiments, however, it was usually the notorious Kelley, his _âme
damnée_, who undertook this task of interpreting the crystal visions.
The description given by Dee of a little girl who frequently acted as
the intermediary of the higher powers suggests one of the fanciful
creations of our great novelist Hawthorne. Her mystic name was Madimi,
and she is depicted as a pretty girl about eight years old, and with
long flowing hair. To make her appearance more conspicuous, she was
attired in a silk dress with chatoyant effects in red and green.
At times, during the séances, this gay little figure could be seen
flitting about the study, rendered even more whimsical and strange from
its contrast with the piles of dusty old books, the curiosities, and
the magical instruments collected there.[289]
This visionary maiden Madimi, of whom Dee relates so much in his
diary, was apparently a child of fancy, a creation of Kelley’s fertile
brain. The diary is somewhat obscure in this particular and easily
misunderstood; but there can be little doubt that where Madimi is
represented as speaking, it is Kelley’s voice that transmits to Dee her
revelations. One passage, often overlooked, gives evidence of this.
Madimi has appeared and is addressing her remarks to Kelley and to
Dee by turns; finally, Dee says, “I know you see me often and I see
you only by faith and imagination.” To this Madimi quickly retorts,
“pointing to E. K.” (Kelley), “That sight is perfecter than his.”
Evidently we must understand this to signify something that Kelley has
told Dee, for the latter’s words show that he did not himself see the
little fairy pointing to his friend. In many respects little Madimi may
recall another “spiritual” maiden of whom we heard much a few years
ago, the sprightly little Indian spirit “Bright Eyes,” whose love for
candy and jewelry was so very earthly.