Item Tag: 117

INCLUDESPendant and necklace chain in a black velvet jewelry bag. You can also choose just the charm alone to use on your own cord or chain, or have me make a pair of earrings for you, by selecting that option. SIZEThe pendant is about 1″ tall x 1/2″ across (28mm x 12mm)The necklace chain is offered in your choice of length from 16″ to 50″ (40cm to 127cm)The optional earring hooks are comfortable 21 gauge earring wire (not too thick, not too thin). MATERIALSThe “crystal ball” is a Grade A natural quartz crystal bead; they are mostly clear with natural clear/white inclusions that are found in real quartz. All other parts are made of pure 304 Stainless steel; which is waterproof, hypo-allergenic and non-tarnishing. You can sleep, swim or shower with it! ABOUTA crystal ball is a quartz crystal or glass ball most commonly used in fortune-telling. Used since Antiquity, crystal balls have a broad reputation with witchcraft, including modern times with stage acts and amusements at circus venues, festivals, etc. They are used for clairvoyance and scrying in fortune telling. Other names include crystal sphere, scrying ball, gazing ball, witches eye, seer stone, shewing stone, showing stone, divination ball, magic ball, magic mirror, crystal globe, and many more variants by dialect and culture. By the fifth century AD, scrying using crystal balls was widespread within the Roman Empire and was condemned by the early Christian Church as heretical (magic had been condemned since the Apostolic Era with e.g. Chapter 2 of the Didache). The tomb of Childeric I, a fifth-century king of the Franks, contained a 3.8 cm (1-1/2 inch) diameter transparent beryl globe. The object is similar to other globes that were later found in tombs from the Merovingian period in Gaul and the Saxon period in England. Some of these were complete with a frame suggesting an ornamental object. It has been pointed out that these mounts are identical to those of later globes also believed to be used for magic or divination, indicating that these crystal globes may have been used for crystallomancy. John Dee was a noted British mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy, of which the use of crystal balls was often included. Crystal gazing was a popular pastime in the Victorian era, and was claimed to work best when the Sun is at its northernmost declination. Immediately before the appearance of a vision, the ball was said to mist up from within. The use of crystal balls for divination also has a long history with the Romani people. Fortune tellers, known as drabardi, traditionally use crystal balls as well as cards to seek knowledge about future events. The process of scrying often involves the use of crystals, especially crystal balls, in an attempt to predict the future or otherwise divine hidden information. Crystal ball scrying is commonly used to seek supernatural guidance while making difficult decisions in one’s life, such as in matters of love or finances. When the technique of scrying is used with crystals, or any transparent body, it is known as crystallomancy or crystal gazing. Optically, a crystal ball is a ball lens. For typical materials such as quartz and glass, it forms an image of distant objects slightly beyond the surface of the sphere, on the opposite side. Unlike conventional lenses, the image-forming properties are omnidirectional (independent of the direction being imaged). This omnidirectional focusing can cause a crystal ball to act as a burning glass when it is brought into full sunlight. The image of the sun formed by a large crystal ball will burn a hand that is holding it, and can ignite dark-coloured flammable material placed near it. A crystal ball was among the grave-goods of the Merovingian King, Childeric I (c. 437–481 AD). The grave-goods were discovered in 1653. In 1831, they were stolen from the royal library in France where they were being kept. Few items were ever recovered. The crystal ball was not among them. The Sceptre of Scotland has a crystal ball in its finial, honoring the tradition of their use by pagan druids. It was made in Italy in the 15th century, and was a gift to James IV from Pope Alexander VI.