Ancient Egypt. The land of pyramids, pharaohs, gods, and the Sphinx. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been drawn to it. In my search for Egyptian magic, I’ve found that divination was a large part of their entire religious and magical system. Learn real Egyptian magic: how to perform a simple water scrying ritual here.

Egyptian Magic & Divination: Scrying

One of the ways in which the Egyptians divined the future, past, or an answer to their questions was by scrying. Scrying put simply means to see. This means the Egyptians used natural objects to divine a message from the gods. They didn’t have Tarot cards then, as far as we know, so scrying was their main form including water, ink, mirror, smoke and oil scrying.

How did the Egyptians perform their scrying sessions? Often only the priests and the royalty were allowed in the sacred temples, and this is where the scrying was done. There’s also evidence scrying rituals were performed in dark tombs Sometimes a child who was believed to have oracular abilities was brought to do the scrying. However, nowadays, we do the scrying ourselves as adults.

Water Scrying Basics

When I first learned of scrying as a beginner, it sounded difficult. How was I supposed to stare at the water and see something? Would I have to train my eyes to see things that weren’t actually there? Then I realized messages and visuals that come to us while scrying come through in different ways. It truly depends on the individual.

The Process: The Type of Water, Practice and More

Water scrying is the act of divining by gazing at a water source. This could be a bowl of water, bathwater, a sweeping river, the waves of the ocean, or a stagnant puddle. What matters is how you approach the water scrying ritual. Come to it in a relaxed state of mind.

Put on some otherworldly music, light candles and incense, and simply soften your gaze while looking at the water. You may see an image on the water, but often the image will come as a flash in your mind. A (seemingly) random thought, word, or visual. Once you get good at scrying, you’ll start seeing things in the water itself AND you will be able to scry with anything: mirrors, clouds, crystals, even the patterns in wood grain. I find myself seeing images in tile, ceilings, in the blowing leaves on trees, and much more!

An Egyptian Water Scrying Ritual

What You’ll Need:

• Gold or bronze bowl
• Small piece of amethyst
• Candle

How to do the Water Scrying Ritual:

The ancient Egyptians used scrying as a main form of divination. For this scrying session, I used a gold plated bowl, water and a piece of amethyst as a focal point. All done by candlelight. Lights are down low or off. Candle is close-by the water, so that you can see the light’s reflection and see the amethyst at the bottom of the bowl. Relax and soften your gaze over the water.

Then say the following incantation:
Tefnut goddess of dew and rain
May I see in your waters the answers to attain
May your power never wane
I evoke the seven het-herus
Keepers of all knowledge
both old and new
Auset. Isis. Mother of magic and life
I thank you for your presence and humbly ask for second sight this full moon night.

What should you see once the incantation is said? Anything is possible. And typically people see different things and in different ways. You could see objects or images in the water’s reflection. Or possibly images and flashes of moments in your mind’s eye. Sometimes people don’t see anything, but you might hear a sound, word, etc. And, if nothing happens, that’s okay too. You may have a dream later or a flash of a vision later on.

Record everything that happens, anything you see or feel, in your grimoire. And try this ritual again another time. Sometimes it takes more than once to understand how to scry in water.

More on DIVINATION:

• How to Use Tarot to Work with Gods and Goddesses
• How to Read Tarot with Playing Cards
• Divination for Beginners: the 3 Pillars of Divination