Peeking in the Black Mirror

I finished construction and initial blessing of my black scrying mirror earlier this month (in the picture above). I ordered a piece of custom-cut glass (18-inches in diameter, and ¼ of an inch thick) and got black spray paint, per the instructions of Frater Ashen Chassan. 

I should emphasize, this is *practice* scrying equipment, and I thank Fr. Chassan for his emphasis on the beginning student or rookie-magus to spend as much time as possible developing his third-eye and scrying ability. The theory is, if one attempts to scry a dark mirror in formal ritual (Goetic operations) or a crystal glass (angelic operations), then the practice work makes it that much easier.

A few notes about the mirror.

*I waited to spray paint it until the day/hour of Monday (Luna)during waxing of a Moon.
*The nice thing about starting on a Mercurial hour, is it flows right into Luna!
*I needed to use nearly the *entire* spray paint can on the 18-inch glass on one side.
*That’s because little holes of light kept peeking through

After the mirror dried, and the days were still waxing to a full moon, I decided one night to try it out. Not serious scrying, just setting up and doing an initial blessing. That’s when the interesting stuff happened.

Short story: I’m not ready yet to proceed with scrying.

Long story: Why? Well, when I set up the dark mirror and lit the candles, immediately I felt a little funny, like there was another window open in my room, and things could see me or I could, if I gazed long enough, see them. It wasn’t oppressive, but definitely affected my mind. One message kept crashing through: “This is real. Magic is not something to take lightly. If you approach scrying, you need to do it with the full protection of the divine and with absolute attention.”

This really hit home *why* the mages and secret practitioners of Solomonic magic took the precautions they did...because they were dealing with beings that were beyond the physical realm, existing in dimensions of reality inaccessible but through very specific techniques, scrying being one of those initial doorways. I had to smile too...for when people make fun of how drawing a circle on the ground can protect you...they fail to realize they’re talking about a physical act that ripples out into dimensions and affects our being on nonphysical dimensions of consciousness.

Additional faux pas - I did *not* set up a circle of blessed chalk or rope around my sitting space, or recite a circle prayer over it, so I felt less protected, even though I wasn't actively trying to contact/reach out to a specific spirit.

In the end, I felt off balance enough that I took my friend William Wallen's advice and did a Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP) to try and stay grounded and cleanse the room after I took the mirror down.

Things I will do before attempting scrying again:

*Memorize the initial KoS prayer for divine light pre-scrying
*Memorize the Blessing of the Ground/Working space from DSIC
*Slowly start to memorize the other DSIC operations.
*Use blessed chalk in my sitting area

*Finish each session with a LBRP (one of the few lodge magic practices I’m entertaining at the moment).


Keep the Light, Blessings to All,

The Aspergillum

"Thou shalt then make unto thyself a sprinkler of vervain, fennel, provinca, sage, valerian, mint [majorana], garden-basil, and rosemary,5gathered in the day and hour of Mercury, the moon being in her increase. Then cut a handle with a single stroke from a virgin branch of hazel; the length should be three spans.6 Bind together these herbs with a thread spun by a young maiden, and engrave upon the handle on the one side the characters..."

-Key of Solomon, Book II Chapter XI


The first magical tool (celestial implement) needed on my journey is the Aspergillum, or Holy Water Sprinkler. This is the foundation of all tools and, along with the Holy Water, can be used to bless and consecrate any other tools or working space for any magical ritual. In other words, this is where the base of the pyramid begins for me.

So, to do this, I needed: 1. a proper branch, 2. proper herbs and 3. virgin-spun thread.

I ordered a 1. virgin-cut branch from a trusted Solomonic practiioner in Costa Rica, which was cut in the day or hour of Mercury. I then ordered the 2. appropriate (above) vervain, fennel, valerian from Alchemy-Works.com, which is a great resource for harder-to-find herbs. The others (mint, sage, garden-basil and rosemary) I obtained from the local grocery store/organic food place. Finally, I ordered the virgin-spun thread from Solomonic mage and author Aaron Leitch on his page DocSolomons.com. I highly recommend this page for anyone needing holy water, virgin-spun thread.

I waited until the Day and Hour of Mercury, and did the following steps (these are short-hand notes of what I was to do, so please ask me or look to the KoS for more information:


*Dip thy hands in water and Sprinkle over the sticks, with devotion.
*Trace these Key of Solomon characters on the stick:

*Gather all of the herbs from boxes and line them up on a plate.
*Because the incense was flicked by initial holy water hands, censor is good.
*Go outside, w/ Aspergillum stick, lightly sand it and charge it with devotion (Raph)
*When charged, go back inside and bind the herbs with virgin-spun thread
* Light cense and bless the stick (w/herbs on it) w/ devotion
*Engrave aspergillum with characters.


I hope to use this with daily meditation/room clearing, and of course before any ritual work or scrying.