By Kalyn Anderson
Welcome to airy Gemini season, witches! This sign is known for having the gift of gab, containing multitudes, their endless curiosity, and unmatched wit! With mercurial vibes in the air (and Mercury recently stationing direct again) now is a great time to try your hand at communicating with your guides! Everyone communicates with Spirit differently, and I personally believe that certain spirits/guides have their own preferred methods of communicating! That being said, one of the best ways to find out how YOU (or the spirits around you) like to communicate is by experimenting and trying out a few different methods! Tarot/oracle cards, tea leaf reading, and even talking boards like Ouija boards are all popular ways to communicate with “other realms”--but today we’re going to keep with the theme of the season and talk about some “airier” ways to scry! Scrying is “the practice of looking into a suitable medium in the hope of detecting significant messages or visions”--in this case, we’ll be looking to the clouds, smoke, and stars for these messages from Spirit.
These practices will hopefully allow you to connect with valuable guidance from the spirit world, but they will also help align you with the energy of this season. When scrying with smoke, stars, or clouds, we are asked to raise our gaze UPWARDS to find the messages that reflect our reality here on Earth. As above, so below. Gemini is the mirror, and so are you. As always, feel free to take what serves you, leave what doesn’t, and add your own flair–your practice is your practice! These seasonal rituals are simply meant to be starting points to inspire your own spiritual and intuitive practices and encourage you to try something new!
Smoke Scrying
One of the best parts about most scrying methods is that they use very simple materials–and the ones I’ll be discussing here are no exception! To scry with smoke, all you need is a source of smoke! My favorite method is using incense smoke from stick or cone incense, but you can also burn herbs in a fire-proof container, scry in the smoke from a blown-out candle, scry in *herbal* smoke you have just exhaled or even light a whole bonfire if you have the means! You could even choose incense, herbs, or candles that are associated with the type of guidance you’re hoping to receive (ex. Scrying in the smoke of Cinnamon incense for guidance around abundance). I find that smoke scrying tends to work best in a sunny environment where you can clearly see the smoke drifting through the sunbeams (think of how much better you can see dust particles floating through the air in the sun!
Once you’ve gathered your materials (a notebook is also helpful) and decided on a location, it’s time to ground yourself and create sacred space however you like best. Light your “smoke source”, and sit back to gaze into the smoke. Ask for guidance from wellgood spirits/guides aloud. Allow your awareness to open. Some find it helpful to focus their eyes slightly PAST the object they are scrying in, almost like you’re doing one of those “magic eye” illusions. As you gaze into the smoke, take note in your notebook of any shapes or figures you make out, even if they don’t have obvious “meaning” yet. You can also take your pen or pencil and start “tracing” the movements of the smoke onto the paper–you don’t have to be precise, just move your hand intuitively across the page as your eyes follow the smoke. The goal isn’t to produce a perfect portrait of the smoke–think of it more like “automatic writing”, but with smoky squiggles! When you feel the time is right, turn your gaze away from the smoke and to your notes or doodles. Journal about the images that came through. You may find that some immediately have meaning intuitively, while others remain confusing. Save these notes, as you may find that some of these images reveal more meaning as time goes on.
Scrying with Clouds
This method of scrying calls back to magic you may have performed as a kid without even knowing it! The curious, often playful nature of Gemini also makes this season a great time to reconnect with your inner child. Scrying with clouds is, of course, very similar to scrying in smoke. For this method, you’ll want to choose a day with a fair amount of fluffy clouds in the sky, ideally with a light wind to help them shift and move. After grounding and opening sacred space however you like best, lie down in a safe spot and begin to gaze up at the clouds. Ask aloud for guidance from wellgood spirits, ancestors, and guides. Again, it can sometimes help to gaze just PAST the clouds in order to tap into a more abstract way of thinking/perceiving the shapes in front of you. Take note of the shapes the clouds around you are making, including the ways they may change from one form to another. These transformations from one image to another can sometimes add additional context or insight to the messages being delivered. For this exercise, I typically like to record my notes in a voice memo rather than a notebook so I can remain lying down and looking at the sky. Don’t forget to thank the clouds/spirit for their guidance when you’re done!
Scrying With Stars
Scrying with stars is a little like cloud-gazing on expert mode. The same way that ancient astrologers looked to the sky and identified shapes in constellations, you can play your own game of cosmic connect-the-dots in the sky in order to discern meaningful symbols and messages. For this method, you’ll want a clear, starry night and (optionally) a small to medium-sized mirror you can bring outdoors with you. Of course, you can scry in the stars the same way you would scry in the clouds: by lying on your back, asking for guidance, then gazing upwards and seeing what shapes and forms emerge from the sea of glowing dots above you. For me, visualizing the connections between stars to form shapes can be challenging at times. I’ve found it can help to create a sort of “black mirror” (another common scrying tool) out of the night sky. Place your mirror on the ground so it reflects the night sky above, and sit beside it. Now you can literally trace your finger along the lines of the stars to help you visualize the possible connections between them. There’s also something so magical about making a ritual of “touching” the stars. Just like with the other methods, journal your insights as you gaze into the sky or your “cosmic mirror”, even if they don’t initially make sense. Revisit these notes a few weeks down the road and see if anything has been clarified.
Enjoy Gemini season, witches…now go have a lil’ chat with Spirit through smoke, clouds, or stars!
