Monday, February 20, 2012

Craft Alert! Making Divination Tools

Greetings my Witchy and Pagan friends!
This latest entry is all about creating Divination tools! There are so many tools that you can create, but I'm only going to address a few. You will learn how to create scrying mirrors, quicky scrying bowls, pendulums and pendulum boards and Norse runes. Since this will be a long entry, there will be a second post that I will make next week. That will be about creating your own unique oracle set and divination with different colored gemstones.

Now to get crafting!

1. Scrying Mirror-
Supplies you *need*:
  • Picture frame (preferably wood) with the glass inside
  • Black Acrylic Paint
  • Wide paint brush 
  • newspaper/paper towel
  • Sheet protector to use as a palate (or just use a paint palate)


Steps:
1. First get your empty picture frame and take off the back so you can get to the glass. Once off, throughly wash the glass so it is perfectly clean of any dust.
2. Lay newspaper or a paper towel down, then place the glass on top. This is so you don't get black paint everywhere. Get your black paint and pour out a little on your sheet protector or palate.



 

3. In one direction begin to apply the paint on to the glass. Be very careful to apply evenly- don't glob it on!











4. Once the first is put on, wait about 10 min to air dry. Once dry it may seem like the black paint is perfectly put on and didn't streak, the best ways to check if you have missed any spots on the glass is to hold it up to the light!
5. If you have streaks (like in the picture) apply a second thin coat of black paint. Wait 10 min to dry (or until it's perfectly dry and you don't see any wet spots.)

6. Super carefully not to scratch the painted back, place the non painted side face down onto the picture frame and reassemble everything. You're done!

EXTRA DETAILS for the mirror:
7. To make your mirror a little extra special, on the frame you can paint crescent moons, or wood burnish the out side with magical symbols!

2. Quicky Scrying Bowl

Supplies:
  • shallow wooden bowl (you can usually find these at thrift stores or goodwill if you don't have one on hand.)
  • wood burning tool (aka pyrography tool that you can find at any craft store. They are around $12)
  • Silver Paint
  • Fine (thin) paint brush 
Steps:

Preparation-> If you have bought the wooden bowl from a thrift shop, you need to throughly wash it with a anti bacteria soap.
1. With the bowl and begin to draw lightly with pencil of your desired design. I prefer to draw on it free hand but you can use a stencil. Have your wood burnisher on and heating up- make sure the tip is not touching anything so you wont catch something on fire.

2. Once the wood burnisher is sufficiently hot begin to trace your design on the wood.
3. Once completed burnishing, trace the design below it in silver paint!











5. Wait for it to dry and you are done! See, wasn't that quick! :)

3. Pendulums
Supplies:


Option A: Natural Pendulum-

  • Shell (or you can use a raw crystal, holey rock, etc... )
  • a small wood or ceramic bead for the end of the pendulum
  • 12 inch leather chord
  •  20 gauge brass wire (about 15 inches or so)
  • scissors and needle nose jewelry pliers


Option B- Chain and Crystal Pendulum
  • Quartz Crystal (any crystal will work)
  • 10 inch brass cable chain
  • 10 inches of brass 20 gauge wire 
  • 2 small jump rings
  • A small sparkly bead (for the end of the pendulum)
  • Head pins for beads (or you can just use the wire)
  • scissors


Pendulum A steps:
1. Starting with your pre-cut wire begin wire wrapping from the top of shell (the point is facing downwards). You need to create a loop so that the leather cord can go through this loop. (When you are wire wrapping, treat it like you would be creating a pendant, if that makes sense.)
2. Once the shell (or crystal etc.) has been wire wrapped, tie one end of the chord through the top loop of the shell several times.

3. Now at the other end of the leather chord, slide your wood bead or ceramic bead on and then tie the end! 
4. Congrats your done!


Pendulum B steps:
1. Starting with your pre-cut wire, begin wire wrapping from the top of crystal (the point is facing downwards). You need to create a loop so that the jump ring can go through it. (When you are wire wrapping, treat it like you would be creating a pendant, if that makes sense.)

2. Open the jump ring with your needle nose pliers and place the wire wrapped stone on it. Then with your 10 inch cable chain, slide the last link onto the jump ring too. Close the jump ring tightly.


3. Now with your head pin (see below for what these look like) or with your wire, slide a sparkly crystal bead onto it. The create a loop at the end of that. Next get your other jump ring, open it up with needle nose pliers, and slide the last link of the chain onto it. After that, slide the crystals head pin loop onto the jump ring. Close the jump ring tight.  (Example below- a bead with a head pin on it)
4. You're done!
It should look like this:
4. Pendelum Board
Supplies:
  • A smooth, cut piece of wood. (In the picture is a 5"X5" wood square that you can get at Michaels or any craft store.)
  • Wood burnishing tool
  • Pencil
Steps:
1. On the wood piece, draw on your design. I chose to do a pentacle :) At the top and bottom, write the word "Yes." To the right and left of your design, right the word "No." Then in the in-between areas write "Maybe." The reason behind writing all this stuff is that when the pendulum is swinging, you know what the answer to your question was. *As you draw, have your wood burnisher heating up*
2. Once sufficiently hot, trace your wood burnisher over the design over the sketch. Feel free to embellish as you go!



3. You're done!

5. Norse Elder Futhark Runes

Supplies:

Steps
1. One gather your rocks from a river if you can, I say this because they are super flat and smooth and perfect to work on.
2. One by one, with your silver paint (on the sheet protector palate), begin painting each rune on the rock. As you do this, meditate on the symbols meaning. 


3. Ta da, that's it!
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Well everyone, I appreciate you  guys reading and I can't wait for the second part of this post. It will definitely be more fun and creative!

So what do you guys think so far!?! Comment below! :D

Goodnight!
~Brittany