Specula and Witchcraft

Disclaimer

This is NOT a page about Wiccans or neo-pagans, and I do not advocate the belief that Wiccans are Satan-worshippers and/or baby-killers. I am well aware that they are not. This is a starting point for historical research into the great witch craze of 1100-1700 AD. And please, don't ask me for spells.

Specula

A witch ball or speculum was a device used for scrying or divining things. Sometimes the speculum was a magic mirror, a polished stone, or a crystal ball. Some witches fashioned specula from black bowls filled with water. By gazing into the reflective depths, a witch could find answers to urgent questions, predict future events, or see faraway places. In maritime villages, witches sent out the glass globes fishermen use to hold their nets afloat. The globes were usually made of dark blue or green glass and appeared quite innocuous. Biddy Early, a well-known Irish witch, had a favourite blue glass bottle (Masello 156, 157).

Witch balls measure up to seven inches in diameter, and are occasionally decorated in enameled stripes and swirls or varying colours. Some are mirrored for use as convex mirrors.

Crystal gazers sometimes claimed they used balls in which the spirits of dead souls had been banished. Therefore, the seer was thought to be dealing with spirits (Roper 1995 133).

According to Albertus Magnus, a famous medieval magician, a speculum could be created in the following manner:

1. Buy a mirror and incribe upon it "S. Solam S. Tattler S. Echogordner Gematur."
2. Bury it at a crossroads on an uneven hour.
3. On the third day, go to the crossroads at the same hour and dig it up.
4. Do not be the first person to look into the mirror. It's best to let a dog or cat look in it first (Guiley 1989 233, 366).

Mirrors could also be used for particular purposes. The following mirror is used in love spells.

1. Obtain a hand mirror with a copper backing (a metal associated with Aphrodite).
2. Write the subject of the spell and corresponding mystical characters on the back of the mirror.
3. Take the mirror to a spot where a dog and a bitch are copulating.
4. Reflect the copulation in the mirror.

When the victim looked into this mirror, they were stricken with lust for the owner of the mirror (King 52, 53).

Before they were put to use, specula had to be consecrated by exposure to the light of a full moon. When not in use, they were usually kept under a black velvet cloth or in a closed box. They were never to be touched by sunlight.

Nevertheless, candlelight exposure was not harmful, and was sometimes recommended. Some witches used a candle to provide a solitary pinpoint of light in the speculum. Others preferred dimly diffused light. Incense burning in the background added a nice touch.

If all went as planned, the witch ball would eventually cloud over and the scryer would see emerging misty pictures. If she looked even more carefully, the pictures would gain clarity and show the witch what she wanted to know. Sometimes the image was a figurative, or a symbol or sign that had to be interpreted. Other times the message was quite literal, as in the case of the witch queen of Snow White; the face of the fairest in the land appeared on her speculum (Guiley 1989 233, 366).

Lost?

Specula and Witchcraft is copyright 1997-1998 to Shantell Powell.