Crystal Sphere and Cup

Crystal Sphere

Quartz crystals are extremely popular today, but the quartz crystal sphere is an ancient magical tool.  It is exquisitely expensive, selling for twenty dollars to thousands of dollars, depending on size.  Most crystal balls on the market today are glass, leaded glass, or even plastic.  Genuine quartz crystal spheres can be determined by their high prices and inclusions or irregularities.

The crystal has long been used in contemplative divination.  The diviner gazes into the ball until the psychic faculties blossom, and images, seen in the mind or projected by it into the depths of the crystal, reveal necessary information.

In Wiccan ritual, the crystal is sometimes placed on the altar to represent the Goddess.  Its shape (spheroid) is Goddess-symbolic, as are all circles and rounds, and it's icy cold temperature (another way to determine genuine rock crystal) is symbolic of the depths of the sea, the Goddess' domain.

Then too the crystal may be used to receive messages from the Gods, or to store energy raised in ritual.  Some Wiccans scry in the crystal to call up images of the Goddess or of past lives.  It is a magical object touched with the divine, and if you find one, guard it carefully.

Periodic exposure to moonlight, or rubbing the crystal with fresh mugwort, will increase its ability to spark our psychic powers.  It may be the center of Full Moon rituals.

The Cup Or Chalice

The cup (or chalice as it is sometimes referred to) is simply a cauldron on a stem.  It symbolizes the Goddess and fertility, and is related to the element of Water.  Though it can be used to hold water (which is often present at the altar), it may also contain the ritual beverage imbibed (consumed) during the rite.

The cup can be made of nearly any substance: silver, brass, gold, earthenware, soapstone, alabaster, crystal and other materials.  It can be as ornate or as plain as you like, the choice is yours.

Taken from "Wicca A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" by Scott Cunningham