Scrying on Artworks

I remember when I was younger when I was drawing a picture, I would see these hazy outlines on the paper that actually look like something, and so I'd trace the lines I saw. They'd turn out to look like people or objects. It's not from my mind, it's just from my physical eyes.

And I also remember hearing artists that "see" what the painting or sculpture wanted "to be", and they believed that the... let's say rock, wanted to be turned into that image they've intuitively seen.

So I'm wondering, is this is a method of scrying? Is it possible to scry on a piece of paper, or a canvas, or on a rock?

And if this isn't scrying, then what would it be called?

I would say it is a type of divination. I recently came across a deck of cards online that were various abstract artwork that are put onto cards that could be used for divining. And, there are quite a few (Bright Eye is one I can think of right now) people here on A.T. who will draw a picture for people and be able to give them some insight for their spiritual path or other things.

One of the most interesting reads I have had was with a reader, also from here, who did a psychic reading for me through her artwork. What she did was meditate and during her meditation she drew a picture and then colored it in. Came out of her meditation and she described that piece of artwork to me, making predictions for the future as well as what was happening in my present time and things related to the past. She was right on the money-and the future things have so far turned out to be correct as well. It was very interesting.

I'm not really sure what it would be called--look for Bright Eyes thread here where she is providing art work for others with a reading attached to it. It was very good--and her drawing was absolutely wonderful for me! I know the others also felt the same way about their drawing/reading. It was not that long ago--and if I can later find it, I'll come back and add the link here. She may have mentioned what it is. Hers are done on canvas, as was the one I mentioned above too--but I'm not sure it has to be reserved for canvas art alone.

Sounds like a great way to divine I think! You should do what you can to develop that!

celticnoodle said:

I would say it is a type of divination. I recently came across a deck of cards online that were various abstract artwork that are put onto cards that could be used for divining. And, there are quite a few (Bright Eye is one I can think of right now) people here on A.T. who will draw a picture for people and be able to give them some insight for their spiritual path or other things.

One of the most interesting reads I have had was with a reader, also from here, who did a psychic reading for me through her artwork. What she did was meditate and during her meditation she drew a picture and then colored it in. Came out of her meditation and she described that piece of artwork to me, making predictions for the future as well as what was happening in my present time and things related to the past. She was right on the money-and the future things have so far turned out to be correct as well. It was very interesting.

I'm not really sure what it would be called--look for Bright Eyes thread here where she is providing art work for others with a reading attached to it. It was very good--and her drawing was absolutely wonderful for me! I know the others also felt the same way about their drawing/reading. It was not that long ago--and if I can later find it, I'll come back and add the link here. She may have mentioned what it is. Hers are done on canvas, as was the one I mentioned above too--but I'm not sure it has to be reserved for canvas art alone.

Sounds like a great way to divine I think! You should do what you can to develop that!

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Oh yea! I think Bright Eyes might have called them automatic drawings. I've can't believe I've forgotten about that! She has done a picture for me as well, and it was powerful and full of insights.

Meditation with art, that sounds relaxing to me

I guess I could try developing myself while drawing and see where it goes. It could be interesting to see the results. Although I don't know how to go about that just yet. But we'll see.

Could there be a difference between automatic drawing which is your hand moving on it's own and making a meaningful picture vs what Cenozoic is describing? Looking at a blank sheet of paper and actually seeing the outline of something? I could totally see that as scrying then drawing what you see. Automatic drawing is where an initial stroke becomes more then turns into something by the end. Correct?

Goddessofthehunter said:

Could there be a difference between automatic drawing which is your hand moving on it's own and making a meaningful picture vs what Cenozoic is describing? Looking at a blank sheet of paper and actually seeing the outline of something? I could totally see that as scrying then drawing what you see. Automatic drawing is where an initial stroke becomes more then turns into something by the end. Correct?

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That could be very true actually. I think Bright Eyes method is that she makes a few fast lines, and then creates a picture from that. For me, I do see a hazy outline and then I trace it. So I'm sure you're on to something there. Thanks for bringing it up!

I think I'd like to try that sometime.. And let us know what you get when you do.

Thanks for bringing this idea to the forum.

Candle-Buddha Scrying

Completely by accident, I discovered a rather splendid way of scrying recently that is similar to this. A small Buddah figure, which my nieces gave me as a present after a back-packing holiday in Vietnam/Cambodia, happened to be seated above one of my candles, and in an idle moment I noticed that the flickering of the flames reflecting from him, gave the impression that he was both moving and talking. I've tried (unsuccessfully) to capture the effect below, but I'm sure you can visualise what it looks like;

Lol, did I hear my name being mentioned?

I was going to respond to this yesterday, but then other things happened... I can relate to what Cenozoic describes, especially when it comes to sculpture. In fact, you'll find many artists relating to this. Whether it is a form of scrying, I don't know. Possibly. Perhaps all art is?

There is this very famous passage from the writings of Leonardo da Vinci where he encourages students to look at a wall or rockface until they see shapes, and to use these as inspiration for their art. I guess you could call that a form of scrying. This particular passage is often cited by artists who practice automatic drawing too.


PS: You should try it out... and offer readings

that is a great form of it Mycroft!
that is such a great skill Cenozoic!

since looking for symbolism in cards to read them intuitively, I now analyse any form of artwork in my mind automatically! It's both really annoying but also really interesting. I can't go to an art gallery now without looking at the symbolism, why did the artist include that and not this? etc Gives a whole new layer or art appreciation!

I would say that 'scrying' has the definition of looking in something reflective, translucent, or luminescent as a surface, so this is probably divination! But I think you can use artworks! scrying/ divination / automatic drawing all sort of merges here depending on what you want to do with the art.

If you look at artworks and want to divine (rather than interpret the symbols) I would use the same method I use for cards, what symbol in the picture means the most to you? does something really stand out to you? what does the whole picture mean to you? what is the story? If you want to do automatic drawing, just let what comes to you or what you see, get drawn! I can't get my thoughts out on paper in drawing, only by writing, so always envious

Goddessofthehunter said:

I think I'd like to try that sometime.. And let us know what you get when you do.

Thanks for bringing this idea to the forum.

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Sure I'll try to do it sometime. I'm just wondering if I still have it in me

Mycroft said:

Completely by accident, I discovered a rather splendid way of scrying recently that is similar to this. A small Buddah figure, which my nieces gave me as a present after a back-packing holiday in Vietnam/Cambodia, happened to be seated above one of my candles, and in an idle moment I noticed that the flickering of the flames reflecting from him, gave the impression that he was both moving and talking. I've tried (unsuccessfully) to capture the effect below, but I'm sure you can visualise what it looks like;

(Click image for larger size)​

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I can just imagine! You're so lucky Mycroft If only I could get something that beautiful one day. I remember a statue my family used to have when I was a kid, and they would tell me that the statue moves on its own accord, like it's arms or head position, even if it was just a solid statue. For some reason they gave me the impression that it had life in it. I still wonder about that statue to this day. But yea interesting stuff! Thanks for sharing your beautiful buddha statue with us

BrightEye said:

Lol, did I hear my name being mentioned?

I was going to respond to this yesterday, but then other things happened... I can relate to what Cenozoic describes, especially when it comes to sculpture. In fact, you'll find many artists relating to this. Whether it is a form of scrying, I don't know. Possibly. Perhaps all art is?

There is this very famous passage from the writings of Leonardo da Vinci where he encourages students to look at a wall or rockface until they see shapes, and to use these as inspiration for their art. I guess you could call that a form of scrying. This particular passage is often cited by artists who practice automatic drawing too.


PS: You should try it out... and offer readings

Click to expand...

Yea! What you described about Leonardo da Vinci was exactly the thing I was trying to refer to, when the artist literally sees some shapes in what they're going to make, and then will work away at it until it becomes that shape. Perhaps not all artists use this type of method, but I know that there are quite a few that do.

I wonder what kind of results I can get from it. Maybe I'll offer readings in the future. Thanks BrightEye for your insight!

danieljuk said:

that is a great form of it Mycroft!
that is such a great skill Cenozoic!

since looking for symbolism in cards to read them intuitively, I now analyse any form of artwork in my mind automatically! It's both really annoying but also really interesting. I can't go to an art gallery now without looking at the symbolism, why did the artist include that and not this? etc Gives a whole new layer or art appreciation!

I would say that 'scrying' has the definition of looking in something reflective, translucent, or luminescent as a surface, so this is probably divination! But I think you can use artworks! scrying/ divination / automatic drawing all sort of merges here depending on what you want to do with the art.

If you look at artworks and want to divine (rather than interpret the symbols) I would use the same method I use for cards, what symbol in the picture means the most to you? does something really stand out to you? what does the whole picture mean to you? what is the story? If you want to do automatic drawing, just let what comes to you or what you see, get drawn! I can't get my thoughts out on paper in drawing, only by writing, so always envious

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Those are all really good points danieljuk. I can really relate to certain symbols just popping out and making themselves noticed. And the craziness of over analyzing is something I can relate to as well. I've analyzed movie shots in school before, and it just sucked all the life and fun out of the movie. Ugh, what is seen, cannot be unseen!

It's always surprising how an artwork can speak in such volumes, and have a multitude of meanings. It makes me think of the phrase, "One picture is worth a thousand words."

I think that my artworks were my unspoken words used to express myself in the past. Words were a tricky thing when I was younger, and I found that drawing something was a lot easier to do, and held more freedom than written and spoken language. But hey, if you can express yourself in some form or another, then that is better than nothing