Where Did Crystal Balls Come From?

By | May 15, 2019

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Crystal ball of a fortune teller. Source: (Photo by Wodicka/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

The crystal ball is a standard piece equipment for any modern "fortune teller," but where did crystal balls come from? Gazing into the orb is supposed to give the soothsayer a vision of the future, which will then be shared with the client for a fee. Today, we connect crystal balls with fortune tellers, often of Roma ("gypsy" culture), but that’s not where these mystical spheres originated. To learn the origin of crystal balls, and how they are often shrouded in mystery, and how all powerful psychics (most often women) we have to go back to the ancient Druids and a practice called scrying. The history of crystal balls starts with the ancient Druids, and their origins are a bit of a mystery to this day.

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The ancient Druids of the Celtic cultures. Source: (gaia.com)

The Mysterious Druids

As early as the 3rd century BCE, the Druids were an elite class of healers, spiritual leaders, storytellers, advisors, and teachers in the ancient Celtic cultures of the British Isles. The name Druid is a Celtic term meaning “knowing the oak tree” which probably came about because the Druids were known to perform rituals in oak forests. They also believed that gazing into a reflective surface, such as a pool of water, a mirror, or a ball of crystal, which is where the practice originated, could allow them to see into the future.