I know this is fiction, but ... there's a nice
instance of a young boy being used for scrying in a
crystal in one of M R James's stories ('The Residence
at Whitminster'), under the direction of another
slightly older boy who, it is implied, is practising
black magic. And I think I recall that the Hindus in
Wilkie Collins's 'Moonstone' use a boy as scryer, by
the ink-in-the-hand method.
Clearly, English writers were very familiar with the
notion.
Jacqueline Simpson
--- Roberto Labanti <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> On Nov 30, 2007 2:02 PM, Caduceus Books
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Use of children for skrying was a recognised
> procedure in medieval and
> > early modern period.
>
> [...]
>
> > I did not realise that the practice had
> > ancient precedents.
>
> For the use of boys for divination in antiquity see
> also Ogden, Daniel
> (2001). Greek and Roman necromancy. Princeton:
> Princeton University
> Press, at pages 154-155 and 192, 195-197. Some
> relevant sources was
> cited, translated to English, in Ogden, D. (2002).
> Magic, witchcraft,
> and ghosts in the Greek and Roman worlds: a
> sourcebook. New York:
> Oxford University Press, at pages 171-173.
>
> Best,
> Roberto
>
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