So I just got a new crystal ball, my fourth, and I thought I would lend some advice in getting a crystal ball. Crystal balls are very useful things, magickal tools with 101+ uses. Unfortunately most think they can’t afford a crystal ball, or that they’re just not worth the exorbitant prices. Unfortunately most people who sell crystal balls are scam artists using misinformation to sell items for more than they’re worth. If you’re looking into buying a crystal ball, and don’t already know much about them, please read this article and inform yourself. You may be paying $200+ for something you could buy for $30 (I’m not exaggerating either).
Now not everything we call a crystal ball is really a ‘crystal’ ball. I actually have one crystal ball. I have two balls that are laser cut glass, and one that is amethyst. There’s a big difference between these three choices, and they have very different prices.
Real crystal balls tend to be a bit pricey. One the size of your fist can easily go for $50-$100. Expect to pay at least $150+ for a descent sized one. Large ones can cost a whole lot. Things that can raise the cost of a ball include size, flawlessness, age, and occult history. Magicians are typically the only ones interested in these types of balls, there are cheaper options for decorative pieces. But do look around, sometimes you can get a good deal on a ball, especially a used one. Sometimes the older sentient ones are looking for the right owner, and they’ll drive away all prospective buyers, and their price, until the right owner comes along. Real crystal balls are worth every cent too. They’re powerful tools, and if you’ve ever used one you’ll see how superior it is to laser cut glass. If you can afford it, I highly recommend a real crystal ball.
If you can’t afford it, go with laser cut glass. It really is a poor man’s crystal ball. It’s not as strong as crystal, but it can do most of the things crystal can. It works great for enchantments and divinations. They’re always flawless. And although it’s not as good as crystal, with a little TLC laser cut glass balls can be powerful and invaluable tools and aids in magickal workings. And they generally cost a tenth of the price or less.
The problem is most retailers sell you laser cut glass at crystal prices. Most people can’t tell the difference between the two. Most people compare the price of laser cut glass to real crystal and think they’re getting a deal. It’s gotten to the point that almost every reference you find now has the higher price anyways, and most are dealing in laser cut glass.
With laser cut glass, a ball the size of your fist should cost less than $15. Expect to pay around $30 for a descent sized ball just about as big as a soda can, maybe a little more for one slightly bigger. One the size of your head should go for less than $70. The $120-$180 price range is really for gigantic sized balls.
You can usually tell laser cut glass because it’s flawless and perfect. Even the best crystal balls tend to have a few minor flaws if you look close enough. In fact, some actually prefer the flaws for divinatory aid. Also on a real tumbled crystal ball you can sometimes see the groves on the outside. Finally anything with a glass stand included is almost always laser cut glass (and such a stand shouldn’t drive the price up 1 cent from what I quoted earlier).
Now there’s also another category of ball, these are made from precious stones, and the prices can vary widely. Some are far more valuable than crystal. Some aren’t. You have to consider the size, the cost of the stone used, the demand for the stone (low demand can actually drive up the price), it’s beauty, and how good the quality is. Generally speaking, if a stone is jewelry quality, expect to pay more. If a stone isn’t jewelry quality however, it’s often times worthless to anyone except practitioners who can still utilize it for its innate quality. For example emerald is very expensive. You can get tumbled emerald for about a dollar a stone though. It’s because the emerald is such low quality, and so small, it can’t be used for any type of jewelry. It’s worthless to miners, except to tumble and sell to occultists. The same is true of these crystal balls. Also keep in mind these things are treasured by new agers, so they can get pricey. Depending on the price you can be looking at paying a premium over crystal.
If you’re looking for laser cut glass, check online stores and swap meets. These are the places where I’ve seen the best deals, but you have to look around, and be adamant about not paying too much. There’s no reason to spend what they’re asking, you can get a real crystal ball at those prices.
For balls made of precious stone, try the new-age stores. A lot of them carry them. And if you’re interested in a stone that has a low demand, a lot of times they have one sitting on the shelf that gets discount after discount and can be gotten at a bargain.
March 30, 2009 at 8:07 pm |
A well-reasoned guide indeed! If there are any online merchants that you deem trustworthy, it wouldn’t hurt to mention them. There are 1001 “occult” or “new age” merchants out there, and though the pricing guides you’ve set down make a good rule of thumb for ferreting out poor choices, it actually leaves a lot of room for less-than-reputable dealers to turn a profit. (Especially when it comes to differentiating crystal from laser cut glass as you mentioned.)
The relative “quality” of how the website is put together isn’t even a good indicator toward merchant trustworthiness, since some of my favorite merchants for other items have some pretty rudimentary sites (all things considered).
And even though I’m of the opinion that it’s best to shop locally and in the flesh – as it’s ideal to experience potential new tools with your own senses – there are always folks who simply don’t have the means to do that sort of hunting.
So, any favorite sellers you’d feel comfortable mentioning by name?
March 31, 2009 at 1:39 pm |
If you go through an online occult store, it’s going to be glass. Most pagans are 1. unable to tell the difference between glass and crystal and 2. don’t understand the inherent qualities of stones and other materials. Most ceremonial magicians don’t believe that stones or anything else holds any inherent qualities, mainly because no major ceremonial magician ever wrote about such a thing, but only because it’s so obvious they assumed any practitioner would figure it out pretty quick (and most ceremonial magicians aren’t practitioners).
Sorry, I’m bitching. You might have better luck at the new age stores. New agers understand the inherent energies of stones and want specific ones. Any place that sells real crystal balls is going to have displays of exactly what you’re buying on the web page. Each one is going to be unique. If it just has a general picture, it’s glass. Also the crystal ball section will probably have some sorts of other types of balls if it’s real. Things like Onyx and Amethyst, not things like black and pink (which is colored glass).
I’d say check out the antique stores, herbal stores and new age shops before going online. If you want glass, you just have to find a local dealer that’s selling it at a fair price (and they do exist, and in my experience will usually boast about their crystal ball prices).
As for online merchants, I don’t know any with crystal balls. I got a wand from Haunted Wood though, and was very happy with what I got, and I believe Mr Stenwick has also had good experiences getting wands from them. Tarot Garden is a good place for tarot, especially if you want to import European stuff that isn’t sold here. I get a lot of statuary from eMuseum. And I know that most online occult stores get 90-100% of their merchandise directly from Azure Green who offers a wholesale discount to anyone willing to pay an annual fee.
March 31, 2009 at 2:18 pm |
:) Excellent. Exactly the kind of input I was hoping for! Many thanks.
April 4, 2009 at 9:56 pm |
I think that it might be more well-read if you fixed your spelling errors! LOL. I’m not being mean, I have plenty myself, just saying you might want to do better proof-reading so more people will take you seriously.
April 12, 2009 at 2:29 am |
Interesting thought… I wonder what the world would be like if we paid more attention to what we are doing and stop worrying about what others do? Crystal balls don’t even come with spell check but often come with spells. So in metaphysical thought is it the idea or the words that matter? Ever read some of the books that came out of the 1930’s first print on magick?
June 26, 2009 at 6:55 pm |
The crystal balls we sell are made from high quality optical glass. The crystal ones are so expensive we have stopped selling them. We still do a black one that is 60% leaded glass and 40% crystal. This is what it says about the pricing on the manufacturers website.
“Because the ball must be flawless many have to be discarded after production. The larger the ball the more likely a flaw can develop, hence the larger sizes are dis-proportionately more expensive”
June 27, 2009 at 11:49 am |
I don’t know exactly what the going rate for things in pounds is, but your store seems to have fair pricing for the glass balls. Part of the problem is a lot of retailers are selling the glass balls at crystal prices. The glass balls I buy for $25 at the flea market (same brand with the same stand and box) sell for $140 at the occult bookstore.
You don’t really need a flawless ball though. Any real ball is going to have some flaws, even if they’re small, and the bigger the ball the greater the expected flaws. Even a very flawed ball would have a lot of magical value (as is the case with Quartz balls which are always severely flawed). I’d actually like to go through your manufacturer’s dumpster and pick out some of the bad ones.
Glass is good and you can do a lot with it, but I still recommend real crystal balls. They’re worth the money. I also recommend looking around for a good deal, they do exist.