Lithomancy is the ancient, divinatory art of casting crystals to receive guidance and wisdom.  

It has been used by shaman and fortune tellers for thousands of years and can still be used effectively today.

Casting crystals to help you gain insight into your future is a very different form of divination than crystallomancy or pendulum dowsing…it is much more like reading tarot or oracle cards.  You must look at how the crystals fall in relationship to one another and use their positions and energies to tell a story.

How to Read Your Cast Stones (Step-by-Step):

1. Cleanse yourself, your sacred space, and your stones.  If you need more information, check out this article about how to cleanse your crystals.
2. Sit within your sacred space and formulate an open-ended question about which you require guidance or information.  It may be helpful to write this question in your crystal journal so you know exactly what was asked when you go back to reference the reading in step #8.
3. Create a specific casting area in which to throw your stones.  This casting area may be marked with a special cloth or even a ring of salt.  This space creates an area of protection and sacred energy that helps connect you to source energy.
4. Choose a few tumbled stones that you feel drawn to using in your reading – it’s helpful if you choose at least 5 or 6 stones with a variety of associated properties.
5. Cast your chosen stones by holding them between the palms of your hands, approximately 2-3” above the casting area, and then drop them while pondering your question.
6. Interpret the pattern created by the position of the crystals. You should disregard any crystals that fall outside of the casting area as these are not relevant to the question at hand. If a crystal is cast into the center of the divining space, its meaning should be integrated with all others, as it provides a central theme for the answer to the question asked. Emphasis should be placed on any area in which multiple crystals are cast. If no stones are cast onto the casting area, you should repeat the cast or you may even need to reformulate the question.
7. Take a moment to write in your crystal journal about the stones used and the position in which they have fallen within the casting area.
8. The day after your reading, return to your journal and attempt to interpret the meanings of the stones and their relation to one another.  Look over the area as a whole and use your intuition to interpret the meaning of the way in which the stones were cast. Then, you should use the associated properties for each crystal combined with the meaning given for each specific section of the casting area in order to draw a conclusion about the question at hand.  If you’re having trouble interpreting the meanings of these symbols, reach for an Amethyst or Ametrine stone to help activate your intuition so that you can understand the hidden meanings within each image and how it relates back to your question.

This technique is excellent when used to perform readings for yourself, but it can also be useful for giving readings to others.  When interpreting the meanings of the stones and their positions for others, you may want to ask the person you’re reading for if the stones have any specific meaning to them and incorporate those properties into your interpretation.

You may also choose to cast your stones onto a specialized casting board where each section represents a particular area of your life.  Where the stones fall in relation to each section of the board will guide you to the messages the stones have for you.

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Want to deepen your crystal divination practice?

Tune into the Wheel of the Year and connect with ancestral wisdom through the art of charm casting at Samhain. Because Samhain is such a powerful time for intuition and divination, this is a great time of year to practice charm casting. In this method of divination, you’ll look at how the charms fall in relation to one another and use their positions and energies to tell a story. Get started with my Samhain Charm Casting Divination Kit!

Are you interested in becoming a Certified Crystal Healer? Find out more about the CCH and Advanced Crystal Practitioner Program HERE!