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Copyright 2010 - B. de Corbin and Splendid Fish Studio

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What's new, Bill? Last update 4/16/2010 Michigan Witches Ball 2010 I am very excited to be a sponsor for this great event! To find out more about one of Michigan's best parties, click the link above. All sales are now being handled through my Etsy shop: www.splendidfish.etsy.com Click on the link above to see what is currently available. Don't worry, friends, it's still me behind the scenes! I've added a new section called Gods, Heroes, and a Couple of Regular Guys: Corbin's Tall Tales When I create a new piece of design work, it often happens that they come, much like a baby with a silver spoon in it's mouth, bearing a story. Unfortunately, when I sell a piece, the story is sometimes lost with it. I've decided to collect these stories into a section all their own, for your enjoyment. Enjoy them! Don't forget to click on the BLUE WORDS anywhere on this site to enter new worlds of mythic imagination.

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The Sorcerer's Book of Fun Things
to Make and Do

Project 2:
A Black Mirror for Scrying

The Black Mirror

Been eyeballing that $600 eight inch quartz crystal ball long enough? Sick of staring into the dregs of somebody's teacup looking for little pictures? Can't remember the Major Arcana, to say nothing of all those sixes and sevens of everythin? Maybe it's time to try a Black Mirror.

Despite the cool sounding name, a black mirror is not evil. The name simply describes what it is - a mirror which, unlike regular mirror which has a silver coating behind the glass to reflect light, has a black coating behind the glass to absorb light. So instead of looking into the glass and seeing your bad haircut, you end up looking deep into the mysterious land of mystery.

For this project, I recommend that you create your own designs. If, however, you don't feel up to it, here are a few designs you can download and use (click on the blue words):

1. The Ouroborus design I use in this demo.
2. A Traditional Design I found in an old conjure book. This pattern is supposed to go back to ancient Egypt. the Hindu mystics in Wilkie Collin's The Moonstone use this design to keep tabs on what's going on in the Big House by drawing it in ink on a boy's hand.
3. The Classic Pentagram Design.
4. The Classic Lotus Design.

Materials -
A picture frame with glass
Acrylic paint (you can use acrylic craft paint from Walmart, acrylic art paint, house paint, oil paint, enamal - whatever you have handy. Just don't use watercolor or tempera paint. It won't stick to glass).
Brushes
A pattern

Get yourself a picture frame. Make sure it has glass.

Here's the one I'm using - it's a 5 x 7. you can use any size you like, but I find the little ones to be handy, and they're much easier to hide from the inquisistion when necessary.

The little green tag in the bottom right says $5.67.

If you're really crafty, you could make your own frame out of air hardening clay, but you'd need a piece of glass to fit into it.

if you buy a frame, get one you like - wood, plastic, silver, with puppy dogs on it - you know, whatever.

If you are making your own pattern, take the glass out (careful - sharp!) and trace it on a sheet of paper so you will have the exact size you need.

The inside edge of the picture frame will cover some of the glass. Outline the place where the picture frame ends and the open space begins so you don't draw your pattern into the covered area. The space you have left is the "live area," the sspace you have to work with.