An author on “psychomancy” affirms that fixing the gaze upon a crystal ball is one of the very best means of bringing out the latent faculty of astral vision, and he finds a reason for this in the atomic structure, the molecular arrangement of the material. He does not, however, impart any definite information as to what special structural characteristics render glass or rock-crystal particularly efficient in this direction.[318] The help that may be derived from crystal-gazing by those who are striving to pierce the veil that separates the “real life” about us from that spiritual life which is so much more real for those who believe in it, is also admitted by many.[319] We cannot refrain from citing here the words spoken by Sir Oliver Lodge at Birmingham, Sept. 10, 1913, before the British Association for the Advancement of Science, affirming his conviction, as a result of scientific investigation of occult phenomena, “that memory and affection are not limited to that association with matter by which alone they can manifest themselves here and now, and that personality persists beyond bodily death.” One of the latest types of glass balls for crystal-gazing has a small, circular, flat surface on the sphere. This may possibly be of service in furnishing a better field for the expected vision, and may also lessen the troublesome and baffling reflections which interfere so seriously with the projection of the mental picture. A method that has been recommended to crystal-gazers is to place the crystal on a table, protect it from the reflections of surrounding objects by means of a velvet screen, and set seven candlesticks with wax tapers in front of the screen. The tapers are then to be lighted, the room being otherwise in perfect darkness, and the would-be scryer is to seat himself comfortably before the table, laying his hands flat upon it, and to gaze fixedly upon the crystal for half an hour or longer. The light from the tapers will certainly ensure a multitude of light points in the crystal. That the molecules forming the sphere may always remain _en rapport_ with the gazer, he is advised to put it beneath his pillow when retiring to rest.[320]