Crystal Balls

**Crystal Balls** are magical and non-magical items featured on ABC's *Once Upon a Time*. They first appear in the twenty-second episode of the first season.

## History

### Before First Curse

At the bequest of Rumplestiltskin, Jefferson travels to Oz to retrieve magical slippers for him, but instead he procures a crystal ball. He then travels back to the Enchanted Forest and delivers it to Rumplestiltskin. It then becomes one of many magical objects he keeps in his castle. *("The Doctor", "Heroes and Villains")*
Journeying from nearby Arendelle, Anna arrives to the Enchanted Forest seeking Kristoff's old friend, David. He and his mother, Ruth, allow her to take shelter on their farm. During her time there, Anna helps David to overcome his fear of fighting back against the cunning warlord Bo Peep. The next morning, as Anna is leaving, she asks Ruth if there is someone that is an expert on magic-related issues. Ruth then writes down the wizard's name for her. While riding off on horseback, Anna later enunciates the name, Rumplestiltskin, out loud. Unbeknownst to Anna, Rumplestiltskin cackles in delight as he witnesses this within the crystal ball. *("White Out")*
To learn why her parents once sought out Rumplestiltskin's help, Anna agrees to assist him by dousing an old man's tea with a substance she believes is poison. Upon meeting the kind-hearted man, she cannot bring herself to do it and dumps the liquid out. She lies to Rumplestiltskin about completing his task, and only then he reveals the substance was an antidote to cure the man. Through a crystal ball, Rumplestiltskin shows the man, who he poisoned days earlier, transforming into a mouse. Horrified, a worried Anna takes off to the old man's house. *("The Apprentice")*
In a deal to find a third magical sister to complete her family, Ingrid returns the sorcerer's hat to the apprentice in exchange for a scroll containing information about the one she so desperately seeks. Arriving in another land, she consults with a psychic named Madame Faustina about the third sister, who won't be born for another twenty-eight years. Ingrid pays for the seer's service by giving up her necklace, and then listens with rapt attention as Madame Faustina gazes into her crystal ball and foretells of a girl that is very special. Ingrid requests for more information, to which Madame Faustina concentrates further and reveals the girl's name will be Susan. However, Ingrid learns from the apprentice's scroll that the third sister's name is to be Emma Swan. Angered at the fake seer's trickery, she storms out of the shop. *("Shattered Sight")*

* Alternate Timeline

Arriving to the past Enchanted Forest from the future, Emma and Hook set out to orchestrate a fated meeting between Snow White and Prince Charming, which they accidentally kept from happening. With a wave at his crystal ball, Rumplestiltskin allows them to see Snow White currently attempting to bargain with the pirate Black Beard for passage onto his ship in order to escape the Queen. However, Black Beard asks for more gold, which she cannot afford, so he walks away from their deal. *("Snow Drifts")*

### During First Curse

When a curse cast by the Evil Queen brings all Enchanted Forest inhabitants to a land without magic, many personal belongings cross worlds as well. Among several items, three crystal balls end up in Mr. Gold's pawnshop. *("Pilot", "A Land Without Magic")* }}
Landing in the Enchanted Forest, Neal's desperate means to reunite with Emma and Henry lead him to his father's abandoned castle. Robin Hood, who has currently taken over the castle, allows Neal and Mulan to search its grounds for whatever they need. Activating a secret room with Rumplestiltskin's enchanted cane, Neal enters in and picks out a crystal ball. On Mulan's advice, he concentrates and thinks of Emma while holding the crystal ball, which allows him to see her within it. To his horror, he recognizes that she is no longer in Storybrooke and has crossed worlds to Neverland. *("The Heart of the Truest Believer")*