by: Carolyn Donnelly
Divination is a simple way to tap into the deep reservoir of wisdom that each of us holds in our higher conscience. The pendulum is not a magical implement. It is only a tool. The magic comes from our ability to access a vast pool of knowledge that we already have at our disposal. Everyone has the ability to divine. For some it will come easily and immediately. To others it may take a little practice. It is a fun way to find answers to some of life’s questions and to develop your psychic ability.
People normally turn to divination when they have a burning question or when they are at a crossroad and must make an important life decision. It is usually a time of indecision and divination can help us to determine what is really important to us. Our mind is a strong and influential force that often rules our decision making. Our logical mind, however, can trick us into making decisions that do not take all the important aspects of ourselves into account. Divination helps you to tap into our intuition and find out what you really want and what will really help you to achieve your life goals.
Divination can also help you in many everyday practical ways such as: finding something that is lost; for better health; for healing; and even to help you make better gardening decisions. This paper will concentrate on how to use a divination pendulum.
The Pendulum
A pendulum is a convenient tool for divination as it can be carried around in your pocket or worn as a necklace. A pendulum can be made from any small symmetrical object that can swing freely and easily on the end of a cord or chain. You can use a bolt, screw or nut from the garage tool box, a ring or pendant from your jewelery box. The kitchen drawer can also offer surprising small objects that you be used as pendulums. Before writing this article, I searched through my kitchen drawer for examples and found a round key-ring, a small padlock and a symmetrical key, all of which could be used as a pendulum. The object must be reasonably symmetrical however in order for it to work correctly and it must be of a certain weight. For instance, if it is too light it will not pull the cord tight and swing correctly. If it is too heavy, you will find it difficult to hold it gently between your fingers.
Choosing a Pendulum
Although you can use just about any symmetrical object, made from any material, most people tend to choose a pendulum that they like the look of and feel comfortable with. You can buy beautiful pendulums for a small amount of money from new age and metaphysical shops. They are typically made from metal, wood, semi precious stones or crystals and usually come with a chain or cord attached. Remember, that the pendulum is not a magical implement but only the tool that allows you to unlock the secrets of your own higher self.
However, the material that a pendulum is made from can increase particular energies that contribute to the power of your divination. Pendulums made from semi-precious stones or crystals bring to your divination the special quality that the stone or crystal provides. These special qualities can assist you by increasing the positive energy during the divination process. Below is an example of some semi-precious stones and their particular qualities:
Amethyst – soothes the nervous system, balancing emotions. It helps you to feel more in control. It is good for relieving physical and emotional pain and overcoming addictions, dispelling anger, fear and anxiety.
Citrine or Golden Topaz - a highly positive stone that can guide you in a positive and creative direction. It is good for dispelling insecurity and negative thoughts and for attaining inner calm and security. It is motivating and helps you to achieve clarity of thought and resolution of problems
Clear Quartz Crystal – a highly spiritual stone, quartz is good for psychic development. It is purifying and creates harmony and balance. It enhances the qualities of other stones and can be programmed to achieve just about any goal.
Rose Quartz Crystal – the love stone, rose quartz creates harmony and balances emotional states. It is the stone for self-acceptance and appreciation of all things. It brings peace, compassion, self-love, happy relationships and receptivity to beautiful things.
Sterling Silver – brings clarity of thought and enhances your ability to deal with intellectual problems.
Tiger Eye - strengthens convictions and brings courage and confidence. It is good for mental focus and for promoting energy flow around the body. It is said to attract the people and things into your life that you need to achieve your goals.
Chambered Pendulums
Many pendulums contain a hollow chamber into which you can insert an object of significance to your divination questions. Chambered pendulums are usually made from metal and have a small hinged lid that opens to a small hollow chamber. Objects that are commonly inserted in the chamber include small crystals or stones to increase particular energies or a hair or piece of clothing from someone central to the question that is being asked. This makes chambered pendulums a very powerful tool for use in pendulum divination.
Preparing for Divination
Because we often turn to divination when we have a great desire to find the answer to a question, it is important to ensure we are in the right state of mind for undertaking divination. A genuine desire to find an answer is an important factor to successful divination. However, it is also important that you do not approach finding the answer in a desperate way with too much emotional attachment to the answer. You must approach divination in a relaxed manner, remaining a little detached from the answer. If you are too anxious and put too much pressure on yourself, the process will be ineffective.
For the best results, especially if you are using divination as a way to answer a question that causes you stress, it is advisable to undertake divination directly after meditating. Alternatively, here is a relaxation technique that will assist in reducing any anxiety directly before undertaking divination:
Light an aromatic candle or incense in a relaxing scent (examples: amber, lavender, geranium, jasmine, frankincense) in a room where you will not be disturbed. You could put on some relaxing music if you find that calming. Sit or lie somewhere comfortable. Once you are settled, imagine a light entering your body from your feet and gradually filling your body. As the light travels up your legs and through your body visualize the light entering every sinew, muscle, tendon and vein – every cell. Imagine the light to be soothing, calming and relaxing you as it pours into every aspect of your body. If you have an ache or a pain, concentrate the light on that point, making it bright and imagining the light healing the pain. As the light continues to make its way up through your body, it takes with it any pain, discomfort or stress until finally pouring out through the top of your head, expelling anything that is making you ill at ease.
By relaxing prior to divination, you will reduce your internal ‘noise’ and will be better able to focus your mind on the question. A more relaxed state will help you to remain calm and will assist you to get in contact with your intuition.
Determining the Question
Because pendulum divination is used to provide a Yes or No answer, you must be careful how you ask the question. The question must be unambiguous. Sometimes it is better to ask a series of simple questions that can be answered with either yes or no than to ask a complicated question where answering yes or no does not really give you a meaningful answer. Spend some time on your question as, if you ask ambiguous questions in the early stages of learning to use the pendulum, you may loose confidence in the accuracy of the process.
Practicing with a few simple questions first will help you to determine how to best form a question to find an answer to the important issues. Sometimes the timing for the question is not right. If this is the case, you will not receive an answer. You can, however, ask the pendulum whether the timing is right.
How To Use Your Pendulum
Determining the Yes and No Signals
Find somewhere comfortable to sit. Hold the cord or chain of the pendulum between the thumb and forefinger, leaving 2 to 4 inches of cord between the pendulum and your fingers. Ensure that your fingers are pointing down so that the pendulum can swing freely.
Hold the pendulum in front of you, so that it has plenty of room to swing above your knees.
To start the divination process, swing the pendulum in a motion away from you and towards you. This is the neutral action and is a way of saying, “I am ready to start divining”.
Firstly, you need to predetermine the signals that mean Yes and No. To do this, you ask the pendulum.
To determine the Yes response - While your pendulum is still swinging in the neutral action, state, ‘show me my Yes response’. You do not need to say this out loud but make sure you state it clearly in you mind. Now watch the pendulum. It will change direction or change its movement style or it may stop altogether. Whatever movement it makes after you ask for your Yes response is the movement that will be your signal for Yes.
To determine the No response - Swing the pendulum once again in the neutral action. While the pendulum is still swinging in the neutral action, state ‘show me my No response’. Watch the pendulum and whatever motion it makes will be your No response.
Repeat the process outlined above until you are confident that you have a predetermined response for Yes and No.
If You Don’t Get a Clear Signal
When you first start using a pendulum this process may take a while as you are using a part of your psyche that may not be well practiced. You need to be patient with yourself and keep you mind focussed on the question you are asking. For some this comes immediately but for many it will take practice.
If, after trying a number of times, you are not getting a clear signal from the pendulum for Yes and No, you can decide your signals using your conscious mind. To do this, repeat the exercise as stated above but this time decide on what movement you would like to be your Yes signal and what movement you would like to be your No signal.
To consciously determine your Yes signal, firstly swing the pendulum in the neutral position, then state in your mind, or out loud, ‘this will be my Yes signal”. On making this statement, deliberately swing the pendulum in the motion that you have chosen to mean Yes. Do the same thing to determine the No signal. Once you have set your responses, practice swapping between Yes, Neutral, No, Neutral, Yes, etc. Test out the predetermined responses by asking some simple questions and let the pendulum signal the answer.
Like anything new, your divination will improve through practice. Practice helps you to focus your mind and will help you to develop an emotionally detached disposition when divining. Over time you will increase your ability to ‘hear’ your intuition and improve your general psychic ability.
Pendulum divination helps you to align your intellectual mind with your intuition. It is a simple tool that is easy to use and a great way to increase your psychic development. Tap into your own immense source of knowledge and have some fun in the process. Anyone can divine and a pendulum is a simple and easy method for tapping into the higher realms.
