Guide to working with a pendulum!

Crystal pendulums

ARTICLE MENU

- What is divination? - Types of pendulums & their uses.

- What is a pendulum? - What to do after you buy your first pendulum.

- The history of pendulums! - Connecting with you pendulum.

- How does a pendulum work? - Activating/programming your pendulum .

 - What can you use a pendulum for? - Caring for your pendulum.

- My pendulum story & picking your first pendulum.

Using a pendulum is my personal favorite form of divination because it is easy to understand, simple to use on a daily basis, and is small enough to be carried on your person at all times if needed. This was the very first tool I used when I decided to branch out from meditation and dream work to communicate with my spirit guides and it is the method I recommend to other's when they are starting their journey.

First, let's quickly go over what divination is.

Divination is the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means. This can be done using tarot cards, ruins, a Ouija board, tea leaves, etc. There are several forms of divination and no one method is more powerful than the other. It's like using a phone to call your friend. You can use any brand of phone you would like, landline or wireless, and whichever network provider. Using a pendulum is just one of the many many ways to communicate with other realms, if you will. It is also an excellent way to connect with your own subconscious to discover answers to things when you are struggling with your conscious mind. Sometimes we can be indecisive or have our minds too cluttered to make clear decisions. Using a pendulum or other forms of divination can often help us in those situations as well.

NOTE: You absolutely don't need a pendulum or any other divination tool to connect with your spiritual side. You are fully capable of achieving this without the use of special items. A pendulum is merely a tool that can be enjoyable to use, but it's not necessary. Everything we require is already within us. While having crystals and various tools can enhance the experience by making it more interactive and providing unique benefits, they are not essential for making a connection.

I also want to state that using tools to connect with various energy also is not evil, it is not working with the devil, it is not going against God or The Creator. Certain groups of people believe this because they lack knowledge on the subject or have been taught incorrectly. If you are doing everything with the best of intentions and have the goal of the highest good for everyone involved then there is absolutely no harm in working with these things. If it doesn't suite you, doesn't feel right, or isn't in line with your path that is perfectly okay, you can choose to not do it. If you are intentionally trying to communicate with the lower frequency entities, then yes, you can have a bad experience or invite unpleasant energy into your space. Listen to your intuition and if something feels off or wrong then back off and cleanse yourself, your space, and say you no longer wish to participate. I personally haven't had negative experiences but I have heard of other people that have. Usually they are being cocky and mocking the practice.

What is considered a pendulum?

In simplest terms a pendulum is a weight that hangs from a string or wire. For spiritual practices the weight is usually made from crystals, glass, wood, or metals in most cases. A lot of the time they are attached to a metal or gold chain.

The history of pendulums-

Historically pendulums can be traced back as far as 400 BCE by the Pythian Oracle of Delphi, the French explorers and mathematicians from the 1600's, and even Italian scientists from the 1500's. Pendulums have been used historically in more ways than divination alone. Ancient Egyptians would use pendulums to tell the sex of an unborn baby, where to plant their crops, and to find water sources underground. Other interesting ways pendulums have been used throughout history:

-During the early 1900's the Vatican hired Abbé Mermet to locate lost treasures with a brass pendulum despite the fact that the previous pope banned this in the 1320's.

-The British intelligence used pendulums to try and predict Hitler's next move.

-The Marine's fighting in the Vietnam war would use pendulums to discover underground land mines and tunnels.

-In Ancient China they used pendulums to determine where evil spirits came from and to chase them away.

-In Roman times people used pendulums to plot against the Emperor, unfortunately this led to many being condemned to death.

How does a pendulum work?

A pendulum acts as a form of receiver and transmitter connecting with your higher guidance; spirit guides, subconscious, the divine, or what you believe to be Source energy. This connection gives insight on questions that can be answered in yes or no form. There are pendulum boards that can be used as well with the alphabet or other options for the pendulum to guide you beyond the simple yes or no answer.

What all can a pendulum be used for?

-The main way people use pendulums is to ask yes or no questions for themselves or for someone else.

-With a pendulum mat that has the alphabet or other options for answers to ask questions that need more than a yes or no answer.

-For dowsing, which is an ancient method used to find water sources.

-To clear up negative energy from a space

-For Chakra balancing and to discover which energy centers in the body are needing attention.

-To find lost items

There are certainly more ways to work with a pendulum. I like to get creative and at times I have used my pendulum to plan an entire solo camping trip for the weekend when I needed to escape. I have used it to pick between a couple of items when I was struggling with making a decision, and I have used it to pick out which part of my healing I needed to work on at specific times. The possibilities are endless.

My little pendulum story...

When I chose my first pendulum, I was a novice in the metaphysical realm. At that point, I couldn't even define what a pendulum was in the context of spiritual practices. I had just begun exploring crystals and connecting with spirit guides through meditation. During a visit to a crystal shop, I was immediately drawn to a display board on the wall with various crystal pendants hanging from short chains. A round rose quartz one caught my attention, and I felt compelled to buy it. Although I wasn't sure of its purpose, I purchased a silver chain necklace, intending to wear the it as a necklace, thinking that was its purpose. At the register, the lady remarked, "Oh, I love this pendulum! I bet you will have a lot of fun using it!" This comment sparked a conversation and a quick lesson on divination work. Once home, I spent the rest of the day researching everything I could find on the topic. I did end up wearing it as a necklace and still do occasionally, as it's a wonderful way to connect and strengthen your bond with your pendulum and crystals.

I told that whole story to say this; sometimes we pick an item because it catches our eye and something in our gut tells us we have to have it. We may not know at the time why or have a predetermined purpose. That is okay- listen to your inner guide and do what feels best for you.

Picking your first pendulum!

Of course my suggestion is going to be to trust your intuition and let it guide you when picking out your first pendulum because I like to encourage everyone to build that intuitive muscle as much as possible. However, there are different types of pendulums that can be used for specific needs. What I did is used my first pendulum that I picked based off my gut feeling for all of my personal questions that are related to me and my practice alone. Then I intuitively picked a different pendulum later down the road to use when other people wanted me to ask the spirit world for guidance on their behalf. That was much later down the road when I was further along in my practice. At the time of writing this I have been establishing my Reiki healing work and will soon be looking into a pendulum to use when I am doing Reiki sessions. You can always have one pendulum that you use for everything or you can have different ones for different situations.

Types of pendulums and their uses.

Being that many pendulums are made from different crystals they are going to take on those various types of energy; I like to look at it like it is the personality of the pendulum. For example; we know Citrine is excellent for creativity which means using a pendulum made of citrine would work well when making decisions based around creative subjects Since the "personality" of Citrine is creativity your answers could be more on the creative side vs the serious side of things.

You aren't limited to only using certain crystals for these specific energy types, but if you wanted to be more specific with the energy you are working with then it does matter the material that is used.

If you want to be specific with the energy you are working with I would recommend researching the properties of the stone or metal used when purchasing a pendulum and see how you think it's energy will flow with you and your purpose for using it.

Now that you have your pendulum what is the first thing to do?

Cleanse, cleanse, cleanse!

Energetically cleanse your pendulum. You can use smoke, moon water, your own energy, the moon, the sun, or whatever your favorite cleansing method is. If you are exposing your pendulum to elements be sure it isn't made of something that will be altered from that method. For example a pendulum made of Selenite would break down if cleansed with water and over time a lot of exposure to the sun will lighten the color of Amethyst.

You can see how to do this by reading the, "Caring For Your Crystals" section of the "Beginning Your Crystal Journey" post. The same concept and methods can be applied to all of the divination or spiritual tools used.

Connecting with your pendulum.

Like I said earlier I wore my pendulum as a necklace. I rarely ever took it off for a while. I still wear my pendulums and rotate them out or I will wear a specific one if I know I'm going to be working with it soon. Keeping your pendulum on you for extended periods of time allows your energy and the energy of the pendulum to merge together making it easier to work with because the connection will be stronger. There are several ways to connect; let your intuition guide you. You can sleep with it under your pillow or by your bed, talk to it, use it etc. The more exposure you have to it the stronger the energetic connection will be which will enhance your work.

TIP: Think of your pendulum like a friend. Care for it, connect with it, and use it as frequently as possible. It wants to be put to work! Just like you would a friend make sure you respect the energy of your pendulum and the connection it provides to the other realms and your higher subconscious.

Program your pendulum.

When you first purchase a pendulum you will want to program or activate it. This is important because without this step you won't actually be receiving answers or guidance.

As with everything else there is no one way to do this. Some people tell their pendulum what yes, no, or can't answer looks like while others ask the pendulum how those answers will appear. I personally go with the latter. I feel each pendulum, crystal, or tool that I use has its own personality and I like to embrace that in my practice.

To begin:

cleanse your space, make sure you are grounded, in a calm environment without a lot of noise, and you are relaxed. You don't want to be multitasking or distracted.

Sit straight without your legs or arms crossed because we want the energy to flow freely from us and sitting cross legged and slump can cause energy to be a little chaotic.

Now you will decide

If you want to let the pendulum show you what it looks like for yes, no, maybe. or if you want to program it the way you would like it to show you. No way is better than the other it all depends on how you want to do it. One thing to keep in mind though is that if you decide to have several pendulums having them programmed to show you different ways could be confusing or hard to remember.

You will want to know what it looks like when the pendulum is saying

yes, no, maybe. Maybe- can also mean you aren't meant to know the answer at this time, you weren't specific enough with your question, or the energy you are working with isn't able to answer.

Ways your pendulum can move to represent answers.

Front to back like a head nod

side to side like a head shake

clockwise circle

counter clockwise circle

Next

Hold your pendulum from the top of the chain with your dominant hand. Make sure the chain isn't tangled or folded over your fingers. Remember we want the energy to flow as freely and clearly as possible. Let the pendulum dangle. You may find it easier to rest your elbow on a table to keep from being too unsteady. Try to hold the pendulum still, but if you are a little shaky it won't cause any issues.

Note: Programming your pendulum to its signals only has to be done once. Those responses will be set for the next time you use it and all of the times afterwards unless you decide to change them for whatever reason.

If you are allowing the pendulum to show you how it wants to answer then you will say, "show me yes." wait for a moment and your pendulum should start moving in one of the ways listed above. You will do this a couple of times, holding the pendulum still in between each response. Repeat this for no and maybe.

If you are programming the pendulum to the signals you want it to have. You will hold the pendulum like above, then you will say, "this is how I want to be shown yes" do this a few times, holding the pendulum between each response. Then repeat the method for no and maybe.

Test your pendulum

Ask a few test questions that you know the answer to. Like, is this the year 2024, is this November?, is today Thursday? Ask things that you know the answer to for certain. Once you are satisfied that your pendulum is properly programmed you can go to the next step.

Connecting your pendulum to the source energy.

This step is very important. Using a pendulum is a form of divination which means you are opening the lines of communication to anything in the spiritual realm. We want to make sure we are You want to make sure you are connecting to your higher self and not just our subconscious. To do this hold your pendulum in your hand close to your heart. Take a moment to relax and clear your mind then say,

"I call upon the higher self to answer these questions. I seek only truthful answers, which are aligned with the highest and greatest good for all concerned.”

This can be said in your head or out loud. You can change the wording if you would like. The goal is to make sure you are being specific about the energy you want the answers to come from.

You will want to do this each time you begin a session with your pendulum to ensure you are tapping into the highest energy possible.

Yay, now your pendulum is ready to use!

Let's go over some key things before you start though.

-Be sure you ask yes or no questions.

-Avoid questions that are a matter of opinion.

-Avoid asking questions that are phrased as, "should" or "supposed to" because these are opinion based.

-Do your best to not anticipate the answer. Your energy could influence the movement and you won't receive an accurate answer.

-Respect the energy you are working with and don't ask the same questions over and over in a short period of time.

-To signal to the pendulum you are finished with one question and moving to another one hold the pendulum in the palm of your hand after receiving the answer.

-Be patient and enjoy the moment.

-To ask for the pendulum to be more clear you can say, "respond louder" or "be more clear please."

-You can even name your pendulum and ask for permission from the pendulum. "Is it okay for me to call you _____?" then wait for the response.

More things to keep in mind-

-Make sure you are hydrated. Energy work is energy work no matter how simple it may seem. If you are really dehydrated, hungry, or not rested it can reflect in your results.

-Let go, do your best to relax and to not predict the outcome. Let the answers flow to you naturally without putting your wishes on it. Clear your mind and don't over think.

-Be sure you are grounded before beginning. If you are trying to get an answer and you are too emotional in the moment it can throw off your results.

-Let the answer be what the answer is. Don't keep asking over and over trying to get the result you want. If you are going to use the pendulum then trust that energy to be in your highest good. Especially if you took the necessary steps to ensure you are receiving the answers from the highest vibration you can.

-If your pendulum doesn't seem to be working or the answers seem to be off then try cleansing your pendulum and grounding yourself then try again. If it is still being wonky try asking it if it is okay to ask questions at this time. It may be in your best interest to wait until the energy is more balanced.

-Make sure your environment isn't too loud or chaotic. If there are too many distractions and you aren't able to focus it can throw things off.

Caring for your pendulum

Storage

Just like with any piece of jewelry or crystal you'll want to make sure you properly store your pendulum when it isn't in use. I like to keep mine in its own special little wooden box. Of course be mindful of wearing it as a necklace and getting the material wet. I have one pendulum made of Selenite that I have to be more cautious of when I wear it because it will break down if exposed to water. I also like to keep a small piece of Selenite in the box with my pendulums. You can do what feels right to you and be as creative as you would like. You can look up elements that correspond to what your pendulum is made of and incorporate those into the storage method or you can keep it simple.

Cleansing

This is one reason I store a small piece of Selenite with my pendulum when I'm not wearing or using it because Selenite cleanses the energy and charges the pendulum keeping it's energy as fresh as possible. You could always use any other cleansing method when you feel it is necessary.