Sixth Sense
Psychic Development
and Divination
Crystals are inextricably linked with divination—which, simply put, is contact with the divine. There are many forms of crystal divination: you can scry with a classic crystal ball, or try your hand at rune casting. You can also use crystals as an adjunct to related fields, such as tarot cards, astrological counseling, and psychic readings.
Before you start dabbling in divination, however, it’s always a good idea to ensure that you’re working with positive forces, and that your own mood is as light, positive, and optimistic as possible.
Before you begin any psychic work, you might want to add a few drops of crystal elixir to a full eight-ounce glass of water. (You can find the directions for concocting a crystal elixir in the chapter called “Feeling Good.”) Water is associated with psychic ability and intuition for a reason: on a physical and mental level, water helps ensure that your cells are chemically balanced and fully charged. On a spiritual and emotional level, water helps psychic impressions flow freely.
Many psychics start their sessions with a few moments of cleansing, centering, grounding, and shielding. If you don’t have a starting routine of your own, just breathe deeply, put both feet on the floor, envision yourself surrounded by pure, white light, and say the following words:
I am protected, day and night,
By a circle of white light.
No evil may enter or even draw near,
For peace and goodness keep me here.
As you work, continue to visualize yourself surrounded by a protective shield of white light. You can visualize a crystal as a focal point for that light.
Whenever you are dealing with outside sources of information, remember to ground and protect yourself with that shield of pure white light.
Remember, too, that you don’t need to afford your psychic sources of information any more credit than you would give to a close, trusted friend—especially if you don’t have a long history of working with a particular spirit guide. Advice is cheap, even in the spirit world. Ultimately, you are responsible for making your own choices, and you will be the one who has to live with the consequences of any decision you make.
Back and Forth
If you want to know which way the winds of change are blowing, you might want to try your hand at pendulum dowsing.
A pendulum can be any object on a string—rings, a bead, a button—but some of the most impressive pendulums are crafted from crystals.
Crystal pendulums are typically drilled or glued so they can be suspended from a chain, or wrapped with wire so they can be suspended from a ribbon or a velvet cord. They’re beautiful, and they have a huge advantage over pendulums crafted from manufactured materials: crystal pendulums come with built-in strengths, straight from the natural world. If you know what type of questions you will probably ask, you can even choose crystal pendulums that correlate to those subject areas. If you want to dowse for information about relationships, for example, try a pendulum made from a pink-colored crystal, like rose quartz. If you want to dowse about money issues, try a green-colored crystal, like aventurine or moss agate. If you want to use your pendulum to augment your other psychic tools, such as tarot cards or runes, try an amethyst pendulum.
You can find pendulums in any metaphysical shop, and they’re usually very affordable—so you can add several to your collection. Ultimately, however, you only really need one pendulum—and if you want a good, all-purpose pendulum, clear quartz is always a good choice.
A nineteenth-century scientist named Michel Eugene Chevreul demonstrated that pendulums move in response to involuntary muscle movements—imperceptible twitches and tics that come about as a result of passing thoughts and hopeful wishes. Anyone who argues that science negates the effectiveness of pendulum dowsing, however, is missing the point. A pendulum is a remarkable tool for picking up, tuning in, and amplifying messages and information from your subconscious mind.
To try pendulum dowsing for yourself, first make sure that you are attuned to your pendulum. Hold the chain, ribbon, or cord between your thumb and index finger so that the pendulum dangles about six inches below your hand.
Make sure the pendulum is motionless, and then ask it—silently or with spoken words—to show you which direction it will move for “yes” and which way it will swing for “no.”
Experiment with holding it in both your right hand and your left hand. If you are normally right-handed, hold it in your left, which is generally considered to represent your intuitive, receptive side. On the other hand—literally—you might find that it’s easier for you to hold it steady in your rational, right hand.
You can use a pendulum to answer direct, yes-or-no questions. Look directly down at a pendulum, and it will indicate its response in one of several ways:
• Yes—up and down, like someone nodding his head.
• No—back and forth, like someone shaking his head from side to side.
• Maybe—a diagonal movement from the lower left to the upper right.
• Don’t want to answer—a diagonal swing from the lower right to the upper left.
• Probably—a clockwise circle.
• Probably not—a counter-clockwise circle.
Once you and your pendulum are synchronized, you can begin to divine with it.
If you have a question, ask it aloud. You should be very specific in how you phrase your inquiry. “Should I invite Kim to the ball game tomorrow?” will get you a clearer answer than “Should I ask Kim on a date?”
You can also write your question on a piece of paper, with “yes” in one corner and “no” in the other, so your pendulum can point you in the right direction. In fact, you can develop a simple, all-purpose diagram with the words “yes,” “no,” and “maybe.”
You can even make or find a full-fledged pendulum board with words, numbers, and images designed to reveal the answers you seek or enhance the answers you receive. Professionally designed boards usually include the words “yes” and “no,” along with numbers, letters of the alphabet, and sometimes the days of the week, months, or seasons of the year.
Pendulums aren’t limited to simple yes-and-no questions. If you are looking for lost objects, hold your pendulum over a map of the area in which you are searching. If you are trying to set a date for an important event, hold your pendulum over a calendar.
You can use a pendulum to help you with any psychic project. You can use a pendulum to help you choose which crystals to buy or use. You can use a pendulum in your crystal healing sessions to help you determine which areas of the body need special attention. You can even use a crystal pendulum in conjunction with channeling to make it easier for your spirit guides to communicate with you. And you can also use a pendulum to augment your other tools. Using a pendulum is one way to choose cards for a tarot reading, for example.
Pendulums are a lot of fun, and they’re a great way to set foot in the psychic realm.