Pendulums - Lesson 3

This series of instruction and guidance has kindly been written by RowanBerry in the Whitewiccca forums and is saved here for easy reference.

You now know how to ensure that your pendulum is cleansed and attuned and how to prepare yourself and your working area so we are now ready to start using the pendulum!

It is time to establish your lines of communication with it so that the two of you understand each other. Remember, the pendulum is an extension of yourself, not an object with wisdom of its own; however, as with any other medium of divination, we need to understand the symbolism or ‘language’ involved.

There are two factors to be considered in determining communication: mechanics and willingness. By mechanics, I mean how the pendulum is going to physically indicate its various responses to you. By willingness, I mean its intent to answer these specific questions at this specific session.

We’ve mentioned that the manner in which the pendulum is used is to loop the string, chain or cord over your finger and let the weighted part hang freely beneath your hand, using according to most authors your dominant hand. This is almost always done over a table. Most people rest their elbow on the table for stability and to prevent fatigue. So your elbow rests on the table with your forearm at a slight angle and your hand extended more or less horizontally, with the pendulum hanging off your finger at a length where it can swing freely fairly close to the tabletop. Having grasped your pendulum in this manner, you’ll now want to know what it does to say ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘maybe’ etc

This exercise requires a piece of paper on which you’ve drawn a centre point with two arrows bisecting it, one crossing in front of you side to side, and one pointing to and away from you (like a cross but with even arms). Or you can draw a medicine wheel, which has the circle cut into quarters by the lines, with their intersection being the centre point. Lay the paper on the table, as you’ll be working over it. Hold the pendulum over the centre point and either wait for it to become still or grasp it and still it, gently removing your hand once it’s motionless.

Now ask the pendulum “how do you wish to indicate the answer ‘yes’?”. Be completely motionless and still – the pendulum will do all the work. Any volitional movement on your part will only interfere and complicate things. The pendulum will gradually come into motion and either follow one of the arrows, or move in a circular direction around the centre point or following the circumference of the medicine wheel. Some people obtain a linear motion, as per the arrows, so maybe ‘yes’ will be to/from you and ‘no’ a left/right motion, or vice versa. The arrows and/or wheel are to give you an objective background against which to evaluate the pendulum’s movement – the paper is not generally used once you know your pendulum’s mode of communication.

Having received your ‘yes’, now ask the same question for ‘no’. The response will almost invariably be the opposite movement from ‘yes’ but check to be sure. For all answers, the intensity of the pendulum’s movement is significant, indicating the force of the answer, the degree to which it is true. A hearty enthusiastic ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is much more definitive than a small tentative one. The latter case can be used as a hint to refine your questions.

Now ask how the pendulum indicates uncertainty or ‘maybe’. It may be via a linear motion when its ‘yes-no’ is always circular, or vice versa. It may be the usual motion but on a smaller scale. It may be refusal to move at all; or motion in erratic directions, though these latter usually indicate refusal rather than the need for refinement. This sort of response usually indicates a need to refine the question, making it more clear or specific.

You can ask the pendulum if it has a means of saying it cannot or will not answer; often it does not have one set response for this. The indication that this is the case can come through jumpy, shaky, erratic, jerky, or non-existent movement in response to a question. Failure to obtain an answer can mean one of three things: that the question was not phrased in an adequately clear or specific manner; that you are not meant to have this knowledge; or that you’ve overdone it for this session (or were tired even before it) and need to take a rest.

Because all knowledge exists in the universal field the pendulum theoretically cannot fail to know an answer. However, the energy of the answer may be incompatible with your own. You may be harmed by the answer, unequipped emotionally to deal with it, or spiritually unready as yet to receive it. In such cases you are denied information that is beyond your ability to deal with properly. Some believe it is your own subconscious that prevents the information from coming through; others believe it is the Divine, usually personified in your Higher Self, that filters what comes through to you. In any case, refusal of information is an act of protection by ‘the universe’ personified via the vehicle of your pendulum, not one of spite or obstinacy or other negative motivations.

Do not get annoyed if you receive no answer or an unclear one; rather, consider the implications. Could the question use rephrasing? If this seems the case, refine the question and try again. Could you be tired and hence less focused and receptive? If so, have a rest and come back to it later. Or is the problem spiritual? Could you be asking for information you’re not entitled to have? Could your motivations be impure? Could the response have implications that you’re not ready to deal with? Could you be too emotionally involved with the outcome? If this appears to be the case, do not insist. The refusal is for your own good and insisting may bung up the energies and interfere with the continuation of the reading.

Some people believe in tuning their pendulums through thought force – sending the pendulum the message that it’s to move this way for yes, and that way for no. I prefer to let the natural interaction of the pendulum’s energies with my own determine it rather than inflicting my own will.

The last item of common consent between you and your pendulum – which is the first in beginning a reading – is the ‘resting position.’ What position does the pendulum assume to show readiness for the next question? Does it just hang motionless, or does it swing or circle gently in a given direction?

Practice this week to discern your “Yes” “No” “Maybe” and “Resting” positions. Share with us on the forum how you have progressed and what you have noticed.