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Pendulum Basics

Hey, friends! To celebrate my new pendulum, I’m doing a Pendulum Basics post giving a run down on tips and information about pendulums! 

What even are pendulums? 

Pendulums are tools of divination primarily used to answer yes/no/maybe questions, and sometimes used with a pendulum board for more in depth answers, to communicate with spirits, or find lost items. They’re great beginner tools!

Pendulums are made of a string or chain with an object freely hanging from one end. Many pendulums have crystal points and use silver or gold chain, but it can be simple as a necklace pendant or a string and needle/bead/button/coin. Often, pendulums also have a small bead on the other end of the chain to make it easier to hold. 

Pendulums are held by one end so the crystal or object can swing, spin, circle, or shake freely. The movement of the object determines the answer.

How do I use a pendulum?

The best way to get clear and accurate answers is by making sure you’re holding your pendulum with a steady hand. You can hold one end of the chain between your pointer finger and thumb on your dominant hand. If you have a bead or similar object on the end, you have the option of holding the end of the chain between your pointer and middle fingers with the bead above your fingers. Do whatever is most comfortable for you, as long as your crystal/object is freely dangling where it won’t hit anything. 

To keep your hand steady, prop your elbow on a stable surface like a table. Rest your dangling object in your non-dominant hand while you ask the question. Drop your non-dominant hand downwards so it’s no longer touching the pendulum when you’re ready for the answer. Make sure you aren’t hitting the crystal when moving your non-dominant hand away!

What means yes, what means no?

That depends on your pendulum! All pendulums have different personalities. My pendulum swings back and forth in a straight line for no, makes small circles for yes, and shakes for maybe or don’t know. Some pendulums will do the reverse or make clockwise circles for yes, counter-clockwise for no or vice versa!

The best way to find out how your pendulum communicates is to ask basic questions you already know the answer to and see how it responds. For example “Do I have (color) hair?” or “Am I eight feet tall?” You can also say “Show me yes,” and “Show me no.”

Remember that it will take time for your energies to align so don’t worry if your first few questions are unclear. 

Where can I get a pendulum?

Many big online stores such as Etsy, Amazon, and eBay sell pendulums for varying prices. There are also independent sellers with their own websites that sell pendulums. You could also go to your local crystal or spiritual shop and see which one calls to you, which I recommend if that’s an option. 

Don’t forget to cleanse your pendulum first thing. A couple tester questions first are fine, but cleanse as soon as you’re able. Sage, salt, moonlight, sunlight, and meditation are all good options. Make sure your object can be exposed to whatever you’re using to cleanse. For example, some crystals will loose their color if out in the sun too long. 

You can also make your own pendulum. If you do make it yourself, you’ll only have to cleanse the materials that haven’t already been cleansed. For example, if you already have cleansed silver chain, but bought a new crystal, cleanse the crystal!

Final Tips

Don’t do anything you aren’t comfortable with. You don’t have to ask any questions you don’t want to, even if a client or friend is pushing you.  This is your craft!

Some crystals or objects might be better for certain questions. For example, a rose quartz pendulum would be great for love questions. You definitely do not need a rose quartz pendulum for love questions though!

Practice, practice, practice! Don’t be discouraged if you and your pendulum don’t sync right away. Learning divination takes time.

Cleanse regularly, especially if you encounter a lot of negative energy. If your pendulum starts acting up, that might mean it needs a cleansing. 

Work up to harder questions. Start with simple stuff like “Should I wear my hair up today?” or “Should I read this book?” and gradually move towards questions about love, work, etc. 

Don’t overwork your pendulum. Too much energy flowing through the crystal could break it!

If communicating with spirits or other entities, always dismiss everyone at the end of your session! You don’t want to unwittingly invite unwanted house guests. 

Thank you pendulum. It does a lot of hard work for you! Show your appreciation every once in a while. 

Basics Series | Ask Box | Tarot Readings | Tip Jar | Ko-Fi 

Rip Gabriel Agreste, teach the angels how to throw children

literally the cutest

i love fainting sofas❤︎

iggle piggle is so baby/toddler agere coded. carrying his little blanket around and just being the cutest ever - i need to be him.

(i love in the night garden and if you haven't seen it, i highly recommend, amazing kids show that is soooo perfect for regression!!)i

General Advice for Beginner Witches

A brief masterpost of some of my advice posts for beginner witches and the episodes of my podcast dealing with the same. (There is UPG here, particularly where marked, as I base a good deal of my advice on my own experience and observations of other witches.)

Hex Positive Podcast Episodes

Hex Positive, Ep. 04 - Advice for Beginner Witches (July 2020)

Hex Positive, Eps. 6-7 - Come In For A Spell 1 & 2 (Sept 2020)

Hex Positive, Ep. 12 - Witching From The Broom Closet (Jan 2021)

Hex Positive, Ep. 24 - Warding A Witchy Home (Dec 2021)

Hex Positive, Ep. 27 - When Inspo Takes A Holiday (March 2022)

General Tips & Advice

I Feel Like I Might Be A Witch...But I Don't Know

I Have Mental Health Issues - Can I Still Be A Witch?

Can I Still Be A Witch And Use Magic If I Take Medication?

How Do I Teach Myself To Believe In Magic?

How Does Magic Work? (upg ahoy)

Will I Be Possessed Or Haunted If I Try Witchcraft?

What Are Some Things I Can Do To Get Started?

How Can I Start My Practice If I Don't Have Tools Or Books?

How Do I Organize My Study Materials?

How Do I Contact A Deity?

How Do I Worship My Deity If I Can't Have An Altar?

Tips On Working With Deities And Spirits (here be upg)

My Intuitive Spark Feels Low - How Do I Get It Back?

I'm In A Slump - How Do I Get Out Of It?

I've Reached A Stopping Point - What Do I Do Next?

My Candle Is Flickering - Does It Mean Something Bad?

How Do I Make A Magic Circle For Spellcasting?

What Happens If I Get Interrupted While Casting A Spell?

Do I Need To Maintain Positive Vibes For My Spells To Work?

What Should I Do If I REALLY Want To Hex Someone?

How Do I Know / What Do I Do If I've Been Hexed?

How Do I Become More Skilled And More Powerful?

How Do I Know When I'm Ready For The Next Step In My Practice?

Additional Tips For Developing Your Practice

Witchcraft Exercise - Quantifying Your Craft

Witchcraft Exercise - Dig Through The Ditches

Witchcraft Exercise - The Book of Lessons

Witchcraft Exercise - Home Brews

Tips on How to Visualize and Construct Basic Wards

Practicing Your Warding Technique

Cleansing Before Warding / Warding A Shared Space

Refreshing / Patching Existing Wards

Non-Appropriative Herbs for Smoke-Cleansing

Smokeless Cleansing / Other Methods

Recommended Reading & Book Suggestions

The relief and freedom of being able to look at my face in the mirror and not feeling the urge to put on any makeup, or looking at my body in the mirror and not feeling the need to remove my body hair, is seriously unreal. I could never have imagined the scale of this relief, of this happiness. A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I never realised just how heavy it was until it was gone. This was the direct influence of exposure to radical feminism on me, and I will be eternally grateful.

Don't laugh at people or mock people who are "childish". People are allowed to like things that are considered "childish". Toys, kids cartoons, anything like that can be a valuable source of comfort for the people who like them. It's important to have things in life that make you happy, and without them it gets miserable. Wether that thing is stuffed animals or cooking or writing lyrics, what's important is that others don't ridicule and belittle them for it. There shouldn't be such judgement for the things that make people happy.

I keep getting spiraled on the motives of Gabriel writing that letter and his final moments. He obviously wrote it after the whole alliance ring shtick began, after he was hit by the cataclysm. My immediate thought is that he wrote it right before he shipped Adrien off to London, since it was inside a photo album inside a box for furniture to be moved, which implies it was when they were moving away his things.

I can only imagine that he wrote that as a "If everything goes to shit this is my back up plan' which is fair tbh. Maybe his plan wouldn't work 100% and the cataclysm would get to him before he could revive Emilie. Since he accounts for Nathalie also still being in the picture I imagine he didn't think she'd die so... Fast? Suddenly? Maybe he thought she would still be weak and frail and sick but alive to guide Adrien after he found the letter.

So far this is all well and good but now when it comes to his final scene with Maribug and him asking for her to not Adrien know the villain that he was, I'm of two minds about it. The first one is that, somewhere deep deep down in his rotten pathetic weak little heart, he really meant it and hoped Adrien wouldn't find the letter and he'd get to die and be with Emilie in the afterlife. Which is. A fair interpretation but you'd need to pay me a lot of money to believe Gabriel Agreste has any actual remorse for what he did lmao.

My second interpretation is that he wanted to have his cake and eat it too. It's not that he 100% wanted to control the narrative of how Adrien found out his misdeeds (though I think that's a valid interpretation), but in my head he just thought like-

"hey, I have an emergency plan in place with that letter right? Might as well go out faking a sacrifice and guilt trip this 14 year old girl, gaslight my son's memories and later down the line if he finds that letter, my chances of him actually bringing me back are way higher! Win win!"

In other words it wasn't a selfless sacrifice (obviously) but more so a, "I'll do this good deed so I might get something better in return later down the line" deal. Which I think fits his overall character narrative imo.

Can we just talk about how traumatising it must have been for Marinette to face Monarch. Like, not only is the supervillain you have been fighting for almost a year now your boyfriend's dad (who btw is a world famous very influential fashion designer), but he's also got your boyfriend's dead mother, who is believed to be missing, in the basement of their house; his assistant (a hero turned supervillain) who is literally dying in the other room AND when you try and reason with the villain to find a solution that will benefit all of you, he paralyses you and commits suicide? After your boyfriend has momentarily lost everyone in his life, the revived assistant takes you to the room where your kwamis are held captive and you find footage of your boyfriend imprisoned in a cell. You then take it upon yourself to lie to the whole world including your boyfriend, who shouted at you for not saving his dad, about the fact that the villain was actually a hero.

All of this happened in the span of a few hours and without the help of your partner, who, as far as you're concerned, just didn't show up.

Absolutely fucking traumatising