Witches’ Tools: Witchery Methods I Have Tried, So Far

During my search for information over the years, I have decided to try and find different ways to access what I want to know. I am a firm believer that we can access information in a variety of ways and that each way may very well give us different perspectives, different access or even flesh out knowledge gained from different sources. As such, while one method of divination may give us some of the answers a separate type of divination may fill in blanks left by the first.

Numerology – Using the vibrational number behind the letters allows you to access information as varied as character, personality, fate, karmic links, divination, a path to follow, etc. about yourself, the people you meet and situations. It is said to be a way of accessing the universal knowledge.

Pendulum – Using a pendulum is said to allow for everything from question and answer style divination, to locating lost objects and more. Some believe that pendulums use the magnetic energy found within the earth and her living creatures and allows us to communicate within these force lines. Others feel that it allows you to access the universal knowledge.

Wind Augury – Using the sounds of the wind and movements of the wind in leaves, branches, grasses, etc. to answer questions, pass messages, and information to the person studying. This is thought to be a way to communicate with the wind elementals, the universal knowledge, or other mystical beings who wish to share knowledge and information.

Crystal Ball – The use of a crystal ball for gazing purposes is used to communicate with those on the other side, access visions, and information from the universal knowledge. Some feel that crystal gazing will allow two-way communication between the different sides of the veil.

Tarot Cards– Decks of highly stylized cards used to interpret past, present, and future. A single card may be drawn to give a focus for the day or they may be used in various styles of layouts in order to predict the outcome of a circumstance or answer a question posed.

Medicine Cards – Using these cards is another form of divination. They are said to be a way to gain balance with nature, seek inspiration, and find one’s path in life. They are similar to tarot in that each card has meaning and different layouts provide depth to the readings performed with the cards.

Power Deck of Wisdom – Draw and exhibit a card from the deck daily. It is used as a focal point each day for you to ponder the beauty, health, strength and wisdom inside you which you need to bring out and manifest in your daily life. The cards help you to bring out that which already exists deep within you to help you improve and enjoy life more fully.

Phoenix Cards – Used to access the knowledge and experiences of your past lives in order to help you deal with issues in the current incarnation. All that we are is locked within our unconscious mind and these cards can help to access the talents, knowledge, memories, etc. that we have carried into this incarnation.

Runes – Whether using a single set of runes for readings or multiples, this is a method of divination that has been used for centuries. Whether casting the runes or drawing the runes and laying them out, it allows access to the universal knowledge or divine. The runes are also used in spell work, of course.

Automatic Writing – Using a simple piece of large white or brown paper, allow your pen to flow over it in loops and shapes. When finished review the information to see if there are words, phrases or shapes, which speak to you. This is thought by some to access the universal knowledge, by others to reach beyond the veil and speak to those who have gone on before, or to speak to mystical creatures that have messages to impart.

Pyromancy – Using the flames of a candle or fire to set you into a trance, scry, and allow visions to appear. Some feel that this is a method of communing with fire elementals, which have wisdom to impart; others feel that this is another way of accessing the universal knowledge. You may see visions in the flames, hear messages, or just feel the communication.

Botanomancy – This form of divination requires that you study the smoke of a fire and/or the ashes and other remains of a fire in order to garner messages from the universal knowledge, those who have passed beyond the veil, fire elementals or other mystical creatures.

Hydromancy – This form of divination uses flowing water in rivers, creeks, streams, etc. as a focal point for scrying. Staring into the moving water can allow you to access visions or hear messages. Some feel that the knowledge comes from water elementals, other feel that is allows access to the universal knowledge.

Palmistry – Studying a person’s hand, the lines, shape, fingers, mounts, etc is believed to give insight into the person’s life. Everything from their past, present, and future has a place in palmistry. Studying the hand is supposed to tell of their love life, longevity, travel plans, future happiness and more.

Scrying Mirror – Used in a similar manner as a crystal ball, as a focal point for divination or answering questions posed. It is said by some to access the universal knowledge and by others to speak to others on the other side of the veil. Visions are most common, but some people hear the answers.

Scrying Bowl – Use of a scrying bowl or caudron is similar to using scrying mirrors and crystal balls for divination and answers. It holds water darkened with ink, etc. which allows it to become a vehicle for visions and allows access to the universal knowledge or those on the other side of the veil.

These are the techniques I have used, so far, to try to gain new information, to reach new insights and answer questions I have had. There will be many more opportunities for me to experiment, learn, and grow as time passes. I believe that when we stop searching for answers and stop learning new ways of trying things then we begin to die.

Pendulums: Yes, They Can Have A Good Laugh At Your Expense…

My sister-in-law and I were both heavily pregnant when we made the mistake of using a pendulum together. For those of you who are “differently gendered” or those who have not yet or will not become pregnant, trust me. There is a point in every pregnancy (when you hit that fortieth month of pregnancy) the month when you cry because you are always tired, always going to pee, cannot get off a chair or couch without assistance and cannot remember not being pregnant…ever. This is not the time to use a pendulum.

Pendulums are great for communicating, but when using one together with someone else, especially if one or more of you are pregnant, it is a good idea to have one person, only, asking the questions and holding the pendulum. If there are questions for another person, write them down before hand. It just helps to keep things from becoming confused.

This was my first pregnancy and her third, so to make a long story short we were asking about our pregnancies. How would they turn out? Would the babies be healthy? We were simply asking the usual pregnant woman type of questions, when suddenly we both started getting scared. It kept answering questions for us about a multiple birth. She had already decided to have a tubal ligation, as this would be her third and final child. We had both had sonograms and knew there was only one child, each. True, there were two babies currently gestating, but our due dates were more than two months apart. It said there would be a single birth date. We began to worry that she would have to deliver early for some health reason. However, when asked we would not deliver our babies on the same date. I knew I could not get pregnant again, because my current pregnancy was already a miracle according to my doctors as I was told I would never be able to get pregnant in the first place. We were under a lot of stress together, our father-in-law was ill and she had been in the family for so long that it was like losing her own father, again. I had just married into the family the previous November, and was very close to the end of my surprise pregnancy. We were both asking questions by this time trying to learn anything that would be good news. Yet, we kept hearing multiple births and one date.

To the question of a multiple birth. Yes. To the question of one of us having a stillborn baby. No. Are you SURE there is a multiple birth? Yes. Will she and I deliver on the same date? No. Multiple meaning more than one baby? Yes. Okay… is it her son and my son you are talking about? No. Okay… is she going to get pregnant again? No. Well I cannot get pregnant again. No. We were both almost in tears by this time so we just stopped asking anything for fear of what we would discover.

All it took was about thirteen months for everything to become perfectly clear. That was when I had the sonogram, which announced the expectant arrival of my twin sons, who were due to arrive 17 months after their elder brother. That was the only question we did not think to ask. Since the first pregnancy was supposed to be impossible, of course we never thought to ask about another one for me, other than me stating, “Well I cannot get pregnant, again”. To which it answered, “No” and we did not think to explore that particular, “no” and apparently, that was our mistake. Sometimes I am not the brightest witch in the coven.

Witchery: To Use a Pendulum

How do pendulums work? It has been theorized in several different ways. Some people believe a “universal energy” or “universal knowledge” flows through everything and supplies the answers to the questions. This energy being described as something akin to “The Force” in Star Wars movies, an energy, which is in all living things and generated by all living things thus being the “essence” of all things… it knows all things.

Others say the “soul” or “spirit” of the querist is that which actually guides the answers. That the person or persons doing the querying are immortal beings, and thus being timeless entities are all knowing and all seeing, we only hide the answers from our physical bodies and conscious mind.

Some believe deities show us the answers, when they are called upon. As they are super beings that have existed for millenniums, whether as creators or the created,  they have a unique perspective of events and actions due to their timelessness.

Still others say time doesn’t exist as most people think of it, in a straight and seamless line, but it co-exists all together at the same instant and as such, since past, present and future are simultaneously occurring “now” all questions are answerable “now”.

Finally, some believe loved ones or other spirits from the other side of the veil, the side of the non-living are working with the querist in order to provide answers to questions asked.  Because on the other side of the veil lies the answers we all seek, the access to all knowledge, they are able to assist the querist.

Regardless of where the answers come from, it is important to note the answers provided will depend upon the skill of the querist in asking questions and interpreting the results.

First, you need to find or create a pendulum. You can purchase one online, or in local occult or new age shops. If you choose to create your own, you may use any weighted item, such as a small crystal or stone of your choice, which has been altered to fit a chain. Attach it to a length of chain or ribbon, at least six to eight inches in length.

How to use a pendulum is easiest of all.

First, relax your body and take a few deep and cleansing breaths, take a moment to  ground and center yourself to prepare for the session.

Take a comfortable seat at a table and lightly loop the chain so that you are not pinching it between your fingers. Loop it around your palm and between fingers to allow it to rest on your hand comfortably without exerting any pressure. Allow it to dangle an inch or so above the surface of the table. Hold it steady so that there is no movement to the pendulum.

Speak to the pendulum, either in your mind or aloud, whichever is most comfortable for you and tell it to show you your “yes” response. If the movement is too slight, ask again until you can clearly determine the movement. Pay attention to the motion of the pendulum. Does it move from side to side, forward and back, in deosil circles, or widdershins circles? This will be how the pendulum will report an affirmative response to your queries.

Once you are certain of the affirmative response, using your mind or voice, tell the pendulum to stop. You may have to repeat the command more than once to stop the pendulum completely, when you receive a forceful answer.

Speak to the pendulum, again and tell it to show you your “no” response. Again, note the movement of the pendulum, whether side to side, forward and back, in deosil or widdershins circles, etc. This will be your negative response.

After you have asked the pendulum to stop and it has, the third time you will ask it to show you a “not now” or “maybe” response, which it will use to indicate that you are not ready to know that answer to the question you have asked or if the final result is not yet determined.

After you have learned the ways in which the pendulum will answer you, test it by making several simple declarative statement both true and false to which you know the answers so you may verify you are reading the responses correctly.

Once you have done so, you are ready to use your pendulum. The hardest thing to remember is to ask questions in a way, which leaves no room for interpretation of the question.

For example, when Azrael and I had been married about a week, he asked it to help located pictures of my gorgeous feline, Sinatra, to take to work and show a friend. We had just moved into together, so many of our belongings were still in boxes in every room. He had no idea where they might be, but he knew they existed. He carefully made a map of the rooms in our new home and went to work. He held the pendulum over each room and asked if that room held pictures of Sinatra. It advised him pictures were the living room. He created another map showing the location of all the existing boxes and items of furniture. It told him they were located in the armoire, which held our television. He searched in vain for photo albums or stacks of pictures. Finally, when I arrived home he told me of the dilemma and his frustration. I opened the bottom cabinet and immediately found the bag where I kept undeveloped film and my 35mm camera and handed it to him. I was always taking pictures so I knew that was what the pendulum was trying to tell him. The rest of the pictures were not inside the house at all, they were still out in the trailer in our new front yard waiting to be unloaded into our home.

Moral: Think the question through thoroughly and word it to leave no alternative interpretations. Whatever powers the pendulum, whether it is a universal energy, our spirits through our subconscious or time itself, it does seem to have a sense of humor on occasion.