Welcome! In this series of posts, I’ll be covering some basics on how to choose, cleanse, program, and use a pendulum for healing work and for dowsing/divination.

Please note that this type of knowledge can be found in many other places online, but I wanted to put together a handy summary of what I've learned from different sources, teachers, and my own experience, hoping that it will help you guys get up and running with your new pendulum without having to do a lot of research on your own.

Silly question, but what’s a pendulum?

A pendulum is a piece of crystal (or sometimes metal or wood), often in a cone-like shape, on a 6 to 8-inch chain, usually with a stopping bead at the end of the string. Some of the most popular uses for a pendulum are:

dowsing/divination/receiving guidance from Spirit, and
diagnostics on energy centers (chakras) in healing work.

Buying a pendulum

It's usually recommended that you buy a pendulum in person at a metaphysical or crystal store. Your pendulum should be responsive to you: for some reason not every piece of crystal will be, so it's good to test the one you’re interested in before purchasing it.

Buying at a store

When shopping at a brick-and-mortar store, glance at the pendulums on display and see which one you are intuitively drawn to. If you trust your gut feeling, the right one will often "jump out" at you and grab your attention.

To test the prospective pick for responsiveness, hold it by the end of the string, trying not to move your arm. (Don't be too stiff though! I find that gently pressing my elbow to the side of my body helps me hold my hand steady).

Ask the pendulum, "Show me a YES". A responsive pendulum will swing in a certain direction, usually either up and down or clockwise. Next, ask, "Show me a NO". The pendulum should swing in the opposite direction — side to side or counterclockwise in our example.

If you received answers and the pendulum didn't just remain still, you have a winner — time to break out that credit card! If not, grab a different pendulum and test it the same way.

(Technically, a pendulum is not capable of giving answers and initiating movement by itself: it's just a rock on a string. It's either your Spirit Guides, your Higher Self, or your Subconscious Mind moving it by causing an electromagnetic response or micro-movements in the body. In the next article, we'll discuss what makes your pendulum move and how to properly program it, but this is good enough for a quick test.)

In terms of the choice of crystals, I would say it's ultimately up to your preference. I'd go for more a neutral or universal stone, such as Clear Quartz, Amethyst, Rose Quartz... Beware of stones that have a highly specialized purpose. For instance, I wouldn't buy a pendulum with a black stone (such as Black Tourmaline), because those often work hard to either repel or absorb negative energy, and that can get in the way when you work with other people’s energy and use your pendulum for diagnostics.

Honestly though, get the one that's calling your name. 😊

Buying online

If you must buy a pendulum online: IT'S OKAY! :) Don't let the "only buy in person" folks deter you.

However, if you're buying online and cannot test a pendulum for responsiveness (and usually cannot pick a specific piece), do go for either the stones you're very familiar with or — best option — go for the neutral and highly programmable Clear Quartz. Can't go wrong with that one.

I find that Etsy has a great selection of pendulums. It will make your head spin trying to pick just one. Try this link to search for Clear Quartz pendulums on Etsy.

Other tips for choosing a pendulum online:

Stay away from pendulums with too intricate of a design, such as irregular/unusual crystal shapes, too much metal around the stone, wirewrapping, etc. Simple is best.
Once you see an item you like, take a quick look around the online store that sells it: is this a store that specializes in high quality crystals or is it a mass reseller of generic items and not specifically crystals? What is the return/refund policy in case you don't like the item?

How many pendulums do you need?

Well, if you've never worked with a pendulum before, get one and see if you like it first. :)

If you're only going to be using your pendulum for one specific purpose, you can get away with having just one. But if you're like me and you're doing both energy healing on clients AND psychic readings using dowsing AND talk to your Guides using a pendulum, I'd recommend getting at least TWO pendulums: one to work with clients and one for your divination purposes.

Why? Firstly, because you may want to program your pendulums differently for healing and divination work (more on that in upcoming posts). Secondly, because crystals can absorb negative energy from people when used in healing work, and that may affect the accuracy of your dowsing later. You probably don't want to have to cleanse and reprogram your pendulum every time you need to dowse after doing healing work.

What's next?

In the upcoming posts, I'll be talking about cleansing, programming, and working with a pendulum.

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Pendulums 101: how to choose a pendulum