The pendulum - deceptively simple, astonishingly powerful!

If you’re a regular reader of this column, you’ll already be aware of the fact that I split my time between the big city lights of London and a rural village in a part of northern Spain called Asturias. But what you might not know is just what sort of a village I’m currently residing in. Let’s just say that I have now gone to the complete opposite end of the spectrum from London.

I’ve been told that when I moved in the population officially moved into three digits. That’s right, I am the 100th inhabitant of this lovely village nestled in the foothills between the mountain ranges of the postcard Picos de Europa and the stunning Somiedo Natural Park.

Perhaps my contribution to the population figures somehow opened new doors to state funding. Or perhaps, and more likely, my arrival coincided with several European Union-sponsored projects. Either way, since I have been living here, it’s clear that a lot of money is being spent on improving the village. For example, all of the water pipes are being replaced. And while I’m not sure why as I haven’t noticed any problems, I did know that the workers were coming my way this past week.

Their first task was to locate the existing water pipe leading to the house. In Britain, they would have consulted a map. In Spain, it appears that the standard approach is to start by asking all the neighbours where the pipes might be. As the newbie, I left them to get on with it. Well, I did until they dug the second gaping hole in my front yard without having located the pipe. At this point, I knew something had to be done.

I must say that I’m now used to the curiosity of my fellow villagers as stares always melt into smiles. But I think I really threw them when I came running out of the house waving for them to stop digging at once. What happened next raised more than one eyebrow. In my hand I was carrying a trusty pendulum. I could see it in their eyes as they wondered:

How can that pendulum tell us anything?

There was surprise all round. They were surprised I was convinced I could tell them where the water pipe was with this weight attached to a piece of string. And I was surprised that they hadn’t dowsed (that is, used a pendulum) to locate the pipe already. The pressure was on as I began to pace the field allowing my pendulum to sway this way and that. Eventually, I was pretty sure I had found it.

They moved their JCB in position and began to dig. Within a few scoopfuls, they had found the elusive pipe. They didn’t understand it, but my pendulum had pinpointed the whereabouts of what had been a needle in a haystack.

It always amazes me how many people either don’t believe in the power of pendulums or don’t know how to use them. Pendulums and dowsing (the act of using a pendulum) have become associated with the New Age movement. But in fact, the pendulum has been around for thousands of years. Historians have documented their use by the ancient Egyptians and by the Romans (who incidentally banned their use as they feared they would be used to overthrow the emperor).

In the fourteenth century, Pope John the XXII denounced the use of the pendulum as a means of divination (otherwise known as cleidomancy) as the Devil’s work. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century that the pendulum once again came back into fashion when the Italians started using it to find buried minerals and underground water. More recently, it’s known that the Germans followed enemy troop movements using pendulums in the Second World War. And there are accounts of them being used by soldiers in the Vietnam War.

As a device a pendulum couldn’t be simpler – it’s just a weight tied to a piece of string. You can use a chain or a thread. And the weight can be anything from a paperclip to a ring. Or, if you prefer you can always just go out and buy one as they are readily available in the shops. Personally, I think everyone should have at least one.

Once you have your pendulum you can be dowsing with only a few minutes of practice. All you do is hold the string between your thumb and forefinger with the least amount of pressure. The weight should dangle freely about 3 to 5 inches from your hand. Allow yourself some time to get used to holding it.

The next step involves establishing how its movements indicate yes and no. This is done easily by asking yourself a question to which you already know the answer. For example, many beginners ask this question: Am I male? And the pendulum should slowly start to swing on its own in the direction indicating a positive response (if you are indeed male). Equally, it’s best to follow up with a question you know to be false and again observe how the pendulum swings. You’ve now established the movements for yes and no.

Now it’s time to start asking questions. Remember, the pendulum can only give yes / no answers. So, asking open-ended questions won’t work. Formulate simple yet specific questions like: Is it going to rain in my town tomorrow? Try to avoid asking questions with which you are quite emotionally involved or else you might end up giving yourself the answer you want rather than the correct answer. In such cases, it might be better to ask someone else who can be more objective to dowse the question.

At this point you might be thinking that it’s not magic moving the pendulum, it’s only my hand. And you know what? You’re exactly right. People have known for literally hundreds of years that the pendulum moves due to involuntary and unconscious movements of the hand. It’s believed that using the pendulum connects your conscious mind to your subconscious mind, which can tap into various energetic resources for the answer. That’s right, one way of looking at it is that you already have all the answers.

Dowsing is like so many things in life – you get out of it what you put in. So even if your first tests aren’t all that successful, persevere as you WILL get better with practice. You’ll progress more quickly keeping these guidelines in mind:

• The pendulum can only answer yes or no.
• When you get an answer to your question, follow up with a similar question coming at it from a different angle.
• Ask questions for which there is a genuine need to know the answer.
• And remember, silly questions usually result in silly responses.

The main thing is to have fun with the pendulum. However, at the same time it’s worth bearing in mind that it might not be best way of seeking an answer to all your questions. Different jobs call for different tools. Some questions won’t result in a simple yes/no answer; some questions are too subjective and the response might therefore be biased in favour of the answer you were hoping for. In those cases, I might be able to help by using some of the other psychic tools available. So if the pendulum doesn’t work for you, perhaps I can help. If so, drop me a line.

Don’t forget that at IntuitiveBridges The Chakra Series continues. This week we move on to what I call the “I am what I am” chakra. We come to the Third Chakra and it’s all about self-esteem, self-confidence and self-respect. How are you at making decisions? How’s your intuition? Dig a little deeper – if you dare to ask yourself what might be some rather uncomfortable questions. Read my article in full!

As always, feel free to email me with any comments, suggestions or feedback on PsychicBridges.

Thanks again for all your support and until next week,

Kindest regards,

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