Pendulums: Magic’s Underrated Power-Tool

My first memory of a pendulum being used was my grandmother putting a ring on a length of yarn and holding it over a friend of the family’s stomach when the woman was pregnant. My mom explained to me that the pregnant lady had all sons and they wanted to know if she was having another son. I watched the ring swing back and forth instead of going in a circle. By the time my grandma had made her prediction, I had wandered my 5-year-old self-off to find other things to pass the time. My mother did tell my dad later, on the ride home that Mary was having a girl finally because the ring went back and forth, just like it did when Mom was pregnant with me.

A pendulum is a weight that can swing freely from a length of string that is held at a pivot point at the end of the string opposite of the weight. A complicated definition for a simple tool that has been used for millennia. Unsubstantiated claims state that the Egyptians were using pendulums to dowse for water as early as 2000 BCE. Architects and builders have been using pendulums in their work in the ancient world. A plum bob is the technical term used by builders for this type of pendulum. They are often used to get straight vertical lines.

One of the earliest artifacts using a pendulum for predicting was a 1st Century CE Chinese earthquake detector or seismometer invented by Zhang Heng. It could detect the direction of an earthquake from hundreds of miles away. A pendulum would swing and trigger a small bronze ball to fall out of a stylized dragon’s mouth and into the mouth of a toad in the direction of the quake. It was noted by historians that the balls fell several times even though no one at court felt anything and within days a messenger would arrive and report an earthquake. It’s not exactly a divination tool, but it to the Han court is had to seem like magic and science all rolled into one.

In Paganism and spirituality, pendulums are used for answering yes/no questions, predicting the gender of an unborn child, dowsing for water or valuable elements, or channeling messages. Pendulums are sometimes used in paganism to hypnotize a person. They are a popular tool for many because they are easy to acquire, cheap, and easy to store. Can be worn as jewelry when not in use, some can be hung in windows as suncatchers, and they can be tucked into pockets or bags. As an additional bonus, pendulums are easy to learn to use.

When choosing a pendulum to work with, it is best to pick one that you like and responds well to you. If I can hold the pendulum before I purchase it, I will hold it as if I am doing a read with it and as it a few questions. Some pendulums don’t respond well and that is fine. That usually means that the pendulum isn’t for you. Put it down and look at others. There are pendulums out there made from just about any material and within almost any price range. Just because the price is more or the bob is made of an expensive material, doesn’t mean that it is going to be more powerful or work better.

If you are purchasing a pendulum to work with a deity or certain spirit, I suggest doing a little research into what stones and metals they prefer. Pendulums are powerful tools to communicate with your preferred divine spirit. For example, I work with Brighid and when I use a pendulum to communicate with her, I use one with a copper bob on it because she loves the fiery tone of copper. Whether that pendulum is used exclusively for that divinity or not is between you and your divine.

Depending on the material the pendulum is made of will affect the care and storage of your pendulum. I like to store mine in my tarot bags with my cards or in little drawstring bags when transporting them. Some pendulums are made of stronger materials and can be just carried in a pocket, worn as jewelry, tossed in a purse. Be careful not to tangle or break the chain on your pendulum if you carry it unprotected. If your pendulum is delicate or elaborate, I recommend a padded pouch or a lined box for it. The better you take care of a pendulum the longer it will last you as a tool. Also, the better the care, the less negative energy it will accumulate.

Like all magical tools, pendulums need to be cleansed on occasion. I own a rod of Selenite that I lay my tools on to cleanse their energy. Research what types of cleansing your stones and metals can use because you don’t want to damage your spiritual tools. Water cleansing means placing them under running water or dunking them in saltwater to wash away any negative energies on your tool. If you have a safe location, you can cleanse and charge them under the moon or sun. A windowsill that gets sunlight or moonlight will work for this. They can be buried in salt to cleanse them or place them on a small pillow filled with salt. If you like using incense, you can pass it through incense smoke that you find pleasing and cleansing. I do not recommend passing them through a flame to burn of the negativity because that can damage your pendulum and burying them in soil can stain them in some cases. Do a little research and decide what method works best for you and the materials of the pendulum.

What forces powers a pendulum in divination is a matter of faith and debate. There are practitioners who will tell you that the messages they receive are from spirits on the other side of the veil, either the spirits of departed individuals or non-corporeal spirits who deliver messages to humans. I know people who believe that their pendulum is the means that their unconscious and sub-conscious minds communicate with them. Others still believe that it moves because a god, a demon, or an angel moves it. I personally believe that the pendulum taps into whatever energy you are working with at the moment.

There are many ways to communicate with a pendulum. The easiest method is to observe the way the pendulum swings or moves and assign meaning to those movements. Another popular method is to use a pendulum board to add more meaning to the movements. Pendulum boards are a material with numbers, letters, symbols, colors, etc. marked on them and meaning is derived by how the pendulum swings over parts of the board. If you have a board that has the numbers on it in an arc, the pendulum will swing over certain numbers in response to a question. BTW, this rarely works with lottery numbers, but you are welcome to try. A board can be marked on just about anything that can be placed flat on a surface below the pendulum. You can purchase boards made from cloth, leather, wood, paper, crystals, etc. and often resemble a stylized Ouija board. If you prefer to make one, they are quite easy to make and can be tailored toyour needs.

Pendulums seem to be as old as mankind, very easy to use, and quite effective when used properly. They are often overlooked and under utilized for more glamorous methods of divination. They are easy to learn to use whether you are a newer practitioner or a seasoned pro. They can be as discreet or flashy as you want them to be and since they tend to be affordable, they are lots of fun to collect. They also work with other divination tools and can add depth to reading or meditation.