Magic Forums

Introduction
In this article I will try to give you as much information as my knowledge allows me about pendulums. From its uses to making one.

Subcatecories

• What is a pendulum?
• Some uses of the pendulum
• Make one or buy one?
• How to use it
• Conclusion

NOTE: As stated in the title, i n this topic we will be discussing only the magical uses of a pendulum and not any other measurement methods. If you are interested about other uses of the pendulum please read the excelent article on wikipedia about it.

What is a pendulum?
Technically speaking, a pendulum is a weight suspended from a cord.

"Apendulum is a weight suspended from apivotso that it can swing freely. [1] When pendulum is displaced sideways from its restingequilibrium position, it is subject to arestoring forcedue togravitythat will accelerate it back toward the equilibrium position. When released, the restoring force combined with the pendulum's mass causes it tooscillateabout the equilibrium position, swinging back and forth. The time for one complete cycle, a left swing and a right swing, is called theperiod. A pendulum swings with a specific period which depends (mainly) on its length."
~From wikipedia's article about pendulums

Some uses of the pendulum
Use of the pendulum out of magic
The first appearance of the pendulum is at the first century when a Chinese scientist used it as a pointer in his seismometric device. After that we see the pendulum used (first) by Galileo as a timekeeping object around 1602 which was the most accurate timekeeping technology until the 1930s! We also see the pendulum being used by Foucault as an object that shows the Earth's motion.
~Wikipedia's article used as reference for the dates shown in this section.

Use of the pendulum in magic
Besides all the other uses, we see the pendulum being used as a divination tool within magic. I have no historic knowledge on its appearance in time but we see it being widely used in magic since the "resurection" of magic.
The pendulum has many different uses in magic varying from divination to finding an object/place

Make one or buy one?
If you want to buy a pendulum that you saw in a store or even online (browse the site's store, it has many beautiful designs) you should make sure that you will feel comfortable with it, that you like the design and that your energies align (something like you two are meant to be for the other). You may want to pay attention to the object/crystal it's made of making sure you avoid plastic ones. Now that you have all of those in mind, buy it!

But I want to make my own pendulum!
For reasons of your own, you may want to make your own pendulum to make it more personal. Agreed and respected. All you have to do is to get a piece of cord or chain and tie a weight at the tip. The weight can be anything from a little stone you found by the sea, a crystal, a key, a ring, anything! Just make sure to use something that you really like and feel comfortable with. Most people I know use crystals so you could always visit the local crystal store or if there's not one around you, browse the site's store, you will find many excelent pieces there. Last thing you need to do is to decide on the chain's or cord's size. It really depends on you but make sure that it's not too long or too short. I like using something around 20-21cm (around 8 inches).

How to use it
Ok I got it now do I use it?
First of all you need to have a pendulum of course and then you need to know what you want to use it for.
When you first get (or make) a pendulum you should start playing with it to get the idea of its use. Some pendulum bundles come with a divination yes/no board, you really don't need that.

Exercise 1: Getting to know your pendulum
This first exercise is very important and is used to get you know your pendulum
Hold the tip of your pendulum and let it suspend. Empty your mind from any other thoughts and in your mind (or loudly if you prefer!) ask your pendulum to show you 'yes'. You will notice it starts moving either front/back or left/right. Well done! You just learned your pendulum's way of showing you its 'yes' answer! After that you should ask it to show you 'no' and 'I don't know'. When you are done learning how your pendulum comunicates with you, you should keep on asking it to show you yes, no and I don't know so you become more familiar with it.

Exercise 2: Simple questions
Now that you know how to use your pendulum start asking it simple questions like "Is my given name John?" ,"Is my age 99?", "is my shirt red coloured?"
You get the idea! Now get on with it.

What can I do with my pendulum?
Now that you know the basics of using your pendulum, the amount of its uses are as limited as your imagination! Some common uses of the pendulume are:

• Getting yes/no answers to your questions
  We have already been through this in the exercises, ask your pendulum anything but make sure to strip your questions down to be answered by yes or no. Keep your questions simple.
• Finding objects
  Stop hiding, every one of us found ourselves looking for our keys "hey! Did you happen to see where I put my keys?" Yes, it happens to every one of us, don't worry. But now that you have a pendulum, why don't you try using it to find them?
• Finding places
  A colleague of yours has invited you at his house because he is throwing a party for his promotion, you know the whereabouts of his house but you have no idea which one it is! Did you remember to bring your pendulum with you? Great, now use it!

Those were just some examples so that you get the basic idea, as said before, the only limit is your imagination! Use it.

Exercise 3: Hide and seek
Ask a friend of yours to hide an object in the house. Have your eyes closed and don't cheat! Now use your pendulum to find the object! Empty your mind and ask your pendulum to show you where the item is, you could also visualise the object to make it even more easy.
This exercise can take many other variations, some of them are:
Ask your friend to hide in a different room of the house or even in another house; Go with your friend in another neighboorhood and have him explore the area. Now he should describe a house, tree, store, object he saw and you shall go and find it using only the pendulum as your guide.
Use your imagination and variate the exercise. This way you practise with your pendulum and have fun at the same time!

Conclusion
Ok now you have your own pendulum and you know how to use it. Some things you should have in mind is that your only limit is your imagination. You should keep your questions as simple as possible to be answered with a simple yes or no. You should keep your mind clear from other thoughts as they may interfer with your intent or question and they could probably change the outcome. The stronger your intent, the more reliable the outcome/answer!
That's all for now, make sure to ask me any possible questions. I hope I helped.

~Phantus