As discussed previously, 'To Know' is the masculine way, and 'To Feel' is the feminine. Our ego thrives on being correct at all times, but this adds unnecessary stress to the body. Sometimes, we must still our thoughts and open our hearts to be okay with feeling a decision instead of knowing the outcome with certainty. Our intuition guides our thought process when we feel something is right. While some people might ignore these feelings, a witch or spiritual person knows how important exercising and strengthing this 'gut feeling' is.
Extra-sensory perception is a common phenomenon; however, each person is unique, and so is how we pick up on energies. The following list contains different divisions that science often categorizes these talents. You may experience one or multiple of these sensations listed below.
The 9 Types of Intuition
Clairaudience: clear hearing- This is a form of extra-sensory hearing where you can hear things others cannot. Often referred to as the 'inner mental ear,' persons with this gift can often hear music, noises, or messages from paranormal sources.
Claircognizance: clear knowing- You often know things about people or places without proof or logic. You may get snippets of information without a provable reason why.
Clairempathy: clear emotion- Frequently referred to as an 'empath,' those with clairempathy are generally sensitive and can sense what others around them are feeling. With the overwhelming pressure of demanding emotions from outside sources, empaths must learn to differentiate their feelings from others.
Clairgustance: clear tasting- A person with this gift can physically taste things without anything in their mouth. This taste can include items that aren't food, such as a place or a certain person. Some medical mediums can report tasting disease or illness when working with someone sick.
Clairintellect: clear thinking- People with clairintellect often report feeling as if they are given information from a higher power through their conscious. They receive information randomly and know it to be true, comparable to a computer download. Some practitioners view this gift as a spirit speaking through them.
Clairsentience: clear physical feeling- Being able to physically feel a psychic phenomenon is a common form of intuition. Clairsentience can be felt for both internal and external information. For example, with external clairsentience, a practitioner may feel an ache in a certain body part if someone they are close to has an injury. With internal clairsentience, your heart may hurt if someone is going through a particularly difficult heartbreak.
Clairsalience: clear smelling- Similar to Clairgustance, Clairsalience is the phenomenon of smelling a scent where there isn't one. Often, clairsalience is linked to mediumship rather than divination because spirits will communicate with fragrances such as perfume, foods, or smoke to notify you of their presence.
Clairtangency: clear touching- Also referred to as 'object reading,' Clairtangency is the ability to receive information by physically touching an object or person. Physical items continually soak up positive and negative energy, so a lot of psychic information can be passed to us from the belongings we keep around. If you've ever picked up an item and instantly felt soothed or repelled, you might have clairtangency. These unknown energies are why most witches and magical practitioners cleanse any item before bringing it into their homes.
Clairvoyance: clear seeing- When non-magical persons think about psychic abilities, they often lump all attributes in a single category named clairvoyance. However, clairvoyance is its own ability with different caveats. This title refers to the paranormal ability to see persons and events that are distant in time or space. As we've already discussed above, many types of psychics exist; similarly, there are multiple types of clairvoyance: precognition (the ability to perceive or predict future events), retrocognition (the ability to see past events), and remote viewing (the ability to see current events happening in another location).
Train those Abilities!
Every person has the same capacity to experience a psychic gift; the only deciding factor is the desire and commitment to train and exercise these skills. Our intuitive abilities are like muscles. The more that we exercise them, the stronger they become. Here are some basic psychic exercises to strengthen your intuition. As with all new skills, take a few days practicing one activity before moving on to the next. Taking things slowly will give you time to recognize changes in your perception and decide whether it works for you. Never rush yourself or your gifts. Allow your subconscious to 'feel' rather than 'know.'
1. Automatic Writing
The idea behind using your opposite hand is to help stimulate the intuitive and sensitive parts of your brain rather than the ego and logical aspects. This practice works well to activate your claircognizance. Sit at a table or desk where you'll be comfortable and take a few moments to clear your mind. Touch the pen or pencil to the paper using your non-dominant hand. Begin by writing on the top a question or problem that you have. While keeping your mind clear, let your hand write whatever comes across. Avoid looking at the paper; you might even keep your eyes closed. Try not to write anything consciously.
Give it time to happen (nothing might happen for quite a while).
When you are finished, carefully review what you have produced. The writing may be nonsense or incoherent but try to decipher it as best as possible. It is imperative that you not overthink or force the answers. In addition to letters and numbers, look for pictures or symbols in the writing as well. Don't worry if they don't make sense or form complete sentences. Like all new skills, nothing might happen right away. However, I encourage you to continue for a few days to let the skill develop. If you have achieved and contacted a higher power, you can ask questions to see if you can receive responses.
2. Gift Yourself Quiet Time
You've probably heard all of the self-help gurus out there constantly speaking about the benefits of meditation, but did you know it can also strengthen your intuition and feminine spirit? While masculine forces continually move and look for the next way to take action, the feminine side slows down, listens, and receives information. This pause in the chaos of daily life allows you to listen for messages or sentiments you would've missed.
Start out meditating for 10 minutes a day and record your experience. Did you receive any thoughts or messages? Feel free to ask the higher powers for a specific answer. Did your mind or heart start pulling you in a certain direction? As always, be sure to document your experience. You may notice certain patterns over time that you might've missed.
3. Tarot Card/ Oracle Card Draw
This exercise is the most common in magical communities. Pick a tarot deck or oracle deck you feel most drawn to. If the cards have titles or terms, ensure the words are covered with some washi or similar gentle tape. Choose a card randomly and inspect it. Observe any imagery on the card and try to decipher its meaning using only intuition. After you've spent some time with the card, refer to the deck's book to see how accurate you were. Journal your findings. After a few days, have you gotten better at deducing the cards? How do you feel when you get them right? Eventually, try predicting what card you might pull next, such as "This will be a card about family" or "This will be a card about finances."
4. Memory Game
Have you ever heard of someone with perfect recall? They can close their eyes and tell you every detail of a room. This skill is actually one that anyone can master with enough time. Let's start with the space you're currently in. Close your eyes. Try to remember the color of the walls—next, the color of the floor, window trim, etc. Once you've mastered the general colors, try to recall any particular items. Are there pictures on the wall? How many? What are the photos of? Then, move on to the miscellaneous items. Are there any papers on your desk? Keys on a table? Rugs? Each day, take a moment to pause in a room and absorb every detail for 30 seconds. Then, close your eyes and try to recall as much as possible. Eventually, your eyes will begin tracking more items than they normally would on instinct. This is a fun exercise you can do outdoors or in any public space. Try it at your office or a library.
5. Track Your Dreams
Set paper and pen on your nightstand before going to bed. As soon as you wake up, write down everything you can remember. Take a few moments to interpret your dream in your own words. You are welcome to look up a dream interpretation guide, but often, your intuition will be more spot-on than a stranger's guide. Try to be more aware of your emotions and interactions throughout your day. When you return home, reference your dream journal. Are there any problems or stressors in your daily relationships that your intuition is trying to warn you away from? Did you receive an answer to a problem at work? Try to make correlations between your interpretation and your day. It's okay if you don't immediately draw any conclusions or if you remember your dream at all. Keep working at it. The main focus of this activity is to become more aware of your subconscious and look for patterns in the course of your day.
6. Strengthen Your Hearing Range
This next exercise is designed to increase your clairaudience. Humans generally hear sounds from 20 Hz (lowest pitch) to 20 kHz (highest pitch). Are you using your full auditory spectrum? Select multiple locations that vary from quiet to loud in your area. Take time in each chosen location to close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you. What are you able to hear? How many different noises can you count? Even in the quietest library, there are bound to be sounds: air conditioners, doors closing, people whispering, etc.
After visiting each place, take a day or two and return. Try the same exercise. Did anything change? Are you able to find sounds that you didn't catch before? You can also do this activity while meditating or doing simple chores around the home. The more you can identify sounds, the more likely you will pick up on things others may not. Eventually, you may receive sounds and messages from sources you can't quite explain.
7. Two Truths and One Lie
Reading body language is an easy way to strengthen your empathic abilities. Try playing this game with a friend. It is also a great icebreaker when meeting new people. You start by telling two truths about yourself and one lie. The other player has to try to guess which one is the lie. This exercise strengthens intuition and focuses your attention on body language's subtle art. Did you spot their lie? Do they have a 'tell' or specific body reaction that gave them away? Learning more people's tells can help you in more important matters because you can quickly spot a liar or manipulator before they can get too close to you.
8. Synchronicities
Famed psychologist Carl Jung believed synchronicities are events connected by the belief that an acausal relationship exists between events on the inside and the outside of ourselves. He thought synchronicities mirror subconscious processes like dreams and take on meaning and guidance corresponding to emotional states and experiences. If you've ever been debating about a decision right as a television advertisement blares, "You can do it!" or if you were wondering if you should take a vacation and suddenly you see advertisements for a specific location everywhere. Those little nudges can be a coincidence, but when you note them over time, they could be a sign from a higher power. Ask the universe a question and request a tangible answer. Keep a notebook with you and note any strange or phenomenal signs you find.
9. Visualization
Some of the strongest communications can happen when you're daydreaming. The altered consciousness allows you to see and experience life without being tied to reality. During this altered state, spirits can speak directly to our subconscious. The added benefit to visualization is the mental ability to manifest our desires.
To begin, find a quiet and comfortable space to focus without distractions. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to relax your mind and body. The best visualization sessions happen when the person enters the session with a clear intention of what they hope to find. Then, vividly imagine your dream scenario, using all your senses to create a detailed mental picture. See yourself in the desired situation, hear the sounds, feel the textures, and experience the emotions associated with achieving your dream. Embrace the positive feelings that arise and let them fuel your passion and determination. Practice this visualization regularly, allowing yourself to become fully immersed in the dream and believe in your ability to turn it into a reality.
But be warned:
Our intuition can be affected by factors such as our environment, relationships, and economic standing. If you were raised in a racially unequal neighborhood as a child, your intuition may be heavily swayed when meeting someone of the opposite race. The same can be said if a person is deeply religious and faced with a question of morality. What we feel in those instances may not be true. I suggest looking at two solutions to this problem.
1) Collect data. If you're concerned that you may be using your intuition falsely, record each time you used your intuition. How accurate were your predictions? 50/50? Or are you more likely wrong? With enough exercise, your intuition can be quite precise.
2) Shadow Work. Understanding how our particular emotions work is an incredibly useful tool. So many articles and books are written about the benefits of shadow work in healing and destressing our minds. Nothing can hurt you if you can accept your faults and learn from them. If you have prejudiced tendencies, explore them. Why do you think you do? Who influenced your thought patterns? Are you still surrounded by people who believe in a backward fashion?
Goddess Work Series Quick Links
Embrace Your Intuition
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