Can A Pendulum Be Wrong? 3 Reasons Why Your Pendulum Is Inaccurate

can a pendulum be wrong?

Whether you’re new to working with a pendulum, or have taken a break from divination for a while, you may be wondering – can a pendulum be wrong? Can my pendulum give incorrect answers?

And the answer is yes! Keep reading to find out some common causes for your pendulum giving you the wrong answers, and some other topics you may also be interested in reading about with your pendulum.

3 Reasons For Why Can A Pendulum Be Wrong

There are a few reasons why a pendulum can be wrong! And they can include: 1- having a bias towards the question, 2- being too emotionally invested in the answer, or 3- not asking a strict yes/no question.

moon of gemini pendulum chart ad

Other Topics To Read About:

Can a Pendulum Be Wrong? Explained

person holding a pendulum

1. Having A Bias Towards The Question

One reason your question is being answered wrong could be because you’re biased on the answer you want to hear. If you really want it to go one direction or another, it’s likely to answer you the way you want to hear, because that feeling is overwhelming the ability for you to get an actual answer from your pendulum.

Example: There was a day I really wanted a new ear piercing, and I asked if it was optimal for me to get the new piercing. The pendulum answered yes, but I was too biased so I don’t know if that’s actually what my pendulum would have said.

Solution to bias: One quick way to get an unbiased answer is to ask your pendulum to choose a card or piece of paper that has yes/no on it. If you’ve got a deck of cards, find a red and a black card. Choose which means yes, and which means no. Then shuffle until you have no idea which one is which, and have your pendulum move to the answer. Or, write on scraps of paper yes and no, and flip them over/fold and then have your pendulum choose which one. You can also try just closing your eyes while asking the question/waiting for the answer and see if that helps.

2. Being Too Emotionally Invested In The Answer

This is really similar to having a bias towards the question, but with more emotion involved. This is why I always recommend to never ask about other’s feelings (alongside other reasons), but because you’re likely to be invested.

If you’re too emotionally invested, that emotion will carry over into your reading. If you’re hoping for a yes, but really nervous about getting a no, you may subconsciously move your pendulum to “no.”

Example: If I come home from work and feel terrible about my job and ask my pendulum if I should quit, I may be too emotionally invested to get the answer my pendulum actually will tell me.

Solution to emotionally invested: The best two solutions to being too emotionally invested to get a correct answer from your pendulum are either to wait to ask your pendulum until you’re in a less emotional space, or ask a friend to do the reading for you. They won’t have the emotional connection to the question like you do.

3. Not Asking A Strict Yes/No Answer

The other main reason why your pendulum can be wrong is if you’re not asking a question your pendulum can easily answer If you’ve got too many parts to the question, it may only answer one part of the question. Or if you use the word “should”. Should is subjective and is not a good word to use in questions to ask your pendulum.

Example: I ask my pendulum “Should I get a buzzcut and dye my hair purple before my trip?” First, this has 3 parts to it, and also it uses the word “should”. It’d be better to ask them all separately and use the word “optimal” or something similar.

Solution to wording: Change your wording! Or ask multiple questions instead of all at once. Then you’ll be able to get a better response to the question. Instead of your pendulum either answering one part, or no parts of the question.

Other Issues That May Be Occurring

While those are the most likely explanations for why your pendulum is giving you wrong answers, there are a few more reasons you could be getting the wrong answer – or not getting an answer at all! (Read about if your pendulum isn’t working)

my rune journal

This can include asking a questions you’re not meant to know the answer to at this point, you’re asking the wrong question, or you could be mentally exhausted from divination and just need a break. If you’ve been using your pendulum constantly lately, you could have fatigue and really just need to take some space from your pendulum.


I hope this has helped clear up any confusion you may be having in regards to – can a pendulum be wrong. You might not always get the right answer from your pendulum, but hopefully these ideas will help clear up the problem.

Pin It!

Love this post and want to keep it for later? Save it to Pinterest!

can a pendulum be wrong pin