How To Use A Pendulum – A 4 Step Guide

learn how to use a pendulum

Pendulums are great divination tools to ask the more serious questions or just day to day questions. But how to use a pendulum? This is a detailed step by step guide with lots of images for what you do with your pendulum!

*This post may include affiliate links. When you purchase items from these links, we will receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, to help support this website. Thank you for your support! Read more ->

I’ve already written a bunch on how to use a pendulum on this site already, so if you have any specific questions these are the articles I’d suggest looking at:

moon of gemini pendulum chart ad

Step 1 – Get Your Pendulum

rose quartz pendulum on purple bag

So step one in how to use a pendulum is to get yourself a pendulum! Likely if you’re reading this you’ve already purchased one. If not, read how to choose a pendulum or how to make a pendulum. Or, use a necklace as your pendulum!

Go get your pendulum and find a space you won’t get interrupted. Ideally it’s best to start by standing or sitting with your feet flat on the floor, no limbs crossed.

Another idea is to have a notebook or a place to write some things down about your pendulum!

Step 2 – How To Hold Your Pendulum

how to hold a pendulum

How you hold your pendulum can be personal, but here are a few general guides on how to hold your pendulum:

Hold the chain with your dominant hand, near the end or about 6 inches from the crystal or base part of your pendulum.

Always when starting out with your pendulum, it’s best to start by holding the pendulum over your non-dominant hand, palm face up, about an inch above it.

This allows the energy to flow directly through you, and is a great start with your new pendulum!

Optional – Feel the Energy

This step is optional with your pendulum, but can be helpful! While holding your pendulum comfortably in the way described above, ask your pendulum to show you it’s energy. Just hold the pendulum and see how much it moves.

You can start with your eyes closed during this point, and allow the pendulum to just show you it’s energy. Then, eventually open your eyes and look at how it’s moving.

This is just getting you started with learning about your pendulum.

Step 3 – Determine Yes/No

Next in how to use a pendulum includes learning what yes and no look like with your pendulum! Some people choose to program their pendulum, but I prefer to just ask the pendulum what direction it is.

my rune journal

Ask your pendulum “show me yes” and see what direction it moves. This you may want to write down. Then ask your pendulum to “show me no.” (You can just think these in your head, rather than saying it out loud). Keep track of what yes and no look like! (See image below for directions your pendulum might move)

directions

Optional Responses

There are some other optional responses you may want to ask about, such as: maybe, no answer, or ask later

You really don’t need these often, but if your pendulum isn’t reacting in your yes or no directions it can be helpful to know what it can mean!

Test Yes/No Questions

Now you’ve got what yes and no look like, it’s time to make sure your pendulum is answering you correctly! Ask 2 questions you know the answer to will be yes, and 2 questions that the answer will be no to and see if it responds the way you expect.

Example questions are “Is my name ____” “Is today Tuesday?” “Is it raining outside?” Easy questions you know the answer to.

Step 4 – Ask Your Pendulum Questions!

This is the fun part about using a pendulum. Once you know how to use a pendulum, and what the responses will be, you can choose what to ask your pendulum. You can ask just about anything under the sun.

*The 3 topics I suggest avoiding include about health, asking about what other people think, and the future. Read all about why I suggest avoiding those topics here.

How do you ask your pendulum questions? The best suggestion is to make sure you’re not in a biased mindset, and ask in some sort of terminology like “all things considered, is it optimal to ____” (Read all about that here).

What About a Pendulum Chart?

pdf pendulum charts

There are a lot of great pendulum charts to use! Can I use one? So many people start right off by using a pendulum chart, but I would suggest starting with just yes/no questions until you are comfortable with your pendulum.

The main times I like to use a pendulum chart are when I have something that would be much easier to be answered without yes/no questions, like numbers, words, or letters. (Read more about pendulum charts here)

A general rule I go by is if it’s just a yes/no question, you don’t need a pendulum chart!

What Do I Ask My Pendulum?

There are so many questions to ask your pendulum! Ask about day to day questions (and get 30+ ideas on questions to ask your pendulum here). Or you can ask bigger questions, like who your spiritual guides are, about past trauma, or past lives.

Another great thing to do is to interview your pendulum. Learn how your pendulum is here to work with you and what you can do to help the connection between you and your pendulum. Read here or buy a downloadable worksheet and pendulum chart here!

Some of my favorite questions to ask my pendulum are literally just day to day questions, getting things prepared or deciding what to focus on for the day.

What About Once I’m Done With My Pendulum?

full moon

If you’re done for the day with your pendulum, you can put it away! Either put it in a nice bag, place it in a special spot, or hang it up. You could maybe even ask your pendulum what the best idea is for where it should live.

I like to do regular cleansings of my pendulums, simply by leaving them under the full moon to cleanse and recharge. (And that was multiple pendulums, you don’t only have to have one!)


Hopefully this article has given you a lot of direction on how to use a pendulum and gets you excited and prepared for using your pendulum! Remember, start small, and if you’re feeling exhausted all of a sudden, take a break and get some space from your pendulum.

Any other questions about pendulums? Read about everything on my pendulums 101 page!

Pin It!

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

how to use a pendulum pin