I hear a lot of people talking about how you should use protection when using a pendulum, but... What exactly, how? The most detail I found was to "cover your bases", but I'm new to this, I don't even know what the bases are. Help?

Topic moved suitable section.

I don't know a specific protection for using with a pendulum. I would think of using protection for myself (while using the pendulum), so as to keep out distracting / negative influences.

Protection is quite a big field in itself, well worth looking into. I'd say fundamental stuff like clearing your space, centering, grounding, clearing your mind and maybe asking your bound spirits for protection and help with the pendulum session are good things to be able to do.

Quite a few forum members find the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram a good thing to use. You can use that to clear a space and raise protection before a session and to clear things and close down at the end of it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_ba ... _pentagram

There's a thorough step by step how to in The Middle Pillar: The Balance Between Mind and Magic Kindle Edition by Israel Regardie (Author), Chic Cicero (Editor), Sandra Tabatha Cicero (Editor). Available on Kindle. No equipment necessary.

...and members have often warned here against placing too much emphasis on what answers you think your getting, especially as a beginner pendulum user. Certainly to not base any life changing decisions on them. And probably not ask too searching deep questions about yourself or your life. With a pendulum it's easy to find oneself reading one's own mental processes. Yes/ No questions on dramatic potential scenarios can easily lead a pendulum user into a sense of panic.

In my opinion it's good to take it slowly and easily. Stay calm. Don't panic. Use a healthy dose of skepticism - while remaining open minded, if that makes sense. Until you hit that groove of 'getting' it, when you know you're getting good results.

Still...even a very good pendulum user will not be infallible, which is why it's important to always keep a good sense of perspective.

If you mean protection specifically for a pendulum instead of yourself and the area, perhaps consider consecrating the pendulum. I consider pendulums as sacred objects which means I consecrate them. During consecration, I mentioned to the effect of protecting the pendulum from any and all energy interference. That includes myself, the keep and any others who won't be able to influence a pendulum unless one specific entity is invited for a session. Other than that, I don't concern myself with protection while dowsing with a pendulum. The consecration keeps the pendulum from turning wonky.

Before I converse with my Spirit Family I use a windchime bell that's made from the same metal as Tingsha bells, and I ring it while walking around my bedroom. I also use this windchime to cleanse and protect my bedroom during pendulum conversations because I bought this bell on a special day, so it has a very positive association, which is important!

The above post made me realise I should update my contribution to the thread with this link...

viewtopic.php?f=259&t=63512&p=672825&hilit=task#p672825

I second just kind of keeping some discernment with the pendulum! Sometimes I've gotten some responses that I'm like ....mmmmmm I don't think so .

Some basics I do with my pendulum:

I cleanse it based on the usage. If I have a particular long session I might do it directly after. Or I might do it after a few smaller sessions. I use a stick of palo santo and hold it in the smoke briefly and thank my pendulum for so much work it's done for me over the years (nearly 15 years!) and send happy, grateful thoughts towards it. Sidenote: due to a weird experience I once had last year, I always keep my windows open while cleansing my pendulum and try to push any energy that comes out of the pendulum through the windows. It doesn't take long to do this!

I keep it stored in a special screw-cap container, safely put away so that my playful cat doesn't find it and start playing with it haha

Other than that I always ground and shield before using my pendulum. That's about it! I've been using it for many years, and my practices/methods have grown as my experience has. Sometimes just listen to what the vibe of the pendulum gives you, too. Sometimes I've gotten some weird non-making sense responses from my pendulum, so I cleansed it and all fine. There have been times I wasn't in the right state of mind (too stressed or sleepy, since I do my divination mostly at night when I'm more calm), and had to wait until the next day to try again.

Good luck and enjoy learning to work with your pendulum.