Pondering Pendulums

Some people consult their pocket watch to keep them in mind of the time...

I consult my pocket pendulum to better know my own mind. KPS 2018

As I continue to work toward an updated and revised version of the website, eventually some of my pendulums can be seen there – in the meantime here are a few photographs, and they will be available on my new Etsy site which will be launched on November 1, 2018

This morning I woke up thinking, rather early...and as my thoughts drifted over various subjects I found myself thinking about a conversation I had with two young ladies at the Festival of Wizardry. Perhaps inspired by the time of year, I started thinking about Pendulums, and their why and wherefore.

Where do the decisions for which objects I explore come from? As you might expect, the sources vary. Some come from ideas born of things I see, read, hear or experience. Some come from an attempt to communicate an idea. Some come from suggestions from friends (or strangers), events I work at or attend, specific requests, research......

While there tend to be some running themes in the materials I work with (metal and stones primarily, and now I'm beginning to add plants) the items produced from these things can seem a bit random at times. It occurred to me that it might be very appropriate to spotlight some of the items and tell people how they came about and why I continue to produce them...and what they are to me.

Pendulums, while very popular in some circles, are not something that most people think of much, if at all. For me, the inspiration came from two quite different sources. The first Festival of Wizardry I was a vendor at was one of those sources...I knew I needed some things that were more specific to  the theme of that particular show. I was bouncing around trying to think of things to make that worked for both me and it. Additionally, it was the brilliant suggestion of a friend that brought me to consider Pendulums as a class of objects . I realized that they could be a natural extension of the Stonewraps I have done for decades now, and that my previous research into stones, and my experience in making, could be directly applied.

People may or may not know that in my own personal spiritual practice I am a witch, and tend toward the mystical side of things. But to me, that is personal, and while it can make a great marketing tool for something like the Festival of Wizardry, I am not willing to commercialize my spirituality to any great extent. Particularly because there is a huge gulf between Harry Potter and my own personal practice.

These things both do, and do not, have some bearing on the pieces that I make. Mostly it has to do with the process and the materials I work with. I do not specifically charge or infuse any of the objects I make, but I do individually choose my materials. In the making process - particularly in working with stones -I have to be in the right “headspace” . This can vary with the materials and the object, but with stones I find I need a place of quiet and calm, where I can “listen”, for lack of a better description. I have had numerous comments over the years that my work is “different”, and I fully believe that this process is the defining factor. The stones, in particular, each have their own energies and I don't feel it appropriate to add my own – that is for their end user to do, or not, as they choose. For my part, I respect the materials I am working with and I love working with them. What I do has to intrigue me and captivate me – if it doesn't then there is no point for me. So, if people consider that “infusing it with positive energy” well, then yes, I suppose I do. But that is a natural part of my process and I am uncomfortable using it as a marketing tool.

I won't make an item just because it might be a good seller. That is not how I work – that is not why I work. So pendulums had to find a way to fit. Stone wrapping techniques and handmade chain were part of that. And the main way that that worked was to find just the right array of unusual stones that came to some semblance of a point (or multiple points in some cases).

The two young ladies I spoke about wanted to know how pendulums work. Perhaps others do too...

The principle behind pendulums is simple: from a standstill, hold the pendulum – establish a direction for yes, no, and maybe, by asking simple yes or no questions you already know the answers to. Each individual is different. The direction of the swing establishes which direction is yes, which is no – typically undecided or maybe is a circular motion. (Although for some, 'circular' may be yes, or no.) Once you know what is yes and what is no, maybe is whichever motion is remaining.  Almost anything can be used as a pendulum, but many people prefer to use an object that has personal significance or added "helpful properties".

Pendulums are a simple communication tool. Who are you communicating with? Well, in my personal opinion and experience - generally it is your higher self. It is an easy way to tap into your subconscious pool of knowledge rather than having things mistranslated by all the junk that builds up in your conscious. For some people they see it as communication with their spirit guides, their angels or their deity. And if that connection has been established, and that is who you are directing the question to specifically, there is no reason to think otherwise. (You ask your higher self, who conveys the question to the spirit in question – your higher self likely has an easier time accessing conversation with spirit entities – and then conveys the answer back to you.) It is, in my opinion and experience extremely rare and only in highly unusual circumstance that any kind of unpleasant entity or energy can get involved. The answer comes through what I will describe as micro-currents running through your body that create the movement to show you the answer. You are not making conscious movements or consciously directing the pendulum – so the answer is coming from a place that is otherwise difficult to communicate with. It is thus a tool to communicate - to help you clarify what a part of you knows, but the rest of you is getting in the way of.

This is not meant to be any kind of a treatise on practice, belief or spirituality/religion. It is not meant to start a debate or discussion on how these things work. It is no more than an explanation of how these items came to be in my inventory and how I see them. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and choices. It is a little about the objects, but true to form, it is mostly about my process.