When she did readings in a room in my bookstore, she was very particular about what was in the room. Things were removed, and other things were taken in. Sometimes, she would bring things with her — a statue, a flower, a candle. “I’m always like that,” she said. “Because when you change things around, you change the energy and the dynamic. I had to set up my space so the spirits could come and help me.
“Sometimes, I bring a thing something home and it sits at the bottom of the stairs. Someone might give me a present and it might sit at the bottom of the stairs for a year. The spirits have to tell me what to do with it.”
In daily life and work, Gypse is striving to find balance. “I’m more on the spiritual plane, but I’m trying to learn how to take the messages and make them manifest in positive ways. That’s my current task.”
Chapter 10
You Can Try This At Home
As some of the psychics have mentioned, things like tarot cards are simply ways to focus the mind and receive the messages, wherever they may come from. Here are some psychic exercises you can do at home. Most of these techniques are based on personal experience:
Scrying – Scrying involves seeing things psychically in a medium, for obtaining spiritual visions. Some use a crystal ball, water in a black bowl, a black mirror, or just an every-day mirror.
How to Scry Using an Ordinary Mirror
What you’ll need:
A mirror, in a spot you can sit or kneel in front of and be comfortable
A flashlight or a candle
The Process:
• Find a location where you aren’t likely to be disturbed.
• Turn off all the lights.
• Light your candle or prepare your flashlight
• Sit in front of the mirror. Close your eyes and pray or meditate,visualizing a bright, white light of protection coming from above to surround you.
• When you’re ready, open your eyes and pick up your candle or flashlight
• Gaze into the mirror and hold the candle or flashlight a few inches below your face. Allow your eyes to go out of focus.
• Relax and open your mind, and images should appear in the mirror. They might be hazy. In fact, your own face, should you look at it, should be hazy, because you are so relaxed and your eyes are out of focus.
• If you look to your right, you might see your spirit guide.
• If you look to your left, you might see a departed loved one.
If you like, ask questions in your mind as you gaze. Images should appear that give you clues to the answers. You can also keep your mind blank and see what messages come through on their own. Don’t perform scrying for more than 20 minutes or so the first, as it can be tiring ; you can increase the time as you gain experience. After each session, write down what you saw.
A black scrying mirror. Created by using black spray paint on a pane of glass from the hardware store. Gaze into the shiny side of the glass.
How to Read Tea Leaves
The art of reading tea leaves is called tasseography.
This is fun to do with a friend, sitting around a table on a Sunday afternoon, deciphering the messages in each other’s cups!
What You’ll Need
A white cup with no designs on the inside
A saucer or small plate
Loose tea
The Process:
• Prepare a cup of tea with loose tea leaves. Put the normal amount of leaves into the cup, with no tea ball or strainer.
• Drink the tea, leaving a very small amount of liquid at the bottom of the cup.
• Hold the cup in your left hand, and slowly swirl the contents three times clockwise. Try to make sure that the leaves are moved towards the rim of the cup.
• Place the cup upside down on the saucer, holding it there for seven seconds while letting the fluids drain.
• Turn the tea cup right side up again, the handle should face the reader while he or she interprets the symbols and images.
Interpretations:
• Many leaves point to a full life.
• Lots of specific images symbolize many important issues in the person’s life.
• Contradicting images imply indecision.
• The larger images are the more important issues in the person’s life.
• Objects on the left of the handle may denote the past, and objects to the right may be in the future.
• It is believed that symbols near the rim of the tea cup refer to the present or the near future, while those towards the bottom of the cup are seen as the past.
These are only guidelines to help you get started. A genuine reading is dependent upon the reader’s interpretation of the symbols.
To find a list of some of the more common symbols you’ll see and their traditional meanings, visit Tea Leaves Meaning (http://tealeavesmeaning.blogspot.com/2009/06/tea-leaf-symbols-meanings.html). There are books and websites that offer more detailed information.
Make tea with the leaves loose in the cup.
Drink most of the tea, leaving just a bit of liquid.
Turn the cup over on the saucer. Read the leaves that are
left in the cup.
Using a Pendulum to Contact Spirits
and Receive Messages
Using a pendulum is a form of dowsing, — a type of divination used not only for spirit communication, but also to find water, buried metals, lost objects, oil, grave sites, or other objects.
What You’ll Need:
You can use almost anything as a pendulum on a thread, string, or chain; a needle at the end of an eight-inch piece of thread, a pendant necklace, or a rock tied to a piece of string. If you’re using thread or string, it’s helpful to tie a knot at the top to give yourself something to grip.
If you choose to buy a pendulum at a metaphysical store, look for the one that “speaks” to you. You’ll know exactly what I mean when you find it.
Do not let anyone else use your pendulum – it’s thought that they absorb energy, and you want to keep your pendulum attuned to you.
The Process:
• Pray or meditate, and envision yourself surrounded by a protective circle of white light.
• When you have centered yourself, take hold of the end of the string, thread, or chain with your thumb and first finger. Let the pendulum swing freely.
•Hold the pendulum in front of you.
• If you have trouble keeping your arm steady, you can brace it with your other hand by holding your forearm just below the elbow. You can also rest the elbow of your pendulum arm on a table, as long as the pendulum can still swing freely.
• First, you’ll want to figure out which movement indicates a positive answer. Let the pendulum hang freely and keep your eyes focused on the rock, or pendant. When you’re ready, ask the pendulum, “Show me ‘Yes.’” It will swing in one direction. It could swing back and forth, front to back, or rotate in a circle clockwise or counter clockwise.
• Perform the same operation, this time asking the pendulum to “Show me ‘No.’”
• Now, you’re ready to ask questions. All questions need to be phrased so that the answers are “yes” or “no.” If a spirit is not present, or does not want to answer the question, the pendulum will remain still.
• First, ask the spirit for permission to ask questions. If the pendulum swings in the direction of yes, you may go ahead. If it swings in the direction of “no,” this isn’t a good time to ask.
• If you have attempted to contact a specific spirit, and you receive a “no” when asking permission, try someone else.
• Sometimes the pendulum will swing wildly. I always interpret this as meaning the spirit is present and, wants you to know it’s present, but doesn’t want to communicate through the pendulum.
• When you have decided to stop using the pendulum, thank all the spirits who have come through for their cooperation and ask them to leave at this time.
You can also use the pendulum like a Ouija bo
ard, by drawing letters on a piece of paper and hanging it over the paper while asking questions.
How to hold a pendulum
Glossary
Alchemy — Pre-dates chemistry. It’s based on a theory of the transformation of matter. Many alchemists attempted to convert base metals into gold, or find a universal elixir (one that would benefit everyone).
Angel of Death — In the Christian Bible, Azrael. The personification of death.
Apparition — A supernatural manifestation of a deceased person
or animal; ghost, spirit, or specter.
Apport — The paranormal transference of something an article from one place to another, or the appearance of an article from an unknown source. This phenomena often is often associated with poltergeist activity or séances.
Astral Projection — Also known as “out of body experience”. It is believed to result when the astral body, or spirit, separates from the physical body.
Botanica — A Botanica is a retail store that sells folk medicine, religious candles and statuary, amulets, and other products regarded as magical, primarily catering to those who participate in the magical practices/ and/or religions of Santeria or Yoruba.
Discarnate — Has no physical form or body.
Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) – Sounds or voices recorded which that are heard only upon playback. Discovered by Konstantin Raudive. Usually recorded found in a range from 0 to– 300 Hz (human speech is generally within 500— and 2000 Hz, and has never been recorded below 300 Hz).
Extra-Sensory sensory Perception (ESP) — Communication or perception by means other than the physical senses.
Ghost — The disembodied spirit or image of a dead person. Ghosts are the most common of the paranormal phenomena.
Haunting — Paranormal experiences that often may happen repeatedly in a specific location. They include apparitions, sounds, smells, and the movement and disappearance of objects.
Kahuna – In the Hawaiian tradition, a wise person or Shaman.
Materialization — The visible and/or physical formation by a spirit.
Menehune [pronounced meh—neh—HOO—neh] — Said to be “little people,” similar to pixies or trolls, who live in the deep forests and hidden valleys of the Hawaiian Islands, far from the eyes of normal humans.
Orbs — This is the most common type of spirit energy to be captured on film, appearing as solid or transparent “balls”. They appear in many shapes and some colors, with white being the most common. Thought to be spirit energy.
Paranormal — Beyond the range of normal experience or scientific explanation.
Parapsychology — The study of the evidence for psychological phenomena, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychokinesis, that are not explainable by science.
Poltergeist — “Noisy Ghost,” or “Rumbling Spirit.” Manifests as noises, moving objects, fires, marks on the body, and general disorder. Often said to be associated with the release of kinetic or psychokinetic energy of children going through puberty.
Psychometry — The ability to psychically read an object and make associations with someone’s life through that object.
Psychokinesis – Moving things with the mind.
Remote Viewing — The practice of seeking impressions about a far away or unseen place, object, or person, using extra-sensory perception.
Residual Haunting — Not technically referred to as a haunting, but more of an energy imprint that manifests as a spirit, and is seen or heard doing the same thing at specific intervals. Perhaps the spirit is trapped repeating a specific moment in life, or this may be perhaps it is just a traumatic flash from the past during a traumatic moment.
Shaman — A highly- trained and spiritually evolved person.
Shamanism — A range of beliefs and practices used to communicate with the spiritual world. Most often used by indigenous peoples.
Spirit — The soul or principle principal force within a living being. The soul. A; also, a supernatural entity.
Spirit Guide — A term used by Spiritualist churches, mediums, and psychics to describe a discarnate spirit who acts as a guide or protector to a living human being.
Vision Board — A visualization tool used to attract things you want into your life. By studying Using items cut from magazines, drawings, and writings, the theory is that by studying these items, you will be able to become the person you want to become and make your dreams become reality.
About the Author
Karen Zimmerman is a former journalist, and the author of two self-published books – Ghost Stories of Alameda and Ghost Stories of Alameda, Vol. 2, and of Ghost Stories and Legends of Alameda, Berkeley and Oakland, published by Schiffer Publishing in 2010.
She lives in Alameda, Calif.
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