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Working with Crystals, Pendulums, and Oracle Decks
An Excerpt from Medium Mentor by MaryAnn DiMarco

There are many types of tools that people use to develop intuition.

Crystals are quite high on this list. Many of my students have a strong affinity for crystals — sometimes even specific types of crystals — long before they come to work with me. Personally, I often find myself reaching for a crystal when I’m feeling out of sorts or I need some grounding. I rarely hang on to crystals for long, because I’m so often prompted to give them away; this makes it hard to really build a collection! But they can be very useful, especially in the short term.

Different types of crystals do different things. There’s a whole area of study around what this or that crystal does — selenite cleans, for instance, while obsidian absorbs. If you’re interested in that, or if you feel called to deepen your knowledge and add crystal work to your offerings for others, you will find a range of resources — such as books, workshops, and online and in-person classes — available to you.

There’s a common saying about crystals: we don’t choose the crystal; the crystal chooses us. For our purposes, whether you end up diving into the expansive world of crystals or not, this saying has a lot to offer. It can be very useful to experiment with feeling that pull toward a specific crystal and intuiting how the energy it holds might help. I’m not saying you’ll be objectively right — perhaps you’ll intuit something that is exactly the opposite of what someone else might say, which is precisely why you’re only working on yourself at this stage. This exploration helps psychic development because the process of checking in with your intuitive knowing and divining what is best in each individual moment is instructive.

While I respect those who are well studied in crystals, I am not one of them myself. There’s little rhyme or reason to the way I use crystals. I generally gravitate toward smaller crystals that I can hold. I sometimes put one on the table when I feel some negative energy around, with the intention that the negative energy be absorbed there instead of in my body. I’ll put one in my pocket or my purse before going out, pulling it out casually in a public space and holding it in my hand. When I’m feeling particularly stimulated or like I’ve done too many readings, I’ll keep a crystal in my pocket even when I’m at home. It doesn’t happen frequently, but when I’m a little off or need extra energy, I always know I can grab a crystal to help me feel better.

Crystals can be very grounding, especially when there’s a lot of psychic energy around or the vibration just feels busy. Many of my students have this experience, too; the right crystal at the right moment can stabilize our frequency, despite the other vibrations present, helping us to stay in our center as conduits of light.

Some crystals have been cut into a symmetrical shape and hung on a chain. This is called a pendulum. Pendulums are for divination. They’re tools that help us answer questions. This tradition dates way back and is not limited to the crystal pendulums that are popular today. In my childhood, I witnessed older generations dangling a needle from thread in front of a pregnant belly to divine the sex of the baby within.

With a pendulum, different patterns of movement — such as swinging front to back or side to side, or circling in one direction or another — are associated with different meanings. Many of my students have gained a lot from the process of sitting with the pendulum, because it gives them a clear experience of what their intuition feels like. For instance, we can ask the pendulum factual questions — usually, ones with a verifiable yes-or-no answer — to see how it swings. That way, we’ll have a better sense of how it feels to land on a right answer, which will come in handy when we need to ask questions whose answers cannot be confirmed.

Oracle cards are also great for yes-or-no questions, though they work for open-ended questions as well. I love working with these decks! Sometimes, on those rare occasions I bring them into a reading, I don’t even ask a question; I just pick a card for someone (or have them pick a card, if it’s an in-person reading) and use it as a springboard for the rest of the reading. It provides a central theme, a way to organize the input coming my way. Near the end of this chapter, I have exact, step-by-step instructions for how to do this on your own.

My dear friend Gabrielle Bernstein’s Super Attractor deck is one of my favorites — I just love the fresh, bright energy Gabby brings — and I also love the whimsical, multilayered artwork on Kyle Gray’s cards. There are many great decks out there, so I encourage you to shop around. I highly recommend that if you’re buying a deck, and especially if it’s your first, you don’t necessarily go for the most famous, the “best” according to someone else, or the one someone else once used on you. Instead, focus on the way the deck makes you feel. Which deck pulls you? Which catches your eye, your attention, your energy? Follow that pull. Consider the possibility that, like crystals, the decks are choosing you. As you work with identifying and responding to this intuitive pull, flexing it like a muscle, you’ll get better at using it to pick an individual card from your deck, too.

Working with cards is a major avenue of study, and most decks come with a book or other material to help you sort through their meanings. Your intuition plays a large role as well. I’ve been told (though I never saw her do it) that my grandmother used to read playing cards like Tarot — she was operating on intuition alone. In fact, playing cards and Tarot come from the same cultural roots. It’s absolutely fine if you don’t know what you’re doing and are relying entirely on intuitive hits, but be humble, and don’t get overly serious about it — remember, this is exploratory, and the main goal is to figure out how your intuition signals you and how to respond.

Finally, we come back to the actual Tarot. I never did learn to use the Tarot properly. But if this is your calling, please go study it! My student Madeline has been working with Tarot for years, and she probably has loads to teach me at this point about the ins and outs of what each card means and how the different positions in a spread work together. At this point, Madeline is incredibly proficient at Tarot. In terms of accumulating knowledge, she’s done her work. Yet I continue to instruct her about how to translate that through her own intuitive knowing, because that’s well within my sphere of knowledge. She knows the literal interpretation of each card, as well as its placement, and I help her understand the message in between — the reason she’s drawing the card, specifically, right now. This is purely psychic work, and it piggybacks on the more intellectual study Madeline does with her Tarot teacher. The Tarot signals something, and Madeline fleshes it out with her imagination, bringing herself into the work and expanding upon the Tarot as she provides readings for others as a psychic medium. If you’re like Madeline, your guides will tell you, and if so, I highly encourage you to bolster your intuitive work with this tool by seeking out the more practical knowledge of qualified Tarot teachers.

MaryAnn DiMarco is the author of Medium Mentor: 10 Powerful Techniques to Awaken Divine Guidance for Yourself and Others.  An internationally recognized psychic medium, healer, and spiritual teacher, her work has been featured in media outlets like The New York Times, The Dr. Oz Show, Women’s Health, Elle, and Redbook. Visit her online at www.MaryAnnDiMarco.com.

Excerpted from the book from Medium Mentor: 10 Powerful Techniques to Awaken Divine Guidance for Yourself and Others. Copyright ©2022 by MaryAnn DiMarco. Printed with permission from New World Library.

I have several entities constantly around me at home, work and everywhere. I feel possessed. They manifest through touches on my body, music, and clicks in my ear to listen to music for a message. How can I get them to leave or cross over? They are obviously using me for energy. They are even attached to my body. I get vibrations all over, burning sensations, and can feel someone trying to whisper in my ear. I am almost sure of one's identity, but not the others. I have prayed and constantly rebuke them in the name of Jesus; this seems to help. They are strong-willed and refuse to leave. This has been going on for a year. I have no health issues that would cause this. It's like one is in love with me and the others take turns with me. I do feel relief when I meditate in prayer and do the white light thing, but it's temporary. I have told them to leave or cross over many times. I am now going to try a priest and exorcism. I feel bad because I think I know one of them who was a good person in life. This isn't a game as they try to make it out to be; for me it's serious as it is starting to affect my health. Can you give any suggestions? I can't afford to move and they follow me everywhere anyway. Thank you.

C.J.

Susyn:

The methods you are using to keep these entities at bay will only yield temporary results, which is why they keep returning. When you are feeling distracted, weak or not keeping up your spiritual shield, they will sneak back in. It is good that you are working with a priest and employing him as an exorcist. Ideally, he will be skilled enough to move these spirits into the light.

You must not feel guilty or troubled that you may know one or more of these entities. Good or bad, if they refuse to move into the light and on to the next step of their journey, they will remain stuck and keep you stuck as well. It is important for you to know that feeling concerned about them and attempting to identify them will undermine your attempts to rid yourself of them.

I recommend that you start a journal so you can record the sensations you feel, such as the vibrations, burning and whispering. Note how often they occur during the day or night and at what times. This will give you potentially valuable information. For example, you may notice that most of the activity occurs at night or early in the morning. Once you can establish this, you'll know when to be careful to keep your guard up. If the events seem random with no apparent pattern, make sure you let the priest know that, for it can help him identify how strong these presences are and what it will take to get rid of them.

Because these entities have found you to be an easy target (someone they can attach to who hears and notices them), other spirits could decide to attach to you as well. It is possible that you have a series of discarnates just waiting in line. Because of this, it is important for you to send the entities involved into the light, and also to strengthen your spiritual barriers so that you don't continue to have experiences like this in the future.

I encourage you to continue battling this possession. At some point, these entities will get the message and move on. This includes the entity you feel you may know. Once you have cleared these spirits, a calmness will come over you like you have never experienced before, and you'll be free to reclaim your life and peace of mind.

*****

Oceania:

I'm sorry for your distress, but I think it's premature to consult a priest at this point. I would be more thorough about exploring potential physical and psychological causes for your symptoms first! Think about what was going on in your life a year ago. Was there a significant event, loss or change? Stress can trigger both physical and mental illness. Did you start a new medication? If so, you may be experiencing side effects.

Ask your doctor about tinnitus, because clicking sounds are a symptom of this disease of the ear. Feeling vibrations or burning in the body are common examples of parethesias (unusual sensations), which can be traced to neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis and diabetic neuropathy. A variety of physical conditions can lead to muscle twitching, which resembles the sensation of being touched by someone unseen.

Along with your physician, I would consult with a psychiatrist, as many of the symptoms you describe can be caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. I don't know how old you are, but schizophrenia tends to manifest in early adulthood, the most common symptoms being delusions (misinterpreting your experiences) and auditory hallucinations (hearing things others don't, particularly voices and whispers). Medication can treat those symptoms. Contrary to popular belief, schizophrenia does not mean split personality. When someone's sense of self is shattered by trauma, it is called Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Physical symptoms can also be manifestations of psychological issues that need your attention. If we look at the theme of your experiences over the past year, they revolve around violations of your boundaries. The behavior of the entities may reflect experiences you are having with real people in your life. Perhaps there are some who annoy you or don't give you peace, never leave you alone, are overly attached, who bully you, play games or don't take you seriously. Does that list remind you of anyone? If so, you can address that relationship in therapy and get some support for changing the unhealthy dynamics between you!

You said you feel bad because one of the entities bothering you was a good person in life. That statement suggests that you may have unresolved anger towards the person. As you make peace with your feelings towards them, they will take up less of your time and energy.

I see no need for you to move, because no matter where you go, there you are. I believe your experiences reflect some disease or dis-ease within you. I wish you peace and healing.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.