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What does it mean to be psychic or clairvoyant?
By John Cappello — Last updated on Aug 23, 2022
Have you been thinking about whether or not you're psychic? You've noticed that people come to you for advice because you have an uncanny knack for being right. You've even had dreams that often come true.
What does it all mean? Well, you might just be psychic, and there's a good possibility that you're also a clairvoyant.
There's nothing wrong with having psychic or clairvoyant abilities. You're simply paying attention to the information you've received from beyond the physical through extrasensory perceptions. Your experiences are natural and you should be at peace with your wonderful gifts.
Unfortunately, the term "psychic'' creates such a negative image for many, and the term "clairvoyant" implies a special power exclusive to only a few people.
The truth is that a lot of people keep their abilities a secret so they can maintain an edge. They do not call their talent being "psychic." It's a private matter, not open for discussion, and they may or may not understand it.
What does it mean to be clairvoyant or psychic?
The definitions of the terms "psychic" and "clairvoyant" are far from anything unusual, as they are defined in "Soul Exercises for the Open Mind: A Psychic Development Workbook."
Psychic ability is "The soul’s capacity to capture information from beyond the limits of your physical senses." Clairvoyance is a derivative of this definition, defined as "The soul’s capacity to capture visual images from beyond the limits of your physical sight."
Both ideas have roots in philosophy. It's part of the nature of the human soul that gives all of us these unique abilities.
The study of metaphysics introduced by the Greek philosopher Aristotle is a point of reference. He first noticed that there are some things in our human experience that exist beyond the physical. It's his logic that explains his theory, but it's the acknowledgment of the soul that proves him correct.
How can you determine if you are clairvoyant?
You may not be aware you are validating the philosophy of metaphysics by just being you, so there are a couple of things you can do to prove you are psychic or clairvoyant.
Don’t be scared! All you need is a pencil and paper for this quiz. Learning about your gifts is a journey of self-discovery.
Journal your experiences by writing down various impressions that you found to be unusual but correct over time. Recall moments when you had a first impression, hunch, or strong gut feeling.
We often use expressions to describe sensations that do not appear to have any physical stimulus such as: "A little birdie told me," "That gave me a bad taste in my mouth," or "That stinks." They all just sound like common sayings, but they indicate that we're using our extended senses.
Our society unknowingly uses psychic impressions in our vernacular without attributing them to capturing information beyond the physical. Depending on the person, these skills are individually weak or strong.
For example, if you heard a voice caution you about an upcoming decision or someone’s character, then you should write that moment down. If you have tendencies to come up with solutions to problems through ideas that pop into your head, those should also be noted.
A vision or flash of an image that provides insight into a situation around yourself or another person may be a psychic impression as well.
Evaluating these impressions and placing keywords like "feel," "saw," "heard," "knew," "tasted," or "smelled" with them will give you clues about your natural talents. They will provide additional clarity about your impressions.
Recognizing the word or words you use the most will allow you to understand the type of psychic ability that is strongest with you.
By making a list of 100 instances in your journal, you can get a rough idea of where your abilities are the most sensitive. It will allow you to discover your weaknesses as well.
For example, using the word "feel" most often will indicate you are a "psychic feeler" or "clairsentient." The other terms like "see," "hear," "know," "taste," or "smell" indicate a gift in other areas.
Determining the percentages for these talents is simple math when you divide the number of times you use each term into the total.
This gives you an idea of which senses are most prevalent, or if they are all equally strong.
What are the different types of psychic abilities?
1. Clairsentience: "Clear feeling"
Clairsentience is clear feeling. That is, these individuals get psychic information through sensing and feeling the energies around them.
Some signs of being clairsentient include knowing things without being told, having a high level of perception, and having a tendency to easily read between the lines.
2. Clairvoyance: "Clear seeing or psychic sight"
Clairvoyance is clear seeing or psychic sight, but this term is often used as a general term for all psychic abilities.
Those who know the difference will tell you it is about the singular talent involving images. They may use the term for their unique use, but it would be a big surprise if they did not also have the other psychic skills of feeling, hearing, knowing, and so on.
The clairvoyant should practice their other skills to give depth and perspective to the images they are receiving.
3. Clairaudience: "Clear hearing"
Clairaudience is clear hearing. This means that you can hear sounds said to exist beyond the reach of ordinary experience or capacity (i.e., voices of the dead).
Some signs of being clairaudient include hearing ringing or high-pitched noises, enjoying and needing quiet, and having the tendency to talk to yourself.
4. Claircognizance: "Clear knowing or thoughts"
Claircognizance is clear knowing. This refers to the knowing of an event, occurrence, or even intention without any evidence to lead to that knowledge.
Despite having no information about an event, claircognizant people can feel that they know a piece of information that they have yet to be presented with, and are consistently proven correct by the outcome of the situation.
Some signs that lead to being claircognizant include heightened intuition and gut feeling, experiencing feelings of déjà vu, picking up new skills easily, and commonly using the phrase, "I know. I don't know how, but I know somehow."
5. Clairgustus: "Psychic taste"
Clairgustus is psychic taste. If you are this type of psychic, it means that you can taste something that is not physically in your mouth. This is to help you receive messages clearly.
The taste in your mouth is supposed to trigger something to help you get the message. It is a very rare psychic trait.
6. Clairfragrance: "Psychic smell"
Clairfragrance is clear scent or psychic smell. This is a psychic that can pick up on smells that are otherwise undetectable by the physical nose. The smells are often linked to someone who has passed on. Some scents spirits leave are tobacco smoke, flowers, or baked bread.
The smell normally is attached to a message which would validate their presence. For example, if grandma always had a certain perfume on, this scent may show up to let you know she is there.
How to Use Your Clairvoyance or Psychic Talents
1. Akashic Records Reading
Akashic is a higher dimension than the one we are living in. This is where every action or thought that has ever occurred or will occur has been stored.
If you can tap into their records, you will be able to understand and even predict potential outcomes of the future, as well as better understand your past. Think of it as the cloud, but for psychics.
2. Angel Reading
This is an ability where psychics must use clairvoyance along with a deck of angel cards.
This is the ability to communicate and gain guidance and spiritual intellect for whom the angel is watching over. It's like asking someone's guardian angel what to do.
3. Animal Reading
This is when a psychic has a strong connection to animals, and can tap into the psyche of them to better understand their needs.
4. Automatic Writing
This is the ability to produce the writing that could come from the supernatural or the subconscious. This is also referred to as psychography.
5. Chakra Cleansing
Chakra cleansing is similar to spiritual healing. With chakra cleansing, you first have to be able to sense people's energies or auras, when chakras are blocked, and what needs to happen to fix or reset those energies.
An easy way to see if chakra cleansing is something of your psychic reach is to ask yourself questions: Can you notice quickly if someone is in an emotional rut? Do you frequently notice when people are low or high in energy?
6. Cartomancy Reading
This is the standard deck of cards fortune-telling. That is, one draws a series of cards and then interprets them as a medium for divination.
7. Numerology
Numerology is the relationship between numbers and concurring events.
One way to notice if this is happening is if you have an affinity for numbers, or certain numbers pop out at you frequently and immediately correlate to an event that has transpired or will occur.
8. Photo Reading
Photo reading is the ability to receive psychic information from just a photograph of someone. The information could be related to the past, present, or future.
9. Psychic Reading
A psychic medium is an individual who has the ability to connect with spirits. These psychics can read other people deeply while also having the ability to communicate with those who have passed.
You can easily identify this happening to you if you have a strong presence that’s difficult to ignore.
10. Tea Leaf Reading
Tea leaf reading is actually one of the oldest psychic abilities. This is when you make a cup of tea with loose tea leaves while directing your energy onto those leaves to answer a spiritual question.
When performed correctly, the leaves at the bottom of your cup should hold the answer. This is also known as tasseography.
11. Dream Exploration
Self-explanatory, this is the ability to interpret dreams.
12. Reiki
Reiki is a Japanese form of energy healing that involves healing others with one's hands by altering the aura that is cast around the body. You need to have a strong intuition with auras and personal energies to hold this ability.
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John Cappello, M. B. A. is a lecturer, author of metaphysical and children’s books about angels, and a psychic medium who has been in practice for over 25 years. Visit his website for more information.