Pendulums keep time in mechanical clocks.
It is believed that the pendulum is a Chinese invention dating as far back as the year 200 of the Common Era. Since then, pendulum movements of swinging horizontally or in circular motions have been used extensively for various purposes. Some of these include diagnosing disease, detecting vibrations in the Earth, locating sources of water, keeping time, tapping into the subconscious mind and divining answers to life's mysteries from the spirit world.
Time Keeping
Pendulums are components of mechanical clocks like grandfather clocks. Pendulums will swing continuously when they do not encounter resistance. In clocks, their back and forth swinging motion is usually transferred to a set of wheels that control the movement of the hands of the clock. Time changes occur whenever the springs connected to the wheels drop due to gravity. Adjusting rods are visible mechanical clock components which may be shortened or lengthened to control the speed of the pendulum. The cycle time delivered by pendulum clocks change according to their proximity to the North or South Poles.
Occult Diagnosis
People with extrasensory perception such as psychics and natural healers use pendulums to diagnosis disease in specific body parts. According to occult writer, Alan G. Hefner, healers will calibrate pendulums attached to rods in order to interpret divining results. They do this by first holding the rod and pendulum over a known healthy area of the body and note the resultant direction of movement. The healer will then suspend the rod and pendulum over other body parts. Any opposing or contrary motions of the rod and pendulum indicate areas of illness.
Hypnosis
Pendulums are used during hypnotherapy sessions to question the subconscious mind and receive direct answers. Hypnotists use a specific method called the Chevreul Pendulum test. During this test, patients stand in front of a circle marked with an "X" holding a pendulum about 1/2 inch above the middle of the circle where the lines cross in the "X." Patients are then encouraged to move and stop the pendulum with their thoughts. Hypnosis participants can also control the direction of the pendulum. This process is considered to have a relaxing effect as well because thoughts cannot enter the mind during the hypnosis process.
Fortune Telling
Wicca practitioners use pendulums in a way very similar to that of hypnotherapists. While hypnotherapists may use a specific diagram to calibrate pendulum motions based on the thoughts of a patient, wiccans calibrate them by literally telling the pendulum which direction indicates "yes" or "no." Using this method, wiccans consult pendulums for answers to questions about missing items, life choices, lover compatibilities and anything that can be answered with a "yes" or "no."
Tags: body parts, holding pendulum, mechanical clocks, pendulum over, subconscious mind