Getting Started With Pendulum Dowsing: A Short & Sweet Beginner’s Guide to Cleansing, Programming & Using Your Pendulum

By Adrian Alcaino

December 6, 2025

So you’ve purchased your first pendulum and want to get started with dowsing. Great! You’re on your way to connecting with your sublime intuition.

The first step is to physically and energetically cleanse your pendulum. Before it reached you, your pendulum was handled by various people—from the production team to the shipping clerk, and finally you. It’s important to give your pendulum a clean slate so it can align with your energy. The good news is: this doesn’t need to be complicated.

When I first got my pendulum, I simply submerged it in a glass of salt water, then gave it a good, long rinse with cold water and prayed over it afterward. I’ve been using the same pendulum for years in my work. Some people will tell you to perform elaborate rituals, but as I said, it can be simple and straightforward. Just be mindful of the material of your pendulum: if you’re working with a metal pendulum, prolonged submersion in salt water can cause erosion. In that case, a simple cleansing with sage smoke works perfectly.

Once you’ve cleansed your pendulum, you can begin imprinting your energy onto it. This is where prayer and intention become important. Hold your pendulum between your hands and create a simple but powerful prayer, such as:

“Dear Holy Spirit, please cleanse and consecrate this pendulum from all previous vibrations. Let it align with my most Divine Self, revealing only that which is truthful and accurate in all my work. In the name of the Holy Spirit, Amen.”

Feel free to adapt this prayer to your own spiritual background. “Holy Spirit” can be replaced with Buddha, a saint, an archangel, your Higher Self, or any spiritual guide you work with.

I know some of you may consider these steps unnecessary or view prayer and cleansing as “woo-woo” or overly spiritual. I understand that mindset. However, when you are dowsing, you are working with energy. The pendulum is a divination tool, and as such, this step merits sincere consideration.

How the Pendulum Actually Works

Before we move into programming your pendulum, it’s helpful to understand why the pendulum responds to your questions at all. It must be understood that the pendulum itself does not give us the answers, it is only a tool for the intuitive guidance within. The subconscious mind—working through the nervous system—sends tiny electrical signals through the nerve endings, creating micro-movements in the muscles. This natural process, known as the ideomotor response, is what causes the pendulum to move. These subtle motions reflect the intuitive or energetic information your subconscious is accessing, allowing the pendulum to respond to your questions.

A highly trained clairvoyant has a finely tuned and controlled nervous system and therefore does not need external tools to receive psychic information. He receives it immediately through his body and his finer senses. To develop and fine tune our nervous system is the result of spiritual growth and higher development. Unfortunately, many of us are not at that advanced state yet. We need need aids to strengthen and amplify the signals from our subconscious and nervous system. Dowsing provides the way and the means to do so–our training wheels, per say.

How to Program Your Pendulum for Yes/No Answers

After cleansing and setting your intention, you’re ready to start programming your pendulum for yes/no answers. Take a clean sheet of paper and draw one of the following shapes: a cross or a full circle.

Cross Diagram	Circle Diagram

This visual set up helps anchor the directional movements during programming. Many people, myself included, program the pendulum to respond with clockwise motion for yes/positive and counterclockwise for no/negative. Others find that their pendulum swings forward and back for yes, and left to right for no.

You can program the response however you prefer. It’s entirely personal.

Once you’ve chosen your yes/no swings, gently swing the pendulum in the chosen yes direction over your diagram and say aloud:

“This is for yes answers,” or “You will swing in this direction for yes answers.”

Then repeat the process for no answers:

“This is for no answers,” or “You will swing in this direction for no answers.”

Spend about 10 minutes repeating this process. Then repeat it again silently—mentally reinforcing the programming. Remember, the subconscious mind is like a small child: it learns through repetition.

How to Verify Your Pendulum Programming

Take a few deep breaths, clear your mind, and relax. Without using the diagrams, hold the pendulum steady between your thumb and index finger. Begin asking simple questions to which you already know the answer. If your name is Gary, ask: “Is my name Gary?” and observe the response. Then ask: “Is my name Paul?” If you receive a negative response, you’re on the right track.

Continue with questions like:

“Is today Wednesday?”

“Am I male/female?”

If the pendulum responds correctly based on your programming, you have successfully set your code.

You are now a Dowser!

From here, you can begin asking questions your conscious mind doesn’t know and using dowsing charts. The importance of asking the right question is a topic of its own, and I’ll go into that in my next blog post.

Troubleshooting

If you find that the pendulum is swinging in the wrong directions, or you get very little movement, avoid asking any divinatory questions at this time. Instead, continue with programming for a few days until you get the pendulum to give you the right responses.

Final Tips:

Practice clearing your mind and becoming centered before dowsing
Never dowse when you are stressed, anxious, overly emotional or upset
Never dowse after a full meal
Make sure you are fully hydrated and in good spirits

And remember, the subconscious self is like a playful child—easily influenced, open to suggestion, and in need of gentle teaching, just as a child learns to walk, speak, or read. Guide it with care and let it do the work for you.