Photo by Jemma
Do I have to have psychic powers to be a witch?
Back in March we published an article on magick powers, in it we explained that there are four kinds of powers called ‘major clairs’. So let’s explain in a bit more detail what we mean by these powers, you may be able to identify one or two perhaps you are familiar with or maybe experience yourself. However, it is also fair to say that you do not have to have psychic powers to be a witch!
What are psychic powers?
A psychic is a person who has an ability to receive information outside of the normal five senses. It is said that this extra way of receiving information is through ‘extrasensory perception’. These different, extrasensory senses can be collectively referred to psychic powers or psychic abilities and are often referred to as ‘the major clairs’.
Clairvoyance
Clairvoyance means ‘clear seeing’ is one of the four ‘clairs’. It means that when messages arrive ‘clairvoyantly’, they appear as images or scenes in the mind. They are nearly always experienced differently to thoughts, and they may come into the mind’s eye as quick as a flash and then it’s gone. In that case a clairvoyant may need to rely on powers of recall to bring the initial flash back.
Most people can and do experience clairvoyance at some point in their lives, they just don’t realise that is what it is. For example, images that flash in your mind incredibly quickly or images that come into the mind during deep relaxation (or even right before falling asleep) are all examples of clairvoyance. The hardest part is figuring out what the image means, which is oftentimes metaphorical.
Clairaudience
Clairaudience means ‘clear hearing’ and means that when messages arrive they are like a little voice or the conscience, gently speaking. The messages are not the same as having negative thoughts or our own internal critic. The messages are not scary, the phrases are not harsh or tormenting.
Many people can experience clairaudience, for example short words and phrases that flash in your mind incredibly quickly or that come into the mind during deep relaxation. This might be dismissed as our own internal voice.
Claircognizance
Claircognizance means “clear knowing”. Which means the ability to know something without knowing why. Claircognizance is not simply remembering facts and it’s not a thought in the mind, it is experienced as “pure truth”. This sounds very complicated and claircognizance is possibly the hardest ‘clair’ to explain, but people who experience claircognizance are always correct in their assertions even when there is no evidence (or even contradictory evidence).
People who experience claircognizance will suddenly know something to be fundamentally true. Perhaps the location of a missing object, or when driving somewhere unfamiliar but they don’t get lost (using SatNav doesn’t count!) but they absolutely cannot explain how they know it. People with claircognizance often have the weirdest solutions to problems, but they’re always correct.
Clairsentience
Clairsentience means ‘clear feeling’. With this ‘clair’ messages come through as a feeling. These feelings could be emotional feelings, but they could manifest physically like when we feel nervous we get a physical feeling in the stomach.
Most people will experience clairsentience, but oftentimes it is labelled as something else. For example, a ‘gut feeling’ or ‘sensing the room’. It could feel unexplained, and it is different to feeling apprehension when an event is about to happen. Clairsentience may also be stronger in people who are particularly empathic, we certainly believe empathy is a magickal power all of its own!
Isn’t this just poor health?
It is absolutely true that the symptoms of some health conditions manifest themselves in very similar ways as the major clairs. People who see things that aren’t there or people who hear voices can certainly be experiencing the above due to a health condition.
It is also true that if you experience any of the major clairs, it may not cause you any distress at all and there may be no worrying medical reasons for these experiences. For example, other explanations connected to hypnagogia may be used.
We would urge anyone who is worried or distressed about any symptoms to seek advice from a medical professional.
Developing the major clairs
With practice most people can develop all of these abilities; however you do not have to have psychic powers to be a witch!
If you’re able to practise meditation safely, visualising when in a deep state of relaxation is when ‘baby clairs’ start to form. This is a good time to notice if you get any visual imagery flashing in your mind’s eye.
Learning how to switch off your logic thinking brain is also a good start to developing the major clairs. Spend more time outdoors, building Lego or colouring in a picture book. Any task that allows the logic brain to have a break will allow creative, more intuitive, clairsentient and claircognizant solutions to come forward.
Just make sure you keep a good record by writing it down in a journal. Over several weeks or months, this record can begin to show how well these abilities are growing. Just be patient, learning anything new takes time!
You do not have to have psychic powers to be a witch
Witches are masters of manifestation. We set our intentions through spells and achieve our goals. Manifestation and goal achievement may not be a major clair but it is certainly a magickal power. People who successfully work towards their goals possess many gifts, and magickal powers doesn’t have to mean the psychic powers of the major clairs.
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