Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Metals have played an important role in a variety of mystical, esoteric, and psychic practices across many different cultures and time periods. While there is no scientific consensus on these practices, many practitioners believe metals can channel, store, and amplify subtle energies, making them useful tools for divination, healing, scrying, and other psychic pursuits. Below is an overview of some of the most prominent psychic or spiritual practices involving metal.
1. Dowsing (Divining Rods)
What It Is:
Dowsing (or divining) is traditionally used to find underground water or minerals using rods or pendulums. Over the centuries, practitioners expanded its use to locate lost objects, discover hidden information, or gain insight into spiritual matters.
How Metal Is Involved:
- Dowsing Rods: Often made of copper, brass, or other malleable metals. Copper, in particular, is favored because many believe it is an excellent conductor of both electricity and “psychic” or subtle energies.
- Pendulums: Pendulums used in psychic work can be made of various metals (brass, silver, copper) and are used to communicate yes/no answers or locate energy blockages.
Why Metal Matters:
Practitioners say metals can conduct or respond to the energy fields around people or places, thereby enhancing sensitivity to subtle vibrations.
2. Scrying with Reflective Surfaces
What It Is:
Scrying is the practice of using a reflective or translucent surface to see visions, symbols, or answers to questions. Most commonly, scrying is associated with crystal balls or black mirrors (such as obsidian).
How Metal Is Involved:
- Specula (Metal Mirrors): In some traditions—especially in ancient civilizations—polished metals like bronze, silver, or even gold were used as mirrors.
- Modern Adaptations: Some practitioners create polished steel or aluminum mirrors to use as a scrying surface.
Why Metal Matters:
Metals were historically more durable (and sometimes easier to polish) than glass in certain contexts. On a metaphysical level, some believe certain metals can more readily “hold” or “amplify” the scryer’s psychic energy.
3. Psychometry (Reading Objects)
What It Is:
Psychometry is the alleged psychic ability to glean information about a person, place, or event by touching an object connected to that context.
How Metal Is Involved:
- Jewelry: Rings, necklaces, or bracelets (often made of gold, silver, or other metals) are common targets for psychometry. Because jewelry is worn so closely to the body, practitioners believe it becomes imprinted with the energy of its owner.
- Artifacts/Weapons: Historical or ceremonial items (swords, daggers, etc.) made of metal are also popular for psychometry, as they are thought to carry strong energetic “signatures.”
Why Metal Matters:
Metals, being highly durable, are thought by some to better retain memories, emotions, or energetic imprints—like a “psychic recording device.”
4. Protective Talismans and Amulets
What They Are:
Talismans and amulets are objects believed to confer protection, luck, or other benefits. Metals have been used in almost every culture to create sacred or protective objects.
How Metal Is Involved:
- Silver: In many folklore traditions, silver is considered a “pure” metal that repels negative entities or influences (e.g., silver bullets in werewolf lore).
- Iron: Iron is historically used to ward off evil spirits, faeries, or malevolent energies. Horseshoes are a classic example.
- Gold: Often associated with the sun, divine power, and abundance. In some occult systems, gold is believed to help align one with higher spiritual frequencies.
- Copper: Linked to the planet Venus in Western esotericism; sometimes seen as helpful in healing or balancing energies.
Why Metal Matters:
Different metals are associated with different planetary, elemental, or spiritual properties. Practitioners select a metal whose properties align with their intention, believing the metal enhances their protection or spells.
5. Orgonite and Radionics Devices
What They Are:
- Orgonite: A mixture of metal shavings and resin (and sometimes crystals) based on Dr. Wilhelm Reich’s concept of “orgone” (life force) energy.
- Radionics Devices: Instruments designed to interact with the user’s “subtle energies” or consciousness to manifest or heal.
How Metal Is Involved:
- Metal Shavings: In orgonite, layers of resin and metal are said to accumulate or transmute negative energy into a more positive, life-affirming energy.
- Metal Plates or Coils: Radionics machines often incorporate plates, coils, and wiring made of specific metals believed to attract or direct subtle energies.
Why Metal Matters:
Adherents believe metals act as conductors or filters, focusing or reorganizing the energy flow. Though scientifically unproven, many use these devices in energy healing or psychic experimentation.
6. “Psychic Bending” (Spoon Bending)
What It Is:
Popularized by performers like Uri Geller, spoon bending is often portrayed as a demonstration of telekinesis or psychokinesis.
How Metal Is Involved:
- Cutlery (Spoons/Forks): Metal utensils are used in demonstrations. Practitioners claim to use mental focus (and/or subtle physical force) to soften or bend the metal.
Why Metal Matters:
While skeptics attribute spoon bending largely to illusion or the metal’s malleability when warmed/manipulated, believers see it as evidence of psychokinesis. Metal is chosen because bending it is visually dramatic and perceived as impossible by normal means.
7. Alchemy and Planetary Metals
What It Is:
Alchemy was the medieval pursuit of transmuting base metals into gold and discovering the elixir of life—though many see it as both a spiritual and a literal practice.
How Metal Is Involved:
- Seven Planetary Metals: In Western alchemy, the seven main metals (lead, tin, iron, gold, copper, mercury, and silver) each corresponded to celestial bodies (Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon, respectively).
- Spiritual Transformation: Alchemists considered the transformation of metals a parallel to the transformation of the soul or consciousness.
Why Metal Matters:
Metals were viewed as living substances capable of evolution, mirroring the alchemist’s inner journey from “lead” (base consciousness) to “gold” (illuminated consciousness).
8. Healing Tools and Energy Work
What It Is:
Energy healers (in Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, or various other modalities) sometimes incorporate tools to shift or balance energies in the body.
How Metal Is Involved:
- Wands and Healing Rods: Copper rods, or rods that combine copper and zinc, are sometimes held in each hand to balance the body’s energetic flows.
- Massage Tools: Metal spoons or smooth metal stones are sometimes used to move energy or reduce stagnation in practices like gua sha (though traditionally gua sha uses tools like jade, some modern variations use metal).
Why Metal Matters:
Practitioners believe metals can be harnessed for their energetic conductivity, helping channel or redirect subtle currents in the body’s energy field.
Tips for Exploring Metal-Based Psychic Practices
- Stay Open-Minded but Critical: Approach these practices as you would any spiritual or holistic practice—with curiosity and discernment.
- Research Cultural and Historical Context: Certain metals hold particular significance in different cultural traditions (e.g., the use of iron to ward off faeries in Celtic folklore, or the use of silver in Abrahamic and European traditions). Knowing this context enriches your practice.
- Experiment Safely: If you are exploring these practices, choose methods that are safe and do not involve dangerous chemicals or processes (especially if you delve into any modern forms of alchemy or metal work).
- Combine with Other Modalities: Many find that metal-based tools can be complementary to meditation, crystal healing, breathwork, or other psychic/energy practices. You may discover a synergy when combining techniques.
- Choose Quality Materials: If you are using metal tools (like pendulums, rods, or scrying surfaces), invest in good-quality materials. Cheaper metals sometimes bend or tarnish quickly, which can affect how they’re used or how well they reflect/hold energy.
Final Thoughts
Metals have a long history in esoteric and psychic traditions, partly because of their intrinsic physical properties (conductivity, durability) and partly because of the symbolic and mythological meanings assigned to them. Whether you choose to experiment with metal scrying mirrors, dowsing rods, amulets, or other metal-based tools, remember that any psychic practice is highly personal. Trust your intuition, and consider the energetic resonance you feel with each metal or method.
Above all, enjoy the journey of exploration—these tools are meant to help you expand your understanding of yourself and the subtle energies that many believe weave through all of reality.
