How to Get Better at Intuition
The #1 question I’m asked as a tarot reader & medium: “Am I psychic?”
The short answer: “Yes.”
So many of my clients come to me asking for advice on how to build their intuition, psychic, and/or spiritual gifts. Maybe we experienced something when we were a kid that freaked us out, so we shut ourselves down. Or maybe, like me, you entered a phase in your adult life where you thought you had to be “rational” and “logical,” and so you pushed your gifts way deep down.
The good news? It’s not gone. Anyone can build their intuition muscle.
The not-so-good news? It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and patience.
Mostly, though? It takes time.
How do I know if I’m psychic?
I believe fiercely that everyone can be—IS—intuitive. Everything on this planet is constantly emitting energetic frequencies; it’s up to us to learn how to tune in to hear those frequencies.
And most often, it’s not our brain that picks up the frequencies. It’s our physical and psychic/energetic bodies. We’ve been trained in our society to ignore our body cues in favor of our brains. This is a big problem.
So trust yourself: Yes, you have intuition. You just have to learn how to listen and interpret the messages.
I've always been able to feel stuff from others. Does that mean I'm psychic?
Well, since I believe everyone can be intuitive, and you're already picking up vibes, I'm willing to bet you just need a little more practice to get the hang of this "psychic" thing!
And guess what? You already have the ONE TOOL you need: Your body.
Yes, it's true!
To be intuitive is to be embodied.
A lot of us, especially those of us who are drawn to witchcraft, have had some pretty crappy experiences in our bodies. We don’t like our bodies. We don’t want to BE in our bodies.
I get it. I most certainly did not want to be in my body. My body was a place of fear. Some of the metaphors I used over the years included: toilet paper that other people wiped their shit on, a decorative couch that’s only purpose was to support others and look pretty, a meat suit, and more. To be in my body was to be unsafe.
And I’m willing to bet you tend to feel the same way.
Embodied Intuition: Learning How to Read Your Energy
You may not feel safe to be in your body, but you can get there, and you that with micro-steps. Not just baby steps, but steps that are even smaller. You are going to build a foundational "hour of power" for you that will become unshakeable.
But It doesn’t have to an hour, by any means. In fact, I recommend you start with 30-60 seconds three times a week.
YES, only ONE MINUTE.
Why? Because the goal is long-term daily practice. If you jump right in to setting aside an hour a day, you’re going to give up. Your energy work—and likely your self-care—muscles are gonna get tired. You’re going to stop. Or you’ll feel like putting an hour a day into your witchcraft is too much, so you won’t even start.
I’m gonna make it so you have no excuse, ‘kay?
Okay.
Let’s do this.
Learning the Technique
Think about the signals your body sends you throughout the day. The body-scanning technique will help you learn to read and understand those signals by engaging with your Body on a regular basis. This is a way to develop a relationship to your Body, a relationship that will help your intuition—and personal power—blossom.
The basic technique:
Ground and center
Ask your Body for consent: “Can I scan you today?”
If your Body says no, honor that and stop the scan
If the answer was yes, start at the top of your head, and work your way down your body
What do you sense? Feel? See? Hear? Taste?
What colors? Temperatures? Shapes? Sizes?
Don't worry about analyzing it
Don't worry about whether it makes sense
Just keep going
JOURNAL after
Common Questions
What’s with the consent thing?
I realized in the last round of Intuition 101 how common it is for my students to have never been asked consent for Bodily interaction. The most powerful thing we can do is honor our Body’s needs. Even if no one else has asked for consent to interact with your Body or your energy, YOU can. This is a form of reclaiming power. This also helps your Body begin to trust what you are doing, and therefore open up easier (once you’ve developed that trust). If your Body says “no” to the scan, honor it. Listen to it. I have one student who has not yet been able to a do a body scan with her Body’s consent. What she has managed to do, though, is to create trust. She’s beginning a relationship with her Body. And she’s found that she can connect more easily to other energies now, such as earth energy.
What if I don't sense anything?
That's a sensation in and of itself, yes? So note it and keep moving through the scan. Maybe poke at the "nothing" and see what happens.
What if it's all black, or it's a void?
That, too, is a sensation! Your body may not be ready yet to share with you. It may not trust you yet. That's okay. Note it and keep moving through the scan. Maybe poke at the black or void to see what happens.
What if I can't move beyond a certain point in my body?
That happens all the time! Some areas are NO-GO zones right now. That's okay. Note it and keep moving through the scan. Maybe poke at the NO-GO fence and see what happens.
What if the sensations are really yucky?
Oof, a common reason why folks won't continue the body scans. Our bodies hold a lot of emotion, and most of our trauma is buried away in our cells. Note what the yuckiness feels like. Is it tar? Sticky? Dark? Smelly? Mine is often a yellow bile substance. After noting it, keeping going and finish your body scan.
Simply the act of observing, of bearing witness to, our Body’s messages is enough to begin to unravel the knots that have kept our intuition under wraps.
Often, when we do our body scans, we'll "see" or sense weird colors, shapes, or even things. For instance, a former student has a turtle in her knee. Another has a "hippie tree" in her midsection.
That's okay. Go with it.
It's part of the process. Think about it this way: Your Body doesn’t speak your native language. The information has to come to you through symbols. Do you really have a turtle in your knee? Not literally, no. But turtle-like energy? Abso-fucking-lutely.
Now it's up to you to understand what that symbolism is and means.
Are you worried it's "just your imagination"?
First, it isn't. I've done this long enough to know that for sure. Second? So what if it is? If your "imagination" can provide insight, commentary, and a way to communicate on what's happening in your world, how is that a bad thing?
Magick (energy work) is merely science, unexplained.
So science hasn't exactly put a premium on figuring out how this energy work, well, works. And that's what you are doing right now. These body scans? Energy work. You are learning your own personal energy signature, so that you can read it, understand it, and communicate with it.
Just because science hasn't figured it out yet doesn't mean it's not real.
Let go and tune in to the wonder of the universe!
The more often you do a body scan, the quicker you will learn your Body’s language. I recommend body-scanning daily in the morning as part of your morning ritual, but you do you, boo! If it’s better to do during lunch or at the end of the day? Go for it! Try experimenting with different times of the day to see if that makes a difference. Gather the data!
Written by Kee Hawthorne Reiter, a witch, tarot reader and psychic medium focused on helping clients live empowered lives.
Curious about witchcraft or Tarot? Uncertain about energetic boundaries or protection? Seeking guidance for a spell? Book this session to chat through anything you’d like more information on.
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