[dropcap style=”10″]H[/dropcap]appy April everyone!  It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted any Ask A Witch questions, and part of this has been because I’ve been so incredibly busy.  I am in the process of working on a major site overhaul which I’ll be posting a news update on this week.  Because of this I haven’t been doing ANY blogging so I can focus on the work I have to do there while also keeping the amount of content that’s going to need to be shifted around to a reasonable amount.  But I wanted to answer this question that I received because it goes back to another question that I answered before regarding “supernatural” abilities and the fact that, at least according to Richardo, I didn’t answer the question and he’d like an answer.  So here it is.

I was reading a question in which you answered “how do i know if i have super natural abilities”

However, the question was not really answered as you only mentioned your opinion on whether you believed they exist, not how do you actually know if you have them.

So, my question is. HOW do you know if you have any sort of ability, and how can I learn to control it. I have always felt out of place and wondered if I could do something special, and not “normal”. I have a special thing with air, and telekinesis. I’ve always tried to move objects but never really could. So could you please explain to me how to figure out if I do have ANY sort of gift?

~Ricardo

First off,  I feel that your question is a little different than the previous one in a way.  That question was literally a single sentence (and not a well put one either) just asking to find out if they have a supernatural power. That can mean a number of different things to a number of different people and not having context I decided to answer the question from the very simple standpoint of “if you believe supernatural powers means you can shoot fire from your fingertips, then I can’t help you because I don’t believe those things to be real.” Your question is a little different and seems a bit more thought out, so let me see what I can offer you here.

With your question I’ll again reiterate the point that I don’t believe in supernatural powers, per se. In the 26 years that I have been an active and practicing Witch I have never seen anyone have the abilities that often fall into this category of being “supernatural”. Remember, supernatural means something that is outside of the natural laws. Most of the abilities that people who are serious about questions like this are referring to things that are quite natural and the terminology is usually the problem.

Everyone has the ability to be psychic and to work magick. These things are completely natural. The difference between someone who can use these things and someone who can’t is just a matter of practice and, to a point, belief. If you believe you can do something you are more confident and more apt to actually do what you need to in order to develop those skills.

How do you know if you have an ability? Well, it might not seem like an answer at first, but…do you? Think about that for a second. Do you have anything that you feel you can do that seems different? Is there a psychic skill that you seem to be good at or is your perception in certain areas particularly keen? The only person that can determine if you have an ability is you because, again, belief is part of it. The other part is knowledge. Knowing what kind of skills you’re looking to find within yourself helps.

The best way to test yourself is to start out by researching what are called the “clair-senses”. There are six of them; they are:
Clairvoyance – clear seeing
Clairaudience – clear hearing
Claircognizance – clear knowing
Clairsentience – clear feeling
Clairalience – clear smelling
Clairgustance – clear tasting

The last two, clairalience and clairgustance, are not terribly common and often come and go in very specific situations. The other are what many people would consider the common psychic abilities. They are the skills and abilities that everyone has the power to use if they can learn to work with them. So my suggestion would be to do some research into them, find some material on how to develop and strengthen these abilities, and work from there. You’ll likely find that one comes really naturally to you and the others require work to develop. Everyone has a predominant psychic skill while others may be more latent.

You specifically mentioned TK, and while I have never seen TK displayed in a way that I felt was 100% true, it is one that I believe is possible. In order to use TK you’re working to manipulate the energy field around an object in order to move it. This isn’t at ALL like what you see in the movies, however. You’re not going to be moving cars around (forget the movie “Chronicle”) and you’re not going to be able to likely do more than manipulate light objects even with the most trained skill, something that even people with supposed TK abilities will admit. The best way to start working with energy manipulation in this way is to learn to move and manipulate a candle flame. If you do a little Goggle search for either “telekinesis candle flame” or “candle flame bending” you’ll find material on how to do this. This is also sometimes referred to as pyrokinesis. This is an ability that I have and one that I have found many Witches have, and it’s one that takes time to develop but it’s a fun one to learn and work with.

So HOW do you find out if you have a gift? Again, quite simply…do you have one? Is there something that you can do that is indicative of these various skills and abilities? You have to try doing them and practice at them to be able to know if you have any abilities.