How To Develop Psychic Abilities (And Discover Your Natural Gifts)

We all have psychic abilities. You might be fully aware that you have a gift or you might not know about yours—or how to use it—yet.

Either way, if you are reading this, you are likely curious about working with your clairsenses (a.k.a. psychic abilities).

We’ll explore how to develop psychic abilities and how easy it can be!

Developing your psychic abilities starts with tuning into yourself and really listening to your inner voice and intuitive guidance.

It’s like building muscle: the more you work with your intuition, the stronger it gets.

And, like your physical abilities, it will likely require at least a little bit of training to really know how to develop psychic abilities.

It’s not evil to work on developing your psychic gifts, either—as long as you work them to enhance your own life, not to control or cause harm to others.

It’s actually perfectly natural and even exciting to pick up messages from nature, the spirit world, and even beings from other dimensions and star systems!

First things first, though. You should not only be open to getting messages. You should also listen to your gut about the quality of the messages you are receiving or how you feel when you get them.

I’m not encouraging you to open up to just any entity who wants to chat with you, nor am I saying that you won’t need a little protection as you work on developing your psychic abilities. 

I am saying to go into the experience with curiosity, honesty, and a true desire to tap into the magic that is always around you.

Discovering Your Psychic Abilities

One of the factors that might keep you from fully discovering your psychic gifts is thinking your experience should look or feel a certain way.

Many of us want to have full-blown psychic visions or perfectly channeled messages that are 100% correct AND what we want to see and hear at the time.

It doesn’t work that way, though.

Learning to receive and interpret messages is an art form.

Different clair senses are stronger l in some and weaker in others. And you might need some tools, like tarot cards, to get started with receiving messages.

We talk a little bit more about different ways to work with your psychic abilities here (11 Types of Psychic Abilities).

While you might be one of the people who actually can see apparitions or speak clearly with the dead, you might have some other gifts as well.

If you learn to be open to all of the various ways Spirit speaks with you, it can help you get clearer messages.

Crystals that help open up your clairsenses are Labradorite, Lapis Lazuli, Amethyst, and even Selenite.

You can also use essential oils like Frankincense and Sandalwood to help connect with your intuition and open yourself up to psychic messages.

Which Clair Do You Have?

Clairvoyance – Clear seeing.

This gift allows people to see spirits or even messages in real life.

You might see full-on apparitions or spirits, see mind movies that give you information to work with, or even see sparks of light, portals, or symbols as you go about your day.

Don’t discount signs or even memes on the internet—they can be clairvoyant messages as well.

❤️ Further Reading: Clairvoyance: What It Is + 10 Signs You Have This Ability

Clairsentience – Clear feeling.

This gift allows people to feel what another person feels. You might notice gut feelings, chills, or air changes, or even to feel pain or emotions others are feeling. 

This is one I think a lot of us have but overlook as being part of the human experience. We can feel what others are feeling. It’s why you get the warm fuzzies when you see something good happen or how your stomach turns when you see cruelty.

❤️ See Also: Clairsentience: What It Is + 12 Signs You Have This Ability

Claircognizance – Clear knowing.

This gift allows you to know something without having any way of knowing it.

Sometimes a thought or idea will pop into your mind, giving you insight or even insider information.

You might pick up full thoughts, “downloads”, or even have a premonition about something that is going to happen. 

❤️ See also: Claircognizance Meaning + 7 Amazing Signs Of This Ability

Clairaudience – Clear hearing.

This gift can show up in a variety of ways.

From hearing a song with the exact advice you need to hear, picking up snippets of conversation—in real life or on TV that directly fit a message you need, or even in auditory hallucinations, like ghostly voices or hearing messages from spirits or angels. 

Clairgustance – Clear taste.

While this gift might seem a bit weird, people who experience it might taste something that reminds them of a person.

Messages of this kind might also relate to blood in the mouth or, more lightly, a person who was really into food in their life.

❤️ Further Reading: Clairgustance (Psychic Taste): 5 Signs You Have This Ability

Clairalience – Clear smelling.

This gift might show up as the smell of a person’s perfume or cigarette smoke if the spirit communicating was a smoker.

You might also get foul smells to warn you of impending danger or negative entities. 

Be open to messages coming in a mixture of forms.

Sometimes a spirit enters the room with a certain smell and then shares a message clairvoyantly or claircognizantly. 

You can experiment with asking your spirit guides to send messages in a particular way as well. This will allow you to deepen your relationship with your spirit team and enhance your clairsenses as well.

Also, when you get more experienced at being in constant contact with your spirit guides, you will notice that they send information in the best, most fitting way for you in any given moment.

For example, if you are driving to work and need a message, your spirit guides or even beloved friends and family members might send a song with a message for you.

If you are on a walk in the woods, you might see an animal or flower that has a specific meaning or association for you, or you might get a lot of inspired downloads or claircognizant messages.

The bottom line is: If you think it’s a sign, it’s a sign.

❤️ Further Reading: Clairalience Meaning: What It Is + 9 Signs You Have It

How To Develop Psychic Abilities

Once you’ve discovered your psychic gifts and understand how messages come through to you, you can work on developing those psychic abilities.

Learning how to develop psychic abilities will take some time, practice, and honesty. 

You can work on developing your intuitive gifts alone, use books or resources you find on the internet, or even take courses specifically designed to work with different types of psychic abilities or tools.

I highly recommend watching YouTube videos or reading blog posts from online psychic teachers before you invest in their programs.

Find a teacher or school that has a good following and reputation. You can also join Facebook groups devoted to exploring different psychic gifts.

Here are a few tips that will help you as you are learning how to develop psychic abilities.

Let go of fear

Fear will block you from receiving messages.

If you are scared to recognize communication from your spirit guides or your Higher Self, you will purposely miss them, ignore them, or shut them out. 

You might have even shut yourself down from receiving psychic messages, especially if you didn’t have anyone to help you learn to use them.

Or you might have made pacts in past lives to try to limit your psychic abilities, especially if you were persecuted for working with them.

And unfortunately, we’ve been told that having psychic abilities is kind of scary or even evil. The movies depict psychic abilities as dangerous, showing us how psychics are vulnerable to spiritual attack and even possession.

Ultra-religious people—who sometimes channel messages or heal themselves—might try to turn others away from working with their gifts. 

Ultimately, you don’t really need to be scared of opening up and working with your psychic gifts.

Of course, you want to make sure to protect yourself as you are exploring your psychic abilities. It will also help you let go of any fear you have with connecting to your gifts. 

Protect your psychic energy and space

Consciously preparing your space and your energy to receive messages safely will help you as you work on discovering your psychic abilities.

You will want to protect your energy or aura and your home as well. 

Trusting your intuition in ANY circumstance is vital, whether you are thinking about booking a holiday trip or working with a crystal ball.

When you learn to notice red flags popping up in your energy field or practice, you’ll know you need to change course. 

Your gut feelings, subtle hints, and even BIG BLOCKS will be the first line of defense to keep you safe as you develop your psychic gifts.

Also, when you prepare any sort of ward (or magical protective barriers), you should set the intention of maintaining safety and security for yourself and your loved ones on all levels.

Make time to really focus on creating a safe environment for working with your psychic gifts.

And, if you get visits from spirits at all times of the day and night, make sure to set boundaries for them—kind of like office hours. Really.

You can ask your Guardian Angel to be your secretary or bouncer, depending on which you need.

Preparing your home

Some “normal” practices, like clearing clutter and getting rid of old, broken appliances and furniture helps keep your home’s energy high-vibe, which protects your energy.

Believe it or not, cleaning your house is a part of protecting your energetic space.

You can also sage your home periodically, with the intent of purifying the energy in your home. If you don’t like the smell of sage burning, you can use incense, like Nag Champa or even Cedarwood to clear the energy of your house.

Or you can get a smoke-free smudge spray. There are several available online.

Don’t forget to leave the windows open when you sage your house. It will allow the sage to carry out anything that needs to go and bring in clear clean energy.

Many people also place salt around the perimeter of their yard and in their window sills to keep negative energy from coming in.

You can use regular table salt for this, or combine salt with different herbs, like sage, or oils like peppermint and lemon to ward off any sort of negative energies.

Preparing your own energy

Your mood and mental state will definitely affect your experience in working with your psychic gifts.

If you are angry, sad, or jealous, those energies will seep into your psychic practice. 

Try to find a way to calm your nerves and emotions before you start exploring your psychic gifts.

Start with a quick meditation, where you focus on your breath can help you get into the right mood for working with your psychic gifts.

It helps tune into your body and quiet your mind so you can receive psychic impressions. 

Personally, I call Archangel Michael and my spirit guides to protect me and my space when I work with clients and do meditations or exercises geared toward exploring my psychic gifts. 

I also make sure that the energy I bring into my sessions is calm, secure, and loving.

I focus on my highest and greatest good or the highest and greatest good of my clients. The intentions you set will set the tone for your work.

You can call on your angel team, ancestors, and spirit guides to protect you as you develop your psychic gifts.

You can also wear crystals like Black Tourmaline and Obsidian to shield your energy and deflect any sort of negative energy from entering your workspace.

Keep a psychic journal

As you start developing your psychic abilities, it is good to keep a notebook or journal to log your thoughts, insights, and experiences. 

You might want to note things like:

What messages did you receive that day

What form the messages came in (refer to clairs for ideas)

Holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries

Questions you’d like to find answers to (bonus if you free-write in your journal)

Any symbols or signs to look up — animal, written, or psychically revealed to you

Dreams 

Premonitions that came true

As you work more with your psychic abilities, you will start to notice trends and intuitive hits more frequently in your journal.

It will also help you pinpoint which gifts are strongest for you and which you might need to work on.

You can also work on creating a reference chart for any special signs you receive from different sources, like a loved one who passed on or your guardian angel. 

Using ritual to tap into your intuition 

Creating a ritual—even if it is just a short prayer and a thank you—is helpful when you are developing your psychic powers.

When you learn how to develop psychic abilities, it’s good to get in the habit of creating a sacred space inside and outside of yourself at the beginning and end of each session.

Personally, I would clear the space with either incense or a cleansing spray, light a white candle, and settle into my body and spirit.

Using ritual in your psychic practice

Here is a simple ritual you can use to develop your psychic gifts.

Please don’t forget to prepare your home and your own self before you do this.

You can set aside a short time, like 5 minutes, and then write about it afterward, or you can even set aside 15 minutes to an hour to focus on what comes through.

1. Smudge your space
2. Light a white candle
3. Call in your guardian angel, ancestors, and spirit guides
4. Set the intention to get a psychic message
5. Start focusing on your breath
6. You will likely feel a sort of velvety peace flow over you
7. Notice any messages or insights you get
8. Notice any sounds, sights, smells, or mind movies you witness
9. Write any important messages, insights, or symbols down in your journal
10. End the session with gratitude for the signs you received
11. Snuff candle
12. Clear energy from space

Many spiritual teachers offer workbooks and meditations designed to help people discover and develop their psychic gifts.

We’re lucky to live in an era where we can not only study these things openly but also have access to so many fabulous references and teachers.

Discovering And Learning How To Develop Psychic Abilities – Summary

It can be exciting and fun. Simply let go of your fear and allow yourself to receive messages in the way they come to you.

It might be a little different than what you expect, though, and that’s OK.

Just make sure that you protect your personal energy and home before you begin your practice.

If you follow the advice laid out in this article, you’ll be much more sensitive and aware of the messages that come through to you from your spirit guides and higher self.

Thank you, that's it for this article, I hope enjoyed learning how to develop psychic abilities.

Feel free to leave a comment below 🙂