Reading objects is one of the easiest ways to practice your psychic ability. It’s a good way to gauge the overall energy of something and to see if you can get any information about the person or people who owned it or wore it. The easiest object to read is jewelry. They are worn close to the body and soak up the wearer’s energy. However, any object, such as business cards, toys, furniture, or fabric, can be read. While reading someone’s curtains or socks is possible, most people choose to read something smaller like jewelry or a wallet. It’s also possible to read the energy of a photo. If you really want to challenge yourself, read an object that’s sealed in an envelope where you can’t see what it is or actually touch it.

This is a perfect way to sharpen whatever clair you want to work on. As you’re reading, you can set the intention to get the information in a particular way, such as an image, sound, or sensation.

The first time I did it, a friend insisted I tell her what I got from a ring she wore. I didn’t expect to get anything as I’ve known her for a long time and know her energy well. She handed it to me despite my skepticism and told me to suck it up and do it. I started getting images of a man with red hair and a beard wearing overalls, standing in front of a workbench. She took the ring back and put it on her finger while nodding. She then told me that the stone in the ring was taken from an older ring created by her stepfather. He was a man with red hair and a beard who used to wear overalls when he worked in his workshop. I couldn’t believe it. My friend is not one to lie. If I had completely missed the mark, she would have told me.

I don’t do psychometry often as it’s sometimes regarded as a party trick, and when most people want my help, it’s not to read their jewelry. However, I have had a few interesting hits. I read from a closed envelope and told the person I heard water dripping in an upstairs bathroom. A few months later, I heard from someone who knew her that they had found a leak in their upstairs bathroom shortly after I told her to look for it.

This is the perfect exercise to do if you have a bunch of friends who want to practice their gifts. There is an art to it, though, and can be difficult to do if you don’t know how to do it. The problem when we’re attempting to read something is that we’re attempting to read something. This is the same issue newly minted healers have when looking for places where energy doesn’t flow well or is blocked. They end up using their energy to search for something instead of pulling their energy back and allowing the energy of the person’s body to relay the information. It’s like a soap bubble floating toward you; if you exert any energy on it, it will veer off course. If you want the bubble to come to you, observe its movement to catch it, but don’t try to bring it towards you. It’s the same with reading energy. Don’t go looking for it. Let it come to you. Many have said, “I’m open, I’m open, come on already!” It doesn’t work that way. It’s like opening the window and stepping out of the way, allowing the wind to enter.

Here’s how you do it.

Take the object in your hand. Distinguish your energy from the energy of the object. You don’t want to mistakenly read yourself. Focus your attention on the object and open your senses to whatever the energy conveys. You may get images, sounds, scents, emotions, or thoughts. You might get a movie or a melody. You might hear words or sounds from a bygone era, depending on how old something is. You might hear another language if the object came from a foreign land.

It’s important thing is not to force the reading. In doing so, you will embed your own energy in the object. If you’re doing this exercise with friends, that can cloud the energy of the object for the next person trying to read it. Write down your observations, all of them, no matter how small or insignificant they might seem, and pass on the object. Remember to disconnect your energy from the object before reading the next one. If you don’t, it can muddle your results, as you won’t know which object you’re actually reading. This is like clearing your palette during wine tasting. At the end, compare notes. Most of the observations should be the same or very similar. This is how you gauge accuracy.

Here is the warning label about psychometry.

Objects can hold the energy of many things, both positive and negative. They can contain intense emotions such as sadness, anger, frustration, and terror. Ghosts or negative entities can be tied to or trapped in an object. They may also hold the energy of violence or death of their previous owners. For this reason, if you are sensitive to energy, be mindful of touching things. Especially if you are a fan of second-hand shopping. Most of the things donated consist of items people no longer use or are the belongings of elders who have passed away. Those are likely to have stagnant energy from not being used for so long. Those only need to be cleared and can be used again.

Then, you have the objects that may have come from a crime scene. These objects could be anything from furniture to clothing. They could be the possessions of a person who was killed near these objects. The things around that person would absorb the energy of the incident, thoughts, and emotions from the people in the room. I have not felt this specifically, but I have brushed up against something while walking through the clothing aisles and pulled my hand back as if I had been burned. Its energy was intense and uncomfortable. I was curious, but not enough to want to figure out what that was.

What I have felt is a ghost and an entity tied to objects. A person I knew loved to go thrift shopping. He mostly bought furniture. He wanted a table, and I told him not to buy it as I could feel the ghost, a not-so-friendly one, hovering inside it. Another time, there was a dresser that I walked by, and I shivered. Looking at it, I could see the demon inside it, waiting. I’m not sure how it happens. I just know it does.

The other thing to consider when reading an object is that it can become an immersive experience that includes sight, sound, and feeling. It can be cool to walk in the shoes of a person for a short time, but not all energy absorbed is good. Refer to the above warning about crime scenes. If you notice that when you read objects, you fall into that immersive state, set the intention that you will only do so for pleasant things.

Psychometry is one of the fastest ways to develop your gifts. It can give instant feedback if you’re reading someone you know and help you trust what you’re getting. If the information you get is inaccurate, you’re trying too hard. Again, let the soap bubble come to you, grasshopper.