Psychometry

15th June 2019. Reading Time: 6 minutes General, Paranormal Theories, Stuff paranormal investigators need to know. 3735 page views. 0 comments.

Psychometry is a psychic ability where a person is able to read the history of a physical object simply by touching it.

One of the biggest misconceptions about psychic abilities is that a lot of people don't understand the many different kinds. I know years ago I was guilty of this as well. A lot of comments such as "If you are a psychic why aren't you rich from lottery numbers?" Or if you ask a person their name the response is "You should already know this, if you are a psychic!" Perhaps it is the reputation that the spiritualists of the Victorian Era brought to the field who were in many cases proven fraudsters with no psychical abilities - just really good at performing tricks, as to why some people feel this way. After researching the paranormal extensively over the last few years and especially taking notice of the field of parapsychology, I quickly learned that there are many intuitive senses a person is thought to have, and they can have only one or they can have several. There is no one size fits all answer to each and it is not exclusive to a proclaimed psychic. It is something we are all capable of it seems. Perhaps this is why it can be difficult to test. Studies however that have been done in certain areas indicate above a baseline figure that there is something to these claimed abilities which is why I take such notice of these now. When you have actual data in front of you, it is easier to take a claim a lot more seriously.

I have spoken before in this blog about a lot of the popular more well-known senses as well as delving into lesser-known abilities. It was looking into the lesser-known Dermo Optical Perception where a person can supposedly sense colour through touch that I came across Psychometry - which is also an ability triggered by touch. An ability I knew people in a way possessed, but didn't have a proper understanding of it.

What is psychometry?

Psychometry is a psychical ability where a person is able to pick up an object and read its history intuitively. By touching the object, they may see impressions or images in their mind, they may taste or smell something, they may physically feel a sensation or they may even feel emotion. With psychometry, you are able to 'see' by using touch. A person who has this ability is referred to as a 'psychometrist'.

A lot of people who are psychic mediums often tell me that they can read the energy left behind on a physical item. For example, if someone who was a psychometrist was to wear my wedding rings, they would be able to get 'impressions' of my energy. Some people apparently work backward and will pick up on the most recent person to handle the item whereas others claim they specifically target certain energy.

This is not thought to be its own form of a psychic ability like ESP or telepathy is, it is more thought to be a tool that someone uses to be able to channel their ability. In the same way, say someone may scry into a crystal ball or use tarot cards to aid reading, others may ask for a physical item of the person you wish to contact so they can concentrate on contacting this energy. It is in fact often compared to scrying for this reason.

Psychometry Studies

in 1842, Joseph R Buchanan who was a professor in physiology, coined this term using the words 'psyche' which means soul in Greek, and 'metron' which means measure. He was one of the first people to experiment with this concept. Using students from his classes, he would fill different glass vials with a drug and would ask the students to determine what was inside just by holding the vial. He felt that the results were more than just a person being able to guess and his findings were published in his book 'Journal of Man'.

in 1854, William F Denton who was an American professor in Geology took Buchanan's work further to see if this concept would work with geological specimens. His sister Anne was his test subject. He would wrap the rock or specimens in a cloth and she would hold the item to her forehead where she claimed to receive a mental impression of the actual specimen.

Between the years 1919 to 1922, Gustav Pagenstecher who was a German Doctor and also a psychical researcher found one of his patients had this ability. While holding a certain object, his patient would go into a trance and was able to talk about the past and present of the item, being specific about smells, sounds, sights, and feelings.

Do physical objects retain energy?

When we extend this ability and concept a little further, it opens up the debate as to if say an object retains energy or even becomes haunted. It also brings up the concept of the 'Stonetape theory' which speculates that certain kinds of rock can retain energy and potentially 'playback' a type of residual energy if the atmospheric conditions are just right. While I am not an advocate of this theory as it has many holes in it, I do believe there is something to the notion that an object could retain energy.

I suppose it is something to be approached from two different angles. First of all, an item retaining energy I believe would be possible. Items hold onto heat, they hold onto a substance, why couldn't they hold onto energy? If I go back again to the Stonetape theory, I don't think the atmosphere could potentially release a 'playback' of this energy, but perhaps it could be read by touching it. It is almost a form of energy transference. In this case, if you were applying it to paranormal investigating, it would be more of residual energy. Meaning that a person could see or feel what has happened to the person in the past who was in possession of the object.

A haunted object is something else entirely. It is the concept that a spirit attaches itself to an actual item. Unpopular opinion, but I don't believe this is possible, just through my own research. I think energy can be retained, but I don't believe a spirit can 'haunt' an object. That is just my own personal opinion.

The sensation of touch is a powerful one. It can not only 'read' residual energy, but it also has the possibility to heal. We know how comforting just a person's human touch is. Perhaps this is one of the 'aids' of clairvoyance or psychical ability that we need to test and explore a bit further. Like any sort of psychic ability, it is something that is within all of us, you just have to access it. Why not give this a try? Set up an experiment or test. Gather a couple of items and wrap them in a cloth etc and have someone pick it up to try and determine what it is. Obviously, you want to use something that is not easily distinguishable by how it feels. Remember the person needs to 'see' the item intuitively, not feel its shape and make a guess.

I would love to hear from you! Are you able to read the past history of an object by touching it? If you are a psychic medium, does having a physical item of the person you which to contact help you channel this information? Have you ever put anyone to the test with this ability?


References

https://www.britannica.com/topic/psychometry

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1974-26505-001

https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/psychometry

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