Psychic glossary: 41 terms explained

A

Ascendant: Zodiac sign rising on the Eastern horizon at the exact moment of birth. The ascendant strongly colors personality, appearance, and how one presents to others. It shifts roughly every 2 hours — hence the need for precise birth time.
Astrology: Discipline interpreting the position of celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, planets, stars) at a given moment to describe personality, life tendencies, and cycles. Western (tropical) and Vedic (sidereal) are the two main schools.
Aura: Subtle energy field that, according to esoteric traditions, surrounds every living being. Psychics sensitive to the aura describe it in terms of colors, density, and brightness. The aura's state is said to reflect one's physical, emotional, and spiritual state.
Astrological house: Division of the natal chart into 12 sectors, each associated with a life area: self, money, siblings, home, children, health, partnership, transformations, travel, career, friends, trials. House calculation depends on exact birth time and place.

C

Cartomancy: Divination using a classic playing card deck (32 or 52 cards) rather than a tarot deck. Each card has a meaning codified by tradition: the Ace of Hearts announces love, the 9 of Diamonds a setback. More direct than tarot, popular for practical daily questions.
Chakra: Energy center of the body according to Indian traditions. Seven main chakras align from the perineum (root) to the crown, each associated with a theme (security, creativity, power, heart, expression, intuition, spirituality). A chakra reading identifies which are open, blocked, or overloaded.
Claircognizance: Extrasensory ability to simply "know" something without sensory input or logical reasoning. The claircognizant psychic receives information as immediate certainty, sometimes without being able to explain its origin.
Clairaudience: Ability to perceive information as inner sound — words, phrases, music — that do not come from a physical source. Clairaudient mediums sometimes say they hear, as inner voices, messages they attribute to the deceased or to guides.
Clairsentience: Ability to physically or emotionally feel invisible information: tension in a room, state of an absent person, atmosphere of a place. Often the most common input channel for energy practitioners and mediums.
Clairvoyance: Ability to perceive inner images or scenes that don't come from memory or imagination. Clairvoyant psychics receive visions that are sometimes symbolic, sometimes literal. Also broadly designates the full range of psychic practices.

D

Dowsing: Generic term for practices using a tool (pendulum, rods) to capture invisible information: water searches, object searches, closed-question answers, energy reading. The pendulum is the most widely used tool in psychic practice.

E

Ephemeris: Table listing the daily position of planets in the sky. Astrologers use it to draw up a natal chart (at birth date) or study transits (current positions over your chart).
Energy practitioner: Practitioner who reads and acts on subtle energy fields (aura, chakras, memories of a place). The approach is present-focused: rebalance, cleanse, protect — rather than predict. Tools vary: magnetism, reiki, radionics, active meditation.

F

Flash: Informal term for a brief, intense perception in psychic work: a sudden image, a clear sensation, a word crossing the mind. Psychics often consider a flash one of the most reliable channels — precisely because it doesn't give the mind time to interfere.
Futhark: Ancient Norse runic alphabet, traditionally 24 runes arranged in three groups of 8 (the aettir). Each rune has a name (Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz...) and an archetypal meaning used in divination.

H

Horoscope: Astrological interpretation for a given period (day, week, month, year) and target (a sun sign or an individual chart). Media horoscopes rely on the sun sign alone; a true personalized horoscope integrates the whole chart.

L

Life Path: Central number in numerology, obtained by adding all digits of the birth date and reducing to a single digit (or master number 11, 22, 33). It describes the overall tone of existence and the main lessons to navigate.
Love compatibility: Analysis of the harmony between two people, practiced via several methods: astrological synastry, numerology compatibility, couples tarot spread. It identifies points of convergence and potential friction without predicting the outcome of a relationship.

M

Major Arcana: The 22 main tarot cards (from The Magician to The World), each carrying a universal archetype: the Wheel of Fortune for cycles, The Hanged Man for suspension, Death for transformation. Major Arcana describe the great dynamics of life, as opposed to Minor Arcana which handle the everyday.
Minor Arcana: The remaining 56 tarot cards, split into four suits (cups, coins, swords, wands) numbered Ace to 10 plus four court figures (page, knight, queen, king). They address daily events and interactions — unlike the broader archetypes of the Major Arcana.
Master number: In numerology, a repeated double digit (11, 22, 33) not reduced to a single digit. They indicate intensified potential but also an added challenge: amplified intuition (11), large-scale building (22), mastery in service of others (33).
Medium: Practitioner who says they perceive information through channels other than the five classical senses, especially messages they attribute to other consciousnesses (deceased, guides) or impressions drawn from energy reading. Distinct from the predictive psychic: mediums focus on the present and memory.
Mediumship: The medium's practice. Encompasses several channels — clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, claircognizance — used separately or combined. "Transmission" mediumship, as its practitioners describe it, consists of relaying a message attributed to a deceased person or an invisible presence.
Marseille Tarot: The most iconic French tarot deck, codified in the 17th century. Its 78 cards (Le Bateleur to Le Monde for majors, plus the 56 minors) feature stylized symbolic imagery, with Minor Arcana that show no narrative scenes, unlike the Waite-Smith.

N

Numerology: Discipline associating a symbolic meaning to each number (1-9 + master numbers 11, 22, 33). From birth date and name, a numerologist computes several key numbers: life path, expression, soul, personal year.
Natal chart: Map of the sky at the exact moment of your birth: planetary positions, zodiac signs, houses, aspects between planets. Also called birth chart or astrological chart. Requires precise date, time, and place of birth to compute.

O

Oracle: Divination deck distinct from tarot, often more recent and with a flexible number of cards (36, 44, 52...). Each oracle has its specialty: Belline and Ge for general analysis, Lenormand for concrete life, angel oracles for spiritual guidance.
Orb: In astrology, the angular margin tolerated for an aspect between two planets to be considered active. A 5° orb means an exact 90° aspect still works between 85° and 95°. The tighter the orb, the more powerful the aspect.

P

Palmistry: Reading the lines and shape of the hands to draw a portrait of personality, talents, and life dynamics. The four main lines (life, heart, head, fate) and seven mounts (Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Sun, Mercury, Mars, Moon) structure the analysis.
Pendulum: Small weighted object suspended from a chain or string, used in dowsing to answer closed questions. It swings according to codes set by the practitioner: yes/no, clockwise/counterclockwise, left/right.
Precognition: Ability to perceive an event before it happens. Precognition manifests in dreams, flashes, or strong intuitions. Psychics distinguish precognition (perception of a probable future) from prediction (active announcement of an event).
Psychic reading: Set of practices aimed at perceiving information not accessible through the five classical senses: predictions, feelings, messages. Includes pure psychic work (no tools), tarot, astrology, mediumship, dowsing.
Pure psychic work: Form of psychic practice that uses no external support (cards, pendulum, chart). The psychic receives information directly through intuitive channels. Requires real mastery because there's no external structure to guide the reading.

R

Return-of-love ritual: Ritual practice claiming to bring back a romantic partner who has left. Historically tied to traditional magic, it's controversial: it promises an outcome nothing guarantees and disregards the other person's consent. Guidanza does not offer it.
Retrograde: In astrology, apparent phase during which a planet seems to move backwards as seen from Earth. Mercury retrograde (communication, technology) is the best-known case. Retrogrades are interpreted as periods of review, going back over a topic.
Rune: Character of an ancient runic alphabet (Futhark, Futhorc), used both for writing and divination. Each rune has a name, a symbol, and an archetypal meaning. Runologists draw 1, 3, or 5 runes to answer a question.

S

Synastry: Astrological technique comparing two natal charts to analyze compatibility. Aspects between personal planets (Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars) indicate points of harmony and potential tensions in a relationship.
Spread: Set of cards (tarot, oracle) or runes drawn to answer a question. The spread type (Celtic cross, three-card, grand tableau) defines how many cards are drawn and what each represents by position.

T

Tarot: Deck of 78 cards (22 Major Arcana + 56 Minor Arcana) used as a divination support. The main decks are the Marseille Tarot and the Waite-Smith (or Rider-Waite, English-speaking); the Persian Tarot (love-focused) and Oracle of Belline (more intuitive), often mentioned alongside them, don't have 78 cards.
Transit: In astrology, the current passage of a planet over a position in your natal chart. A Saturn transit to your natal Sun typically triggers a period of challenge and responsibility. Transits are the main tool of predictive astrology.

Z

Zodiac sign: Division of the zodiac into 12 sectors of 30° each (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces). The "sun sign," commonly called zodiac sign, depends on the Sun's position at birth.