A pendulum is a small weight on a chain or string that you can use to get answers from your subconscious. Materials it's made of can be metal, wood, glass or crystal, whichever appeals most to you. You could tie one of your rings, or even a cork, to a string and it would still work just as well, if maybe a little less precise. Some materials conduct better than others, so different materials have different response times. If you have a crystal pendulum, however, it's important that the crystal suits you and appeals to you. I don't think you can go wrong with aventurine or rose quartz, but clear crystal is a bit more difficult (unless it's svarowski, which is glass of course).
You can use a pendulum in several ways. If you are new to it, you can start by holding the pendulum for a while to make it absorb your energy. After that you need to establish your personal code, meaning that you agree with yourself (your subconscious that is) which movements indicate yes, no, and uncertain/unclear. Personally I have yes as up-and-down, no as side-to-side and uncertain/unclear has my pendulum going in circles. But maybe you prefer yes being a clockwise circle and no a counter clockwise one. Whichever you prefer, you hold the pendulum as described below and try to see the movement you want in your head and ask 'show me yes' etc. It may take a while and you can't move your hand to get the desired movement, because then it wouldn't be subconscious anymore ;). Also try and practise 'stop' in the same way, it's fun and can come in handy.
To use a pendulum, hold it in your writing hand, between thumb and forefinger , with light pressure. Too much pressure works counterproductive, because it leaves no room for the subtle muscle movements we need here. Also, don't shorten the string or chain too much, this will make it more difficult to get any movement out of it. Be sure to ask single questions that can be answered with either yes or no, or you'll be seeing a lot of the uncertain/unclear movement!
Hold your upper arm alongside your body and raise your lower arm untill it forms a ninety degree angle with your upper arm. If you stand at a table, the pendulum wil ideally be a few centimeters above the table top. Now for the most difficult part: relax and try not to have any expectations about the outcome, in other words, try to be indifferent to whatever happens next, otherwise you will be influencing the result. Remember this is your subconscious here, and your conscious half can definitely interfere or overrule :). It doesn't matter how 'big' the movement is, you'll find that the more you use it, the more movement you'll get out of it.
To choose an essence you can use the essences proper, although that will be a problem if you are trying to choose one to try for a start. Therefor your best bet is a pendulum chart. This can be anything from a piece of paper you have written names on, to a printed circle or half circle with the essence names on it. Again, one works the same as the other, what counts is that the names are on the paper and the most efficient form is either a circle or a half circle. You could make a short-list of essences you think you may need and narrow it down by using a pendulum. Always include 'other' and 'none' for clarity, though if you don't the pendulum will just give you the uncertain/unclear answer.
To start, you position the pendulum in the center of the circle or half circle you are using. Then it's time for the question. Ask something like 'which essence is best for me at this moment?' and keep asking for the next one until you get 'none' as answer. If there are more than five, you may need to test again, this time stipulating that you want a maximum of five essences, or the five essences you need most at that moment.
If you do have several essences at hand, you can make a half circle of them and ask the pendulum to point them out. Another way is to touch one of the bottles and ask if you need it, resulting in either a yes or a no.
A one hand dowsing rod is a cross between regular dowsing rods and a pendulum. It is a handle with a long metal wire that has a weight at the end, it can be made of varying materials. Mine is stainless steel with a brass head, but I've seen wood and crystal handles with wood, crystal or metal heads. Again, whatever appeals to you, but some are easier to operate than others. Mine is quite heavy and will take more practise to get moving than one with a light spiral head. Some rods can be connected to special machines or testing tools. That makes it more versatile, but also more expensive.
You can use a dowsing rod for your typical yes-or-no questions, but you can also perform a socalled energy test with it. Before you start you transfer your energy to the rod by passing the wire through your fingers several times and blowing on the weight. After that you establish your code: what movements do you want to see for yes, no, and uncertain/unclear. Using a dowsing rod is similar to using a pendulum, except you hold the rod horizontally in your writing hand. You can test by holding the head above an essence bottle (you can hold the bottle in your other hand if you wish), and ask whether it is suitable for you. If you don't have any essences, you can make a list of them and point them out with your free hand. Most important is trying to be completely indifferent to the outcome.
Another way of testing is the energy test. This is a blank test, meaning you don't ask questions, but let the rod go its own way. Place two objects on the table and position the head of the rod in between. If the head moves from left to right, the energy fields attract each other, thus enabling the head to enter them. This means the objects are suitable for each other. When testing essences one of the objects can be your hand, placed on the table, the other is a bottle of essences, but it can be just as easily a lock of hair or a picture of someone. If the objects are unsuitable, then the energy fields will repel each other, preventing the head to enter either of the energy fields, resulting in an up-and-down movement.
Another way to test is using a muscletest. The advantage of that is that you need no tools for it, just a little help in one case.
The most widely known test is the one where you hold a bottle in front of you r solar plexus while someone else tries to push down your outstretched arm. If that's easy it means the testing object is unsuitable because it weakens your system. If it is hard to push down your arm, the object is beneficial for you because it strengthens your system.
A simple test you can do by yourself and quite unobtrusive is this one: stand upright and relax, don't lock your knees, and hold the bottle (or whatever it is you want to test) in front of your solar plexus. Agree with yourself on the movement you want to see: i.e. leaning backwards means no and leaning forward means yes, then ask whether the object is suitable for you and you'll find you're leaning one way or the other very subtly.
Another one is the o-ring test. You make a circle with thumb and forefinger of one hand, then hook in thumb and forefinger of your other hand making another circle. While holding the bottle you are testing you try to break the circle. Of course you set a code first: does breaking the circle mean no and the circle holding yes, or the other way around? If you use it a lot it's better to alternate that to avoid influencing your expectations.
You can use all the tests on this page to test anything you can think of, like food you think you may be intolerant to, vitamins, minerals, crystals and of course vibrational remedies.