#the pendulum

Not at fifteen, when they’d wed according to their parents’ wishes and ancient tradition. Not in the months after, when they’d carried on as awkward and passionate and spiteful a romance as two teenagers could hope for. Not at twenty, when they’d fallen out and decided that there would be no children, no shared bed, and no questions between them. Not at twenty-four, when the pendulum had swung back—and it had kept swinging over the years, until Mon and Perrin had reached their current equilibrium. Of late, they’d lived separate lives, but they didn’t hurt each other or carry on affairs or talk about the rules. She supposed they were both waiting for the day it all changed again.

Hello! So, you're interested in using a Pendulum? Great! It's an amazing tool, it may help you organize your thoughts, figure out the pros and cons of a situation, or support your gut feeling. I really love it and it's very easy to use!

Disclaimer: Don't use the Pendulum to make important decisions. It's not about "Should I merry him?" It's about "I know I want to merry him and I'm curious what my subconscious thinks about him". Don't let the Pendulum rule your life, it's a tool to help not to dictate.

What is Pendulum?

The Pendulum is a small handheld tool. On a chain or string with a weight at the end. The Pendulum is guided by your subconscious mind. Answering questions with no bias and as close to the truth as your mind can be.

Why does it work?

The Pendulums answers don't come from nowhere, they come from your own mind! The answers look different for everyone, for example, mine is - swing back and forth for yes - go in circles for no. When you hold the end of the chain in your hand, you can't influence the answer, that woud be a completely useless answer.

How do I use it for yes or no questions?

Hold the Pendulum in your hand. Most hold it in their dominant hand. Let the weight heng down, about 10 to 15 centimeters (3.9 to 5.9 inches) from your hand. Ask your Pandelum to show you yes and no, it will most likely look different than mine! It's good to know what it looks like before you ask any questions. Your may swing from left to right, at an angle, make infinity signs, go in loops - the possibilities are endless. Know what your yes and no look like. When you know, think about your question - deeply focuse on why you want this answer, what does it mean to you.

For example:

Question: Which dress would make me look better? I think blue, right?

Focus: I really want to look professional for this job interview. This answer will make me more confident.

Now, close your eyes, take a deep breath. Try to move your body as little as possible, to not influence the answer. When you feel the movement through the chain - open your eyes. The Pendulum has given you your answer! At the end, I practice a small "thank you" ritual. After I'm done, I hold the Pendulum in my hand, put it near my heart and thank it for its help!

What is the Pendulum Board?

The Pendulum Board is used to answer more complicated questions. It's usually in a shape of a circle. It can be used for yes or no questions but it's not needed for that. What it is needed for is more complex answers. For example:

"Who's going to really support my decision?"

The answer woud be someone's name, The Pendulum needs the alphabet on The Board to answer it. Yes, it does resemble a Quia Board! And works in pretty much the same way, The Pendulum swings showing your answer latter by letter. The Boards can be more or less complicated, but most of them have the alphabet and numbers from 1 to 9.

How do I use the Pendulum with the board?

Hold the Pendulum in your hand, above the board. Most hold it in their dominant hand. Let the weight heng down, about 10 to 15 centimeters (3.9 to 5.9 inches) from your hand. Try to move as little as possible. Ask the Pendulum your questions and let it swing to the latter or number. Then "reset" it by pulling it back to the center of the board. Then repeat same routine, let it swing to the latter, reset it. When the word is done and you reset it for the last time, the Pendulum should start going in circles to indicate the end of the word.

Respect the Pendulum.

Pendulum is not an all knowing entitie. It's not even an entitie. It's just a tool opening doors to your subconscious. But, like I said - don't let it rule your life. The same as with tarot cards, it's just a tool. You can ignore it. You can disagree. It can be wrong. It's just a cool thing you can do to be more confident in your decisions. You are the master here, not a Pendulum tool.

I was born in the mid 70s, and my parents were hippies. I remember asking my mom about why some of the causes she fought for had actually gotten worse since then. Shouldn't the gains continue forward?

And she told me something that has colored my perception of the world: social movements swing back and forth like a pendulum.

You push hard to move things forward, and with enough momentum, the pendulum moves in that direction. However, at some point it will hit an apex and swing back the other way. There's pushback from the people who are emotionally invested in the status quo. So the pendulum swings the other way for a bit. Losses happen. But that reactionary swing will also hit its apex; and the movement will swing back the other way.

It's important to lock stuff in when the pendulum is swinging in your favor. The fascists know this. They've been doing it for years; drum up support for some extreme position, and while the iron is hot, lock down whatever they can. When public opinion swings the other way, they have ratcheted things in their direction.

When people whine that the left isn't doing anything, it's often when the pendulum isn't where they want it to be. There's this outlook that if we fight for a cause, it's a static thing; we protest, we rally, we get legislation changed, and we pat ourselves on the back about it. Then the pendulum starts to swing.

At which point we have The Pit. The Pit of Despair happens when the pendulum swings the other way for a while, and people give up.

"We raised awareness!" (Cheers)

"We changed public opinion!" (Cheers)

"We got so-and-so elected!" (Cheers)

"Oh shit, So-and-so isn't doing enough." (Boos)

"Oh shit, public opinion is shifting the other way!" (Boos)

"We didn't actually win." (Boos)

"Both sides are the same."

Aaaand now they're in The Pit.

Push the pendulum in the right direction, and be prepared for it to move the other way, too.

I've seen the pendulum swings. We are fighting against fascism, which is always going to benefit from the "We must all be the same, outliers must be destroyed" mentality.

Push back, don't give up, and lock down what you can when it swings in your favor.

Don't forget that it can swing in any direction, too.

And that there's more than one in play at any given time.

Jonas Ballard He / him

"I am kind because the world so often is not."

SPECIES: Medium OCCUPATION: Antiques Restorer & Dealer AGE: 28 Years Old PLAYED BY: Donnie FC: Lee Do-hyun

BIOGRAPHY:

Jonas Basil Ballard was born on a cold December night in the bustling town of Wicked’s Rest to Jacob and June Ballard alongside his twin Lil. It was evident from a young age that Jonas was a little different from the rest of his ghost hunting family, unable to stomach the exorcisms that came so naturally to his older siblings, Jonas was more of a talker when it came to spirits. He could sit for hours and listen to the woes of the dead, taking it all in to help them feel a little less burdened or at least try to. 

Jacob saw potential in the patience his boy possessed, steering him away from the family’s traditional business into the side one Jacob had chosen for himself; antique restoration. Jonas took quickly to the work, enjoying the hours spent bringing a painting back to its former glory or helping an old clock tick again. It felt more rewarding than destroying spirits, not that he held it against his family when they did. He understood the dangers an unchecked ghost could harbor. His parents had made sure he was still educated on the matter, hammering in the importance of safety and the methods to keep it.  The Antique store’s workroom was well protected from spirits, iron and salt worked into the wood of the door frames and floor kept the space peaceful, something a beacon to the dead like Jonas was grateful for, especially in his high school years when the added weight of puberty made dealing with the ghost’s problems and his own a little hard. 

Having a supporting and loving family behind him made figuring himself out a whole lot easier. No matter what Jonas chose they were always ready to accept it, perhaps his biggest supporter in it all was Lil. The twins were rarely apart save for when duty called them in different directions. So when she left town, Jonas couldn’t help but feel like his safetynet in the world had left with her, maybe that was why the paranoia seemed to ramp up around that time as well. Jonas had never really been the nervous sort before, but lately the town he called home was beginning to feel more like a strange land set out before him. 

He could feel eyes on him every time he left the shop, shadows danced in and out of the corner of his vision, the wind whispered warnings of something dangerous and the ghosts that so often followed him no longer spoke outside the shop’s doors. Jonas was beginning to worry for his sanity as his heart rate increased every time he had to step outside, even his mother was worried for him but then she disappeared. His father and older siblings also seemingly vanished from sight as the paranoia only rose. He reached out to Lil in the hopes she would come home and figure this all out alongside him, and luckily for him, she agreed. Surely things would get better once she was here, they would find their parents and stop whatever dreaded thing was headed their way.

PERSONALITY:

Methodical · Kind · Cautious · Indecisive · Paranoid · Hardworking

OTHER INFO:

Wears behind the ear hearing aids, takes them out when he’s on ghost jobs saying it helps him hear them better. Still knows ASL just in case, his hearing tends to get worse each passing year. 

Has a black long haired German Shepherd with blue eyes named Blue, she’s his service dog, a very good girl. Almost failed for being too friendly and too excited to see new people. She has learned to reign it in when in business mode (wearing the service vest). 

Runs Spirit Antiques, taken over from his father at 25 so Jacob could focus more on the ghost side of business. Enjoys his time in the backroom, especially when it comes to restoring paintings.