The Divine Pendulum Oracle: Play, Learn, Transform, and Live Authentically, by Joan Rose Staffen
Independently Published, 979-8307160886, 156 pages, 42 cards, July 2026

For those who have ever been intrigued by pendulum divination but felt uncertain about how to move beyond basic yes-or-no questions, Joan Rose Staffen’s The Divine Pendulum Oracle: Play, Learn, Transform, and Live Authentically offers a welcoming way to deepen the practice. Blending pendulum work, intuitive development, spirituality, creativity, and colorful artwork, Staffen creates a system designed not simply to provide answers, but to encourage readers to develop a more active relationship with their own inner guidance.

This oracle is composed of 42 Intuitive Charts cards created to be used alongside a pendulum. Rather than limiting pendulum work to binary yes-or-no responses, these charts allow practitioners to explore a broader range of possibilities and questions relating to healing, creativity, work, spiritual development, and everyday life. Staffen presents the pendulum as a tool for accessing intuition and higher consciousness, with the charts acting as a framework that helps give that intuitive exploration direction and structure.

The charts are very specific too, which is GREAT for uncovering insights. Staffen has really provided a variety of ways to enhance your divinations with the pendulum, which can feel surprisingly open-ended if you’re not sure how to guide it. Learning what to ask is often just as important as learning how to read the movement itself. Staffen’s chart-based approach helps bridge that gap. Instead of staring at a swinging pendulum and wondering where to go next, readers are given a method that encourages curiosity, experimentation, and increasingly nuanced questions.

Here’s a list of some of the pendulum charts she provides with a few items on the chart (there’s many more options for each one covered below):

∙ Support Team (Family, God, Goddess, Psychic, Sponsor, Teacher, Therapist)

∙ Self Care (Dance, Books, Be Still, Yoga, Support Group, Music, Personal Inventory)

∙ Enhancing Psychic Skills (Mentor, Journal, Gratitude List, Pray, Record Dreams & Analyze, Altar)

∙ Psychic Identity (Clairaudient, Diviner/Dowser, Mystic, Witch)

∙ Flower Essences (Borage, Circus, Tomato, Violet, Olive)

∙ Creative Blocks (Fear of Failure, Past Life Trauma, Lack of Time, Addiction)

∙ Vitamins and Minerals (Healthy Goods, Vitamin C, Calcicum, Iron)

There’s just SO MANY detailed charts that my readings have gotten incredibly accurate with the pendulum.

Another thing I absolutely love is the design of these cards. Staffen’s colorful paintings are integrated throughout the deck, featured on the back of each card, giving the system a lively, expressive energy that distinguishes it from more technical books on dowsing. She has described painting as deeply connected to her own spiritual and creative process, and that relationship between art and intuition becomes part of the philosophy behind the oracle itself. I love how you can flip the card and discover yet another way to connect with the card by gazing at her gorgeous abstract art and tuning into the energy it evokes.

Her accompanying guidebook introduces each card’s topic and painting. Staffen also shares some wisdom related to the topic, along with the opportunity and challenge present, action to take, and questions to ask, if you’re not sure how to approach the chart.

The guidebook also shares information about using the pendulum in general, such as where to purchase one or how to make it yourself, centering yourself, and spiritually preparing for the experience. If someone is not sure which chart to begin with, there’s even a list that one can use the pendulum on to decide. And the real bonus is that ALL the charts featured in the beautiful cards are also included in the book too!

While many of the charts cover deeply personal and spiritual topics, there’s a sense of play and creativity to the deck that makes it very inviting. Spiritual development can sometimes become overly serious, with practitioners worrying about whether they are receiving the “correct” message or interpreting a sign properly. Staffen instead encourages experimentation. Learning the pendulum becomes an ongoing conversation that can evolve as the practitioner becomes more comfortable with asking questions, recognizing patterns, and trusting their responses.

I also like how this method encourages strengthening your connection to inner guidance rather than simply predicting outcomes. There’s a lot of room for people to personalize the guidance they receive and take actionable steps in their life to make use of what comes through in the reading. Staffen encourages readers to use the practice for daily guidance, self-reflection, creativity, spiritual connection, and helping themselves recognize potential solutions to challenges instead of following it with deterministic information.

Staffen’s focus on higher consciousness, placing the practice within a spiritual worldview rather than presenting the pendulum merely as a decision-making device, also brings a special energy during the readings. This emphasis reflects her larger body of work. An author, artist, psychic healer, and intuitive coach, she has spent decades exploring practices that include pendulum divination, meditation, energy work, and other spiritual healing modalities. The Divine Pendulum Oracle feels like a culmination of those interests, bringing together divination and creativity in a particularly visual form.

For those who often turn to tarot or oracle cards, this method of hands-on divination is a great way to switch up your style. The targeted answers in the chart are A TON of fun to do with a friend or partner. My husband and I have enjoyed using the charts when we need clarity, guidance, or to just open up conversation. We loved discovering our psychic identities! And we also enjoy the Love and Romance Chart, which has things like Bonding, Trust, Tantric Practice, Let Go, Risk, and Open Your Heart on it to provide some insight on what we might want to explore next in our relationship. The charts are definitely a wonderful conversation starter! I could see them also being amazing for group bonding exercises too.

One of my favorite charts in the deck is Prosperity Problem Solving. The top of this chart lists obstacles (Anger, Unworthiness, Inertia, Lack of Passion about Life), while the bottom lists solutions (Positive Attitude, Meditation, Books, Forgiveness, Affirmations). I think this dual-sided chart is  a great way to hone in on what the true issue is when it comes to our abundance.

Overall, The Divine Pendulum Oracle aids readers in cultivating an ongoing practice of asking, listening, experimenting, and discovering. The pendulum becomes a focal point for a larger process of self-inquiry that invites the practitioner to consider what their intuition may already be trying to communicate. Staffen reminds us of the value in approaching divination with openness and curiosity, noting it’s not only about seeking answers about what happens next but also a way to learn about ourselves.

Experienced diviners may find themselves particularly interested in the chart system as another method to incorporate into an existing practice, while newcomers benefit from having a concrete structure with which to begin. There is also plenty here for readers interested in oracle cards, intuitive coaching, creativity, or energetic practices who may not previously have thought of the pendulum as their preferred divination tool to explore.

Staffen has created a truly wonderful deck filled with thoughtful consideration of the charts and imbued with a vibrant spirit through her artwork. This is hands-down the best pendulum deck I’ve ever worked with!