All the Clairs: From Clairvoyance to Clairempathy
We’ve seen them in pop culture and, perhaps, in our everyday lives: psychic abilities, nagging intuitive messages that eventually prove accurate, and strange physical sensations. Most of these perceptions and feelings are one of the “clairs,” as we like to call them around here. Each begins with the prefix, “clair,” meaning 'clear' in French. Parapsychologists regard these abilities as forms of extrasensory perception, or ESP. Many believe that with the correct instruction, anyone can learn to be clairvoyant or clairsentient.
We’re not going to teach you how to receive spiritual messages through your sense of taste or hearing. But, if you’re like me, you’ve experienced random perceptions through one of the six senses, and it can be helpful to understand what each of the abilities is and how they manifest.
Clairaudience
Clairaudience means “clear hearing” of divinatory information. Those who have clairaudience are often mediums or channelers and can perceive sounds, words, and noises that other people cannot. It’s believed that these sounds come from the spiritual realm and are a mental tone perceived not through the physical ear, but in the mind. Clairaudients may hear these otherworldly broadcasts from the present, past, or future.
Clairgustance
This ability refers to “clear tasting.” In the absence of anything that would send flavor signals to the person – there’s no food or drink in their mouth – a person with clairgustance can perceive the essence of something from the spiritual realm through taste.
Clairsentience
This psychic ability means “clear feeling.” Those who are clairsentient can feel messages with the whole body, without actually feeling anything through the physical body. Unlike clairempathy, clairsentience involves a distinct physical sensation.
Clairempathy
Clairsentience is closely related to clairempathy, or “clear emotion.” In those who experience clairempathy, the empath a spiritual message or other people’s emotions. If you’ve ever walked into a room right after people have been fighting and felt a heaviness, you might have a touch of clairempathy. Again, clairempaths don’t feel another person’s energy in their body but only sense it. An example of this ability lies with Counselor Deanna Troi from “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
Clairtangency
Clairtangency, or “clear touching,” is also known as psychometry. People with this power can hold or touch an object and receive messages through it. Phoebe Halliwell from “Charmed” had the power of clairtangency, through which she received most of her premonitions.
Clairscentence
One who is clairscent has “clear smell,” not to be confused with clairsentience – clear feeling. These people can sense smells, food, or perfume when there’s not a physical presence of the substance. In the book version of Stephen King’s The Shining, Dick Halloran smells oranges before something bad happens.
Clairvoyance
Clairvoyance means “clear seeing.” It’s often called the sixth sense and relies on the spiritual Third Eye. Clairvoyants may see images, colors, light, movement, or pictures, and sometimes know things they shouldn’t. Rosalind Walker from “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” is a good example of a clairvoyant.
Claircognizance
This psychic ability is similar to clairvoyance. It means “clear knowing,” and allows a person to know something without a logical explanation. Claircognizants don’t necessarily see something, but just know it, as if it were downloaded to their mind. Sometimes, the ability manifests as a nagging thought that won’t go away. It may come through as a particularly strong gut feeling, leaving no room for doubt in the person’s mind.
Now the question is, how have you experienced one – or more – of these abilities?
Sources:
http://www.quantumpossibilities.biz/clairs.htm
https://www.scribd.com/document/377077533/The-8-Clair-Senses-a-Visual-Guide-to-the-Spiritual-Psychic-Senses
https://www.britannica.com/topic/extrasensory-perception