The 6 Forms of Intuition and How to Recognize Them

      "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind the faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." ~ Albert Einstein, Ideas and Opinions 

     If you are a highly sensitive person, an empath, or a lightworker.... likely you are experiencing periods of ascension symptoms as you upgrade to higher frequency energy. This is happening for all of us who feel called to make the world a better place.  Because these upgrades in your energy systems are needed to facilitate and actualize your life purpose.

    As we grow and ascend, these energetic upgrades often include enhanced intuitive and sensory experiences. These include claircognizance —clear knowing, clairvoyance— clear seeing,  clairaudience — clear hearing, clairsentience —clear feeling... and the lesser forms of intuition clairalience — clear smelling, and clairgustance— clear tasting. Your awakening process can include recognition of and awakening of your intuitive senses.

Your Developing Intuitive Senses

    If you want to learn how to develop your intuitive senses, my best advice is to embrace ALL your life experiences as opportunities to evolve. Because intuitive senses develop naturally as you ascend. This means approaching all your experiences, including losses and difficulties -- and even planetary retrogrades and other challenging transits -- as events that are happening FOR you and your evolution, rather than TO you. This takes us out of victim consciousness and into higher consciousness.

    It is important to focus on learning skills to work with your evolving energy systems, rather than focusing on pushing your intuition to develop faster than your natural evolution. Trust that all is unfolding in divine timing. There are links throughout this article for more information to guide you in working with your developing intuitive senses.

     Intuitive experiences often appear through different senses simultaneously. For example, you may have a vision at the same time you hear an intuitive inner voice. Different intuitive senses can also emerge in a series over time. For example, I first became aware that I am a claircognizant in my teens. This was closely followed by the appearance of clairvoyance. It wasn't until later in my adult life that my gift of clairaudience emerged. Since that time the other three forms of intuition have awakened in my life. As I evolve and ascend, I've experienced a natural deepening and expansion of all six forms of intuition.

A Word about Sensitivity

    Intuitive senses are often accompanied by sensitive senses. If you have sensitive eyes or ears, or sensitivity to taste, smells and the emotions of others -- and those sensitivities are disrupting your energy --it’s best to simply limit exposure. Once you have received the intuitive message through your senses, you do not have to force yourself to stay around people and places that make you feel overwhelmed, anxious and drained. Instead, focus on being around people and places that uplift, inspire and energize you! 

     Let’s examine each of these six forms of intuition, one at a time.

The Six Forms of Intuition 

1. CLAIRCOGNIZANCE.  Clear knowing.

     Claircognizance is the ability to know information without any discernible source, logic or reason. Claircognizants simply “know” facts instinctively without having read it or been told about it. Those who have claircognizance receive concepts, thoughts, ideas and sudden instances of understanding seemingly out of nowhere.

Here are 5 signs of claircognizance:

• Active mind. Claircognizants are analytical thinkers who have an active mind with an almost constant stream of thoughts, perceptions, insights and epiphanies. 

• Knowing the truth. Claircognizants instinctively know when someone is lying. They can instantly spot insincerity or fakeness. If you have the ability to sense beyond a person’s words to their true intentions, you are likely a claircognizant.

• Knowing the future. Claircognizants can know the outcome of a situation before it happens. If you have a hunch about the results of a test, or how a health issue or life event is going to resolve -- and your hunch turns out to be correct -- you are experiencing claircognizance.

• Knowing the answer. Claircognizants intuitively know the answer to problems in their lives and others.  If solutions to issues come to you spontaneously and people seek you out for your insights, you are likely a claircognizant. 

• Reading and writing. Claircognizants love to read and learn new things. They are also prolific writers who pour their thoughts out into written word as an outlet for their highly active minds. 

     Because of their mental abilities, the energy systems of claircognizants can become unbalanced as they unconsciously pull their energy up out of their lower body toward their head. This can happen with other forms of intuition as well and can cause you to feel spacey and scattered, and to develop headaches.  Earthing practices can ground your energy if this happens. Helpful tips can be found in this article: How Energy Healing Can Relieve Headaches

2. CLAIRVOYANCE.  Clear seeing. 

      Clairvoyance is "clear vision," or an inner seeing beyond ordinary perception. This "non-ordinary" sensing occurs through the "third eye," also known as the sixth chakra. The third eye is a major energy center located in the center of the forehead above the bridge of the nose, as depicted in the picture above. Through this chakra, we gather information from the universal energy field. Information-encoded waves of energy enter and leave the human energy system through each chakra. The third eye is the chakra through which we send and receive intuitive information.

    Here are 5 signs of clairvoyance:

• Dreams. Clairvoyants often have vivid dreams and daydreams. When you are asleep or in a mindful, meditative state, your right brain is dominant. And that right-brain dominant state facilitates visions. When your third eye is open, you remember the visions in your dreams.

• Unusual Vision. Clairvoyants can have unusual experiences of seeing flashes of light, instances of blurry vision, or seeing things in their peripheral vision that aren't there when they turn their head.

• Inner "Movies." Individuals with the gift of clairvoyance spontaneously translate spoken word into visions. While listening to verbal descriptions, they can vividly see what is described like a movie playing in their mind's eye. They can also can have accurate inner movies, or visual flashes of insight about the future.

• Inner Vision. Clairvoyants can work things out with their inner vision, visualizing a process or designing a project in their mind's eye. They can see each step of the process, as well as the finished project before they've even started. They can visually take things apart and see how they are put together by using their inner vision to problem solve.

• Visual Appreciation. Clairvoyant individuals love "feasting" on beauty with their eyes. They enjoy taking in the beauty of art, nature, and other visually-stimulating experiences. This is a wonderful way for clairvoyants to clear their energy and refuel themselves!

  For more information about clairvoyance, including 5 Tips to Opening/Clearing Your Third Eye and Enhancing Your Intuition, click HERE.

3. CLAIRAUDIENCE. Clear hearing. 

     Clairaudience is the ability to hear voices, music or sounds that have no physical source. Here are 5 signs of clairaudience:

• Voices.  Have you ever thought you heard someone call your name? Or thought you heard someone talking, but no one was there? Have you ever heard someone's thoughts in your mind, as if you were reading their mind? These are all clairaudient experiences.

• Music. Have you ever heard a song playing in your mind that seemed random -- a song you may not have heard in years? The lyrics to that song may contain the answer to an issue you are currently dealing with. Or have you ever had a question in your mind, and then a song came on the radio with lyrics that answered your question?

• Insights.  Not only do clairaudients receive insights for themselves through their intuitive hearing, but they intuitively know just the right thing to say to others, when they are in their higher self. A friend or family member may tell you how helpful and crucial your insightful advice was, years after the fact! Yet you may not even remember giving that advice. You may not remember because intuitive insights flow through you, rather than coming from you.

• Sensitivity. Clairaudients have sensitive hearing. Noises that are loud and have chaotic frequencies disrupt the energy system of clairaudients. These disruptive sounds can leave them feeling overwhelmed, irritated, drained and exhausted. These harsh sounds can also create physical symptoms, like a headache. This sensitivity can increase over time, as clairaudient abilities expand. Sounds that previously weren't bothersome can suddenly become intolerable. To learn more about the signs of clairaudience, read my post 5 Signs That You Are Experiencing Clairaudience.

• High-Pitched Squealing Sounds. Have you ever wondered what it means when you hear a high-pitched squealing sound or ringing in your ear? It's a sign that you have clairaudience, and that your gift is opening and expanding. To learn more about this phenomenon, and how to energetically clear sensitive ears, read my post: 5 Signs That Hearing High-Pitched Frequencies is Spiritual Awakening. 

4. CLAIRSENTIENCE. Clear sensing. 

     

     Clairsentience is the ability to sense information about people and places through physical and emotional feelings. A clairsentient senses changes in energy that register in their own energy systems as bodily feelings and emotions. This provides the clairsentient with insights about the past, present and future of people and places. However, a clairsentient can have difficulty filtering their own emotions and feelings from what they are sensing from others - because it feels the same!

     Here are 5 signs of clairsentience:

• Easily drained. Do you feel overwhelmed and drained by crowds of people? Being around people can be exhausting and provoke anxiety for a clairsentient because they feel the energy of each and every person around them at once. It is imperative that a clairsentient spend time alone clearing and refueling their energy, and grounding. The best way to do this is through Earthing practices. Find out more in my article How to Ground Yourself Through Earthing.

• Empathic. Clairsentients can empathically sense the emotions and physical pain of those around them. Empaths are those who absorb this energy from others like a sponge. It is important to be a mirror instead of a sponge to maintain health and well-being. Find out more in my article How to Create and Maintain Healthy Boundaries. I set an energetic boundary when I feel the physical pain of others by saying out loud or to myself, "Thank you for that information, but that is not mine." In this way I clearly indicate where my physical feelings end and theirs begins, so they don't mix. 

• Sense the Truth. Clairsentients can sense the true emotions of others. A clairsentient can be more aware of another person’s true emotional state than the person themselves! This is because a clairsentient can sense past words to the truth of feelings.  

• Sense Energy. Have you ever walked into a room and felt the mood as uplifting, or heavy, dark, or angry? Clairsentients can read the emotional energy of a room instantly. They can also sense events that have taken place in the past in a physical space through their emotions and bodily sensations. If you would like to learn how to clear your physical space, read my article How to Clear Negative Energy from Your Home. 

• Sensitivity. Clairsentients are not only environmentally sensitive, but emotionally sensitive as well. I avoid watching the news and sad or violent movies, as well as reading the newspaper or internet news sources because I can feel the grief, heartbreak or terror of those I am viewing or reading about. This can feel overwhelming.  These exposures can be traumatic!  Learn more about how to heal from these experiences in How Trauma is Far More Common Than You Think. If you find that you have absorbed negative energy from others, here is my article How to Clear Your Energy  If you feel overwhelmed, emotional and drained from exposure to people and emotionally-charged material, you can raise your energetic frequencies by seeking out people, movies or reading material that uplifts, inspires and energizes you.  

5. CLAIRALIENCE.  Clear smelling. 

     Clairalience (also known as clairscent, clairolfaction, clairosmesis, and clairessence) is the ability to smell odors and fragrances that have no discernible source in your immediate physical environment. 

     Here are 5 examples of clairsalience: 

• Toxic Energy. While working with a client’s energy, I once had the sudden experience of smelling cigarette smoke. When I shared this information with the client, he related that he used to be a heavy smoker but quit five years ago. This clairscent experience alerted me to the toxic energy that needed to be cleared from this individual’s energy systems to complete his healing from prior smoking. 

• Spirit Presence. Clairalients have the ability to sense the presence of spirits or a departed loved one through smells. For example, you may suddenly and spontaneously smell your grandfather’s cigar smoke, or moth balls like your grandmother used in her closets. Or you may sense the presence of a spiritual deity through the fragrance of roses where none exist. Pay attention to what you were thinking about at the moment you became aware of the smell. This can give you clues about the nature of the intuitive message being conveyed through smell. 

• Messages about the past. Clairalients can pick up information about people and places, past, present and future through their sense of smell. For example, you might notice a burning smell in a building and later find out there was a fire in that building many years ago. As the scent of the smoke itself has long been cleared from the building, what you are sensing is the energetic frequency of that event. This can be accompanied by sensing the emotions (clairsentience) of the individuals involved in the fire.

• Sensitivity.  Similar to clairaudients who can have highly sensitive hearing, individuals with clairalience can have a highly sensitive sense of smell. This is because as we humans evolve, our senses are evolving as well. This allows us to pick up on sounds, smells and tastes we may not have been previously capable of sensing. As we clear our energy systems, our natural senses become sharpened.  For example, I find it difficult to spend much time in antique stores or thrift stores, because I pick up on the energy of the objects in the physical space through my sense of smell, which can be overpowering.  As I am also a clairsentient, I sense the energy on the items from their former owners in the form of emotions and physical sensations, which can cause me to feel anxious. Some intuitive individuals are so sensitive to the energy of smells they can become lightheaded, disoriented, and nauseas with a headache. This is called hyperosmia.

• Health messages: The energy of noxious smells associated with illness or toxins can be an intuitive message that guides you away from exposure to sickness or toxic environments. If you find harsh smell experiences to be overwhelming and disruptive to your energy and your equilibrium, you can calm the chaos and raise your frequency by letting your intuitive senses guide you to smells that give you a sense of well-being.  For example, smell some fresh flowers, essential oils, or raw fruits and vegetables. Indulge your senses in the natural smells of nature or your loved ones. 

   
6. CLAIRGUSTANCE. Clear tasting. 

     Clairgustance is the ability to spontaneously taste a substance without the physical presence of that substance in one’s mouth. Clairgustants receive intuitive messages through taste. Clairgustance is likely the most unusual of the intuitive senses. Clairgustance usually occurs in conjunction with one or more of the five other forms of intuition, especially clairalience. 

   Here are 5 examples of clairgustance that convey messages from the past, present and future. 

• Healing Information. I once experienced a sudden and spontaneous chemical taste in my mouth while conducting an energy healing session. When I shared this with the client, she said she had gone through a course of chemotherapy years prior. This clairgustance experience alerted me to the toxic energy that needed to be cleared from this individual’s energy systems to complete her healing from cancer treatment. 

• Spirit Messages. Those with clairgustance can receive spirit messages through taste. For example, at the moment that you are feeling alone and needing support, you might suddenly taste your great aunt’s apple pie, who passed years prior. Through a spontaneous and intuitive taste experience, you can sense a loved one's presence and feel their support.

• Health Messages. Clairgustants may taste a specific food while reading about or hearing about a health issue. Intuitively they can sense that this food will help this particular health issue. 

• Sensitivity. Similar to clairalients who can have a highly sensitive sense of smell, individuals with clairgustance can have a highly sensitive sense of taste. Some can “taste” when a food is tainted in the very slightest, or discern minute amounts of individual ingredients in a prepared dish. Clairgustants can also pick up on the energy states of people and places through their sense of taste. For example, an unpleasant encounter with a narcissist can leave a bad taste in the mouth of an empath - both figuratively and literally. 

• Toxic Energy. Clairgustants can get a toxic taste in their mouth just prior to eating or drinking something, or going somewhere. This can be a message of guidance that the food or drink you are about to consume, or the area you are about to enter is unhealthy and toxic and should be avoided. 

     A heightened sense of taste can also guide us in eating higher frequency food that is more in alignment with our upgrading energetic frequencies as we evolve. For example, with an energetic upgrade that I experienced during total lunar eclipse, the taste of meat suddenly became revolting and I became a vegetarian. The smell of food cooking on the stove also became off-putting and I began to prefer higher-vibration raw foods like salads and smoothies. If intuitive taste experiences have left you feeling off balance, you can regain your balance and raise your frequencies by seeking high-vibration natural and pleasant taste experiences, like ripe, raw fruit.

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