You’ve probably seen it on TV and in films: an elusive woman sitting at a round table in a dimly (and ominously) lit room, hunched over a crystal ball and tarot cards splayed out in front of her. She squints at her cards and is confident in prophesizing your future. Regardless of your stance on psychics and their powers, though, what you might not realize is that you likely possess your own intuitive, psychic-leaning prowess. In fact, according to the pros, we all have that otherworldly sense—we just need help learning how to develop psychic abilities.

That’s because “psychic” is a term that Laura Lynne Jackson, psychic medium and author of Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe, says can often be used interchangeably with “intuitive.” To that point, knowing how to tap into your powers reflects your ability to see, hear, or feel things beyond the psychical realm—which she says happens all the time, both knowingly and unknowingly.

Not entirely convinced? Consider this: Have you ever turned around because you felt someone staring at you? Or, has the thought of a certain person randomly popped into your mind, and then you ran into that person later in the day? Or maybe, you’ve simply gotten a bad vibe upon entering a room. All of these are examples of an intuitive psychic gift in action.

“We can become much brighter, stronger, vibrant, engaged versions of ourselves in the here and now by reactivating and reopening [psychic] abilities.” —Laura Lynne Jackson, psychic

“It can be an incredible, very practical tool to help us navigate our lives, whether it’s relationships we’re in, career choices, releasing artistic gifts we have, or whatever paths we’re meant to be drawn on,” Jackson says of leaning into a psychic-leaning sense. “We can become much brighter, stronger, vibrant, engaged versions of ourselves in the here and now by reactivating that and reopening to those abilities.”

Furthermore, when you consciously decide to harness your intuitive gifts, it won’t just affect your own life—Jackson says doing so can also create a positive chain reaction that levels up the intuitive powers of the people around you, as well.

If you’re ready to turn up the volume on your intuitive dial, keep reading for tips about how to develop your psychic abilities—no crystal ball necessary.

What are the types of psychic abilities?

Stereotypes aside, a psychic ability, as it’s referred to in psychology, is a phenomenon of mental abilities that allow someone to predict the future, connect with those who have passed on, and intuitively know what people are thinking or feeling. Think of your own psychic abilities as another basic sense like sight, sound, and taste.

As there are different channels to receive psychic information, there are also different types of psychic abilities: clairvoyance, clairaudience, claircognizance, clairsentience, clairgustance, clairsalience, clairempathy, and clairtangency. Below, learn about the different classifications of psychic abilities and what the supernatural senses can reveal.

Clairvoyance:

This power is most recognizable in pop culture and relates to “the ability to see into the future, literal images, or even spirits,” explains psychic, astrologer, and spiritual guide Jana Stern.

Clairaudience

Also known as “psychic listening or the ability to hear messages from spirit,” says Stern. Spirit, in this sense, can be thought of as a higher power source, the universe, or someone who has died and wants to communicate.

Claircognizance

Rather than hearing or seeing, this sense is a fully encompassing “psychic knowing or the ability to intrinsically know something (maybe even before it happens),” Stern explains.

Clairsentience

Those with this ability channel messages from evoked emotion and according to Stern, “is the ability to feel in the body chills or other signals that indicate messages from spirit.”

Clairgustance

This sense relies on psychic taste, or as Stern puts it, “the ability to receive memory or messages from Source through oral connection,” says Stern.

Clairsalience

This is the ability to recognize scents or “recall or know something based on odors or to smell something that ‘isn’t there,’” Stern explains.

Clairempathy

As empathy suggests, this power is the ability to detect emotions, also known as “the ability to empathically feel someone else’s emotions,” says Stern, without having been told.

Clairtangency

Those with this ability can receive intuitive information from physical touch. “[It’s the]ability to perceive information through physical contact with a person or an item,” Stern explains.

Now that you have the gist of the different ways one can download intuitive information, here are ways you can develop and activate your psychic abilities.

How to develop psychic abilities

1. Throw away doubt

Psychic abilities develop when you’re willing to accept that you were born with this natural gift. According to Stern, tapping into this sense is to abandon the logical section of your brain that denies its existence. “A lot of what “tapping in” is all about is mostly just unlearning your belief that you can’t do it,” Stern adds.

With this surrender, it’s natural to feel intimidated at first. “The number-one thing that shuts down a person’s exploration into their psychic and intuitive abilities is fear,” Jackson says. “People get so scared of their natural abilities, but these things aren’t scary. They’re always there to help lead us on our highest path and be navigational tools for us in life.”

The first step for nailing this tip is simply being willing and open to tapping into your otherworldly capabilities. Jackson suggests declaring to the universe that you are ready and open to explore these gifts and not let fear shut it down.

2. Tap into your intuition

This might seem obvious, but those who aren’t fully aware of their psychic abilities may gloss over these supernatural messages. “Notice when you get a gut feeling or when you have a flash of something that makes no sense,” explains Stern. That can look like walking into a building for the first time and getting a sense of heavy energy in your body. Or, maybe you meet a friend for dinner and even though they seem fine on the surface, their overall vibe seems off.

Once you notice these hunches, the investigation begins. Tune into the sensations you receive and follow them by asking questions that arise and doing your research on the places you’ve visited. “The more you dial into those experiences, the more they will occur,” Stern says.

3. Follow the signs

When you open yourself up to the divine energy of the universe, you’ll realize that there are messages everywhere. These signs manifest in symbolism in our day-to-day, angel numbers (repeated patterns of numbers), or synchronicities, aka signals from the universe that feel too profound to be coincidences.

According to Stern, the universe is constantly beaming messages in different forms “through insects, animals, feathers, numbers, license plates, songs, and even people. The more you learn to trust what you’re being shown, the more you will strengthen your psychic muscles.”

4. Practice reading people’s energy

Getting a bad vibe from someone for no concrete reason is your psychic intuition coming through, and reading a person’s energy in this way is a skill you can strengthen. Challenge yourself to interpret the energy of new people you meet by looking beyond their appearance or how they speak and instead tuning into their energy for information, Jackson says.

How, you ask? Simply be in their presence and understand your own thoughts about how the way you feel reflects on them. You can do this before even looking at or interacting with the person, Jackson says. For example, if you’re in line at the grocery store, tap into the energy of the person behind you and see what comes up. Then, strike up a conversation to see which intuitive nuggets of information you picked up were ultimately correct.

5. Predict how places will look

Feeling and reading energy aren’t the only ways to use a psychic sense. You can also practice your psychic seeing, or clairvoyance. To do this, Jackson recommends a remote-viewing exercise: The next time you’re set to visit a place you’ve never visited (like a new restaurant, a friend’s house, etc.), close your eyes ahead of the visit and declare that you want to “see” this location. Then draw on a piece of paper whatever comes up.

Later compare your drawing to how the place actually looks when you get there. “You’re going to find that you [drew] shapes that were there,” Jacksons says. “Sometimes it’s very specific, like you had the exact window and the plant that is in that exact spot.”

6. Get in touch with your spirit guides

We all have spirit guides we can call upon for support. “These advanced soul mentors in the angelic realm help guide us and teach us,” Jackson says. “We’re also connected to anybody we’ve lost who has crossed to the other side.” One way to go about contacting spirits is to ask for a very specific sign.

For example, if you want confirmation that you’re on the right path, you can put that request out into the universe by, say, requesting to see a purple giraffe. It’s best to get really specific in your request for a sign so that when you do receive it, there’s no denying that it came from your guides.

7. Use divination tools

Sure, you don’t need all the bells and whistles to become in tune with your intuitive gifts, but strengthening them involves leaning on tools to develop your sensory abilities. “Using divinatory tools strengthens our gifts over time because it gives confirmation that we do know what we know,” explains Stern. “Things like oracle or tarot decks, pendulums or even astrology can be really helpful to build trust with our intuitive knowingness.”

Tarot cards can help guide you toward revelations, reveal the potential of your future, and provide guidance on how to approach certain situations. Predictive astrology techniques can also give you an idea of major cultural moments as well as future milestones in your personal life.

8. Determine your personal gifts

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to psychic abilities—how one person may be able to foretell things might not work for someone else. As mentioned earlier, these gifts are like another sense, and as such, developing them means understanding how it manifests. In other words, pay attention to the signals that take over your basic senses, then determine which ability suits you best.

“If you visualize, let your mind’s eye wander. If you smell, light scented candles or wear essential oils,” explains Stern “If you can feel others’ emotions, hone in (with permission) to a particular person’s aura in a crowded room.”