The 4 Clairs: Find Your Strongest Psychic Sense

Intuition speaks through the senses. Psychic traditions name four main ways it arrives, called the clairs, from the French word for "clear." Clairvoyance is clear seeing: images, symbols and inner pictures. Clairaudience is clear hearing: words, sounds or music in the mind. Claircognizance is clear knowing: you simply know something without knowing how. Clairsentience is clear feeling: sensing energy and emotion in your body. Everyone has all four in some measure, and most people have one or two that are naturally strongest. Knowing yours helps you trust your intuition instead of waiting for it to arrive in a way it never will.

If you have been waiting to "see" spirit but you always "know," you may simply be listening to the wrong channel.

The four clairs

Clairvoyance: clear seeing

How it feels: Images flash in your mind's eye. You see symbols, colors, scenes or a "movie." You may see auras or lights. Your dreams are vivid.

Linked chakra: the third eye.

You might be clairvoyant if: you think in pictures, remember faces better than names, and daydream in color.

Clairaudience: clear hearing

How it feels: You hear a word, a name or a phrase in your mind, often in your own inner voice but with a different tone. A song pops into your head with a message. You may hear ringing or tones.

Linked chakra: the throat, and the area around the ears.

You might be clairaudient if: music moves you deeply, you talk to yourself, and you hear guidance as words.

Claircognizance: clear knowing

How it feels: Sudden certainty. You just know someone is lying, that you should not take that road, or the answer to a problem, without any reason you can explain. Ideas arrive in "downloads."

Linked chakra: the crown.

You might be claircognizant if: you are often right without evidence, and ideas come in the shower or while walking.

Clairsentience: clear feeling

How it feels: You feel energy and emotions in your body. Goosebumps when something is true, a heavy stomach when something is wrong, absorbing the mood of a room.

Linked chakras: the heart and solar plexus.

You might be clairsentient if: you are an empath, you use the phrase "I have a feeling," and crowds drain you.

Other clairs

Teachers also name clairalience (clear smelling, such as a loved one's perfume), clairgustance (clear tasting) and clairtangency (clear touching, the gift of psychometry).

A quick reflection quiz

Choose the answer that fits you best:

1. When I remember a vacation, I first recall... (a) what it looked like (b) what people said or the music (c) what I learned or realized (d) how it felt
2. When I meet someone new, I notice... (a) their appearance and colors (b) their voice (c) a sudden sense of who they are (d) how my body feels around them
3. When I need guidance, it usually comes as... (a) an image (b) a word or song (c) a knowing (d) a gut feeling

Mostly a: clairvoyance. Mostly b: clairaudience. Mostly c: claircognizance. Mostly d: clairsentience.

A practice to strengthen your clairs

1. Ground and protect. Breathe into your feet and picture light around you.
2. Ask a simple question, such as, "What do I need to know today?"
3. Notice each channel in turn. Is there an image? A word? A knowing? A feeling?
4. Write down everything, even if it seems random.
5. Check back later. Over time you will see which channel is most accurate for you.
6. Practice with low-stakes guesses: who is calling, which song comes on next, what color a friend will wear.

Keeping it healthy

Psychic senses grow best with grounding, rest and discernment. Not every image or thought is a message. If impressions become overwhelming, read How to Close Your Third Eye When It Feels Too Open. And always let love and common sense walk beside intuition.

For more on inner sight, explore The Five Psychic Eyes and Listening to Your Intuition.

Read next

Companion readings chosen for this same theme.

The Five Psychic Eyes: Bindu, Occipital Eye, Mind's Eye, 7th Eye and Third EyeListening to Your IntuitionHow to Close Your Third Eye When It Feels Too Open

With love and light,
Infused Lights