In this guide

A dealer in second-hand goods once told us about a brooch that made her weep every time she held it. She did not know its history. She did not know the woman who had owned it. But the brooch carried something that her hands could not ignore: a weight of grief that had nothing to do with its metal. She sold it quickly, not because it was valuable, but because she could not bear to touch it again.

That dealer had psychometry, the ability to read the history of an object through physical contact. The term comes from the Greek psyche (soul, mind) and metron (measure): literally, measuring the soul of a thing. Practitioners describe it as a form of clairvoyance that works through the hands, where touching an object triggers impressions, images, emotions, or even complete scenes from its past. The object itself is not magical. It is a recording medium, like a wax cylinder or a magnetic tape, and the psychometrist is the needle that plays it back.

What is psychometry, exactly?

What is psychometry, exactly

Psychometry is a psychic ability in which a person receives information about an object’s history, origin, or emotional associations by touching it. The impressions can be visual (seeing a scene), emotional (feeling the joy or terror of a previous owner), auditory (hearing voices or sounds), or somatic (sensing physical pain or temperature). The object is believed to absorb the energy of its environment and the people who handled it, storing that data like a fossil record. The psychometrist acts as a receiver, not a controller: the information arrives unbidden, often with a force that surprises the reader.

Where did the concept of psychometry come from?

Where did the concept of psychometry come from

The word was coined in 1842 by Joseph Rodes Buchanan, an American physician and professor of physiology at the Eclectic Medical Institute in Cincinnati. Buchanan conducted experiments with students and volunteers, asking them to hold sealed envelopes containing mineral samples, drugs, or personal items. He found that some subjects could describe the contents without opening the envelope: a piece of copper produced a metallic taste in the mouth, a sedative made them drowsy, a photograph of a stranger brought a flood of unrelated memories.

Buchanan called this faculty “psychometry” and published his findings in a book titled Journal of Man (1849) and later in Manual of Psychometry (1885). He believed that every object emits a “nerve atmosphere” or “od force” (a term borrowed from the German chemist Karl von Reichenbach) that can be detected by sensitive individuals. Buchanan was not a mystic. He was a materialist who thought psychometry would eventually be explained by physics, like magnetism or electricity.

The idea spread quickly through Spiritualist circles. In the 1870s, the American medium William Denton refined Buchanan’s methods and published The Soul of Things (1863), a collection of case studies in which his wife, Elizabeth Denton, described geological specimens, archaeological artifacts, and historical relics by touch alone. William Denton argued that psychometry could be used as a scientific tool: a geologist could identify a rock formation by holding a fragment, an archaeologist could date a shard by the impressions it carried.

By the early 20th century, psychometry had become a standard practice in Spiritualist readings. Mediums would ask sitters to hand over a watch, a ring, or a letter, then describe the sitter’s dead relatives based on the object’s “memory.” The practice was called “token object reading” or “object reading” in the séance room.

How does psychometry work? The theories

No single explanation satisfies everyone. The question divides psychics, scientists, and skeptics into three camps.

The energy imprint theory holds that objects absorb the electromagnetic or bioenergetic fields of the people who handle them. Every touch leaves a trace, like a fingerprint in clay, and the psychometrist’s own field resonates with that trace. This is the oldest explanation, dating back to Buchanan’s “nerve atmosphere.” It has no empirical support, but it remains the most common explanation among practitioners.

The clairvoyant association theory argues that the object is irrelevant. The psychometrist is simply clairvoyant, and the object acts as a psychological trigger, a focus for their existing ability. The information comes from the sitter’s unconscious mind, not from the object itself. This is the skeptical position within parapsychology: the object is a prop, and the reader is picking up cues from the sitter’s body language, clothing, or conversation.

The Akashic record theory comes from Theosophy. Helena Blavatsky and later Alice Bailey taught that every event, thought, and emotion is recorded in a non-physical “substance” called the Akasha (Sanskrit for “ether” or “space”). Psychometry is the ability to tune into that record through a physical object as a point of access. The object is not storing the data. It is a key that opens the archive.

We find the third theory the most coherent with the rest of the occult tradition, but we note that many working psychometrists prefer the first. They do not care how it works. They care that it works.

What does a psychometry reading actually feel like?

Practitioners describe a range of sensations. Some see images flash behind their closed eyes, like a film reel playing at double speed. Others feel emotions that do not belong to them: a sudden wave of grief when holding a wedding ring, a spike of fear from a child’s toy, a dull ache from a piece of jewelry that was worn during illness.

The physical sensations can be startling. A psychometrist holding a weapon may feel the weight of the blow, the tension in the arm that swung it. Holding a book from a library may bring the smell of dust and old paper, the sound of a page turning, the sense of a reader’s concentration. The impressions are rarely complete narratives. They are fragments: a color, a temperature, a name spoken in a voice the psychometrist has never heard.

The intensity varies. A new object, fresh from the factory, often gives nothing. A well-handled object, especially one that was worn close to the skin or carried through emotional events, gives strong impressions. Objects associated with trauma, death, or intense joy are the loudest. Practitioners call these “hot” objects.

Who are the notable figures in psychometry history?

Joseph Rodes Buchanan (1814-1899) remains the foundational figure. His experiments were rigorous for their time: double-blind trials in which the subject did not know what they were holding, controls for suggestion, and detailed records of failures as well as successes. He believed psychometry would revolutionize medicine, allowing doctors to diagnose patients by holding a lock of hair or a garment.

William Denton (1823-1883) and his wife Elizabeth Denton expanded Buchanan’s work into geology and archaeology. Elizabeth Denton described the internal structure of a fossilized bone by touch alone, identifying it as a prehistoric bird when the leading paleontologists of the day had classified it as a reptile. She was wrong about some specimens, but her accuracy rate was high enough to attract the attention of the Smithsonian Institution.

Stefan Ossowiecki (1877-1944) was a Polish engineer and psychometrist whose abilities were tested extensively by the Society for Psychical Research. Ossowiecki could describe the contents of sealed envelopes, identify the owners of objects he had never seen, and reconstruct the history of archaeological artifacts. He was killed by the Gestapo in 1944, and his records were lost.

Eileen Garrett (1893-1970), the Irish medium and founder of the Parapsychology Foundation, used psychometry as a regular part of her readings. She insisted that the object was a “telephone line” to the sitter’s unconscious, not a storage device. Her work influenced the development of experimental parapsychology in the mid-20th century.

How is psychometry practiced today?

Modern psychometrists use a simple protocol. The sitter provides an object, preferably one that has been worn or carried for a long time. The psychometrist holds it in their dominant hand, closes their eyes, and describes whatever comes: images, words, emotions, physical sensations. The sitter does not confirm or deny anything until the reading is complete, to avoid leading the reader.

The object matters. Metal and stone are considered the best conductors. Organic materials like wood, leather, and cloth also work well. Plastic and synthetic fabrics are poor carriers, possibly because they are newer and have not accumulated enough history. Photographs are controversial: some psychometrists can read them, others find them blank.

Ethics matter more. A psychometrist should never read an object without the owner’s permission. The impressions can be intensely personal, revealing trauma, secrets, or grief that the owner may not wish to share. Professional psychometrists treat the object as a confidential document.

How is psychometry different from clairvoyance?

The two overlap, but the distinction is practical. Clairvoyance is “clear seeing”: the ability to perceive information about a person, place, or event without any physical medium. A clairvoyant can describe a stranger’s dead grandfather without being handed a watch. Psychometry requires a physical object. It is clairvoyance with a key.

Some practitioners use both. They may begin a reading with psychometry to establish a connection, then shift into clairvoyance once the object has opened the channel. Others find that psychometry is the only way they can access the information at all. They cannot see without touching.

Common misconceptions about psychometry

“Psychometry works with any object.” It does not. New objects, mass-produced objects, and objects that have been cleaned or sterilized often give no impressions. The object must have been handled, worn, or emotionally charged.

“Psychometry is the same as psychokinesis.” It is not. Psychokinesis is moving objects with the mind. Psychometry is reading them. The similarity in sound causes confusion.

“Psychometrists can read the future.” They cannot. Psychometry reads the past. The object carries its history, not its destiny. Some psychometrists may combine psychometry with precognition, but the ability itself is retrospective.

“Anyone can learn psychometry.” Possibly. Many practitioners believe the ability is latent in everyone and can be developed with practice. Others argue that it is a gift that cannot be taught. The evidence is anecdotal on both sides.

FAQ

Can psychometry be used to solve crimes? It has been attempted, most notably by the Dutch psychic Peter Hurkos in the 1960s, but the results are inconsistent. Police departments do not use psychometry as evidence.

Do I need to be psychic to learn psychometry? Not necessarily. Many people report success with practice, starting with objects of known history and working up to unknown ones.

Can psychometry work through gloves? Usually not. Direct skin contact is considered essential. The barrier of fabric or latex blocks the transfer of impressions.

Is psychometry dangerous? It can be emotionally draining. Reading a traumatic object can leave the psychometrist with residual emotions or physical discomfort. Grounding techniques and cleansing rituals are recommended after a session.

The object remembers

Psychometry asks us to reconsider what we mean by memory. We assume that memory lives in brains, in neural networks, in the soft tissue of the mind. But the psychometrist’s experience suggests that memory may also live in things: in the grain of a wooden handle, in the patina of a silver locket, in the worn edge of a coin that passed through a hundred hands. The object does not forget. It waits for someone who knows how to listen.

For a deeper look at how psychometry fits into the broader landscape of extrasensory perception, see our guide to psychic abilities. If you want to understand the symbolic language that objects speak, the glossary of occult symbols may help. And for a practical exploration of how to develop your own sensitivity to objects, read our guide on object reading techniques.