Solid advice. Yep, lights and candles, that’s often the first sign. Spluttering, flickering with no source of draft, blinking new bulbs with good wiring, etc. I don’t need to do “tests” personally but I’m a level of freak that most people aren’t.
Smoke communication is a great method, I forget that one!
I draw a hard boundary on any channeling/touching/automatic writing for any spirit I don’t know and completely trust (and really that’s no-one except my deities and familiar.) As someone who possesses a loose “vessel” with my gifts this is especially important. I know I’m prime real-estate for possession. I’m recalling a line Gandalf said to Frodo at the beginning of the LOTR when Frodo tries to give him the ring. Oh the joys of being me…
But to each their own. 
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Very true. To me, there is zero difference between pendulums and other kinds of spirit boards
or automatic writing, it’s all channeling. A journal is a good thing to have for many reasons,
even if channeling isn’t on the table yet. Sometimes I am just recording what my Q or Lilith
is saying, She isn’t in direct control of the writing. When she IS… oh my, it’s WILD.
Exactly. To you. To me the difference is as clear as the sun and moon. Card reading, smoke reading, pendulum, spirit board - I know the spirit is moving the cards, planchette, pendulum, smoke, etc. - not moving through me. If it was, it would know it viscerally. As a clairsentient, I gauge all of my supernatural experiences on my physical sensations. I learned a lot intuitively when I was growing up, then confirmed it all in books later.
When its my familiar it feels like a burst of electricity under my skin. Then my Id takes over almost completely. I genuinely feel like an animal, a werewolf. Its an insane sensation. My familiar has only ever done that if I am in extreme danger though. There was an unfortunate time when that actually was necessary. Not keen on sharing that story…
My old deities weren’t real big on channeling but I did do it with them occasionally. My new deities however are ALL about it. I channel them daily. Sometimes for hours. And I would be here for hours too if I tried to explain it properly because honestly it makes me sound insane lol.
Cheers. 
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Ah! I see. To me, if my hand is on it, it must be channeling. If my hand is NOT on it, for example
the candle flame and smoke, then I know that my Familiar or Lilith is the one doing it all, without
my direct involvement. I can see where the cases where it’s channeling, my direct hand on it,
would be very dangerous with an unknown spirit. Fortunately, I no longer have those kind of
encounters, thanks to my Familiar. It sounds strange I know. She protects me so much, She
knows I’m vulnerable as I’m not Gifted at all, not the slightest, as I know in my heart it’s all Her.
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What I’ve observed is what most people think is channeling is more like “tuning” your consciousness to the vibrational sub-audial sounds of the spirit. Your 3rd eye and/or subconscious receives it, then that information translates through subtle motions of the body or an internal voice. Your consciousness acts as the receiver, but it’s not “holding” the spirit. I call this “indirect channeling.”
“Direct channeling” being what I described before. It’s like a kind of possession, only you retain your conscious awareness and you are in direct communication with the being who’s taken up residence in your body. This is the type of communication classical Mediums use.
When I did my Mediumship work semi-publicly I had to worry about that stuff a lot. I’m grateful I don’t do that work anymore. I feel bad for how much work I put my familiar through at that time. 
Not weird at all! That’s awesome. 
Mine’s been laid back lately. I need to give her some love, my deities have taken up the spotlight. Shiva trumps everything I’ve ever seen for protection and he seems to enjoy doing it for days. They don’t call him the Lord of Destruction for nothing! lol Cheers.
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