Chapter 1
Unlocking the Language of the Universe
Have you ever felt a sudden chill when entering a room, or known who was calling before checking your phone? Perhaps you've dreamed about someone only to hear from them the next day, or felt inexplicably drawn to a particular symbol or object. These aren't coincidences-they're part of an ancient symbolic language that connects us to higher wisdom. In "The Book of Psychic Symbols," professional intuitive Melanie Barnum reveals how to decode these everyday messages that most of us miss. This isn't just another metaphysical manual; it's a practical guide that has garnered praise from leading intuitive experts like John Holland and has helped thousands recognize the symbolic communications constantly streaming into their awareness. Whether you're skeptical about psychic phenomena or already developing your intuitive abilities, Barnum's approach makes the seemingly supernatural accessible through the universal language of symbols that surrounds us daily.
Chapter 2
The Hidden Language All Around Us
Symbols are everywhere in our daily lives, appearing as cryptograms interspersed throughout our existence. They form the foundation of how we communicate with realms beyond our physical understanding. Think of yourself as a radio receiver-if you're not tuned to the right frequency, you'll miss the broadcast entirely. We need a shared symbolic language to understand messages from the other side.
When I receive psychic information during readings, it often comes as symbolic imagery rather than direct statements. For instance, when I told a client named Anna she would move abroad and visit Africa-something she adamantly denied would happen-I wasn't making a wild guess. I was interpreting specific symbols that appeared: a changing flag, dotted lines crossing a map, and images of elephants and giraffes. Two years later, Anna moved to Canada for veterinary school and traveled to Africa for a safari to study large-animal medicine.
This symbolic communication isn't reserved for professional psychics-it's our natural birthright as humans. The philosopher Wittgenstein once said, "The limits of my language mean the limits of my world." Without a comprehensive symbolic alphabet, we remain limited in our ability to receive guidance from spirit guides, angels, and deceased loved ones.
That morning coffee you crave? The mental image that appears-whether a steaming mug, coffee beans, or just the aroma-is already your personal symbol for coffee. You've been using symbols your whole life without realizing it. Carl Jung referred to this as the "collective unconscious," a repository of primitive images and memories accessible to all humans. As he wrote, "Symbols do not occur solely in dreams. They appear in all kinds of psychic manifestations."
Understanding this language opens an entirely new dimension of reality, allowing you to translate your inherent psychic abilities with certainty rather than doubt.
Chapter 3
Where Symbolic Messages Originate
Symbolic messages come from various spiritual helpers who communicate through intuitive impressions. These entities operate from unconditional love and divine energy, sending assistance through symbols that require interpretation-much like how mediums receive information that isn't straightforward but needs decoding.
Deceased loved ones eagerly communicate with us despite operating at a higher energetic frequency that makes direct connection challenging. They use symbols like birthday cakes or roses to convey messages of love, acknowledgment, or apology. Just as they supported us in life, they continue from the other side, offering advice, comfort during grief, or even helping solve crimes in cases of foul play.
My daughter once demonstrated this connection beautifully. While driving to visit my hospitalized father-in-law, we struggled to find parking. My daughter suddenly announced that her deceased grandmother "Mima" wanted us to wait rather than taking a spot that appeared to be opening. When another car seemed poised to take it, she insisted we continue waiting-only for that car to drive past, leaving the perfect spot available exactly as Mima had guided.
Angels, unlike deceased relatives, have never inhabited physical bodies. They exist on a metaphysical plane as direct conduits of divine assistance. They communicate not through spoken words but through telepathic guidance or physical intervention, leaving behind energy of pure love. They may manifest as shimmering forms or even temporarily human-like beings with glowing skin, illuminated from within by divine light.
Ascended masters are enlightened beings who once lived on Earth-figures like Jesus, Mother Mary, Buddha, and Kwan Yin-who work without ego to help humanity achieve spiritual awareness. Many are revered in Buddhism as Bodhisattvas who chose to remain available to guide others rather than entering Nirvana. When channeling their symbols related to higher consciousness, one experiences an ethereal feeling of illumination and being gently lifted by their incredibly buoyant energy.
Spirit guides have lived human existences but remain on the other side by choice instead of reincarnating. Unlike angels who handle major dilemmas, spirit guides assist with everyday concerns. They're generally ancient souls who've gathered wisdom to better aid us with practical matters. Using our extrasensory perception, we can understand their symbolic messages, which form a kind of shared language to help us discover the wonder and power available within our lives.
Chapter 4
The Psychic Senses: How We Receive Symbols
We all experience some form of psychic sense through the "clairs"-multidimensional interpretive layers within us that function as psychic senses. While we don't need to distinguish between each layer to receive intuitive messages, understanding these communication channels makes recognizing messages easier.
Clairvoyance or "clear seeing" manifests as flashes of colors or images in your third eye (the energy center in the middle of your forehead). These visions range from simple to detailed, appearing as photographs or movie-like sequences, in color or black and white. During readings, these symbolic visions can provide remarkable validation, as when I saw an older building in Brooklyn and a Sesame Street connection that proved accurate for a client whose daughter was auditioning for a show.
The key to clairvoyance is honesty about what you see, even when it's not what you hope for. These images might appear as quick flashes-similar to the "Memory" game where you glimpse objects briefly-or as simple line drawings rather than three-dimensional images.
Clairaudience or "clear hearing" manifests as songs, tunes, names, or whispered words that seem to come from inside your head. Though it may feel like you're imagining these sounds, they're actually psychic perceptions. Musicians often excel at clairaudience due to their finely tuned hearing, which is why many mediums sing loudly before gallery readings to activate this ability.
During one reading, I repeatedly heard "Pedro" or "Peter" which the client denied knowing, only to later reveal her grandfather was named "Pietro"-showing how these messages can come through imperfectly but meaningfully. Symbolic words might have deeper meanings-"radio" could represent normal music or spiritual connection; a ringing telephone might signify earthly communication or messages from spirit.
Clairsentience ("clear feeling") and claircognizance ("clear knowing") are the most common forms of psychic communication. With clairsentience, you physically feel sensations-temperature changes might indicate locations or seasons, floating sensations might symbolize water. Claircognizance manifests as simply knowing something with certainty without knowing how you know it.
These abilities often work together with other psychic senses. You might feel physical ailments that correspond to another person's condition, experience unexplained emotions that relate to nearby events, or sense the presence of spirits. These grounded psychic senses can be life-saving, like when my friend Dave once inexplicably stopped at a street corner despite having the walk signal, moments before a car ran the red light.
Clairalience (clear smelling) and clairgustance (clear tasting) are powerful yet often overlooked psychic senses. Unlike other symbolic messages, these sensations frequently convey deeper meanings beyond the literal smell or taste. When I smell my mother's perfume or my father-in-law's cigar, I'm not receiving a symbol for "perfume" but a sign of their presence.
These senses often connect us directly to deceased loved ones-like my mother-in-law Rose, whose presence I detect through seeing roses, hearing her name, smelling roses, and tasting rose water. These senses can also provide practical insights, as when I smelled flowers during a conversation about a dance, correctly predicting a corsage purchase, or when I tasted bitter pills for a client whose son would benefit from ADD medication.
Chapter 5
The Colorful Language of Intuition
Color symbolism provides one of the most accessible and nuanced ways to interpret psychic messages, as seeing or feeling colors clairvoyantly often signals the first recognition of receiving intuitive information. These color impressions can convey remarkably complex meanings - seeing someone surrounded by purple might indicate their psychic nature or spiritual development, while brown or black mixed with purple could suggest spiritual blockage or resistance to their natural gifts. The clarity and intensity of these colors also carry significance - bright, clear colors generally indicate positive or strong energy, while muddy or clouded colors often suggest blocked or conflicted energy.
For experienced psychics, a single color can transmit paragraph-worth of information about a person's emotional state, spiritual development, and life circumstances. Children, being naturally intuitive, often instinctively surround themselves with colors that enhance their natural abilities. For instance, a child drawn to yellow might be developing their intellectual gifts, while one attracted to green may be naturally healing-oriented. My own childhood preference for purple, a highly spiritual color associated with psychic awareness and divine connection, foreshadowed my future as a professional psychic.
Colors carry not just symbolic meaning but temperature and emotional resonance that can be felt on multiple levels. Blue typically feels "cool" and can indicate sadness or tranquility, while red feels "hot" and often represents passion, anger, or vital life force. We can receive these color messages through multiple psychic senses: seeing them clairvoyantly in the mind's eye or aura, feeling their emotional quality clairsentiently, or even tasting their essence clairgustantly - for example, experiencing a metallic taste when perceiving silver energy.
When interpreting symbolic color messages, it's crucial to note whether colors appear clear and true or muddied and dulled. A bright, vibrant orange might indicate healthy creativity, joyful sexuality, and abundant energy, while a dull or muddy orange could suggest stifled creative urges, lacking sex drive, or blocked emotional expression. Color interpretations may sometimes contain apparent contradictions, as some meanings represent opposing ideas depending on context and other accompanying colors.
Black, for instance, can represent negativity, danger, the subconscious mind, or a void, while also potentially indicating protection, mystery, or seeing only one side of a situation. Blue, the fifth rainbow color associated with the throat chakra, carries a particularly rich symbolic vocabulary - it can symbolize clear communication, teaching ability, thyroid health, inner peace, intelligence, wisdom, spirituality, masculine energy, depression, emotional depth, idealism, or the need for energetic cleansing.
Brown connects deeply to earth energies, representing grounding, practical hard work, simplicity, nurturing abilities, or physical issues needing attention. It can also indicate stability, reliability, and connection to nature. Each color carries its own extensive symbolic vocabulary that, with practice and attention, becomes a natural and intuitive language for psychic interpretation. The key is to develop sensitivity to both the presence and quality of colors in psychic impressions, as well as understanding how they interact with each other to create more complex messages.
Chapter 6
Energy Centers and Their Symbolic Language
The spiritual body contains two interconnected yet distinct energy systems: chakras and auras. While chakras exist within the body as spinning wheels of energy, the aura emanates outward in seven main energy bands. Each auric field connects to different energy planes while partnering with a specific chakra, facilitating information exchange between external (aura) and internal (chakra) worlds.
Chakras function like spiritual batteries or charging stations along a metaphysical line from the base of the spine to the crown, each associated with specific colors and physical organs. The root chakra (red) at the base of the spine governs survival, groundedness, and security. The sacral chakra (orange) below the navel connects to sexuality, creativity, and clairsentience. The solar plexus chakra (yellow) represents willpower, self-confidence, and intuition.
The heart chakra (green) governs love, healing, and compassion. The throat chakra (blue) controls communication and clairaudience. The third-eye chakra (indigo) enables clairvoyance and clear vision. The crown chakra (violet) connects to universal consciousness and claircognizance.
For each chakra, balanced versus unbalanced energy manifests physically, emotionally, and psychically. A balanced chakra system leads to overall health and enhanced ability to receive symbolic messages.
Auras surround our entire bodies, historically depicted as halos in art. Children naturally perceive auras, often coloring people differently in their drawings until adults condition them to see only physically. Auras constantly change shape and color based on mood and circumstances. When entering uncomfortable spaces, we instinctively "pull our energy in," protecting ourselves by retracting our aura. Conversely, we expand our aura when happy or excited.
Connecting to someone's aura opens a gateway to receiving psychic symbols about them. Auras reveal health conditions and emotional states through colors and patterns, as demonstrated when I sensed a student's damaged energy field around her jaw-which turned out to be from a recent root canal. Understanding aura colors and shapes is essential for interpreting the symbolic messages they convey about people's conditions and emotions.
Chapter 7
Sacred Symbols Across Traditions
Religious symbols provide a familiar language through which the universe communicates with us. We can maintain traditional religious beliefs while developing our psychic abilities, as these symbols help us interpret messages in ways we can understand. I once worked with a woman named LuAnn who reconnected with her Catholic faith after a psychic reading identified her spiritual disconnect. This demonstrates that psychic awareness can complement rather than contradict religious practice, as the universe sends us messages through symbols we can relate to and that make us feel safe.
Symbols often carry multiple meanings, requiring us to look beyond face value interpretations. The fish, for instance, can represent literal fishing, the zodiac sign Pisces, or Christianity. Some symbols have dramatically opposing meanings-like the swastika, which represents hate and white supremacy to most Westerners but means good fortune and well-being in Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Similarly, the Star of David represents Judaism but also has Christian interpretations.
The traditional image of God-a being of light with flowing white gown and beard-symbolizes love, omnipotence, and creation when it appears psychically. This symbol may indicate importance in current matters, suggest a time for prayer or faith renewal, or remind us to live with integrity. Similarly, Jesus appearing as a symbol reminds us we're worthy of love, offers help during crisis, or signals the end of suffering.
Crosses appear frequently as psychic symbols with various meanings. The traditional cross may suggest connecting to religion for comfort, having faith during difficult times, or asking for divine help. The Celtic cross, with its interlacing knots, symbolizes the merging of physical and spiritual paths, eternity, and God's love. The Egyptian ankh signifies everlasting life, spiritual immortality, fertility, or someone with zest for life.
Angels are among the most common extrasensory symbols, representing heavenly help and divine guidance. When angels appear, your emotional response is crucial for interpretation-happiness suggests guidance toward comfort or excitement, while seeing an angel around someone ill might indicate the approaching "angel of death."
Buddhism offers rich symbolic imagery, particularly the lotus flower representing spiritual growth-from muddy roots (materialism) through water (experience) to sunlit blossoming (enlightenment). Different colored lotuses carry specific meanings: pink honors the original Buddha, white represents spiritual purity, red signifies compassion, and blue indicates wisdom.
The yin-yang symbol (taijitu) from Chinese Taoist philosophy represents interdependent opposing forces creating equilibrium. When received psychically, it typically indicates an unbalanced life-perhaps neglecting spiritual needs for material desires, struggling with work-life balance, or having health issues.
Chapter 8
The Archetypal Language of Tarot
Tarot cards, dating back to the fifteenth century, represent perhaps the most comprehensive system of intuitive symbolism available. While many believe you need extensive training to interpret them, personal intuition can be equally powerful when reading the cards' archetypal images.
A typical tarot deck like the Rider-Waite contains 78 cards: 22 major arcana (trump cards) that tell an archetypal human development story, and 56 minor arcana organized into four suits. Each card features distinctive illustrations, numbers, and color themes that contribute to its meaning. While studying traditional interpretations provides a foundation, personal intuitive interpretation-based on one's reaction to the imagery, colors, and symbols-creates the most meaningful readings.
The major arcana tells the archetypal story of human development through The Fool's journey. Beginning with infinite possibilities, The Fool travels through life experiences represented by each card, ultimately reaching The World card which signifies fulfillment before a new cycle begins. Each card carries specific symbolic meanings: The Magician represents knowledge-seeking and intuitive guidance; The High Priestess embodies intuition and mystical connection; The Empress signifies abundance and nurturing; The Emperor represents power and stability; while cards like Death indicate transformation rather than literal endings.
The minor arcana consists of four suits-wands, cups, swords, and pentacles-each carrying distinct symbolic significance. Wands represent fire, creativity, sexuality, and entrepreneurial energy. Cups embody emotions, relationships, empathic abilities, and family connections. Swords symbolize intellect, critical analysis, problem-solving, and sometimes argumentative tendencies. Pentacles relate to material possessions, money, physical manifestation, and business success.
The true power of tarot interpretation comes from analyzing the card imagery rather than memorizing meanings. By examining elements like vegetation, people, structures, animals, supernatural beings, and objects within each illustration, readers can intuitively understand messages without relying on textbook definitions.
Chapter 9
Your Personal Symbolic Dictionary
Personal symbols hold unique power and meaning for each individual. What resonates deeply for one person may hold little significance for another. Your childhood home, for instance, might become your symbol for "house" or "childhood," while someone else's symbol would differ entirely. Personal symbols derive from your individual databank of experiences and memories, which constantly evolves over time.
During a remote viewing class at Omega Institute (a program originally developed from the government's "Stargate" psychic espionage initiative), I saw a man's foot in a sandal that I initially misinterpreted as relating to Greece, when it actually symbolized the Roman Coliseum. Similarly, when teaching remote viewing to students targeting a busy road, each student received accurate information but through entirely different symbolic representations-windshield wipers, nausea, bright lights, parking lot memories, and honking sounds. Your personal databank determines how information manifests symbolically.
Interpreting symbols becomes more nuanced when multiple symbols appear together. A baby carriage alone might indicate birth, but combined with a speeding car could suggest danger. A contract (symbolizing legal matters) appearing with gold coins might predict a financial windfall. Some symbols naturally pair together, like ice cream and children or sunshine and swimming pools.
Dreams provide perhaps the richest source of personal symbols. Dreams occur during deep REM sleep when our conscious mind rests and our subconscious takes over, creating an ideal environment for receiving psychic messages. Dreams serve multiple purposes: processing daily events, working through problems, foretelling the future, addressing avoided issues, or receiving communications from the other side.
Premonitory dreams reveal future events through psychic symbols. These range from simple predictions, like dreaming of a long-absent relative who later appears at your door, to more complex warnings requiring symbolic interpretation. The context matters-dreaming of an uncle enjoying ice cream in a park might indicate a pleasant upcoming visit, while seeing that same uncle panicked and dropping his ice cream could warn of unexpected danger.
Dreams can also facilitate visits from spirits who wish to communicate they're still present in our lives or deliver specific guidance. These visitations feel distinctly real compared to ordinary dreams and often leave you with goosebumps upon waking. Dream visits often bypass our conscious skepticism, allowing truth to penetrate our awareness.
Chapter 10
Living a Symbolically Guided Life
Symbolic messages can appear in everyday life as meaningful coincidences. During a reading, I once saw an orange "Y" on a white T-shirt for my client Deana but couldn't interpret its significance. Two weeks later, Deana called to share how this symbol manifested when she was lost without her wallet in the city. She encountered a homeless shelter fundraiser selling exactly those shirts-white with orange "Y" logos. This sighting calmed her panic, and remarkably, she discovered money in her purse she hadn't seen before. This synchronicity confirmed that symbolic guidance works in mysterious but meaningful ways.
Manifestation-creating what we want through clear intention-can be enhanced by combining symbols with desires. Barbara Mark and Trudy Griswold's "A.B.L.T." approach teaches us to Ask for what we want, Believe it will be given, Let the process work, and say Thank You.
I applied this method when selling my children's consignment store by visualizing symbolic representations: banded dollar bills with a smiley face for a fair price, silhouettes shaking hands for a fair deal, a calendar highlighting my lease deadline, and a person with a heart symbol standing in my store. Though I posted just one flyer, the perfect buyer came through an unexpected connection-a friend's mother who had heard years earlier I might sell someday. The transaction fulfilled all my symbolic intentions: fair price, right timing, and new owners who would love the business as I had.
Choose whatever intuitive method feels most natural to you-this isn't a cop-out but following your intuition. You'll likely discover one or two intuitive senses that feel stronger, and these will strengthen with practice. Focus on what's enjoyable-if automatic writing frustrates you, it's not your method.
Different situations call for different approaches-finding a missing bracelet might require clairvoyance, while locating a missing person might need remote viewing. Don't hesitate to combine techniques; during readings, I often start with tarot but find myself receiving messages from spirits clairaudiently and clairsentiently. With practice, you'll intuitively know which method fits each situation.
As you develop psychically, you'll notice subtle life changes-increased trust in instincts, improved confidence, and greater life balance. Once you begin living intuitively, you can't easily return to your former state. This new awareness will expand your thoughts, ideas, and dreams for the rest of your existence, opening you to a richer, more connected way of living that honors both your humanity and your spiritual nature.
