Understanding the Clair Senses: Differences Between Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, and Clairsentience

The world of extrasensory perception is full of mysteries, and one of these mysteries is the clair senses—senses that allow individuals to perceive information beyond the five physical senses. "Clair" is a French term that means "clear," and the senses are different ways of expanded intuition or psychic knowing.

There are four primary psychic senses that people typically experience. Clairvoyance is the sensing of seeing visions, pictures, or symbols beyond normal vision. Clairaudience allows people to hear communication from the spirit world or get intuitive words, noises, or phrases.

Clairsentience is the ability to feel others' or unseen sources' emotions, energies, or body sensations. Last but not least, claircognizance is sensing that one receives knowledge or knows something without reason.

Many people unknowingly use these abilities in their daily lives, especially when practicing divination techniques like love tarot reading or meditation sessions. So let’s check them more closely. 

What Does It Mean to Be Clairvoyant, Clairaudient, and Clairsentient?

All clairvoyant, clairaudient, and clairsentient people feel their gift in their own unique manner, but there are certain signs and feelings that accompany each ability.

A clairvoyant person receives pictures, symbols, or visions that provide information regarding situations. They may appear as mental images of people, places, or future events, flashes of insight, or dreams filled with symbolic messages. Others also perceive auras or energy patterns around people. Someone may, for example, suddenly get a vision of a loved one on the phone, and then hear the phone ring a few seconds later.

A clairaudient person, on the other hand, receives messages as sounds, words, or internal voices. This might be hearing a name or phrase suddenly pop into their head, being guided by music, or even hearing whispers that nobody else will. 

A clairsentient can feel energy sensitivity and can sense feelings, body, or even environmental energy. A clairsentient can "feel" or sense the other's emotions like it's theirs, get that feeling in their stomach when there's something that isn't quite right, or tingle if exposed to extreme energy. The clairsentient can enter a house and suddenly feel that overpowering emotion of sadness without knowing later there was an emotional event that transpired there.

Clairsentience and Claircognizance: How They Are Used Together

While distinct, clairsentience and claircognizance also often work together. For example, someone might meet a stranger, and instantly they know the depth of that individual's sadness. This is clairsentience at work. And at the same time, they might also have instant knowledge of why the person is sad, even though nothing has been said. This is claircognizance, a burst of inner knowing that is not based on prior experience or reason.

Claircognizance and Clairsentience: What's the Difference?

Though claircognizance and clairsentience are akin, they function differently. Claircognizance arrives in the form of immediate, irrefutable knowledge. A person can wake up one day and somehow recognize that they need to switch careers or move to a different city, without anything triggering them. There is no sense involved–just knowledge.

Clairsentience, however, is highly physical and emotional. Instead of knowing immediately, the person feels the truth in his or her body or emotions. For instance, upon entering a room, a clairsentient will sometimes feel anxious or uneasy without any idea why. A claircognizant would instantly know something was wrong, yet feel no sensations.

Differences Between Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, and Clairsentience

The differences between clairvoyance, clairaudience, and clairsentience lie in the way information is attained. Clairvoyants primarily perceive their intuition visually. They may get bursts of images, symbols, or even spirits. Their intuitive messages might appear in dreams or as fleeting mental images.

Clairaudients, in contrast, use sound. They may hear whispers, names, or significant sentences in their mind. Some clairaudients see their experience as the voice separate from their thoughts, while others get intuitive information in the way of song lyrics or ringing tones.

Clairsentients feel instead of seeing or hearing. They experience their intuition through emotions and physical sensations. Jolting into heat or unease when holding an object, sensing there is a secret sadness in a friend, or experiencing goosebumps when encountering a strong energy presence are all signs of clairsentience in action.

How to Discover If You Are Clairvoyant, Clairaudient or Clairsentient

If you believe you might have one of these intuitive skills, here are how to spot and develop them:

Journal Keeping: Record any unusual visions, sounds, or feelings you experience. Signs may emerge over time.

Meditation Practice: A peaceful mind facilitates the ability to pick up on and construct intuitive messages.

Pay Attention to How You Receive Information: Do you often "see" things first before they happen? Do words randomly come into your head? Do you feel emotions physically that don't belong to you? Becoming aware of these tendencies will show you which sense is the strongest for you.

Trust Your Instincts: If you repeatedly feel the same thing or come to the same realization, don't dismiss it as a coincidence. Your intuition is trying to tell you something.

Use a Tarot Reading: Tarot reading tools can be used to increase intuitive awareness by providing structured guidance and interpretation.

It takes time and patience to build your psychic skills, but the more you attune, the clearer they get.