Mediumship 2269697 225756771 2008-07-15T07:09:54Z Steven S. Mair 150686 /* Trance mediumship */ removed sceptical bias '''Mediumship''' is a form of relationship with [[spirit]]s that is practiced in [[religion]]s such as [[Spiritualism (religious movement)|Spiritualism]], [[Spiritism]], [[Espiritismo]], [[Candomblé]], [[Louisiana Voodoo]], and [[Umbanda]].<ref name='Skepdic'>http://skepdic.com/medium.html Skeptic's Dictionary by Robert Todd Carroll, on Mediums Retrieved March 23, 2007 "In spiritualism, a medium is one with whom spirits communicate directly."</ref> While the Western movements of Spiritualism and Spiritism account for most Western exposure, most traditional African and African diasporic traditions include mediumship as a central focus of religious practice. ==Concept== The term "mediumship" [[denote]]s the ability of a person (the '''medium''') to experience contact with [[soul|spirit]]s of the dead, spirits of non-corporeal entities, angels, or nature spirits. The medium generally allows communication between non-mediumistic people and spirits who may have messages to share. A medium may: listen to and relate conversations with spirit voices; go into a trance and speak without knowledge of what is being said; allow a spirit to enter their body and speak through it; relay messages from the spirits those who wish to contact them with the help of a physical tool, such as a writing implement. Mediumship is also part of the belief system of some [[New Age]] groups. In this context, and under the name ''channelling,'' it refers to a medium who receive messages from a "teaching-spirit". <ref>http://thenewagefiles.shadowweb.info/new_age_timeline/ New Age TimeLine Retrieved September 1, 2007</ref><ref>http://www.spiritwritings.com/ChannelingFAQ.html What is Channeling and Prophecy?, Retrieved September 1, 2007</ref> In some cultures, mediums (or the spirits working with them) are believed to be able to produce physical [[paranormal]] phenomena such as materialisations of spirits, [[apport]]s of objects, or [[levitation]].<ref>[http://parapsych.org/historical_terms.html Parapsychological Association website. ''Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology'']. "Materialization: A phenomenon of physical mediumship in which living entities or inanimate objects are caused to take form, sometimes from ectoplasm." Retrieved [[January 24]], [[2006]].</ref><ref>{{ cite web | url = http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/medium | title = Medium - Definition | work = Dictionary.com | accessdate = 2007-03-23 }}</ref> ==History== {{main|Spiritualism}} Attempts to communicate with the dead and other spirits have been documented back to early human history. One of the most well-known is the story [[Witch of Endor]], who was said to have raised the spirit of the deceased prophet Samuel to allow the Hebrew king [[Saul]] to question his former mentor about an upcoming battle, as related in the ''First Book of Samuel'' in the [[Jewish]] [[Tanakh]]. Mediumship became quite popular in the United States after the rise of Spiritualism as a religious movement. [[Spiritualism (religious movement)|Modern Spiritualism]] is said to date to the mediumistic activities of the [[Fox sisters]] in [[New York]] state 1848. The trance mediums [[Paschal Beverly Randolph]] and [[Emma Hardinge Britten]] were among the most celebrated lecturers and authors on the subject in the mid 1800s. Mediumship was also described by [[Allan Kardec]], who coined the term [[Spiritism]], around 1860 <ref name="aks">''"spiritism is not a religion but a science"'', by the famous French astronomer Camille Flammarion in Allan Kardec's Eulogy on April 2, 1869, in "Death and Its Mystery - After Death. Manifestations and Apparitions of the Dead; The Soul After Death" Translated by Latrobe Carroll (1923, T. Fisher Unwin, Ltd. London: Adelphi Terrace.), online version at [http://www.survivalafterdeath.org/articles/flammarion/manifestations.htm Allan Kardec eulogy]</ref>. After the exposure of the fraudulent use of [[magic (illusion)|stage magic tricks]] by physical mediums such as the [[Davenport Brothers]], mediumship fell into disrepute, although it never ceased being used by people who believed that the dead can be contacted. From the 1930s through the 1990s, as psysical mediumship became less practiced in Spiritualist churches, the technique of channelling gained in popularity, and books by channellers who related the wisdom of non-corporeal and non-terrestrial teacher-spirits became best-sellers amongst believers. ==Terminology== ===Spirit guide=== For some mediums, a spirit guide is a highly evolved spirit with the sole purpose of helping the medium develop and use their skills. They assist mediums in following their spiritual path. For other mediums, a [[spirit guide]] is one who brings other spirits to a medium's attention or carries communications between a medium and the spirits of the dead. Many mediums claim to have specific guides who regularly work with them and "bring in" spirits of the dead. Some mediums believe that spirits of the dead will communicate with them directly without the use of a spirit guide. The relationship between the medium and the guide may be providential, or it may be based on family ties. In 1958, the [[England|English]]-born Spiritualist C. Dorreen Phillips wrote of her experiences with a medium at Camp Chesterfield, [[Indiana]]: "In Rev. James Laughton's seances there are many [[Native Americans in the United States|Indians]]. They are very noisy and appear to have great power. [...] The little guides, or doorkeepers, are usually Indian boys and girls [who act] as messengers who help to locate the spirit friends who wish to speak with you." <ref name="Phillips"> ''The Autobiogaphy of a Fortune Teller'' by C. Doreen Phillips, Vantage Press, 1958.</ref> Then, describing the mediumship of Rev. Lillian Dee Johnson of [[Saint Petersburg, Florida]], she noted, "Mandy Lou is Rev. Johnson's guide. [..] She was, on earth, a slave to Rev. Johnson's grandmother." <ref name="Phillips" /> ===Spirit communicator=== A spirit who communicates with a medium, either verbally, visually or emotionally. ===Spirit operator=== A spirit who uses a medium to manipulate energy or energy systems. ===Demonstrations of mediumship=== In old-line Spiritualism, a portion of the services, generally toward the end, is given over to the pastor, or another medium, who receives messages from the spirit world for the congregants. This may be referred to as a "demonstration of mediumship." A typical example of this older way of describing a mediumistic church service is found in the 1958 autobiography of C. Dorreen Phillips. She writes of the worship services at the Spiritualist Camp at [[Chesterfield, Indiana]]: "Services are held each afternoon, consisting of hymns, a lecture on philosophy, and demonstrations of mediumship." <ref name="Phillips" /> Today "demonstration of mediumship" is part of the church service at all churches affiliated with the National Spiritualist Association of Churches 'NSAC'. Demonstration links to Declaration of Principal #9. 'We affirm that the precepts of Prophecy and Healing are Divine attributes proven through Mediumship. ' ===Mental mediumship=== {{main|Seance}} "Mental mediumship" is communication of spirits with a medium by [[telepathy]]. The medium mentally "hears," "sees," and/or feels messages from spirits, then, directly or with the help of a spirit guide, passes the information on to the message's recipient(s). When a medium is doing a "reading" for a particular person, that person is known as the "sitter." ===Trance mediumship=== ''Trance mediumship'' is often seen as a form of mental mediumship. Some mediums remain conscious during this communication period, while others go into a trance, wherein a spirit uses the medium's body to communicate. ''Trance mediumship'' is defined as a spirit taking over the body of the medium, sometimes to such a degree that the medium is unconscious. ''Part trance'' mediums are aware during the period of communication, while ''full trance'' mediums pass into an unconscious state in which their physical and mental processes are completely controlled by the spirit communicator. In the 1860s and 1870s, trance mediums were very popular. Spiritualism had attracted adherents who had strong interests in social justice, and many trance mediums delivered passionate speeches on [[abolitionism]], [[temperance movement|temperance]], and [[women's suffrage]].<ref>Braude, Anne, ''Radical Spirits, Spiritualism and Women's Rights in Nineteenth Century America''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001.</ref> Because the typical trance medium has no clear memory of the messages conveyed while in a trance, a medium of this type generally works with an assistant who writes down or otherwise records his or her words. A good example of this kind of relationship can be found in the early 20th century collaboration between the trance medium Mrs. Cecil M. Cook of the [[William T. Stead]] Memorial Center in Chicago (a religious body incorporated under the statutes of the State of Illinois) and the journalist [[Lloyd Kenyon Jones]], a non-mediumistic Spiritualist who transcribed Cook's messages in [[shorthand]] and then edited them for publication in book and pamphlet form.<ref> ''God's World: A Treatise on Spiritualism Founded on Transcripts of Shorthand Notes Taken Down, Over a Period of Five Years, in the Seance-Room of the William T. Stead Memorial Center (a Religious Body Incorporated Under the Statutes of the State of Illinois), Mrs. Cecil M. Cook, Medium and Pastor. Compiled and Written by Lloyd Kenyon Jones. Chicago, Ill.: The William T. Stead Memorial Center, 1919.</ref> ===Physical mediumship=== {{main|seance}} ''Physical mediumship'' is defined as manipulation of energies and energy systems by spirits. Physical mediumship may involve perceptible manifistations such as loud raps and noises, voices, materialized objects, [[apport]]s, materialized spirit bodies, or body parts such as hands, and levitation. The medium is used as source of power and substance for such spirit manifestations. This is sometimes said to be accomplished using the energy or ''[[Ectoplasm (paranormal)|ectoplasm]]'' released by a medium. <ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ectoplasm "Ectoplasm" def. Merriam Webster dictionary], Retrieved [[18 January]] [[2007]]</ref><ref>Somerlott, Robert, ''Here, Mr. Splitfoot''. Viking, 1971.</ref> Most physical mediumship is presented in a darkened or dimly lit room, and most physical mediums make use of a traditional array of tools and appurtenances, including spirit trumpets, spirit cabinets, and levitation tables. ===Channeling=== There are two main techniques mediumship developed in the latter half of the 20th century. One type involves [[psychics]] or [[sensitives]] who can speak to spirits and then relay what they hear to their clients. One of the most noted channels of this type is clairvoyant [[Danielle Egnew]], known for her communication with angelic entities. The other incarnation of non-physical mediumship is a form of channeling in which the channeler goes into a trance, or "leaves their body" and then becomes “possessed” by a specific spirit, who then talks through them. <ref name="Wood">{{cite book | last = Wood | first = Matthew | title = Possession Power and the New Age : Ambiguities of Authority in Neoliberal Societies | year = 2007 | publisher = Ashgate Publishing, Limited | isbn = 0-75463-339-X }}</ref> In the trance, the medium enters a cataleptic state marked by extreme rigidity. The control spirit then takes over, the voice may change completely and the spirit answers the questions of those in its presence or giving spiritual knowledge. <ref name="LeCron">{{cite book | last = LeCron | first = Leslie | last1 = Bordeaux, B.A., M.A., Ph.D | first1 = Jean | title = Hypnotism Today | year = 1970 | pages = 278 | quote = 'When in a trance . . . the medium seems to come under the control of another personality, purportedly the spirit of a departed soul, and a genuine medium undoubtedly believes the 'control' to be a spirit entity. "In the trance, the medium often enters a cataleptic state marked by extreme rigidity. The control then takes over, the voice may change completely . . . and the supposed spirit answers the questions of the sitter, telling of things 'on the other plane' and giving messages from those who have 'passed over.' | publisher = Wilshire Book Co | isbn = 087980081X }}</ref> The most successful and widely known channeler of this variety is [[JZ Knight]], who claims to channel the spirit of [[Ramtha]], a 30 thousand year old man. Others claim to channel spirits from "future dimensional", [[ascended masters]] <ref name="Brown">{{cite book | last = Brown | first = Michael F. | title = The Channeling Zone: American Spirituality in an Anxious Age | year = 1999 | publisher = Harvard University Press | isbn = 0-67410-883-3}}</ref> or in the case of the trance mediums of the [[Brahma Kumaris]], God himself. <ref name="Klimo">{{cite book | last = Klimo | first = Jon | title = Channeling: Investigations on Receiving Information from Paranormal Sources | year = 1998 | publisher = North Atlantic Books | isbn = 978-1556432484 | pages = 100 }}</ref> Channeling is popularly parodied in the "[[Doonesbury]]" cartoon where a ditzy female character is occasionally taken over by "[[Boopsie|Hunk-Ra]]," an assertive 21,000-year-old warrior based on Ramtha. Other notable channels are [[Jane Roberts]] for [Seth] and Serge J. Grandbois for [Kris] http://www.krischronicles.com. ==Psychic senses== In Spiritualism, psychic senses used by mental mediums are sometimes defined differently than in other paranormal fields. The term ''clairvoyance'', for instance, may be used by Spiritualists to include seeing spirits and visions instilled by spirits, whereas the Parapsychological Association defines "clairvoyance" as information derived directly from an external physical source.<ref>[http://parapsych.org/glossary_a_d.html#c Parapsychological Association website, ''Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology''], Retrieved [[January 29]], [[2007]]</ref> *'''[[Clairvoyance]]''' or "Clear Seeing", is the ability to see anything which is not physically present, such as objects, animals or people. This sight occurs "in the mind’s eye", and some mediums say that this is their normal vision state. Others say that they must train their minds with such practices as meditation in order to achieve this ability, and that assistance from spiritual helpers is often necessary. Some clairvoyant mediums can see a spirit as though the spirit has a physical body. They see the bodily form as if it were physically present. Other mediums see the spirit in their mind's eye, or it appears as a movie or a television programme or a still picture like a photograph in their mind. *'''[[Clairaudience]]''' or "Clear Hearing", is usually defined as the ability to hear the voices or thoughts of spirits. Some Mediums hear as though they are listening to a person talking to them on the outside of their head, as though the Spirit is next to or near to the medium, and other mediums hear the voices in their minds as a verbal thought. *'''[[Clairsentience]]''' or "Clear Sensing", is the ability to have an impression of what a spirit wants to communicate, or to feel sensations instilled by a spirit. *'''[[Clairvoyance|Clairsentinence]]''' or "Clear Feeling" is a condition in which the medium takes on the ailments of a spirit, feeling the same physical problem the spirit person before they died. *'''[[Clairalience]]''' or "Clear Smelling" is the ability to smell a spirit. For example, a medium may smell the pipe tobacco of a person who smoked during life. *'''[[Clairgustance]]''' or "Clear Tasting" is the ability to receive taste impressions from a spirit. *'''[[Claircognizance]]''' or "Clear Knowing", is the ability to know something without receiving it through normal or psychic senses. It is a feeling of "just knowing". Often, a medium will claim to have the feeling that a message or situation is "right" or "wrong." ==Notable mediums== <!-- PLEASE DO NOT ADD NON-NOTABLE PEOPLE TO THIS LIST A good rule of thumb is to check whether the person has an article on Wikipedia. If not, consider starting an article on the subject before adding him/her to this list. --> Notable mediums have included: [[Derek Acorah]], [[Rosemary Altea]], [[Sathya Sai Baba]], [[Clifford Bias]], [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]], [[Emma Hardinge Britten]], [[Sylvia Browne]], [[Kuda Bux]], [[Edgar Cayce]], [[Andrew Jackson Davis]], [[Jeane Dixon]], [[Allison DuBois]], [[John Edward]], [[Danielle Egnew]], [[Divaldo Pereira Franco]], [[Colin Fry]], [[Stewart Edward White|Elizabeth "Betty" Grant]], [[Esther Hicks]], [[Daniel Dunglas Home]], [[Richard Ireland]], [[JZ Knight]], [[Joseph Kony]], [[Lekhraj Kripalani]], [[BKWSU|Hirday Mohini]], [[Eusapia Palladino]], [[Paschal Beverly Randolph]], [[Jane Roberts]], [[James Van Praagh]], [[Stanisława Tomczyk]], [[David Wells (medium)|David Wells]], [[Lisa Williams]], [[Chico Xavier]], [[M. Lamar Keene]] [[John Wattam]], [[Serge J. Grandbois]] ==Research== In Britain, the [[Society for Psychical Research]] has investigated some phenomena, mainly in connection with [[telepathy]] and [[apparition]]s.<ref name="Columbia">The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, [http://www.bartleby.com/65/sp/spiritis.html "Spiritism"]</ref> According to an article in the ''Journal of the Society for Psychical Research'', in some cases mediums have produced personal information which has been well above guessing rates .<ref name="Guess">''Journal of the Society for Psychical Research'' January, 2001 - Vol. 65.1, Num. 862</ref> The VERITAS Research Program of the Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health in the Department of Psychology at the [[University of Arizona]], run by [[Gary Schwartz]], was created primarily to test the hypothesis that the consciousness (or identity) of a person survives physical death.<ref>[http://veritas.arizona.edu/index.htm The VERITAS Research Program of the Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health in the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona]</ref> Studies conducted by VERITAS have been approved by the University of Arizona Human Subjects Protection Program and an academic advisory board. ==Criticism== While advocates of mediumship claim that their experiences are genuine, the ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' article on spiritualism notes that "...one by one, the [Spiritualist] mediums were discovered to be engaged in fraud, sometimes employing the techniques of stage magicians in their attempts to convince people of their clairvoyant powers." The article also notes that "the exposure of widespread fraud within the spiritualist movement severely damaged its reputation and pushed it to the fringes of society in the United States."<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/560501/spiritualism/274868/History spiritualism (religion) :: History - Britannica Online Encyclopedia<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Some Christians believe that mediumship is specifically forbidden in the Bible, and they can cite biblical verses to support their position. <ref>[http://www.soundwitness.org/pop_culture/psychic_mediums.html A review of Bible verses prohibiting psychic mediums, spiritists, fortune telling, and the occult]</ref> Criticism of mediumship also comes from [[skeptic]]s and [[atheist]]s, who dispute the existence of spirits or of genuine mediums. Skeptics say the phenomena of mediumship are the result of self-[[delusion]], unconscious influence, or of [[Magic (illusion)| magician's]] techniques such as [[cold reading]], [[hot reading]], and [[conjuring]].<ref name='Skepdic'>[http://skepdic.com/medium.html ''Skeptic's Dictionary'' by Robert Todd Carroll, on Mediums]. Retrieved [[March 23]], [[2007]] "In spiritualism, a medium is one with whom spirits communicate directly."</ref><ref>[http://www.csicop.org/articles/19990608-vanpraagh/ ''Review of Psychic Medium Van Praagh on CNN's Larry King Live'' by Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow, CSICOP]</ref>. ==Fiction== In [[fantasy]] [[literature]], references to channelers or mediums are sometimes used in other ways, particularly to describe a person's ability to draw on some form of [[magic (paranormal)|magical]] power. ===Film and television=== * ''The Amazing Mr. X'', also relased under the title ''The Spiritualist'', is a movie starring [[Turhan Bey]] as a fraudulent medium. * ''[[Medium (TV series)|Medium]]'' is an [[United States|American]] [[television series]] about a woman (played by [[Patricia Arquette]]) who acts as a research medium for the [[Phoenix, Arizona]] district attorney's office. The series is based on the life of [[Allison DuBois]], who claims to use her psychic ability allowing her to contact the dead to help the local law enforcement agency. * ''[[Ghost Whisperer]]'' is an [[United States|American]] [[Television drama series|television drama]]-[[fantasy]]-[[Thriller (genre)|thriller]] starring [[Jennifer Love Hewitt]] as a young woman who can communicate with the spirits of the dead. * A green [[chihuahua]] named Shirley is a medium in the cartoon ''[[Courage the Cowardly Dog]]''. * The film ''[[The Sixth Sense]]'' is about a boy who can see ghosts. * In the movie ''[[Ghost (film)|Ghost]]'', [[Whoopi Goldberg]] plays a medium who discovers that she can actually hear ghosts, and uses her magical power to help the protagonist. * In the [[2007]] film ''[[The Orphanage (film)|The Orphanage]]'', [[Geraldine Chaplin]] plays a medium helping a woman find her missing son. ===Video games=== * In the 2004 [[video game]] [[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]], the player meets [[The Sorrow]], a mysterious dead medium who battles and also assists the player. * In the [[Ace Attorney (series)|Ace Attorney]] series, Maya, Pearl, and Mia Fey are spirit mediums who have the ability to allow spirits to take over their bodies temporarily and at the same time alter their appearance to that of the person they are channeling. Mia Fey never uses her abilities in the games, but is usually called upon by Maya and Pearl. *In the 2007 independent computer game series [http://www.wadjeteyegames.com The Blackwell Legacy], a young woman named Rosangela Blackwell is a medium who inherited the ability from her late Aunt Lauren who was thought to have dementia. She inherits her aunt's "spirit guide", a ghost named Joey that apparently only she, other ghosts, and other mediums can see. They work together to bring tortured souls trapped in the material plane to the afterlife. In the second game of the series you play as her Aunt Lauren at the time she was Rosangela's age, where she channels spirits whose souls are linked between another medium and a living "spirit guide" who wrote about their troubles. *The 1995 Sierra horror epic [[Phantasmagoria (computer game)]] featured the main character consulting a hobo woman who turned out to be an actual medium who channeled one of the malicious spirits present on the property. ===Books=== * [[Yoshino Somei]] in ''[[Spriggan (manga)|Spriggan]]'' uses her necromancy skills to act as a medium, allowing the dead to speak to any living human. * ''The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney'' by Suzanne Harper tells the story of a teenage medium in a family of eight others. ==See also== *[[Séance]] *[[Spiritualist Church]] *[[Spiritualism]] *[[The Spirits Book]] *[[The Book on Mediums]] *[[Spirit possession]] *[[List of channelled texts]] *[[Automatic drawing]] *[[Automatic writing]] *[[Faith healing]] *[[Parapsychology]] *[[Raymond Moody]], [[Near-death experience]]s, ''[[Life After Life]]'' ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.channelingwiki.com The Channeling Wiki] *[http://www.enformy.com/Gary-reHymanReview.htm A further point-by-point response by Gary Schwartz to Ray Hyman's article ''How Not to Test Mediums''] *[http://medium.santeriareligion101.com A Portal with Insight on Mediumship] *[http://www.freepsychicchatonline.org/ Psychic's] *[http://www.adcrf.org/ After Death Communication Research Foundation, Jody A. Long, J.D. and Jeffrey P. Long, M.D.] *[http://www.cfpf.org.uk/articles/background/scientificproof/scientificproof1.html The Scientific Proof of Survival After Death] *[http://allan-kardec.org/index.php?page=bookstore.php Allan Kardec Educational Society website: The Book of Mediums] *[http://www.psychics.co.uk/spiritworld/how-mediums-work.html Article about how mediums work] *[http://www.mediumsmeet.com A Psychic Medium Social Network] *[http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Spiritualism/Mediums_and_Healers/ DMOZ listing of Mediums] *[http://www.mediumjohnwattam.com Clairvoyant, Psychic & Medium] *[http://www.myclairvoyant.co.uk Clairvoyant, Psychic & Medium - Spirit Of Stillwater] *[http://www.grancorazon.org Spiritist Cristian Federation of Spain] *[http://albertgreco.dtat.net Albert Greco Internationally Renowned Spirit Medium] *[http://www.letmebeyourguide.com/psychic_information.html Brenda Frazier professional psychic medium] *[http://www.mediumchannel.com MediumChannel features interviews and readings with top rated psychic mediums.] *[http://www.bart-smit.com Bart Smit Deep Trance Channeler, channeling Dr. Williams] *[http://www.thespiritualist.org/ An online resource for anyone interested in Spiritualism and Mediumship] *[http://abetalk.com Abe Talk: Forum for friends of Abraham-Hicks material] {{Spiritism and Spiritualism}} *[http://abetalk.com Abe Talk: Forum for friends of Abraham-Hicks material] [[Category:New Age]] [[Category:Parapsychology]] [[Category:Spiritual mediums| ]] [[Category:Spiritualism|*]] [[Category:channelling]] [[Category:Paranormal]] [[ar:وسيط روحي]] [[da:Medium (person)]] [[de:Medium (Person)]] [[es:Médium]] [[eo:Mediumo]] [[fa:ارتباط با ارواح]] [[fr:Médium (spiritisme)]] [[is:Miðilsgáfa]] [[it:Medium]] [[nl:Medium (esoterie)]] [[ja:霊媒]] [[pl:Medium (osoba)]] [[pt:Mediunidade]] [[ru:Медиум]] [[sr:Медијум]] [[fi:Meedio]] [[sv:Spiritistiskt medium]] [[tr:Medyumluk]]