The topic of mediumship holds a deep seeded fascination for me, which in itself stems way back into
my childhood. I can clearly recall as if it were yesterday, the many times as a child that I saw a
person in the home or sensed what could be best described as a presence in an adjacent room. My
childhood was a very happy one, being the middle child of five, we were very close and still are
today, that is the wonderful thing about families, the love you forge through your childhood remains
ever within the heart and mind, it stirs the soul at times of darkness and the many times we sat on
empty pantry shelves, swinging our legs and just giggling.
I was a shy child and had a very pronounced stutter that in essence made me shier still as talking to
others outside of my family group was at times difficult and the school playground was my worst
nightmare, as being laughed at and ridiculed by girls and boys alike, I withdrew all the more. Being
sensitive to the world around you, either through the love of family and friends or through the
ridicule, or spite of others can do nothing but help us adapt to become the person we are today, this
is an important factor for who we are will also have an effect upon the way in which as mediums we
perceive and convey the information imparted to us on behalf of others. Don’t hold grudges, let go
the hurt, learn compassion for others… love yourself.
I was drawn to mediumship not though the grief that comes with the passing of a dear loved one or
friend, but more so out of a desire to learn, to understand how we can communicate with the dead,
is there a life after physical death? This were the questions I needed to answer within myself and
thus to help others in their own desire to learn.
Mediumship is nothing new; it has been taking place for thousands of years. In ancient Greece they
had oracles the most famous being the oracle of Delphi. The word oracle itself refers to a person,
sacred place such as copse of trees and pond or a building such as a temple. Within such sacred sites
as the oracle of Delphi, a person would come to visit seeking an answer to their questions or indeed
seeking to be healed. The person would be welcomed by a priest, a religious person who would
settle them down and instruct them to bathe themselves in the clean waters of the inner pool, and
then being given a small meal would be left to sleep and dream. In the morning when the person
awoke they would again be met by the priest who would talk to them of their dream and offer
insight into its possible meaning and then the person would be guided to the oracle, essentially the
medium who would communicate with the gods on behalf of the person, and again the information
would be interpreted by the priest.
In the case of healing oracles, the person having had their dream and subsequent interpretation by
the priest and their message from the gods would be encouraged to seek any cure or remedy that
was implied through these means, and when brought back to the oracle they would be mixed and
administered by a healer, a man of science and the cure or remedy would be duly noted for future
use. So thousands of years ago, men of science, religion and mediumship worked together, why then
is there such condemnation of mediumship, especially of Spiritualism which in itself seeks to once
more unite science and religion?
Mediumship has come more to the fore throughout the Victorian era, whereby the Spiritualist
movement sparked a lot of interest into the possibility of life after death. It was reading books
related to spiritualism that increased by thirst for knowledge and I would recommend anyone with
an interest into mediumship to read books such as these as well as those that I have recommended
below:

Mediumship and survival – Alan Gauld 1982 ISBN-0-586-08429-0 -Published on behalf of the
society for psychical research

Life after death – D. Scott Rogo 1986 – book club associates in arrangement with Thorsons
publishing group limited

A life beyond death – Garry Williams – 1989 – Robert Hale limited – ISBN – 0-7090-3708-2

Raymond or life and death – Sir Oliver Lodge - ISBN – 1-56459-632-x
Mediumship has two main facets, these being physical and mental, and I will briefly explain each of
them in turn. Firstly mental mediumship, this is so called as it involves the mental faculties of the
brain of the medium through which the associated phenomenon are imparted. Mental mediumship
entails such phenomenon as clairvoyance, the ability to perceive images of deceased people and can
be further categorised into two separate types; firstly subjective clairvoyance whereby the medium
will perceive images within the mind. Secondly that of objective clairvoyance whereby the medium
will perceive images of deceased people as they move around the room, though the images are still
linked to the mind of the medium, as such not everyone will be able to see what the medium does,
and this includes other mediums for the phenomenon is inherent to the mind of the medium
undergoing their experience.
Clairaudience relates to hearing the deceased and like clairvoyance can be separated into two clear
categories, being subjective, hence within the mind of the medium and thus not perceived by
anyone else in the room. Secondly that of objective clairaudience whereby voices can be heard as if
through the physical ear, yet no one else in the room are likely to hear it, many reports from people
tell of hearing their names being called only to find the house to be empty or everyone else asleep.
Lastly clairsentience which is linked to feelings, especially emotions. Through this manner a medium
is able to feel the emotions of a deceased person, their build, personality and such and is often
linked to an empathic ability whereby the medium can also ascertain aches and pains off a physical
person as well as these person’s emotions and such.
The main point of note here is that mental mediumship is perceived within the mind of the medium,
thus only they themselves will fully perceive what a deceased person is imparting to them in order
to convey information and guidance to their own loved ones.
So what of physical mediumship? The phenomenon associated with physical mediumship is very real
indeed and has been responsible in men of science and of logical mind to come to the belief that we
do indeed survive physical death; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was one such person to come to believe in
an afterlife and champion the cause for its evidence of such.
Physical mediumship is so called due to the phenomenon being perceived via the physical senses; as
such people in the room where the phenomenon of physical mediumship is being undertaken will
see, hear and feel what is taking place, regardless of their own beliefs, either religious or science
based. It should be noted that if there are twenty six people in a room and only ten experience the
phenomenon taking place, then it is NOT physical mediumship, for everyone would be able to
experience it should it be so.
Physical mediumship entails phenomenon that although still linked to the mind of the medium takes
place external to the medium, hence everyone should experience what is taking place. Firstly a brief
understanding of ectoplasm which is an integral component. Ectoplasm is derived from the body of
the physical medium and from a deep cellular level, hence the medium needing, though not always
the case, to be in a deep state of trance. Ectoplasm has a luminescence to it as well as a slight
pungent odour and can be fashioned by spirit to produce either the likeness of a person as is the
case of materialisation. Another faculty is that of darkness for light, both in intensity and duration
hinders the production of ectoplasm. In order for people to see various phenomenon in complete
darkness a silver tray is used that reflects the luminosity of the ectoplasm and thus people can see
the form being materialised. In a materialisation séance, the ectoplasm forms the shape of a
deceased person, complete in every detail down to the fine hairs on the head and clothes they are
attired in. The deceased person freely moves around the room and communicates with various
people.
In transfiguration, a small red light is used, this was chosen as the colour red is to the bottom end of
the visible light spectrum and has the less impedance as to the formation of ectoplasm. The medium
is again in a state of deep trance. The ectoplasm is fashioned into what is termed as an ectoplasmic
mask which fits over the face of the entranced medium and at a distance of half to three quarters of
an inch away from their face, thus allowing them to breathe. The mask is transfigured by spirit to
that of a likeness of a deceased person as they themselves were in life, and as the mask also
encompasses the throat of the medium, the voice would also bet likened to the deceased persons
own voice when alive.
This phenomenon is perhaps the most widely misunderstood and most abused by people acting out
of ignorance as to what this type of phenomenon entails, and I would suggest reading up on actual
accounts of this, not merely going on hearsay.
I will endeavour to write more on the subject over the next few weeks, if you have any questions,
please ask.