Mediumship: Difference between revisions
It doesn't have to mention mediumship as mediumship is the purported ability to communicate with spirits. |
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It is a practice in religious beliefs such as [[Spiritualism (religious movement)|Spiritualism]], [[Spiritism]], [[Espiritismo]], [[Candomblé]], [[Louisiana Voodoo]], [[Shambala]] and [[Umbanda]]. |
It is a practice in religious beliefs such as [[Spiritualism (religious movement)|Spiritualism]], [[Spiritism]], [[Espiritismo]], [[Candomblé]], [[Louisiana Voodoo]], [[Shambala]] and [[Umbanda]]. |
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While the [[Western world|Western]] movements of Spiritualism and Spiritism account for most Western [[news media|news-media]] coverage, it is likely mediumship is practiced more widely among other than European-based cultures; for instance, a majority of African and African-diasporic spiritual traditions include mediumship as a central focus of religious practice. |
While the [[Western world|Western]] movements of Spiritualism and Spiritism account for most Western [[news media|news-media]] coverage, it is likely mediumship is practiced more widely among other than European-based cultures; for instance, a majority of African and African-diasporic spiritual traditions include mediumship as a central focus of religious practice. |
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==Concept== |
==Concept== |
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===Trance mediumship=== |
===Trance mediumship=== |
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"Trance mediumship" is often seen as a form of mental |
"Trance mediumship" is often seen as a form of mental mediumsh |
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All [[trance]] mediums remain conscious during a communication period, wherein a spirit uses the medium's mind to communicate. The spirit or spirits using the medium's mind influences the mind with the thoughts being conveyed. The medium allows the [[ego]] to step aside for the message to be delivered. At the same time, one has awareness of the thoughts coming through and may even influence the message with one's own bias. Such a trance is not to be confused with [[sleepwalking]], as the patterns are entirely different. Castillo (1995) states, |
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<blockquote>"Trance phenomena result from the behavior of intense focusing of attention, which is the key psychological mechanism of trance induction. Adaptive responses, including institutionalized forms of trance, are 'tuned' into neural networks in the brain."</blockquote>{{citation needed}} |
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In the 1860s and 1870s, trance mediums were very popular. Spiritualism generally attracted female adherents, many who had strong interests in social justice. 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> Scholars have described [[Leonora Piper]] as one of the most famous trance mediums in the history of Spiritualism.<ref>Ruth Brandon, ''The Spiritualists, The Passion for the Occult in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries'', Alfred A. Knopf, 1983</ref><ref>Deborah Blum, ''Ghost Hunters, [[William James]] and the Search for Scientic Proof of Life After Death'', The Penguin Press, 2006</ref><ref>Amy Tanner, ''Studies in Spiritism'', [[G. Stanley Hall]], Introduction, p. 18, Prometheus Press, 1994, originally published by D. Appleton, 1910</ref> |
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In the typical deep trance, the medium may not have clear recall of all the messages conveyed while in an altered state; such people generally work with an assistant. That person selectively wrote down or otherwise recorded the medium's words. Rarely did the assistant record the responding words of the sitter and other attendants. An 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]]. The latter was a non-medium Spiritualist who transcribed Cook's messages in [[shorthand]]. He [[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> |
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===Physical mediumship=== |
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{{main|seance}} |
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"Physical mediumship" is defined as manipulation of energies and energy systems by spirits. |
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Physical mediumship may involve perceptible manifestations, 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 a source of power for such spirit manifestations. By some accounts, this was achieved by 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> The last physical medium to be tested by a committee from ''[[Scientific American]]'' was [[Mina Crandon]] in 1924. |
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Most physical mediumship is presented in a darkened or dimly lit room. Most physical mediums make use of a traditional array of tools and appurtenances, including [[spirit trumpet]]s, [[spirit cabinet]]s, and [[levitation table]]s. |
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The term "physical mediumship", should not be construed as implying that any induced apport is confined to the physical plane. The apport ("ectoplasm", or whatever) may be composed of "etheric", "astral", "mental", or "causal" substance (i.e., a substance naturally residing on one of those planes and only temporarily transported into the physical plane). Instead, the term "physical mediumship" is employed to imply an effect manifested upon [objects naturally existing on] the physical plane, by means of interaction (merely physical, not chemical) with substance transported out (temporarily) of another plane of existence. |
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===Channeling=== |
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In the latter half of the 20th century, Western mediumship developed two different ways. One type involves [[psychics]] or [[sensitives]] who claim to speak to spirits and then relay what they hear to their clients. [[Clairvoyant]] [[Danielle Egnew]] is known for her alleged communication with angelic entities. |
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The other incarnation of non-physical mediumship is a form of channeling in which the channeler goes into a trance, or "leaves their body". He or she becomes “possessed” by a specific spirit, who then talks through them.<ref name="Wood">{{cite book |
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| last = Wood |
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| first = Matthew |
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| title = Possession Power and the New Age: Ambiguities of Authority in Neoliberal Societies |
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| year = 2007 |
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| publisher = Ashgate Publishing, Limited |
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| isbn = 0-75463-339-X |
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}}</ref> In the trance, the medium enters a [[cataleptic]] state marked by extreme rigidity. As the control spirit takes over, the medium's voice may change completely. The spirit answers the questions of those in its presence or giving spiritual knowledge.<ref name="LeCron">{{cite book |
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| last = LeCron |
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| first = Leslie |
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| last1 = Bordeaux, B.A., M.A., Ph. D |
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| first1 = Jean |
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| title = Hypnotism Today |
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| year = 1970 |
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| 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.' |
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| publisher = Wilshire Book Co |
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| isbn = 087980081X |
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| page = 278 |
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}}</ref> |
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A widely known channeler of this variety is [[J. Z. 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 |
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| last = Brown |
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| first = Michael F. |
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| title = The Channeling Zone: American Spirituality in an Anxious Age |
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| year = 1999 |
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| publisher = Harvard University Press |
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| isbn = 0-67410-883-3}}</ref> or ,in the case of the trance mediums of the [[Brahma Kumaris]], God.<ref name="Klimo">{{cite book |
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| last = Klimo |
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| first = Jon |
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| title = Channeling: Investigations on Receiving Information from Paranormal Sources |
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| year = 1998 |
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| publisher = North Atlantic Books |
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| isbn = 978-1556432484 |
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| page = 100 |
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}}</ref> Other notable channels are [[Jane Roberts]] for [[Seth Material|Seth]], [[Esther Hicks]] for Abraham,<ref name=independent>{{cite web | url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/interview-the-couple-who-claim-they-can-make-you-rich-beyond-your-wildest-dreams-456087.html | title=Interview: The couple who claim they can make you rich beyond your wildest dreams | first=Robert | last=Chalmers | publisher=[[The Independent]] | date=8 July 2007 }}</ref> Margaret McElroy for [[Maitreya]], Serge J. Grandbois for [[Kris]], and [[Lee Caroll]] for Kryon. |
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==In popular culture== |
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*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. |
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==Psychic senses== |
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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. The Parapsychological Association defines "clairvoyance" as information derived directly from an external physical source.<ref>[http://parapsych.org/glossary_a_d.html#c "Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology"], Parapsychological Association website, Retrieved January 29, 2007</ref> |
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*[[Clairvoyance]] or "Clear Seeing", is the ability to see anything that is not physically present, such as objects, animals or people. This sight occurs "in the mind’s eye". 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. |
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*[[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. |
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*[[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. |
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*[[Clairvoyance|Clairsentinence]] or "Clear Feeling" is a condition in which the medium takes on the ailments of a spirit, feeling the same physical problem which the spirit person had before death. |
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*[[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. |
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*[[Clairgustance]] or "Clear Tasting" is the ability to receive taste impressions from a spirit. |
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*[[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." |
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==Notable mediums== |
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Notable deceased mediums include: [[Clifford Bias]], [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]], [[Emma Hardinge Britten]], [[Edgar Cayce]], [[George Chapman (healer)|George Chapman]], [[Andrew Jackson Davis]], [[Jeane Dixon]], [[Arthur Ford]], the [[Fox sisters]], [[Stewart Edward White|Elizabeth "Betty" Grant]], [[Daniel Dunglas Home]], [[Richard Ireland]], [[M. Lamar Keene]], [[Dada Lekhraj]], [[Ruth Montgomery]], [[Eusapia Palladino]], [[Leonora Piper]], [[Paschal Beverly Randolph]], [[Jane Roberts]], [[Paul Solomon]], [[Stanisława Tomczyk]] and [[Chico Xavier]]. |
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Notable living mediums include: [[Derek Acorah]], [[Rosemary Altea]], [[Marisa Anderson]], [[Sathya Sai Baba]], [[Sylvia Browne]], [[Allison DuBois]], [[John Edward]], [[Danielle Egnew]], [[Divaldo Pereira Franco]], [[Colin Fry]], [[Esther Hicks]], [[J. Z. Knight]], [[James Van Praagh]], [[Gary Spivey]], [[Tony Stockwell]], [[Neale Donald Walsch]], [[David Wells (medium)|David Wells]] and [[Lisa Williams]]. |
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==Research== |
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In Britain, the [[Society for Psychical Research]] has investigated some phenomena, mainly in connection with [[telepathy]] and [[apparitional experience|apparitions]].<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 media 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> One of the more noteworthy recent investigations into mediumship is known as the Scole Experiment, a series of mediumistic séances that took place between 1993–98 in the presence of the researchers David Fontana, Arthur Ellison and Montague Keen. This has produced photographs, audio recordings and physical objects which appeared in the dark séance room (known as apports).<ref>David Fontana (2005): Is there an afterlife, p. 324-351. See also www.thescoleexperiment.com</ref> No night vision apparatus was allowed. |
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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 into mediumship have been approved by the University of Arizona Human Subjects Protection Program and an academic advisory board. Schwartz claimed his 2005 experiments were indicative of survival, but do not yet provide conclusive proof.<ref>http://www.newsnet5.com/news/2893543/detail.html</ref><ref> ''The Truth about Medium'' by Gary E. Schwartz, Ph. D., with William L. Simon, Hampton Books, 2005, page 119</ref> |
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==Criticism== |
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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> |
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In 1976, [[M. Lamar Keene]], a medium in [[Florida]] and at the [[Spiritualist]] [[Camp Chesterfield]] in [[Indiana]], confessed in his book [[The Psychic Mafia]], to defrauding the public. [[M. Lamar Keene|Keene]] detailed a multitude of common techniques utilized by mediums to [[conjuring|conjure]] spirits.<ref>[Keene, Lamar (1997), The Psychic Mafia, Prometheus Books, ISBN 1-57392-161-0 (Republication of 1976 edition by St. Martin's Press.) <!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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==Fiction== |
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{{fictioncruft}} |
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In [[fantasy]] [[literature]], references to channelers or mediums are sometimes used to describe a person's ability to draw on [magic (paranormal)|magical]] power. |
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===Film and television=== |
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* ''[[The Amazing Mr. X]]'' (also released as ''The Spiritualist'') (1948), stars [[Turhan Bey]] as a fraudulent medium. |
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* ''[[Medium (TV series)|Medium]]'' is an [[United States|American]] [[television series]] about a woman who acts as a research medium for the [[Phoenix, Arizona]] district attorney's office. |
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* The film ''[[The Sixth Sense]]'' is about a boy who can see ghosts. By communicating with them he can help both them and their loved ones. |
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* In the comedy movie ''[[Ghost (film)|Ghost]]'', [[Whoopi Goldberg]] plays a medium. |
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* In the television series ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', Aang (voiced by [[Zach Tyler Eisen]]) is an [[Avatar]]. |
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* The main character in the 2009 film ''[[The Haunting in Connecticut]]'' is a medium. |
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* The character, Masako Hara, from the Japanese television show ''[[Ghost Hunt]]'' is a medium. |
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===Video games=== |
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* In the 2004 [[video game]] ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]]'', the player meets The Sorrow, a mysterious medium. |
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* In the ''[[Ace Attorney (series)|Ace Attorney]]'' series, Maya, Pearl, Mia, Misty and Morgan Fey are spirit mediums. |
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*In ''[[The Blackwell Legacy]]'' (2007), Rosangela Blackwell is a medium. |
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* The 1995 Sierra horror epic ''[[Phantasmagoria (computer game)|Phantasmagoria]]'' featured the main character consulting a medium. |
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*In the ''[[Guild Wars]]'' series, the Ritualist's key feature is summoning both offensive and defensive spirits. |
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===Books and comics=== |
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* [[Yoshino Somei]] in ''[[Spriggan (manga)|Spriggan]]'' uses her skills to act as a medium. |
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* ''The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney'' by Suzanne Harper tells the story of a teenage medium. |
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* In [[Clamp (manga artists)|CLAMP]]'s ''[[Tokyo Babylon]]'', [[Subaru Sumeragi]] works as an [[exorcist]], [[occult detective]] and spirit medium. |
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* In [[Michael Buckley]]'s ''[[Sisters Grimm]]'' books, Sabrina helps [[Ebenezer Scrooge]]. |
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== See also == |
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{{Wiktionarypar|Mediumship}} |
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{{Commonscat|Mediumship}} |
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* [[Automatic drawing]] |
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* [[Cold Reading]] |
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* [[Faith healing]] |
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* [[List of channelled texts]] |
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* [[Pseudoscience]] |
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* [[Raymond Moody]]'s book ''[[Life After Life]]''. He coined the term "[[Near-death experience]]" |
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* [[Spirit possession]] |
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* [[Spiritualist Church]] |
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* [[The Spirits Book]] |
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* [[The Book on Mediums]] |
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* [[James Randi]] |
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* [[Ingo Swann]] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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== External links == |
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* [http://www.polarisrising.com/Channeling.html Article about what goes on in channeling] |
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* [http://www.psychics.co.uk/spiritworld/how-mediums-work.html Article about how mediums work] |
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* [http://transcommunication.org/ eLibrary] of ancient books on the subject of spiritualism, séances, trance channeling, development of mediumship in the Western and Oriental Traditions. |
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* [http://www.nsacphenomena.net The National Spiritualist Association of Churches phenomena web site] |
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* [http://www.nsac.org The National Spiritualist Association of Churches] |
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{{Spiritism and Spiritualism}} |
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[[Category:New Age practices]] |
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[[Category:Parapsychology]] |
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[[Category:Spiritual mediums| ]] |
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[[Category:Spiritualism]] |
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[[Category:Channelling]] |
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[[Category:Paranormal]] |
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[[ar:وسيط روحي]] |
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[[da:Medium (person)]] |
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[[es:Médium]] |
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[[eo:Mediumeco]] |
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[[fa:ارتباط با ارواح]] |
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[[fr:Médium (spiritualité)]] |
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[[is:Miðilsgáfa]] |
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[[it:Medium]] |
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[[he:תקשור]] |
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[[nl:Medium (esoterie)]] |
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[[ja:霊媒]] |
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[[pl:Mediumizm]] |
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[[pl:Medium (osoba)]] |
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Revision as of 19:26, 16 February 2010
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits.[1] It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Louisiana Voodoo, Shambala and Umbanda.
While the Western movements of Spiritualism and Spiritism account for most Western news-media coverage, it is likely mediumship is practiced more widely among other than European-based cultures; for instance, a majority of African and African-diasporic spiritual traditions include mediumship as a central focus of religious practice.
Concept
Mediumship is the claimed ability of a person (the medium) to experience what he/she or others believe is contact with spirits of the dead, angels, demons or other immaterial entities. The role of the medium is supposedly to facilitate communication with spirits who have messages to share with non-mediums. Mediums claim to be able to listen to, relay messages from, and relate conversations with spirit, to go into a trance and speak without knowledge of what is being said, to allow a spirit to control their body and speak through it, perhaps using a writing instrument (automatic writing).
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 (the channel) who claims to receive messages from a "teaching-spirit". In some cultures, mediums (or the spirits they claim are working with them) claim to be able to produce physical paranormal phenomena such as materialisations of spirits, apports of objects, or levitation.[2][3]
History
Attempts to communicate with the dead and other spirits have been documented back to early human history. The story of the Witch of Endor, tells of one who 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 (the Old Testament).
Mediumship became quite popular in the 19th-century United States and the United Kingdom after the rise of Spiritualism as a religious movement. Modern Spiritualism is said to date from practices and lectures 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.
Allan Kardec coined the term Spiritism around 1860.[4]) Kardec claimed that conversations with spirits by selected mediums were the basis pf his The Spirits' Book and later, his five-book collection, Spiritist Codification.
After the exposure of the fraudulent use of stage magic tricks by physical mediums such as the Davenport Brothers, mediumship fell into disrepute. The practice continued among people who believed that the dead can be contacted and tried to do so.
From the 1930s through the 1990s, as psychical mediumship became less practiced in Spiritualist churches, the technique of "channelling" gained in popularity. Books by channellers who claimed to relate the wisdom of non-corporeal and non-terrestrial teacher-spirits became best-sellers amongst believers.
Terminology
Spirit guide
Some mediums claim a spirit guide is a highly evolved spirit with the sole purpose of helping the medium develop and use personal skills[citation needed]. The mediums claim the spirits assist in the person's following a spiritual path. Other mediums claim 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[citation needed] . Many mediums claim to have specific guides who regularly work with them and "bring in" spirits of the dead[citation needed]. Some mediums claim that spirits of the dead will communicate with them directly without the use of a spirit guide[citation needed]. The relationship between the medium and the guide may be providential, or it may be based on family ties.
In 1958, the English-born Spiritualist C. Dorreen Phillips wrote of her experiences with a medium at Camp Chesterfield, Indiana: "In Rev. James Laughton's séances there are many 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." [5] 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." [5]
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 Chesterfield in Chesterfield, Indiana: "Services are held each afternoon, consisting of hymns, a lecture on philosophy, and demonstrations of mediumship." [5]
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
"Mental mediumship" is communication of spirits with a medium by telepathy. The medium mentally "hears" (clairaudience), "sees" (clairvoyance), and/or feels (clairsentience) messages from spirits. Directly or with the help of a spirit guide, the medium 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 mediumsh
- ^ http://skepdic.com/medium.html "Mediums"], Robert Todd Carroll, Skeptic's Dictionary, Retrieved March 23, 2007 "In spiritualism, a medium is one with whom spirits communicate directly."
- ^ "Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology", Parapsychological Association website. "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
- ^ "Medium - Definition". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
- ^ "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 Allan Kardec eulogy
- ^ a b c The Autobiogaphy of a Fortune Teller by C. Doreen Phillips, Vantage Press, 1958.