Not all of these terms are used in this book, but many of them are a part of Spiritualism as a whole and, as such, are included here.
Affirmations: Positive statements—usually brief—that are regularly repeated, thereby establishing them in the subconscious mind and reinforcing the conscious mind.
Astral plane: The spiritual dimension beyond the physical world. Nandor Fodor aligns it with the Second Level of Spiritualism, or “The first sphere after bodily death” (i.e., the Spirit World). It is the plane visited during sleep.
Automatic writing; drawing: Writing, drawing, or painting produced by spirit, when the conscious mind is otherwise engaged. Spirit makes use of the muscles of the arm and hand of the subject, who may be reading a book, watching television, talking with a friend, or doing any one of a number of tasks and is unaware of the spirit work.
Cabinet: A sectioned-off part of a séance room where the medium can consolidate the energy from the sitters. It may be a simple curtain across a corner of a room, or it may be a large wooden construction. With physical mediums, many times seemingly solid spirit figures will emerge and return to the cabinet. The medium may or may not be inside the cabinet.
Channeling: Acting as an intermediary to bring information directly from an entity in another dimension. In effect, mediumship is a form of channeling, but the term is more generally applied to those who channel information from nonphysical beings, who may or may not have previously lived on this plane, rather than from the deceased spirits of family members.
Circle: The term given to a sitting, or séance, or to a development group, since the usual form is to sit in a circle of chairs. These chairs may or may not be around a table.
Clairalience: Literally, “clear smelling.” Many times a perfume, or the smell of a cigar, or another scent is recognized in a circle. To smell something of the Spirit World is, then, known as clairalience.
Clairaudience: Meaning “clear hearing,” this is the ability to hear sounds, music, and voices from the world of spirit. These are not audible to normal ears but are picked up by mediums.
Clairgustance; clairhambience: To get a taste in the mouth, coming from spirit.
Clairsentience: Meaning “clear sensing.” Without actually “seeing” or “hearing,” a medium can sense information being brought by spirit. It is a psychic perception of information—be it sounds, smells, names, dates, dress, etc.
Clairvoyance: Meaning “clear seeing,” it is the ability of a medium to see, in his or her mind’s eye, spirits, and to see scenes and other information being brought to sitters at a séance.
Control: A term sometimes applied to a spirit guide, or gatekeeper, though “control” is something of a misnomer since it does not actually control the medium. However, it may control the order in which spirits come through to the medium.
Development circle: A group of like-minded people who wish to develop their mediumistic abilities. They usually meet on a regular schedule and work on various psychic development exercises. Also known as a home circle.
Doorkeeper: The main spirit of a medium, who acts as a screen for the medium at a séance, regulating which spirits are allowed to come through. Also known as a gatekeeper, life guide, control, and similar terms.
Guide: A spirit who watches over a living person. Each person may have any number of such guides, with some being specific to a specific task such as healing. The guide may act as gatekeeper at a séance, arranging who should come through and when.
Infinite Intelligence: Sometimes referred to as “Mother/Father God,” this is a Spiritualist term for the incomprehensible power of the universe.
Inspirational writing: Writing from inspirational thoughts received from spirit rather than from conscious composition. In automatic writing, the writing is actually done by spirit, utilizing a person’s arm and hand; in inspirational writing, the writing is consciously done by the person, but the thoughts and words come from spirit. It might be equated to taking spirit dictation!
Levitation: To raise up an object contrary to the known laws of gravity. It is a phenomenon of psychokinesis (PK), or causing objects to move without physical contact with them. Examples of levitation are usually seen in the presence of physical mediums. Occasionally, table-tipping can lead to the levitating of the table.
Manifestation (or Materialization): The appearance of a spirit, in visible form, usually at a séance. It may be in solid form or it may be transparent, as an apparition. A spontaneous manifestation can occur under various conditions and be regarded as a “ghost.”
Medium: A person sensitive to the vibrations of the Spirit World. By adjusting his or her vibrations—consciously or unconsciously—a bridge is established between the two worlds, enabling spirit to communicate with those of this world. Mediumship is an ancient and universal practice, found throughout history in all parts of the world.
Mental phenomena: This includes clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, psychometry, scrying, and various forms of healing. Mental mediumship is subjective.
Natural law: The principles of nature, which includes humankind along with all forms of life: animal, vegetable, and mineral. Understanding of the natural law determines our actions and reactions. It’s possible to create our own realities by the choices we make.
Physical phenomena: These include levitation, direct voice communication, apports, automatic writing, talking boards and planchettes, table-tipping, trumpets, slate writing, manifestations, transfiguration, rappings, and knockings. Physical mediumship is objective.
Planchette: A small platform used with a talking board—such as a Ouija® board—or, with a pencil in it, used for automatic writing.
Platform: A stage from which mediums may deliver messages.
Possession: Possession takes place when a spirit or entity takes over the body of another, without that person’s permission. (It is not as common as some movies would have us believe!)
Precognition: To know ahead of time.
Psychic: To know information by sensing it; a person who obtains knowledge without having normal access to it, through extrasensory perception. All mediums are psychic though not all psychics are mediums.
Psychometry: From the Greek psyche (“soul”) and metron (“measure”). This is the handling of an object and, from its vibrations, picking up information about its history: owner(s), origin, value, etc.
Rapping: Knocking noises produced by spirit. The origins of Spiritualism date from the rappings made by the spirit of the murdered peddler Charles B. Rosna, communicating with the Fox sisters in 1848.
Reading: The giving of information by a medium, or a psychic, to a sitter. It implies that the mind/vibrations of the sitter are being “read.” A psychic may actually read a palm, tarot cards, runes, or other objects to focus his or her mind. A medium would “read” from the information provided by spirits.
Retrocognition: Knowledge of things from the past, by other than normal means.
Skrying (also Scrying): Using a reflective surface as a focal point for seeing the past, present, or future. Crystal balls are common objects for skrying, but polished metals, ink blots, water, and any other reflective surfaces have been, and are, used by skryers around the world.
Séance: Literally a “sitting.” It is a sitting with a medium for the purpose of communicating with the spirits of the dead. Depending upon the type of medium (mental or physical) and the sorts of phenomena expected, the séance is conducted in bright light, subdued light, or even in complete darkness.
Skotograph: A name given to some spirit-produced photographs, usually produced on raw photographic paper without the aid of a camera.
Slate: The same as the old schoolroom slates used for writing but in Spiritualism used in pairs, fastened together face to face, with a piece of chalk between them. Left out at a séance, spirit may produce writing on one or both of the slates.
Spirit: Generally used in the sense of the essence of a person that moves on from the physical body to the ethereal. It is the post-deceased aspect that communicates, from the Spirit World, with earthly people.
Spiritism, Spiritist: Terms introduced and used by Allan Kardec in place of the words Spiritualism and Spiritualist, for his representation of the beliefs and philosophies of the religion. These terms were used in Kardec’s native France (in French: spiritisme, spirite), and their equivalents are still used extensively in South America (especially Brazil) and the Philippines.
Spirit photography: The capturing of spirit forms in photographs, either accidentally or on purpose.
Spiritualism: The religion, science, and philosophy that teach a belief in a continuous life, based upon communication with those who have progressed to the Spirit World. Contact is made through the agencies of a medium. The main tenet of Spiritualism is what is termed the “Golden Rule.”
Spiritualist: One who practices Spiritualism. A Spiritualist may or may not be a medium.
Summerland: Term coined by Andrew Jackson Davis (see the first sidebar in the “Preliminaries” chapter) for the afterlife; the world of spirit.
Synchronicity: Events that happen simultaneously, or near-simultaneously, that appear to be coincidental and meaningful.
Talking board: A board, usually marked off with the letters of the alphabet, numbers, and short phrases, that is used for communicating with spirit. The sliding pointer of the board is known as a planchette and its movement is directed by spirit. The best-known commercially produced board is the Ouija® board.
Trance: An altered state of consciousness in which the brainwave activity moves to a certain level. There are basically four such levels: beta, alpha, theta, and delta. Beta is the normal, wide-awake level. The next level down is the alpha level (what might be termed a “light” trance). Below that is theta, and the deepest level (the equivalent of somnambulism in hypnosis) is delta, a deep trance state. Mediums enter into various levels of trance, consciously or unconsciously.
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