What is mediumship?
Mediumship is communication between an incarnate and discarnate soul or a living person and dead person through a medium. A medium is someone who has developed the ability to attune to the frequencies beyond our five senses and to become aware of the energy of an individual soul which no longer has a body. Spiritualists believe the “spirit world” is the place a soul goes after their life on earth.
When discussing what is mediumship we must also touch on psychic ability. Belief in psychic ability is nothing new and has been widely accepted and deeply studied form of energetic communication. It is when a person is picking up information from another living person or incarnate souls energy field.
Researchers have been exploring consciousness, mediumship, psychic ability and communication with the afterlife for many years and continue work with mediums and large Spiritualist organisations.
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Mediumship is a natural gift, it is an awareness of energy that all of us can become aware of, and for most people, this awareness simply sits quietly in the background of life until something happens or someone invites us to look more deeply into our intuition and sensitivity.
At its heart, mediumship exists to demonstrate that life continues beyond the physical body and our five senses. It offers comfort and letting go of grief, evidence of survival and a space of deeper healing, for many people it is the beginning of a personal and spiritual journey.
What does mediumship mean?
What is mediumship in terms of meaning? The word “medium” comes from the Latin medius, meaning “in the middle”. A medium stands in the middle, between two states of being, the physical world we live in and the spirit of those who hasve passed to the next life or to the spirit world.
Mediumship gained popularity during the nineteenth century with the birth of modern Spiritualism marked as 31st March 1848 with the Fox sisters in Hydesville, New York. This provoked the question, what is mediumship and how can it serve us? Investigations into mediumship over the decades have exposed many fraudulent mediums although there have been many cases that couldn’t be disproved. The practice of mediumship is still very much plagued with these negative accounts today.
Within the religion of Spiritualism, mediumship is delivered as part of each Divine service, which is traditionally held on Sunday in Spiritualist churches around the United Kingdom. On weekdays demonstrations of mediumship and special services take place where other variations on mediumship and communications are delivered like Spirit Art and Flower Readings.
Open circles and open platforms are also held within the churches offering an opportunity for attendees to practice and develop their mediumship and other disciplines like Psychic readings and Psychometry.
When people search – what is mediumship? they are usually looking for a definition, or want to understand the differences between a medium and other forms of spiritual or psychic practice. Ultimately, people are looking for reassurance that their loved ones are still with them in some form and there is a part of us which is eternal.
How does mediumship work?
As human beings we have a natural sensitivity to energy and the world around us. Every life, thought, feeling, object and interaction is a form of energy and carries its own frequency. A medium has spent time learning to become more aware of the subtle difference in frequencies at a deeper level, they become more actively aware of the spirit world and the unseen world.
The process begins very simply with awareness. A medium develops the ability to differentiate between their own energy and the energy which resonates from someone else or from somewhere else. I have written more fully about these processes, meditation, sitting in the power and attunement which become a foundational part of a mediums development. There is no substitute for the actual practice, many choose development circles and working with experienced teachers who they resonate with.
When a medium is working, they raise their energy to attune to the spirit world, they become aware of a specific spirit communicator and allow information about their life and personality to come forward. The information generally arrives through perception, although some mediums hear or see objectively but for most its subjective. It is the responsibility of the medium to translate what they are receiving into accurate and meaningful information for their recipient. This is referred to as evidential mediumship, providing evidence of a particular person and their life lived on earth.
What are the different types of mediumship?
When going deeper into what is mediumship we can discuss the different types of mediumship. Mediumship can take many forms, and each medium develops their own unique way of working that suits their own nature and natural ability. There are two distinctive categories, mental mediumship and physical mediumship.
Mental mediumship is the most common form of mediumship practiced today. The medium receives impressions internally through perception, these include, clairvoyance (seeing), clairaudience (hearing), clairsentience (feeling) or claircognisance (knowing), and relays that information to the sitter.
Physical mediumship is where spirit energy affects the physical environment objectively for all present to experience, producing phenomena such as direct voice, materialisation or trance communication. Physical mediumship requires a very particular set of conditions and takes many years of development.
If you want to go deeper into what is mediumship and the distinctions and different types, I have written more on the difference between physical and mental mediumship.
There are also specialist forms of mediumship that focus on specific ways of working. Spirit art, aligns with my natural sensitivity and love for art, it involves drawing a portrait of someone in spirit as part of the evidential mediumship communication. I hold regular monthly online demonstrations of spirit art.
Mediumship vs psychic: what’s the difference?
What is mediumship and what is psychic communication? This is one of the most common questions people ask, and the distinction really matters.
A psychic works with the energy of a person, place or object that is still in this world. They may pick up information about the past, the present or possibilities for the future, but the information is drawn from the physical self, energy and connection with Mother Earth.
A medium works with the energy of those who have passed and no longer have a physical presence in this world. The source of the information is the continuing energy or soul of someone who has passed away.
Every medium is psychic, because to do the work you have to be sensitive to energy. But not every psychic is a medium. Mediumship requires a particular willingness to step into a deeper space of attunement where communication with the spirit world becomes possible.
What is happening when Mediumship is taking place?
So, what is really happening when a medium is delivering a demonstration of Mediumship?
During a demonstration the medium is working to raise the energetic vibration of the room and bring the energy of the congregation together to allow awareness of the frequencies with in the spiritual realms. From the perspective of Spiritualism this would be the energy of a passed loved one relating to a member of the congregation.
With evidential mediumship the medium brings forward information about an individual or spirit communicator. The medium provides information which could only be known by the recipient and is considered proof of life after death. The thinking behind this is, how could a person know information about a deceased loved one they have never met and describe specific situations of their life only known by the recipient and their family and friends.
Can mediumship be used for healing?
Simply put, yes, and for many people this is where mediumship has its most lasting impact.
What is mediumship and what is healing mediumship? Many healers will say they are not mediums but what they mean is they are not evidential mediums. Holding space for the natural flow of energy is what mediumship is. Healing through mediumship happens on more than one level.
There is an opportunity within a Divine Service to build the group energy to bring forward information verbally from the spirit world while hold space for the flow of energy for healing and self-awareness for people in the congregation. Everyone can feel the energy of the space and more deeply connect with their self-healing ability.
Mental healing – security comes with the knowledge that our loved ones are looking down on us from the next life. Comfort comes from the knowledge that we live on after this existence, part of life is eternal. Energy can never be destroyed it just changes form.
Emotional healing – the feeling of our loved one’s energy, forgiveness and allowing the emotional grieving process to be understood and acknowledged. Stepping more into the present moment allowing peoples energy fields to recognise and release emotional trauma.
Physical healing – feeling the energy around us, bringing the unseen into the physical world. Releasing blockages within our energy fields can help to release physical aches and pains. Our physical self connects more deeply to the world around us and offers a greater understanding of the energetic beings that we actually are.
Spiritual healing – accessing the greater aspects of self and feeling the connection to everything and everyone. The nature of us in relation to the universe and universal consciousness. Also, our connection to Mother Earth and natures laws.
If healing and connecting more deeply to your self-healing ability is resonating, you may find the Healing Journey a useful next step.
Where can you experience mediumship?
There are a few different places where you can experience mediumship, and the right one depends on what you are looking for.
Divine services are the traditional setting within Spiritualism. They usually happen on Sunday, and include prayers, hymns, an philosophy and a demonstration of evidential mediumship from the platform.
Platform demonstrations are dedicated mediumship events, usually in the evening, where a medium will work with members of the audience to bring the feeling and presence of departed loved ones.
Private sittings or one-to-one sessions, are delivered either in person or online. These allow for more focused communication and are for people who are looking for specific evidence or who have something particular they want to explore. The medium can not guarantee the spirit communicator who will come through but the communication can be deeper and more sensitive in nature.
Retreats and workshops offer a longer immersion, either to experience mediumship more deeply or to begin developing your own ability. I host a number of workshops and retreats each year, you can find up and coming dates on my events page
How long does it take to become a medium?
This is the honest answer, it is a joureny which continues to evolve and you are always learning.
Back to the question, what is mediumship? Mediumship is a practice, not a qualification. Some people choose to sit in a development circle and find a safe space to open their sensitivity and begin to deepen their understanding. Not every medium wishes to work publicly but if they do, residential courses, specific workshops or retreats are a great way to enhance development with platform demonstrations as a particular focus.
Initially you have to understand the training and development it takes before starting to develop a mediumistic awareness. These views are based on my observations and my own development.
Firstly, before any mediumistic development can take place the practitioner must first undergo a realisation within their own personal development, becoming more deeply aware of themselves, who they are and what is happening within their energy field and the energy surrounding them. From this point the practitioner opens to attuning with different frequencies which surround us but are out of the range of our five senses. Next is to translate the feelings they are picking up into a conscious format.
Over time they learn to differentiate between what’s them and what isn’t them, this evolves into the ability to move the restrictive aspects of their consciousness out of the way to allow speaking and communication within the flow of energy in the moment.
Of course, this is a very simplified explanation and any form of attunement to different frequencies and psychic ability takes years of practice and dedication.
What matters far more than the timescale is the consistency. Regularly sitting in the silence, working with a teacher who you resonate with, being willing to get things wrong and learn, staying curious rather than becoming attached to results. Development and inner awareness happens in the quiet spaces between the exciting moments, this truth serves most spiritual practices.
If the pull to develop is strong, find a circle and safe nurturing space, find a tutor whose work resonates with you, and simply begin. I teach both online and in person, including at the Arthur Findlay College, and you can find my current training offerings for Mentorships and specific training for Spirit Art.
Frequently asked questions
Is mediumship the same as Spiritualism?
No. Spiritualism is the religious, scientific and philosophical movement that grew up around the initial question of what is mediumship in the nineteenth century, and it has its own principles and practices. Mediumship is the ability itself, which exists independently of any particular religion. You can be a medium without being a Spiritualist, and you can be a Spiritualist without being a medium.
Can anyone learn mediumship?
In principle, yes. Everyone has a natural sensitivity to energy, even if it sits in the background for most of your life. What varies is how much time and patience a person is willing to give to developing that awareness, and how their life circumstances support the process.
What is mediumship and platform mediumship?
Platform mediumship is the term used for evidential mediumship delivered from a platform in front of an audience or congregation, usually in a Spiritualist church service or at a public demonstration.
Is mediumship a spiritual practice?
For most mediums, yes. The work requires a willingness to sit in stillness, to quiet the conscious mind, to stay curious, and to trust what is not yet visible. Those are spiritual qualities and practices, regardless of what tradition a person works within.
What is direct voice mediumship?
Direct voice is a form of physical mediumship in which spirit communication is heard audibly in the room, independent of the medium’s vocal cords. It is a rare phenomenon and usually occurs in dedicated physical circles with people who have sat together for many years.
Can mediumship prove life after death?
Mediumship offers evidence of life continuous, and for most people that evidence is enough. A message from a medium containing specific and relevant information the medium could not possibly have known, speaks clearly of life beyond this world.
Finding alignment
Asking the question what is mediumship opens a conversation to look more deeply and your own abilities and awareness. People might begin with this question but it opens to personal development and deeper understanding of our reality. Far more is happening that relates not only to mediumship but to any spiritual practice or inspired or enlightened state of awareness within any field or industry. Sports people it’s called the flow state, for artists and writers it’s called inspiration, for actors its embodiment of the character.
The practitioner may become aware of an omnipresence and alignment with their true self, they feel the energy within their body and have the ability to step into the energy of the present moment. It is from this point where everyone has a connection to everything and everyone in and beyond our physical and conscious reality.
Mediums and spiritual teachers have developed their knowledge and awareness to a point where they have the ability to hold space and become aware of the energetics around them. Their work is to hold space for people/students in order for them to become aware of their greater self, removing preconceived conditioning and opening up to their natural abilities.
Written by Richard Stuttle