# Mediumship

Source: https://spiritfold.com/Mediumship  
Published by the Australian Spiritual Alliance on Spiritfold, licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

**Mediumship** is the reported communication between living people and people who have died, carried out through a person called a **medium**.[1] In the Spiritualist movement, a medium is a person believed to be able to contact spirits directly, and Spiritualists usually seek contact with the dead through one.[2] Spiritualists value it above all as evidence: in a service, the **demonstration** is the part in which a medium describes people who have died to members of the audience, offering the details as evidence that personality survives death.[3]

## Description

### The demonstration

Research with the Canberra Spiritualist Association describes the demonstration as the ritual high point of a Spiritualist service. The medium tells audience members what their dead loved ones were like and, often, how they died. Because the medium never met these people, the details are offered as evidence that personality survives death and that the dead still want to communicate with those they loved.[3] See [Platform mediumship](https://spiritfold.com/Platform_mediumship).

Performances of what is called "mental mediumship" rarely run smoothly. Audience members do not always understand or accept what the medium says, but, according to the anthropologist Matt Tomlinson, these small "failures" help build a shared sense that medium and audience are working together to gather evidence. Mediums present themselves as skilled in spirit communication while also treating the spirits as the ones ultimately responsible for coming forward and offering messages.[4] One Canberra teacher described mental mediumship to her class as a "very light trance": the medium stays aware of the room and the person in front of them while also attending to the spirit communicator.[5]

### What counts as evidence

The Spiritualists' National Union (SNU) in Britain says a medium's first task is to identify the spirit who is communicating, through details such as a name, relationship, appearance, home, work, cause of death, character and shared memories. Details unknown to the recipient should be checked later with family. The SNU accepts that mediumship cannot give empirical proof of life after death, though the evidence may become personal proof for the person receiving it.[6]

### Psychic work and mediumship

Spiritualists draw a firm line between psychic work and mediumship. In psychic work, as they describe it, one mind communicates telepathically with another, living mind; mediumship needs contact with people in the spirit world. A saying Tomlinson heard many times in his research with the Canberra Spiritualist Association was that every medium is psychic, but not every psychic is a medium. At a mediumship training workshop he attended, the medium leading it taught that psychic impressions come from the living and feel heavier, while those from the spirit world feel lighter, and that students should learn to tell whether a message is coming from the spirit world or from the person in front of them.[5] The Victorian Spiritualists' Union's beginners' course teaches students to tell working on a psychic level apart from working with spirit.[7]

This distinction matters to committed Spiritualists, who value mediumship above psychic communication. Tomlinson notes that a medium having a poor day may fall back on psychic impressions to give the audience something. One Canberra medium told him she had been troubled, on returning from England, to find that most mediums in Canberra were working psychically rather than as mediums.[5] For readings by psychics more generally, see [Psychic reading](https://spiritfold.com/Psychic_reading).

### How mediums are trained

Spiritualist mediums are usually trained in a development class or circle, in which, J. Gordon Melton writes, meditation is basic.[8] In Sydney, Paul Gillen found that development circles, often called "classes", aimed to bring on the gifts of potential mediums; one open class he attended began with prayer and a long silent [meditation](https://spiritfold.com/Meditation) and always ended with a test of [psychometry](https://spiritfold.com/Psychometry).[9] See [Development circles](https://spiritfold.com/Development_circles).

In the twenty-week Canberra course Tomlinson took, students practised mediumship in front of the group and spent part of each class on public speaking, because the teachers saw confidence as essential. At a separate workshop, a visiting medium taught students to describe the character of the person in the spirit world rather than details such as age and to speak plainly (mothers and fathers, not "entities").[5]

### The séance and other forms

In nineteenth-century Spiritualism, the main product of a séance was always personal messages, spoken or written by the medium, from the sitters' dead family and friends. Mediums might also speak for the spirits of famous people, or produce songs, poetry, paintings and other works said to be inspired by spirits.[10] Some mediums worked in a trance-like state, and some claimed to produce physical phenomena, such as objects moving or appearing.[2] Rapping soon gave way, for the most part, to trance mediumship.[11]

Far more women than men were mediums in the nineteenth century, while Spiritualist lecturers were more often men; women "trance lecturers" such as Emma Hardinge Britten drew large audiences.[10]

### Mediumship in Spiritism

In Spiritism (Kardecism), trained mediums work in closed sessions, often through automatic writing, receiving guidance from spirits regarded as highly evolved, or messages from people who have recently died. Kardecists hold that everyone has a natural capacity to communicate with spirits, and that this can be developed. Kardecist mediums describe themselves as "working with" spirits rather than being possessed by them, and generally as fully conscious while they do so.[12]

## Scope

### What it includes

- Passing on messages said to come from people who have died, in private sittings, séances or public demonstrations[10][3]
- Trance mediumship and automatic writing[11][12]

### What it is not

- It is not fortune-telling or counselling. The SNU says mediumship exists to offer proof of survival rather than to foretell the future, advise or counsel.[13]
- Scientific testing has not settled whether mediums have genuine abilities. Researchers have tested mediums for more than a century, with mixed results and much debate about methods.[14] A 2005 study that tested several professional mediums, using a method designed to avoid the problems of earlier research, found no support for genuine mediumistic ability.[14] A 2021 meta-analysis of 18 experiments published between 2001 and 2019 reported accuracy somewhat above chance, and its authors concluded that their results support the hypothesis that some mediums can obtain information about dead people by unknown means.[1]
- In the history of Spiritualism, many mediums who claimed physical phenomena were found to be using fraud, sometimes with stage magicians' techniques.[2]

## Traditions and lineage

Modern mediumship took shape in the Spiritualist movement, which dates its beginning to rapping sounds heard by the Fox family at Hydesville, New York, in 1848.[2] Mesmerism, with its experiments in trance, helped prepare the way for the trance and séance of Spiritualism.[11] In Melbourne, the hypnotising of "sensitives" in mesmerism became the basis for putting mediums into trance.[15] In France, Allan Kardec put questions to Spiritualist mediums across Europe and published the results in *The Spirits' Book* (1857), the foundation of [Spiritism](https://spiritfold.com/Spiritism).[2]

Spiritualism also prompted the growth of psychical research, which set out to test the claims of mediums.[2] From the 1970s, mediumship had a revival within the New Age movement, where "channellers" claimed contact with a range of spirit beings as well as the dead.[2]

## Context

### Within Spiritualism

Mediumship is the core practice of Spiritualism. The National Spiritualist Association of Churches (NSAC) in the United States defines a Spiritualist as someone whose religion rests on communication with the spirit world by means of mediumship, and a medium as a person sensitive to "vibrations from the spirit world" through whom spirits convey messages and produce phenomena (definitions first adopted in 1914).[16] It describes mediumship as a natural ability of every person, taking physical and mental forms.[17] The SNU says many Spiritualists regard the communion of spirits as a central principle,[18] and that mediumship exists for proof of survival (see What it is not, above). Mediums, it says, do not summon spirits; the spirits choose to communicate.[13] For the line Spiritualists draw between mediumship and psychic work, see Psychic work and mediumship above.

### In Australian Spiritualism

Mediumship has been central to Australian Spiritualism from the colonial séance to today's churches. In 1920 the Victorian Association of Spiritualists advertised a mediums' meeting with readings from flowers and clairvoyance,[19] and in 1922 a visiting lecturer gave clairvoyant readings at a Hobart meeting, after which the Hobart Spiritualists' Church presented him with books.[20]

Churches in several states list demonstrations of mediumship among their regular activities, including the Victorian Spiritualists' Union in Melbourne,[21] the Spiritualists National Union of WA at Rockingham,[22] St John's Spiritual Church in Adelaide[23] and the Centre Christian Spiritualist Church in Subiaco, Perth.[24] The Canberra Spiritualist Association lists training in evidential mediumship and psychic awareness among its goals.[25]

### A Spiritualist perspective

Ask an experienced Spiritualist teacher what mediumship is for and the answer is short: evidence. A medium's task is to describe someone in the spirit world clearly enough that the person receiving the message can recognise them, and so be reassured that their loved one lives on. That is why Spiritualists take such care over the line between psychic and mediumistic work. A psychic impression about the sitter may be accurate, but it is not evidence of survival, and an honest medium will not pass it off as such.

Humility belongs at the centre of the work. The medium does not summon anyone; as Spiritualists understand it, the spirits choose to come. Some messages will not be understood, and a good medium accepts a "no" with grace rather than pressing the sitter to make it fit. Many people come to a medium while grieving, so the medium owes them care: no predictions, no advice dressed up as spirit guidance, nothing to frighten, and no encouragement to depend on repeated sittings. At its best, mediumship leaves a person comforted and freer.

## Mediumship in Australia

Spiritualism reached Australia in the nineteenth century through public lectures, stage demonstrations and private séances.[26] In South Australia in the 1880s, mediums arrived mainly from Melbourne, and in 1884 a conjurer who joined a local circle showed how supposed spirit rappings could be faked.[27]

Today, mediums give demonstrations at Spiritualist services in Australia, including those of the Canberra Spiritualist Association.[3] A 2025 study of Australian Spiritualism by Andrew Singleton and Matt Tomlinson examines the lasting popular appeal of mediumship.[28]

## Safety and good practice

- **Keep to the purpose.** Mediumship is for evidence of survival, not prediction, advice or counselling (see What it is not, above).[13]
- **Make no promises.** The Spiritualist Association of Great Britain tells people booking a private sitting that each sitting is an experiment whose success cannot be guaranteed, and that no medium can produce a particular piece of evidence a sitter wants. Sittings may be recorded only with the medium's consent.[29]
- **Be discreet.** Canberra mediums in training were taught that some information received is for the medium's understanding only, so that painful matters can be handled with sensitivity rather than spoken aloud.[5]
- **Develop in company.** Gillen recorded that mediums often advise students not to sit for spirit contact alone, only in a properly run circle.[9]
- **Accountability.** Nineteenth-century Spiritualist associations investigated claims of fraud or misconduct by mediums, partly to protect the movement from con artists.[10]

## Related modalities

- [Platform mediumship](https://spiritfold.com/Platform_mediumship)
- [Trance mediumship](https://spiritfold.com/Trance_mediumship)
- [Physical mediumship](https://spiritfold.com/Physical_mediumship)
- [Clairvoyance](https://spiritfold.com/Clairvoyance)
- [Clairaudience](https://spiritfold.com/Clairaudience)
- [Development circles](https://spiritfold.com/Development_circles)
- [Psychic reading](https://spiritfold.com/Psychic_reading)
- [Spiritualism](https://spiritfold.com/Spiritualism)

## References

1. Sarraf, M., M. A. Woodley of Menie and P. Tressoldi. "Anomalous information reception by mediums: A meta-analysis of the scientific evidence". *Explore* 17, no. 5 (2021): 396–402. [doi:10.1016/j.explore.2020.04.002](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2020.04.002). Abstract read via [Europe PMC](https://europepmc.org/article/MED/32660815) (accessed 11 October 2026).
2. Melton, J. Gordon and the Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. ["Spiritualism"](https://www.britannica.com/topic/spiritualism-religion). *Encyclopaedia Britannica* (no date shown; accessed 11 October 2026).
3. Tomlinson, Matt. "Mediumship and Evidence in Australian Spiritualism: Conjunctions of Private and Public". In Julian Millie (ed.), *The 'Crossed-Out God' in the Asia-Pacific: Religious Efficacy of Public Spheres*. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore, 2023, pp. 151–173. Abstract at [ANU Research Portal](https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/publications/mediumship-and-evidence-in-australian-spiritualism-conjunctions-o/) (accessed 11 October 2026).
4. Tomlinson, Matt. "How to speak like a spirit medium: Voice and evidence in Australian Spiritualism". *American Ethnologist* 46, no. 4 (2019): 482–494. [doi:10.1111/amet.12832](https://doi.org/10.1111/amet.12832). Abstract at [ANU Research Portal](https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/publications/how-to-speak-like-a-spirit-medium-voice-and-evidence-in-australia/) (accessed 11 October 2026).
5. Tomlinson, Matt. *[Speaking with the Dead: An Ethnography of Extrahuman Experience](https://doi.org/10.53288/0465.1.00)*. Earth: punctum books, 2024. Open access under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (accessed 11 October 2026).
6. Spiritualists' National Union. [*A Guide to Mediumship Provides Evidence of Life After Death*](https://snu.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Evidence.pdf) (leaflet). SNU Publications, © 2014 (accessed 12 October 2026).
7. Victorian Spiritualists' Union. ["Courses"](https://www.vsu.org.au/courses) (no date shown; accessed 11 October 2026).
8. Melton, J. Gordon. ["Western Esoteric Family II: Spiritualism & New Age"](https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/western-esoteric-family-ii-spiritualism-new-age). *Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions* (Gale), reproduced on Encyclopedia.com (edition not stated; accessed 12 October 2026).
9. Gillen, Paul. *[The Spiritualists: Gnosis and Ideology](https://figshare.mq.edu.au/articles/thesis/The_spiritualists_gnosis_and_ideology/19431146/1)*. PhD thesis, School of Behavioural Sciences, Macquarie University, November 1981 (accessed 12 October 2026).
10. Buescher, John B. ["Spiritualism"](https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/spiritualism). *Encyclopedia of Religion*, 2005. Reproduced on Encyclopedia.com (accessed 11 October 2026).
11. Ellwood, Robert S. and Gracia Fay Ellwood. ["Spiritualism"](https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/spiritualism). *Contemporary American Religion*. Reproduced on Encyclopedia.com (accessed 11 October 2026).
12. Engler, Steven. ["Kardecism"](https://wrldrels.org/?p=20209). World Religions and Spirituality Project, 6 April 2022 (accessed 11 October 2026).
13. Spiritualists' National Union. ["Mediumship"](https://snu.org.uk/about-us/about-spiritualism/mediumship/) (no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).
14. O'Keeffe, C. and R. Wiseman. "Testing alleged mediumship: methods and results". *British Journal of Psychology* 96, no. 2 (2005): 165–179. [doi:10.1348/000712605x36361](https://doi.org/10.1348/000712605x36361). Abstract read via [Europe PMC](https://europepmc.org/article/MED/15969829) (accessed 11 October 2026).
15. Gabay, Al. ["Spiritualism and Mesmerism"](https://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM01410b.htm). *eMelbourne: The Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online*. School of Historical Studies, Department of History, University of Melbourne, 2008; last modified 27 May 2015 (accessed 11 October 2026).
16. National Spiritualist Association of Churches. ["Spiritualism Explained"](https://nsac.org/spiritualism-explained/). NSAC, © 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026).
17. National Spiritualist Association of Churches. ["Mediumship"](https://nsac.org/mediumship/). NSAC, © 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026).
18. Spiritualists' National Union. ["The Seven Principles"](https://snu.org.uk/about-us/about-spiritualism/the-seven-principles/) (no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).
19. Advertising. *The Age* (Melbourne), 31 July 1920, p. 15. [Trove](https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203066151), National Library of Australia (accessed 12 October 2026).
20. "Meetings, etc.". *The Mercury* (Hobart), 30 October 1922, p. 3. [Trove](https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23619229), National Library of Australia (accessed 12 October 2026).
21. Victorian Spiritualists' Union. ["Sunday Service"](https://www.vsu.org.au/sunday-service) (no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).
22. Spiritualists National Union of WA. ["About Us"](https://www.snuwa.org.au/about/) (no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).
23. St John's Spiritual Church, Adelaide. ["About"](https://stjohnsspiritualchurch.org.au/about-us/) (no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).
24. Centre Christian Spiritualist Church, Subiaco. ["Services"](https://www.spiritualism.org.au/services) (no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).
25. Canberra Spiritualist Association. ["FAQ"](https://www.canberraspiritualist.org.au/faq) (no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).
26. Singleton, Andrew. "A Little Outpost". *Nova Religio* 26, no. 2 (November 2022): 70–92. [doi:10.1525/nr.2022.26.2.70](https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.2022.26.2.70). Abstract read via the Crossref metadata record (accessed 11 October 2026).
27. Bartley, Helen and Jill Roe. ["Spiritualism"](https://sahistoryhub.history.sa.gov.au/?p=40079). *SA History Hub*. History Trust of South Australia (accessed 11 October 2026).
28. Singleton, Andrew and Matt Tomlinson. *Let the Dead Speak: Spiritualism in Australia*. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2025. Publisher's description, reproduced at [ANU Research Portal](https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/publications/let-the-dead-speak-spiritualism-in-australia/) (accessed 11 October 2026).
29. Spiritualist Association of Great Britain. ["Private Sittings"](https://www.sagb.org.uk/sittings.htm) (no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).

## Further reading

- Bartley, Helen and Jill Roe. ["Spiritualism"](https://sahistoryhub.history.sa.gov.au/?p=40079). SA History Hub, History Trust of South Australia.
- Buescher, John B. ["Spiritualism"](https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/spiritualism). *Encyclopedia of Religion*, 2005.
- Engler, Steven. ["Kardecism"](https://wrldrels.org/?p=20209). World Religions and Spirituality Project, 2022.
- O'Keeffe, C. and R. Wiseman. ["Testing alleged mediumship: methods and results"](https://doi.org/10.1348/000712605x36361). *British Journal of Psychology*, 2005.
- Singleton, Andrew and Matt Tomlinson. *[Let the Dead Speak: Spiritualism in Australia](https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/publications/let-the-dead-speak-spiritualism-in-australia/)*. Manchester University Press, 2025.
- Tomlinson, Matt. ["How to speak like a spirit medium: Voice and evidence in Australian Spiritualism"](https://doi.org/10.1111/amet.12832). *American Ethnologist*, 2019.