# Trance mediumship

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

**Trance mediumship** is a form of mediumship in which a medium enters a trance or trance-like state so that, as Spiritualists believe, a spirit can communicate through them. In Spiritualism, some mediums have worked in a trance-like state,[1] and a spirit may speak through the medium or use the medium's hand to write.[2] Spiritualists traditionally call this "control",[2] and Spiritualist bodies class trance as a form of mental mediumship.[3][4]

## Description

### Control and guides

In control, the medium lets a spirit "take over" for a time so that it can communicate, either by "speaking through" them, often in an accent and manner said to be the spirit's own, or by writing with the medium's hand ([automatic writing](https://spiritfold.com/Automatic_writing)).[2] Nineteenth-century mediums often worked with "controls", guides who dealt with other spirits wanting to communicate, and who sometimes spoke directly through the medium while she was in trance.[5] Spiritualists believe that a medium's "gatekeeper" guide decides which spirits may come through.[2] Tomlinson describes this "doorkeeper" as a guide who stands between the medium and other spirits and protects the medium if harmful ones appear.[5]

### How deep the trance is

The Arthur Findlay College of the Spiritualists' National Union in Britain describes trance as an altered state in which the spirit world is allowed to "capture our attention" and blend more closely with the medium, and says the strength of that "hold" sets the depth of the trance.[6]

In practice the trance is often light. In Gillen's study of a Sydney church in the 1970s, the trance involved in control was usually mild. Mediums there often said they were unaware of what happened while under control, but Gillen never saw one unable to return to normal consciousness.[2] A Canberra medium described mental mediumship as involving a "very light trance"; Tomlinson, trying it himself, found he stayed aware of his surroundings while feeling a kind of detachment.[5] In his research with the Canberra Spiritualist Association, Tomlinson never saw a medium go deeply into trance during a service.[5]

### Trance speaking and trance lectures

In the early decades of Spiritualism, mediums went into trance to give lectures on topics chosen by the audience, as one of several ways of showing their connection with the spirit world.[5] Rapping soon gave way, for the most part, to trance mediumship.[7] Women "trance lecturers" such as Emma Hardinge Britten drew large audiences in the nineteenth century.[8] Gillen found that speech given under control tends to be repetitive and elaborate in style, much like a Spiritualist prayer or sermon.[2]

### Trance in the circle

In the Sydney home circles Gillen attended, much of the meeting passed in silence and darkness, between opening and closing prayers. The high point of a successful séance was the medium "going under control" so that a spirit could speak using the medium's voice.[2]

### How trance is developed

Development circles, often called classes, exist to develop the gifts of would-be mediums.[2] Melton notes that meditation is basic to the Spiritualist development class, while other methods vary with the medium who leads it.[9] In the open development class Gillen attended in Sydney, the meeting opened with the Lord's Prayer and readings from Spiritualist literature, followed by a long, silent [meditation](https://spiritfold.com/Meditation). The leader encouraged the members, rather than himself, to go under control; a few usually showed signs of trance, and now and then a spirit "came through" and was farewelled with a blessing when it left.[2]

## Scope

### What it includes

- Spirit communication in which the medium is in a trance or trance-like state, including trance speaking and trance lectures[2][5]
- Automatic writing while under control[2]

### What it is not

- Spiritualists distinguish trance mediumship from possession. Gillen found the difference rests on whether the person's own personality is seen by others to remain intact, on whether they can "come back to reality", and on how much distress they show.[2]
- Gillen noted that many people outside Spiritualism would interpret these experiences as signs of mental illness, and compared Spiritualist trance with the hypnotic state.[2]

## Traditions and lineage

Mesmerism, with its experiments in trance, helped prepare the way for the trance and séance of Spiritualism.[7] In Melbourne, the hypnotising of "sensitives" in mesmerism became the basis for putting mediums into trance.[10]

## Context

### Within Spiritualism

Trance is one of the recognised forms of Spiritualist mediumship. The National Spiritualist Association of Churches in the United States lists trance, with inspired and inspirational speaking, under mental mediumship.[3] The Arthur Findlay College runs courses in trance (see above).[6] The Spiritualists' National Union says the purpose of mediumship is to give proof of survival, not to predict the future or give advice, and that mediums do not summon spirits: spirits choose to communicate.[11]

Some Spiritualist teaching has come through trance. The Greater World Christian Spiritualist Association says the teachings of the spirit it knows as Zodiac were given through the medium Winifred Moyes in trance, so that her own mind would not get in the way of the messages.[12] The aim, in other words, is to let the communicator speak with as little of the medium's own thinking as possible. Trance speaking was revived in the New Age movement as [channelling](https://spiritfold.com/Channelling).[13]

### In Australian Spiritualism

Beyond the colonial trance lecturers described below, trance appears in church programmes of the 1920s and 1930s. A history of St John's Spiritual Church in Adelaide records a Sunday of "trance, address and flower readings" in 1924,[14] and Perth's suburban Spiritualist churches in the 1930s offered trance addresses, according to the Museum of Perth.[15]

Today the Spiritualists National Union of WA describes "control" as one of two kinds of mental mediumship, in which the medium goes into trance so that a spirit can speak or write through them.[4] Its six-session Philosophy of Spiritualism course includes a session on meditation and trance.[16] St John's Spiritual Church in Adelaide runs a fortnightly trance class,[17] the Victorian Spiritualists' Union's Spiritualism course includes a session on meditation and trance,[18] and the Spiritual Mission of Noarlunga's Friday development programme includes trance evenings.[19]

### A Spiritualist perspective

Trance is one of the oldest forms of Spiritualist mediumship, and one that calls for great care. From a Spiritualist point of view, the medium in trance allows a spirit to come close enough to speak or write through them, while their own personality remains intact and they return fully to themselves afterwards. That is the line Spiritualists draw between trance and possession, and a good teacher keeps it firmly in view.

Trance should be developed slowly, in a settled circle under an experienced leader, never forced and never practised alone by beginners. It grows out of steady meditation and patient sitting, not out of effort or expectation. The leader watches the medium's physical safety, as the Canberra example below shows, and also their wellbeing: anyone who is unsettled, unwell or struggling to cope with daily life should be encouraged to rest from the work and to talk with their doctor. What comes through is judged by its quality and evidence, not accepted simply because it was spoken in trance, and the medium remains responsible for what is said through them. A light trance with clear, honest communication is worth far more than a dramatic one.

## Trance mediumship in Australia

Trance lecturing was part of Australian Spiritualism from its early years. According to Gillen, the young medium Thomas Walker impressed Melbourne Spiritualists in the late 1870s with a trance lecture given under the "control" of the spirit of Giordano Bruno, at a meeting chaired by a 21-year-old Alfred Deakin.[2] William Henry Terry set up in Melbourne in 1870 as, among other things, a "trance and magnetic healer".[20] In Adelaide, the "trance lecturer" Amy Rhodes started the Order of Light in 1912.[21] Gillen recorded trance lectures being given at the Sydney church he studied in the 1970s.[2]

## Safety and good practice

- At the Canberra Spiritualist Association, one of the Association's leaders often said that the chair's main job is to keep the medium safe, and one risk is a medium going into trance, losing awareness of their surroundings and tripping or bumping into something. One Canberra medium said she no longer goes into trance on the platform, partly because she can become unsteady on her feet.[5]
- The Spiritualists' National Union in Britain runs an accreditation scheme meant to ensure that mediums who represent it are experienced and trained and commit to high standards of practice and conduct.[11] This is a United Kingdom arrangement; it does not apply to Australian churches unless a church adopts it.

## Related modalities

- [Mediumship](https://spiritfold.com/Mediumship)
- [Channelling](https://spiritfold.com/Channelling)
- [Development circles](https://spiritfold.com/Development_circles)
- [Spiritualism](https://spiritfold.com/Spiritualism)

## References

1. 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).
2. 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 11 October 2026).
3. National Spiritualist Association of Churches. ["Mediumship"](https://nsac.org/mediumship/). NSAC, © 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026).
4. Spiritualists National Union of WA. ["About Us"](https://www.snuwa.org.au/about/) (no date shown; accessed 12 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. Arthur Findlay College. ["Our Courses"](https://www.arthurfindlaycollege.org/our-courses/). Spiritualists' National Union (no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).
7. 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).
8. 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).
9. 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).
10. 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).
11. Spiritualists' National Union. ["Mediumship"](https://snu.org.uk/about-us/about-spiritualism/mediumship/) (no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).
12. The Greater World Christian Spiritualist Association. ["The Christ Mission"](https://www.greaterworld.net/about) (no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).
13. ["Inspirational Speakers"](https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/inspirational-speakers). *Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology*, 5th ed. (Gale, 2001), via Encyclopedia.com (accessed 12 October 2026).
14. Clinch-Jones, Kate. [*If the Walls Could Talk: A Brief History of the Founders of St Johns Spiritual Church*](https://stjohnsspiritualchurch.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/St-Johns-History-Booklet-copy.pdf). Adelaide: St John's Spiritual Church Inc, May 2024, p. 10 (accessed 12 October 2026).
15. Museum of Perth. ["Isabella Jane Bell (1863–1950)"](https://museumofperth.com.au/isabella-jane-bell). Perth People (no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).
16. Spiritualists National Union of WA. ["Education"](https://www.snuwa.org.au/education/) (no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).
17. St John's Spiritual Church, Adelaide. ["About"](https://stjohnsspiritualchurch.org.au/about-us/) (no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).
18. Victorian Spiritualists' Union. ["Courses"](https://www.vsu.org.au/courses) (no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).
19. Spiritual Mission of Noarlunga. ["Spiritual Development"](https://spiritualmissionofnoarlunga.org.au/spiritual-development/) (Friday programme; no date shown; accessed 12 October 2026).
20. Smith, F. B. ["Terry, William Henry (1836–1913)"](https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/terry-william-henry-4704). *Australian Dictionary of Biography*, volume 6. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, 1976 (accessed 11 October 2026).
21. Bartley, Helen and Jill Roe. ["Spiritualism"](https://sahistoryhub.history.sa.gov.au/subjects/spiritualism/). *SA History Hub*, History Trust of South Australia. First published in *The Wakefield Companion to South Australian History* (Wakefield Press, 2001); uploaded 15 May 2015 (accessed 11 October 2026).

## Further reading

- Gillen, Paul. *[The Spiritualists: Gnosis and Ideology](https://figshare.mq.edu.au/articles/thesis/The_spiritualists_gnosis_and_ideology/19431146/1)*. PhD thesis, Macquarie University, 1981.
- Tomlinson, Matt. *[Speaking with the Dead: An Ethnography of Extrahuman Experience](https://doi.org/10.53288/0465.1.00)*. punctum books, 2024 (open access).