Mental and Physical Mediumship

Several pioneers in the modern Spiritualist movement worked to classify these phenomena in order to give them structure.

There are two main types of mediumship—mental and physical. Physical mediumship is considered to be objective because it usually affects the physical objects and can be sensed with one or more of the five physical senses, whereas mental mediumship is considered subjective as it applies to the intellect rather than the senses. Both areas, however, can overlap.

Andrew Jackson Davis

Andrew Jackson Davis made one of the earliest attempts at classifying psychic phenomena. He classified different types of mediumship in four groups—outward, inward, onward and upward. Each “strata” or class of mediumship built upon the previous one and thus was a step towards greater spirituality.

Davis put table tipping (either caused by spiritual forces or the medium’s own energy) in the first “outward” class. Healing, through the laying on of hands, was in the next higher group—the “inward” class. In the “onward” class are psychometric mediums and mystics. The final, highest, strata—the “upward” class—included clairvoyance and telegraphic mediums.

As he developed these groups and classifications, he admitted that any attempt at classification would probably be met with outright objections. According to his book, The Present Age and Inner Life, he felt this was because further psychic phenomena would be revealed in the future, making his classification table incomplete.

Sir William Crookes

Sir William Crookes, a distinguished English physicist, also attempted to classify psychic phenomena with his own system. He attempted to trace the Natural Law of psychic phenomena so that students of it could later report and describe the phenomena in a similar way.

Through his attempts, he learned that darkness was not needed for phenomena to occur—a belief held by many still to this day. He also determined that it is not necessary for the medium to decide on the time and place for a séance—that the phenomena can happen at any place and time—and that it doesn’t matter if the people sitting in a séance believe in the phenomena or not.

Crooke’s classification goes from the easiest to the most difficult types of phenomena. Moving physical objects by touching them but not exerting force on them and rapping are the two simplest forms, according to him.

From there, his classification includes altering the weight of physical objects, moving tables, levitating tables and chairs, levitating humans, moving small objects, making things luminous, the appearance of hands, direct writing and transfiguration.

E. W. Sprague

Another system of classification was developed by E. W. Sprague. In his book, Spirit Mediumship and How to Develop It, he used two classes: mental and physical phenomena. Many of his terms are used and demonstrated by Spiritualism today.

Sprague’s classification of physical mediumship included independent slate writing—in which two slates are bound together with chalk or lead in the middle for Spirit to produce written messages, stigmata—writing in blood letters on skin—and transfiguration. His classification of mental mediumship includes inspirational speaking and writing, spiritual healing, clairvoyance, clairaudience, prophecy and psychometry.

Both Crookes and Sprague also classified spiritual healing as a form of mental mediumship.

Sources:

Morris Pratt Institute Educational Course on Modern Spiritualism, Lesson 10

Davis, Andrew Jackson, The Present Age and Inner Life, Boston: Banner of Light Publishing Company, 1868

Previously published on Suite101.com