A medium is defined as someone who can communicate with spirits by bridging the gap between the physical and spiritual worlds. These could be deceased people’s spirits, spiritual beings like angels or nature spirits, or gods of some sort. When most people in the West think of a medium, they think of the Spiritualist movements of the nineteenth century, which drew on other traditions but were fundamentally Western in scope. The medium, on the other hand, is an important figure in many other traditions, particularly in many African spiritual traditions and many African Diaspora traditions.
Although many shamanic practices and spiritualists involve some level of communication with the spirit world, the medium differs in that it acts as a physical bridge between worlds for those who are unable to freely communicate with spirits. For example, one of the most common uses of a medium is for a person to communicate with a deceased relative. Because they are unable to contact the relative directly, they seek the assistance of a medium who can relay their questions and provide answers.
Different mediums have different ways of working, ranging from very quiet and subdued to flashy and energetic. When communicating with the spirit world, some mediums go into a trance, shutting out the physical world completely and speaking without remembering what they’re saying. Others allow a spirit to temporarily inhabit their bodies so that the spirit can freely communicate with others. Others communicate by allowing the spirit to guide them through an external device, such as a pen and paper.
Written descriptions of mediums can be found as far back as the Old Testament, where the Witch of Endor is said to have brought the prophet Samuel’s spirit to speak with King Saul so that he could question Samuel about a battle. They existed throughout history, but saw a resurgence in the West when Spiritualism gained popularity in the mid-nineteenth century. Many Spiritualists claimed to be mediums, and séances were held in major cities where the dead were summoned to speak to the assembled crowds.
Many people demonstrated how stage magic tricks could be used to mimic many of the effects used in the medium by the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Spiritualists gradually abandoned the practice in favor of channeling as a result of this, which robbed the medium of much of their credibility. Channeling is a slightly different take on mediumship, in which the channeler receives information and history from long-dead people or supernatural spirits, often in the form of books or educational seminars, to share with the rest of the world.
Because mediumship is considered a paranormal practice, most scientists dismiss it as completely unfounded in reality. Critics claim that the majority of what the medium says is obtained through a variety of techniques, including cold reading, and that the accompanying effects are nothing more than stage magic. Mentalists are people who play the role of a medium for entertainment purposes without believing in the spiritual connection.