Speaking with spirits and the dead
Mediumship, ancestor rites, possession and the offerings made to the unseen.
Speaking with spirits and the dead is the aim of mediumship, ancestor rites, possession and necromancy. It runs from the spirit mediums of Korea and Brazil to Vodou possession, Chinese ancestor offerings, the Mexican Day of the Dead, Victorian spiritualism and the Witch of Endor of the Bible. It is a central practice in some living religions and a frequent target of fraud in others. This page covers who speaks to the dead and how they are judged.
Ways of contact
Methods differ. In possession, a spirit or deity is said to speak through the body of a medium, as in Vodou, Candombl茅, Haitian and Brazilian rites, and in Korean gut. In trance or dream, a shaman travels to the spirit world. In offerings and festivals, families feed and talk to ancestors, as in the Hungry Ghost month in China and the ofrenda in Mexico. Spiritualism added the seance and the table-rapping of the 1840s.
Who may
In many societies, women lead: Korean mudang, Okinawan yuta, Brazilian m茫es de santo and the Western spiritualist mediums of the nineteenth century, who found in mediumship a public role denied elsewhere. Elsewhere, the role is for elders and ancestors' descendants. Some traditions require initiation, and some say contact with the dead is not for outsiders to attempt. Spirits and ancestors are not always friendly: mediums report angry, hungry or lost beings, and rites exist for settling them, such as offerings for neglected ancestors in China and Vietnam.
Authority and fear
Religions disagree. Christianity, Judaism and Islam each forbid certain contact with the dead while honouring prayer for them. Spiritist movements around Kardec in Brazil and France treat communication as a doctrine. Colonial authorities banned possession cults in many places, often labelling them devil worship, and some Pentecostal churches today condemn them in the same terms. The rites are widely found in Africa too, where ancestors are consulted at the family shrine and are held to watch over the living.
Fraud, grief and study
Grieving people are vulnerable. Fraudulent mediums, from the Fox sisters, who confessed in 1888, to modern cold readers, have taken money by exploiting loss. Researchers point to cold reading and to the ideomotor effect behind the Ouija board. Many bereaved people also report real comfort from rites that keep a bond with the dead, and counsellors acknowledge that continuing bonds are common. Doctors and psychologists note that a grief reaction can include hearing or sensing the dead, which is common and not in itself a sign of illness.
Speaking with spirits and the dead on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
馃嚠馃嚦 IndiaChakra啶氞啷嵿ぐ
Meditation points in the subtle body used in Hindu and Buddhist yogaTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Change and initiation Living
馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 5 moreTetragrammaton讬讛讜讛
The four-letter name of God in the Hebrew Bible, written as YHWH.Belief 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 1 moreMantra啶え啷嵿い啷嵿ぐ啶
A sacred sound or phrase repeated to focus the mind and invoke spiritual powerText 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚨馃嚟 PhilippinesPhilippine mythology
The indigenous myths and spirits of the Philippines, shaped by centuries of trade and colonial contact.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚠馃嚦 IndiaSiddhi啶膏た啶︵啶оた
Magical powers and spiritual attainments in Indian religionsBelief 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomEnglish folklore
The myths, legends, and customs of England passed down through generations.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚤馃嚮 Latvia and 1 moreLatvian mythology
A collection of myths about gods, spirits, and the afterlife from the Baltic region.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚫馃嚦 Senegal and 5 morePentagram蟺蔚谓蟿维纬蟻伪渭渭慰谓
A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm 路 Protection 路 Binding and oaths Living
馃嚠馃嚦 IndiaMuhurtamuh奴rta
A Hindu unit of time used to select auspicious moments for rituals and daily practiceBelief 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 7 moreSlavic Native Faith袪芯写薪芯胁械褉懈械
A modern polytheistic movement drawing on Slavic folklore, romanticism, and global spiritual traditions.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚚馃嚘 Canada and 1 moreTotemdoodem
A spirit or symbol linking a group to nature, from Ojibwe clan systems to Australian kinshipBelief 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 5 moreHoly well
A water source revered for healing and ritual across pagan and Christian traditionsTradition 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 1 moreAmrita啶呧ぎ啷冟い (Sanskrit)
A Sanskrit concept of immortality and the nectar that grants it across Indian religionsBelief 路 Healing 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 3 moreSpirit
An invisible force or soul found in many cultures, linked to gods, humans, and nature.Being 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 4 moreAngel诪诇讗讱
A supernatural messenger or intermediary spirit found in many religious traditions.Being 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Protection Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesAshtar
A channeled extraterrestrial figure central to mid-century American ufology and New Age spiritualityBeing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceSacred mysteries渭蠀蟽蟿萎蟻喂慰谓
Secret ceremonies and divine doctrines held to exceed human reasonBelief 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Change and initiation Living
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 5 moreLock of hair
A piece of human hair kept for symbolic, sentimental, or superstitious reasons.Substance 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚠馃嚤 IsraelShekhinah砖职讈讻执讬谞指讛
The divine presence of God dwelling among people in Jewish and Islamic thoughtBelief 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚠馃嚪 Iran and 5 moreKhidr丕賱禺囟乇
A Qur'anic guide and saint believed to hold hidden wisdom and aid those in need.Being 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚠馃嚦 IndiaCausal plane
A high spiritual realm in Theosophy and New Age cosmologyBelief 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Change and initiation Living
馃嚠馃嚤 IsraelSeder hishtalshelus住讚专 讛砖转诇砖诇讜转
A Kabbalistic cosmology mapping the descent of divine light through spiritual realms to the physical world.Belief 路 Power and authority 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Mantra: Markrosenrosen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tagalog religion: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
- Tetragrammaton: Lakisletter.gif : derivative work: Filii Henoch ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Chakra: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Amrita: http://picasaweb.google.com/injamaven, CC BY 3.0, source
- English folklore: J. R. Skelton, Public domain, source
- Latvian mythology: Dezidor, CC BY 3.0, source
- Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
- Slavic Native Faith: Union of Slavic Rodnover Communities (小芯褞蟹 小谢邪胁褟薪褋泻懈褏 袨斜褖懈薪 小谢邪胁褟薪褋泻芯泄, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Totem: Jami430, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Angel: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Ashtar: Evedawn99, Public domain, source
- Seder hishtalshelus: Daderot, Public domain, source
- Sacred mysteries: Johannes Hopffe, Public domain, source
- Lock of hair: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Spirit: Jastrow, Public domain, source
- Holy well: The Speckled Bird, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Khidr: Unknown author, Public domain, source