Modern Séances
The séance is an integral part of Spiritualism, a belief that the souls of the departed are able to make contact with the dead through a “sensitive” or “medium” or when a person is in a subconscious state of mind, such as a trance. A modern séance is a gathering of individuals who wish to communicate with the dead plus at least one individual who is a sensitive or medium to conduct the service, otherwise phenomena will be unlikely to occur. Phenomena becomes more impressive if there are more mediums present at a séance, however, some believe that having more than one medium in a seating creates confusion when psychic energy is channelled. Sitters should be equally male and female, not elderly, and they must take the séance seriously because although scepticism does not prevent phenomena, it may hinder the session and anger the spirits.
Most séances are conducted in a dark or candle-lit room because light interferes with the spirit’s ability to manifest. The sitters hold hands or place their hands flat on a table, with their fingers touching, as they sit in a circle. This creates a psychic current that allows the spirit to borrow energy and manifest. Next, the sitters engage in conversation, calling forth a spirit as the medium falls into a trance. Common phenomena that occur during séances include: cold air passing over the sitter’s hands, a general drop in room temperature, tapping on the table or floor, touches or pinches, orbs that are visible on camera, table tipping and high-pitched moans.
Sitters often use the tapping to communicate with the spirit, asking them to answer questions with one tap for “yes” and two taps for “no”. Ouija boards and psychic writing are also used because they can, if the spirit is willing, yield more complex and meaningful answers than simple taps. Of course the phenomena that occurs is open to justified scepticism and critique. However, modern society appears to be slowly moving toward acceptance of certain forms of psychic energy, like those used yoga and acupuncture, leaving open the possibility that séances will become more popular than in the past.
