“Say From Whence You Owe This Strange Intelligence”: Investigating Explanatory Systems of Spiritualist Mental Mediumship Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Abstract

Walsh and Vaughan (1993) defined transpersonal experiences as those "in which the sense of identity or self extends beyond (trans) the individual or personal to encompass wider aspects of humankind, life, psyche or cosmos" (p. 203). One population who regularly report such experiences are mediums. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten spiritualist mediums to explore their lived experience, such as how they communicate with the deceased, the meaning of spirit guide phenomena, and the role of mediumship, regardless of the actual ontology of mediumship. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) identified three themes: explanatory systems of mediumship, spirit guides as transcendental beings versus aspects of self, and the purpose of mediumship. These themes illuminated aspects of the mediumistic experience that have implications for an understanding of states of consciousness, transcendence, and the Higher Self.

Reframing voices and visions using a spiritual model. An interpretative phenomenological analysis of anomalous experiences in mediumship

“…This research was part of a larger mixed methods study that investigated the psychology and phenom-enology of mediumship in order to explore the broad range of mediumistic experiences rather than focusing exclusively on the voice-hearing phenomenon (see Roxburgh & Roe, 2011). As such, some findings reported here overlap with those reported elsewhere (Roxburgh & Roe, 2013). 2.…”

“…Three themes emerged from the analysis of the data that are of relevance to how individuals come to define anomalous experiences, such as voice hearing, in terms of mediumship; Childhood anomalous experiences, A search for meaning: Normalisation of mediumship; and relationship with spirit. Three further themes reflect transpersonal understandings of mediumship and are reported elsewhere (see Roxburgh & Roe, 2013).…”

Mental health and mediumship: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

“…Typically, mediums report being able to communicate with the deceased through one or more of the senses during a meditative state, so that they might report being able to see (clairvoyance), hear (clairaudience), or feel (clairsentience) the presence of the deceased (Rock et al, 2008). Communication may take place through having the thoughts of the deceased directly communicated to the medium, or through discarnate spirit guides acting as intermediaries (Roxburgh & Roe, 2013). Less commonly, the deceased might communicate directly through (rather than with) the medium (e.g., in direct speech to the sitter), usually when the medium is in a trance-like state (Roxburgh & Roe, 2013).…”

“…Communication may take place through having the thoughts of the deceased directly communicated to the medium, or through discarnate spirit guides acting as intermediaries (Roxburgh & Roe, 2013). Less commonly, the deceased might communicate directly through (rather than with) the medium (e.g., in direct speech to the sitter), usually when the medium is in a trance-like state (Roxburgh & Roe, 2013).…”

“…However, a sizeable portion of the public who are bereaved consult mediums in the hope of being able to communicate with deceased loved ones (Roe, 1998;Walter, 2008). For such people, mediumistic practice may provide therapeutic value (Evenden, Cooper, & Mitchell, 2013) and mediums themselves have reported the purpose of mediumship to be one of counselling or therapeutic support (Osborne & Bacon, 2015;Roxburgh & Roe, 2013).…”