Physical Mediumship

Physical Mediumship

There are two main types of mediumship: mental and physical. Mental mediumship is subjective while physical mediumship is objective. Basically, physical mediumship covers that which is done without physical contact. Levitation, apports, materializations, etherializations, trumpets, slates, ectoplasm, rappings, and independent voice would all come under the heading of physical phenomena.

It is not always easy to categorize whether a particular phenomenon falls under the heading of mental or physical mediumship. For example, automatism may be regarded as mental mediumship because although the hand of the medium is utilized in producing the material, what is produced seems to come through a mental process. Yet it is a physical action which produces the results; it is spirit that controls the hand and therefore it might well be classed as physical mediumship. Similarly, table tipping and direct voice are difficult to categorize. Physical mediumship is usually accompanied by mental, but not necessarily so the other way around.