Mediumship refers to the practice of purportedly mediating communication between spirits of the deceased and living human beings. A medium is a person who claims to facilitate this communication, often through various means such as trance states, automatic writing, or channeling. The term originates from the Latin word medium, meaning "middle," signifying the medium's role as an intermediary. In Hebrew, the term can be translated as בינוניות (binuniyut), while in Spanish it is mediumnidad, and in French, médiumnité. Mediumship is often associated with spiritualism, a religious movement that emerged in the mid-19th century, emphasizing the belief in the ability to communicate with spirits. Throughout history, mediumship has been both celebrated and criticized, with proponents arguing for its spiritual and healing benefits, while skeptics attribute it to psychological phenomena such as cold reading, hot reading, or outright fraud. The practice remains a subject of debate within both religious and scientific communities.
Spiritual practice
Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship or spirit channelling, including séance tables, trance, and ouija. The practice is associated with spiritualism and spiritism. A similar New Age practice is known as channeling.