THIS DOCUMENT
on SPIRITUALISM
WAS PRESENTED BY
TOM HAWKE
AT THE A.S.A. SEMINAR HELD AT
ON 14TH MAY 2005.
[This is a copy of the presentation
kindly given to us by Mr Tom Hawke for our use.]
As author
of these documents, I claim ownership under the copyright laws of
If I have
failed to acknowledge any of my sources, I earnestly apologise. This work is
incomplete. Currently under
investigation are the following historical figures and their activities within
the Spiritualist movement in
Ira and William Davenport,
Mrs. Fielden,
George Spriggs,
Mrs. Reynolds.
Emma Hardinge Britten,
Miss H.K. Milne,
Charles Foster,
Horace Leaf,
Annie Eva Fay,
Mrs. H.B. Fay,
Horace Leaf.
Information was gathered from, and thanks are due to:
The ZERDIN FELLOWSHIP.
The State Library of NSW.
The History of Spiritualism; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
The Encyclopaedia of Psychic
Science; Nandor Fodor.
Rustlings in the
Miracles Past and Present; William
Mountford.
Artefacts, books and exhibits are from my own collection and
from the collection of
All errors are mine.
Anyone with information that may increase our knowledge of
the early days is welcome to contact me.
0438 221 691. I shall ring you
back.
Thomas H. Hawke.
SUGGESTED
I would recommend these books as worthy additions to any
Spiritualist library.
For anyone researching spiritualism, the Sutherland Library
in
Australian Related:
The Power Beyond – Bruce
Williams
Rustlings in the
Under the Southern Cross – Horace
Leaf
Wanderings of a Spiritualist – Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle
The
Messages from Beyond – Alfred
Gabay
The Autobiography of Emma Hardinge
Brittain
Experiences in Spiritualism – W.D.C.
Denovan
General Historical:
The History of Spiritualism (two
volumes) – Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle
The Encyclopaedia of Psychic Science
– Nandor Fodor
Story of Psychic Science – Hereward
Carrington
There is No Death – Florence
Marryat
Phenomena of Materialisation – Baron Von
Schrenck-Notzing
People from the Other World – Henry Olcott
Development:
The Zerdin Buzz Sheet – The
Zerdin Fellowship
In Pursuit of Physical Mediumship – Robin P. Foy
How to Develop Mediumship and
Channelling – Simeon Stefanidakis
There are many others of great value.
If you find any dealing with Spiritualism in
My colleagues and I are willing to purchase books and
artefacts related to Spiritualism in general and
WHATEVER HAPPENED
TO SPIRITUALISM?
ALL GREAT AND TRUE THINGS ARE BOTH
SIMPLE AND INTELLIGIBLE. –
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; The History of Spiritualism,
Vol 1.
In
June 2000 I attended a workshop and séance in
Spiritualism,
religion, philosophy and science is a gift of spirit to this world. The events at Hydesville in 1848 and the
teachings of earlier mediums; Emanuel Swedenborg, A.J. Davis and others,
presented us with a living religion, one based on facts, not faith alone. The life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth,
the Prophets of the Christian Bible and the Holy Books of other religions show
us that communication between the two worlds has always occurred.
Communication
with our loved ones, evidence that life, personality and endeavour continue
after the transition called death.
Spirit
healing and the relief of grief, the philosophy of living so as to fit
ourselves to our future life in the world of spirit.
Surely all these things are gifts
beyond price?
So, why this fascination for talking
to ‘entities [?]’ who claim never to have lived on Earth?
Is it Spirit or another aspect of
the so-called mediums’ personality?
Are the communicators really the
elevated souls they are claiming to be?
Or are they Spirit living close to
the Earth plane, entertaining themselves at the expense of the gullible?
May it simply be a lazy imitation of
mediumship or a nasty power trip by the channel? There is no doubt that all of the above is
possible and does occur.
SPIRITUALISM
Spiritualism is the Science, Philosophy and Religion of
continuous life, based upon the fact of communication, through mediumship, with
those who live in the Spirit World.
Spiritualism
is a science because it investigates, analyses and classifies communications
and manifestations, demonstrated from the spirit side of life. Psychic research is conducted in most
industrialised nations and although many researchers continue sit on the fence,
our claims have not been disproved.
Fraud has and undoubtedly does take place. As Spiritualists, we need to expose
fraudulent mediums. It is a fact of our
materialist world that some people endeavour to make money from the grief of
others.
Spiritualism
is a philosophy because it studies the laws of nature on both the seen and
unseen sides of life and bases its’ conclusions upon present observed
facts. It accepts statements of observed
facts of past ages and conclusions drawn from them, when they are sustained by
reason and by results of observed facts of the present day. We propose a way of living that fits each
person for his or her ongoing life in spirit.
It is suggested that we live a life of service, service to all things,
whilst honouring our need to live in the mundane world.
Spiritualism
is a religion because it strives to understand and to comply with the Physical,
Mental and Spiritual laws of nature, which are the laws of God. We ask no one to believe on faith alone. In line with the principle of personal
responsibility, each person is expected to make his or her own decisions about
what they will and will not accept.
Within the Spiritualist movement you are expected to test, to question
and to test again.
There are two basic facts in Spiritualism: the continuity of personality and the power
of communication after the transformation known as death.
Death is not the end.
We are reborn into a spirit body, the counterpart of the physical. Individuality, character and memory undergo
no change. Neither punishment nor reward
is meted out. Our place in the new life
depends upon our actions and thoughts in this one. Like attracts like. If we were evil in thought and deed in this
life, we shall associate with people of like mind in the next. If we lived a life of service and
selflessness we will find ourselves among those who lived similar lives. Progression to finer levels of existence is
available to all but must be earned.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote: “Spiritualism is a religion for those who
find themselves outside all religions; while on the contrary it greatly
strengthens the faith of those who already possess religious beliefs.” The greatest difference between Spiritualism
and other religions is that we found our belief in survival upon proven and
provable facts instead of ancient traditions.
We offer a progressive and evolving religion. Spiritualists do not look backwards to fading
traditions but forward to dawning experience.
It restores the values of primitive Christianity and teaches that the
angels are with us now as in olden days.
We return a positive answer to the age-old question: “If a person dies shall they live again?” and
does away with the fear of death. The
Roman Catholic Saint Augustine wrote:
“The spirits of the dead can be sent to the living and can unveil to
them the future which they themselves have learned from other spirits or from
angels, or by divine revelation.”
Ref: Conan Doyle –
The History of Spiritualism Vols. 1 &11
Fodor – An Encyclopaedia of Psychic
Science
WHAT IS MEDIUMSHIP?
A Medium is a person through whom spirit personalities may
reveal their continued existence to us.
This may be subjective, in the case of mental mediumship or objective,
in physical mediumship. Information
given by spirit may or may not be provable.
You need to bear in mind that acceptance or rejection of evidence rests
solely with the person the message is directed to.
Communication
with Spirit has always occurred. Sadly,
it is an aspect of most religions that once established; their hierarchy
(priests, bishops, popes, etc) denied ordinary people the right to communicate
personally with spirit. This they reserved for themselves alone. Early Spiritualists were accused of insanity
and fraud, threatened with lynching and damned by many churchmen as agents of
the devil. Mediumship gave the lie to
the claim that only by attending their churches and believing on faith alone
may we be saved from damnation. The
simple fact that communication is possible, that our well being as spirit
depends only on how we live and think, disempowered the churchmen who once
controlled our lives.
The development of any mediumistic skill demands devotion,
practise, and above all perseverance. In
accordance with natural law, like attracts like. A person sitting for development whose
thoughts are of a low nature will attract spirit of a like nature. A person who lives a life of service to
others will attract spirit people of similar quality.
In broad terms, mediumship falls into two categories –
mental mediumship and physical mediumship. These categories then need to be
divided into different skills, each skill demanding different abilities.
Healing mediumship, (the greatest of all gifts), is a combination of both.
A
medium raises his or her vibration to link with spirit. Words, feelings, pictures are impressed upon
their mind by spirit and then relayed to the sitter/s. Thus, a triangular link is achieved: Spirit – Medium – Sitter.
A
psychic tunes in to the sitter and spirit is not necessarily involved. Thoughts and impressions received may thus
provide information about the persons’ past, their current situation and
possibilities for the future. From
these, it is possible to provide information and likely options regarding
health, career and relationships. These
future options change each time the person exercises their free will.
The
intention and motivation of the sitter is of great importance. Spirit cannot and will not live your life for
you. Yes, they will help, try to nudge
you in the right direction, but you are expected to live your life and make
your own decisions. Running to ask
spirit for advice on what clothes to wear or what holiday destination to choose
is a waste of time. Always remember,
spirits have their own lives to lead and are active and busy in their world.
This
is the finest and certainly the most fascinating form of mediumship. It has also become the most rare. Modern Spiritualism began with physical
mediumship (rapping on walls at the Fox homestead). Physical mediumship was common until the
1940s but today is rarely practised at its’ highest level. To our knowledge there are only two mediums
publicly demonstrating this ability today.
They are
Thanks
to the dedication and example of these men, there are now many mediums and
circles sitting for development. The
ZERDIN SOCIETY, recently begun in
Physical
Mediumship may involve any or all of the following phenomena:
Physical Manifestation of Spirit
Movement of objects
Spirit Lights
Spirit Writing and Art.
Planchette and Slate Writing
Apporting of objects
Direct and/or Independent Voice
Trance and Deep Trance
Table Rapping
Ouija
The development of physical mediumship usually involves
years of patient work in a closed circle.
Very few people appear to have the morphic makeup, which makes them
suitable subjects for spirit to work with.
SITTING FOR PHYSICAL MEDIUMSHIP
This document is to be used
as a guide only. It has been compiled
with the assistance of a group of Spiritualists who have, collectively, over
one hundred years of experience in this form of mediumship. They are all veterans of literally hundreds
of successful séances, both in
FORMING THE CIRCLE.
Having a recognized physical
medium is not essential, although he or she would obviously be a great
asset. Each circle appears to be
conducted, Spirit-side, by a circle of men and women who pool their skills and
resources to make communication possible.
These people may select a member of your circle to sit as the
medium. It may happen quickly, it may
not happen at all. The compiler of this
document sat for several years in a small circle, never more than five
people. We experienced a wide range of
phenomena, including independent voice and spirit writing, without a recognized
physical or trance medium.
It is essential to
understand, from the outset, that spirit is in charge of the circle. Their decisions are final. Any dissension among the circle members
regarding spirits’ choice of medium must result in the dissenter/s leaving the
circle.
Selection of the circle
members is all-important. If you have
any doubts whatever, do not invite that person.
The same rule must also apply if and when you reach the stage of
inviting observers, guests, to your séance.
Harmony is all-important. When
seeking new members for the circle, the opinion of each permanent sitter must
be considered. One circle member unable
to work with another will be destructive of spirits’ effort. We suggest that new sitters may be invited
for a trial period, four sittings. At
the end of that time, if anyone is uncomfortable, that sitter should be able to
leave with no ill feeling.
Many feel they would like to
sit, yet find the reality too onerous.
Restrict numbers to between five and seven persons. You will find it extremely difficult to
maintain the necessary harmony and commitment with a larger group.
ACCOMMODATION.
Ideally, the room should be
used for nothing except your physical circle.
It needs to be large enough for everyone to sit comfortably. The blackout must be absolute. Temperature may vary markedly during séance,
so the room should normally have a comfortable internal temperature. The blackout must be set in place and the
room thoroughly cleaned well before the sitting. Small objects may easily be collected by
ectoplasm exuded from the medium. On its
return to the mediums body, debris, insects, could easily be returned with
it.
You will be sitting in a
pitch-black room for up to an hour and a half.
A dimmer switch is necessary, with a red light bulb. This will serve to assist transition from
full light to darkness and reverse.
Spirit may in time give permission to use a dim red light. Your seats should be upright yet comfortable
and firmly balanced. They must not rock
or create other noise. The mediums’
chair should be robust and have armrests, both for support and to secure the
medium. A bowl of water should be placed
in the room, along with fresh flowers.
TOOLS.
Spirit may request small
objects which they can move about to show you their presence. A séance trumpet made of wood or cardboard,
small harmonica and a small bell are suggested.
Each should have a small amount of luminous tape attached. Not too much!
Luminous tape on everything will confuse the observer.
An audiotape or CD Player is
needed to play the songs you will be singing to. We suggest these be selected and recorded
onto a CD or tape that will be used only for séance. Sitters should learn the words, although
humming or making a rhythmic noise is okay.
A second recorder is needed to keep a record of what occurs during each
sitting. What you are doing may well be
of historical value. It is also possible
that a direction given by spirit may go unheard. It is important to check the tape between
sittings. Indicator lights on this
equipment must be covered up.
THE CABINET.
This may not be necessary at
the beginning but will become essential as development progresses. Spirit use the cabinet to concentrate the
energy gathered from the medium, and to some extent from the sitters. It becomes, in a sense, their
laboratory. Spirit add material from
their own sources to ours in order to produce materializations and other
advanced phenomena.
One possibility is to
curtain off an alcove or corner of the room.
The curtain needs to be heavy and on rings, to enable spirit to open and
close it when needed. The top of the
cabinet needs to be covered as well, to assist in concentrating the material
being developed by spirit. An enclosed
space at one end of the room, yet in the centre, is another option.
THE SÉANCE.
Arrive punctually, no more
than thirty minutes before starting time.
If you were attending an appointment in the mundane world you would be
punctual, so too when keeping your engagements with our spirit friends. Do not engage in gossip or negative
conversation. Séance should be looked
forward to with anticipation. A negative
outlook held by any one sitter will impede, if not prevent spirits’ work.
A light meal, taken a few
hours before the sitting, is recommended.
After the séance, more light food may be eaten. Heavy meals, eaten before sitting, will cause
you discomfort.
Jewellery and watches must
be removed and mobile telephones switched off.
Any object likely to make a noise, to glow, or to in any conceivable way
disrupt the work being undertaken, must be left outside the séance room. Each sitter could be provided with a bag for
these personal items and the whole lot placed in a lockable case. This will then be left outside the room.
As spirit may create
perfumes during séance, circle members should shower before the sitting but not
wear perfumes, non-scented deodorants are okay.
The same clothing may be worn to each sitting. There is a belief that our clothes become
imbued with the atmosphere created at séance.
It is recommended that you wash them between sittings!
During the sitting, sit
comfortably erect with both feet on the floor.
Do not stick your legs out!
Spirit moving about the room and some types of phenomena may cause you
injury. Let your hands lay naturally in
your lap. Spirit will decide where you
are to sit.
The Opening Prayer: THE SAFETY OF YOUR MEDIUM is
all-important. This must be spoken
clearly as part of the prayer.
Otherwise, it should be kept simple and sincere.
We have learned through the
study of Natural Law that like will attract like. From the beginning, your sittings should be approached
with reverence. Always reach for the
highest and the best. Those in spirit
who devote their time to work with you are entitled to your respect and
thankfulness. The prayer should reflect
this, as well as asking for the protection of the circle and the development of
Physical Phenomena.
Offering the prayer may be
rotated among the circle members. Do not
make requests for world peace, healing or anything else. You need to be very clear as to the purpose
of your séance. It is for Physical Phenomena! Dithering about this will get you poor
results or none at all.
The red light may now be
turned off. As you become used to the
darkness, check the blackout once more.
Never be satisfied with just ‘a tiny spot of light’ in one corner of the
room. Attend to it immediately.
Singing should now take
place. The selection of tunes on your
player should be bright and cheerful. Do
not sing so loud that you may drown out spirit voices. Long silences will lower the energy in the
room. Remember that you are a group of
friends, on both sides of the veil.
Maintain a party atmosphere.
Cheerful conversation, comments about anything you believe is occurring
are important. So too is humour. Playing back your tape afterwards may show
you phenomena that was overlooked.
Always close with
prayer. Give thanks to Spirit for their
work, assuring them of your continued efforts.
********************************************
The
following are notes outlining the mediumship of some of the mediums in
Charles
Baileys’ mediumship began in
In
1902, Dr.C.W.McCarthy of Sydney subjected him to rigid tests. Bailey was stripped, searched and tied up in
a sack. On occasion, the sitters were
also searched and Bailey was enclosed in a cage sealed with mosquito
netting. Doors, window and the fireplace
were sealed.
The
result? After a few minutes in trance,
the medium was found to hold a live bird and a nest in each hand. Many of these birds were kept for days in
cages, sometimes dying in captivity and sometimes disappearing as mysteriously
as they had arrived. On one occasion a
live, 18-inch long, shovel-nosed shark was brought in. A crab, with seaweed and seawater dripping
were similarly apported. Another time, a
long snake was found coiling around the mediums’ neck. On being covered with a cloth, it
disappeared, in full light. Under cover,
apports sometimes appeared in good visibility, or were seen to drop from a
height at some distance from the medium.
Bailey
travelled to
Back
in
I wonder where they are now?
JESSE SHEPARD
Jesse Shepard visited
The
séances were primarily musical performances, given under the control of
high-class spirit musicians. Other
phases of mediumship, often in combination with the musical, also
occurred. These included the movement of
objects, raps, materialization of spirit and inspired writing. Mr.Shepard also inspired the development of
mediumship in others. He generally
preferred darkness or semi-darkness as desirable for many of the manifestations
of spirit through himself. Curtis,
however, at times held séances with him in full daylight, and never without
spirit manifestation of some kind. On
the evening of the day that they met, Curtis attended a séance at the home of
Dr. Motherwell, in
“The
séance was held in a large drawing room.
Altogether there were six persons present, three ladies, Dr. Motherwell,
the Mr. Shepard and myself. The medium
was seated at the piano with the rest of us in an arc, some twelve feet from
him. A small table sat between us, on
which rested a guitar, tambourine and pasteboard speaking trumpet. The room was darkened – but not absolutely
dark, for we could still see one another.
The
music commenced. After a few minutes, I
was aware of the presence of spirit. A
cool soft breeze played on my face and hands.
The medium all this while was playing operatic and other music on the
grand piano. I clearly heard the gentle
voice of a loving friend. In a little
while, that voice repeated her name a gave me a personal message.
We
sang two or three hymns with piano accompaniment. During one of these songs a spirit-chorister,
in a magnificently clear pure tenor voice, no more than twelve inches from my
face joined us in a verse of six lines.
No human tones ever seemed to me so clear as this harmonious voice. Spirit hands were now and again about me – on
my face, head and arms. Names, with
messages were given by some of my ancient relatives. The other sitters were likewise favoured with
messages from their spirit friends and were also constantly touched by spirit
hands.
A
single line of a hymn was sung to me by an independent spirit voice - the next
line to the adjoining sitter and so on to the end.
The
guitar commenced sailing about the room near the ceiling and over and about our
heads, gently touching or resting with each of us. At the same time soft music escaped from its
chords. During all this time the medium
was still playing the piano. The
tambourine now and then flew about, striking us on the head, knees, elbows or
shoulders. The trumpet, too, floated
about with voices speaking to each in turn.
The
séance finished with a performance entitled ‘The Grand Egyptian March’, sounds
like harp accompaniment were heard, together with noises like tramping or
marching about and around the piano with naked feet. Many other peculiar manifestations of spirit
greeted the senses of the little company thus met together for gaining
knowledge of and from the spirit-world.
This
medium paid a visit of two to three weeks duration to Ballarat. Semi-public musical séances were held, along
with development classes and cabinet materializations. At the latter, at each sitting, several forms
appeared outside the wooden cabinet, which had been constructed for the mediums
use. In addition to the door, there was
a window or opening, about fifteen to eighteen inches square. At each meeting, one after another of the
persons present were called to the window.
A curtain across the aperture was partly lifted. I was standing near the opening, and was
favoured with a message from a spirit who was beside me, outside the
cabinet. The voice was low, but quite audible
and distinct. None of the other sitters
were within three to four yards of me.
The curtain moved up and I was able to see into the cabinet. The medium appeared to be in a dead
trance. As I watched, the curtain wholly
lifted and I saw a most exquisitely beautiful female figure. A wreath of gold and green ivy bound her hair,
the colour of her face seemed perfect, the eyes soft and deep with eyebrows and
lashes. I saw this figure three times,
clearly, distinctly and luminous.
The
full form materializations – some evenings there were seven or eight – came out
of the cabinet door. They seemed
complete, but most of them too shadowy to be recognized. One lady present was certain of the
materialization of her granddaughter, a child some months deceased. Others claimed recognitions more or less
distinct.
Another
séance was held in a gentleman’s’ house in Ballarat. There were five persons present in the
drawing room. At the opening, Mr.
Shepard performed some music on the Broadwood Semi-grand at the further end of
the room. This finished, it was noticed
that the instrument was out of tune and Mr. Shepard joined the rest of the
party, fifteen or sixteen feet distant from the piano. There commenced a process of tuning; the
strings were being struck, and wrenching discordant sounds were heard, as of a
tuner at work. No human shape was near
the instrument. The lid of the piano was
closed. Other curious phenomena were
made manifest during the evening.
Late
one evening Mr. Shepard, another gentleman and myself had supper in an oyster
saloon. Whilst we were there, raps were
continuous – on the ceiling, sideboards, chairs, on and under the table, on and
under the plates before us, and on the floor.
Intelligence could also be furnished through these raps by questions
being put either vocally or mentally.
Rustlings
in The Golden City, was originally published in Ballarat in 1886. This article is drawn from the third edition,
printed by ‘Light’, in
The
American medium Henry Slade visited Sydney and Melbourne somewhere between 1879
and 1883. He was the best known of the
slate writers. Fodor, in the
Encyclopaedia of Psychic Science, tells us that sceptics and believers were
bitterly divided over his phenomena.
These notes are gathered from both Fodor and from Curtis’ – Rustlings in
the
It
was common practice in the nineteenth century for people to carry folding
slates for the purpose of writing notes, paper not being as cheaply available
as it is now. The procedure used at a
Slade sitting is as follows. The sitter
would bring an unused slate with them. A
chip of slate pencil would be placed between the leaves (pages). The slate would then be closed and
locked. When writing commenced, a
scratching sound would often be audible in the room. The slate would sometimes be held by the medium,
be held by both medium and sitter, by the sitter only or simply placed on a
nearby table. The medium might also tap
the slate against the sitters’ body, especially the head.
Slade
had been demonstrating in the
En
route to
In
September of that year, he was accused of fraud By Professor Lankester. Lankester was a scientist and a fierce
opponent of spiritualism. Lankester
claimed that a message was already written on the slate, before the spirit
writing was supposed to have commenced.
Many were willing to testify to the truth of the phenomena, yet he was
limited to four witnesses. He was
convicted and sentenced to three months hard labour, the magistrate basing his
decision on “inferences to be drawn from the known course of nature.” The sentence was quashed on appeal.
In
Moving
on to
In
1878, Slade arrived in
“We
met at Mr. Terry’s’ (founder of what became the VSU) rooms in
We
next used my own slate – a Faber’s book-slate of three leaves, enclosed within
covers. Slade placed a piece of pencil
inside the cover and locked it. It was
held for a moment under the edge of the table, and then seemed to be forced, in
the mediums hand, to pass up my left arm my shoulder and ear. I could clearly hear the pencil commence
writing and work its’ way from one line to the next. Three raps of the slate indicated the writing
was finished. Most of the writing at
this séance was done with the slate resting thus. Messages were received from my friend Anne
Beal and from my mother, Elizabeth Curtis.
They were signed!
Inside
the last page of my slate, I had pinned a small coil of hair, cut from Anne’s’
head when she died in
Back in
the
It is possible that Slade had little genuine power at
this period. He fell victim to the drink
habit, his moral standing was far from high and he sank lower and lower. He died penniless and in mental decrepitude
in a Michigan Sanatorium in 1905.
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