Concept
Mediumship
Related concepts (40)
Anomalistic psychology
In psychology, anomalistic psychology is the study of human behaviour and experience connected with what is often called the paranormal, with few assumptions made about the validity (or otherwise) of the reported phenomena. According to anomalistic psychology, paranormal phenomena have naturalistic explanations resulting from psychological and physical factors which have given the false impression of paranormal activity to some people. There were many early publications that gave rational explanations for alleged paranormal experiences.
Umbanda
Umbanda (ũˈbɐ̃dɐ) is an Afro-Brazilian religion that emerged in Rio de Janeiro in the 1920s. Deriving largely from Spiritism, it also combines elements from Afro-Brazilian traditions like Candomblé as well as Roman Catholicism. There is no central authority in control of Umbanda, which is organized around autonomous places of worship termed centros or terreiros. Umbanda has many branches, each one with a different set of beliefs and practices. Some common beliefs are the existence of a Supreme Being and creator of the universe known as Olodumare.
Necromancy
Necromancy (ˈnɛkrəmænsi) is the practice of magical sorcery involving communication with the dead by summoning their spirits as apparitions or visions for the purpose of divination; imparting the means to foretell future events; and discovery of hidden knowledge. Sometimes categorized under death magic, the term is occasionally also used in a more general sense to refer to black magic or witchcraft as a whole. In fictional settings such as Dungeons and Dragons or fantasy video games it is associated with the reanimation of corpses often meant to be used as weapons.
Candomblé
Candomblé (kɐ̃dõˈblɛ) is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially those of the Yoruba, Bantu, and Gbe. There is some influence from the Roman Catholic form of Christianity. There is no central authority in control of Candomblé, which is organized around autonomous terreiros (houses). Candomblé involves the veneration of spirits known as orixás.
Near-death experience
A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers describe as having similar characteristics. When positive, which the great majority are, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detachment from the body, feelings of levitation, total serenity, security, warmth, joy, the experience of absolute dissolution, review of major life events, the presence of a light, and seeing dead relatives.
Shamanism
Shamanism or samanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman or saman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into the physical world for the purpose of healing, divination, or to aid human beings in some other way. Beliefs and practices categorized as "shamanic" have attracted the interest of scholars from a variety of disciplines, including anthropologists, archeologists, historians, religious studies scholars, philosophers and psychologists.
Fuji (planchette writing)
Fuji (), also colloquially known as "Chinese Ouija", is a method of "planchette writing", or "spirit writing", that uses a suspended sieve or tray to guide a stick which writes Chinese characters in sand or incense ashes. Beginning around the Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644), the fuji method and written characters changed from 扶箕 "support the sieve" (spirit-writing using a suspended sieve or winnowing tray) to 扶乩 "support the planchette" (directing a stick or stylus, typically made from a willow or peach branch, and roughly resembling a dowsing-rod).
Magical thinking
Magical thinking, or superstitious thinking, is the belief that unrelated events are causally connected despite the absence of any plausible causal link between them, particularly as a result of supernatural effects. Examples include the idea that personal thoughts can influence the external world without acting on them, or that objects must be causally connected if they resemble each other or have come into contact with each other in the past. Magical thinking is a type of fallacious thinking and is a common source of invalid causal inferences.
Espiritismo
Espiritismo (Portuguese and Spanish for "Spiritism") is a term used in Latin America and the Caribbean to refer to the popular belief that evolved and less evolved spirits can affect health, luck and other aspects of human life. The phenomenon and broad range of beliefs defined as "Espiritismo" originated with the ideas of Spiritism defined by Allen Kardec. His Spiritism would become popular in Latin America and influence existing religions as well as forming Africanized traditions of Espiritismo itself.
Ghost hunting
Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are purportedly haunted by ghosts. Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect evidence supporting the existence of paranormal activity. Ghost hunting has been heavily criticized for its dismissal of the scientific method. No scientific study has ever been able to confirm the existence of ghosts. The practice is considered a pseudoscience by the vast majority of educators, academics, and science writers.