How Do You Explain Mediums?

When most of us hear the term "medium," we think of Ouija boards, tarot cards, and crystal balls. Well, that or Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo. But there is more to mediums than Hollywood has led us to believe. Here's everything you need to know about the role of a psychic medium and clairvoyant, and what they say they do.

Bridging gap between the living and the deceased

In other words, a medium is someone who is able to communicate with souls on the other side. However, contrary to popular belief, mediums do not speak with the dead. There is no such thing as death. There is only a transition from the physical being to the spiritual being...and mediums are sensitive and intuitive enough to hear, feel, and see information coming from the other side.

Interacting with otherworldly spirits

There are numerous ways mediums say they can facilitate "conversations" with the deceased. Some choose to undergo possession, acting as a vessel for those spirits needing a human form to communicate with this world. Many mediums are also empathic, and thus are presumably able to share the experiences of those on both sides of the veil. And some interact with spirits as clearly as they do with those on this physical plane. Many of us are perpetually dancing between realms.

A Medium vs. a Psychic vs. a Clairvoyant

The distinction between mediums, psychics, and clairvoyants can be confusing. In fact, many believe the terms are interchangeable, but that is not the case. Mediums are able to raise their vibration high enough to connect to the other side. Psychics have the ability to give information about the past, the present, or even the future, but not deliver messages from the other side" while “clairs” receive stronger messages overall, i.e. clairvoyants are clear seeing, clairaudients are clear hearing, and clairsentients are clear feeling.

These individuals "usually see time and space". However, it is important to note that one gift is not greater than the other. All serve a purpose.

What to expect from a Medium

Since mediums purportedly communicate with those who have passed on, clients should expect to "hear from" deceased friends and/or loved ones. However, the specifics of your sitting will vary. Each medium operates differently. Be open to an intangible experience, as well as receiving information that you may not have asked for. Expect some form of guidance, perspective, clarity, and authenticity, and be patient. Mediums are humans filling a heavy space so don't hold them to an unfair standard, Choose a medium who understands grief and loss... and gives good evidence of the loved one on the other side, including names, dates, and specifically traits. Their message should also make sense.

Do Talents Come From Our Past Lives? 

Our talents in this life are no coincidence, but rather they have been developed throughout our many past lives.

Talents Are Developed Along Your Centuries-Old Spiritual Journey

Our journey in physical life has a purpose: to experience everything humanly possible. It's the main reason we are coming back to this world again and again.

Your soul is learning lessons that it experienced from its past lives in order to grow and be a better soul. It expands the strength it's gained along the multiple reincarnation. At some point in your life, you feel familiar doing new things, picking up new hobbies, learning new abilities. That's because your talents come from your soul's past lives and what it has acquired during many lives then made it that much easier for you now in this lifetime to draw on those abilities. The key though, is to be able to recognize them and to use them to your advantage. We often neglect to do things that we love. Your spirit guide always wonders, "Why you are not doing it now?"

Your Soul Leverages Past Lives to Enhance Each Subsequent Incarnation

Your pursuits are always fulfilling when they engage your past-life talents and fascinating when they are consistent with the personality you chose for this lifetime. But what truly interests your soul is when you use your pursuits to build on past lives, because that’s the key to personal evolution.

Whether as part of your job, with your friends or family, or simply as a hobby, it’s important to start using your talents and abilities now. And don’t worry about being perfect at first try. Your talent is there at a soul level, but it will take some practice to get you back up to speed.

The important thing to keep in mind is that you don’t want to be 100-years old wishing you’d made better use of your talents. You will regret it then, and so will your soul

They are not the same!

Oracle Cards

Oracle cards as a set of divinatory cards that are used for personal exploration and ritual. They are a tool that can be used for introspection or, depending on your approach, divination.

But unlike traditional tarot decks, which come in packs of 78, oracle decks can include any number of cards. What's more, while tarot cards include a Major Arcana and a Minor Arcana arranged into suits, oracle decks don't follow this structure. There are no rules, and the possibilities are endless.

The differences

Although there are different schools of tarot and variations from deck to deck, any tarot deck you pick up will have the Major Arcana covering called ‘The Fool's Journey,’ — in other words, major archetypes or lessons we encounter in life — and the Minor Arcana, which covers the more day-to-day experiences. Oracle decks typically don't follow that setup. You may find a deck with 30-something cards or 80-something cards. One oracle deck might sort of mirror the tarot, while another could have absolutely nothing to do with tarot. But overall, the big difference is in the number of cards and whether it's split between majors and minors.

Oracle cards can be used for any kind of exploration based on whatever the artist and author of the deck decide. There's no one thing that makes an oracle deck an oracle deck, besides the fact that they're a deck of cards that are used for spiritual insight. Though it was traditionally used for predictive purposes, Jess has integrated it into ancestral work and uses it to gain clarity on specific questions. When I pull an oracle card, especially with this deck, the answer is interpreted through the lens of ancestral magic.

The variety is evident in two of these oracle decks. The Adinkra Ancestral Guidance Cards is a 44-card deck featuring Adinkra symbols and philosophies (used by the Ashantis in West Africa). The OKANA oracle deck, on the other hand, contains 25 cards, with five in each element (Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, and Spirit). It also features proverbs from the  Diloggún Divination system.