Identification of Communicating Spirits  |  General Nature of Communicating Spirits

When analyzing Spirit communications, many factors are considered, such as the content of the message, the peculiar characteristics in the style of communication, the language used, the physical impressions felt by the medium, etc. All of these help in identifying the nature and identification of the communicating Spirit.  The nature of the Spirit refers to its degree of moral elevation and intellectual evolution, its intentions in communicating, and trustworthiness, while the Spirit's identification refers to the specific names of personages that that Spirit assumed in any of its physical existences.  We will speak here first about the latter.

 Identification of Spirits

Anyone who receives, witnesses, or hears about a given Spirit communication must be very careful when it comes to the question of the Spirit's identity.  This is not due to the communicating Spirits' lack of the use of names in identifying themselves to us, but rather because quite often, they are not who they say they are.  As we have mentioned before, there are many Spirits around us who take pleasure in toying with our gullibility and deceiving us for one reason or another. A medium himself, lacking in proper mediumistic education or failing to take guard against his own pride, may let himself be convinced that he is in communication, for example, with a well known and highly admired Spiritual Benefactor or some other famous personality, when in reality, he is only being deceived by an ordinary and dishonest Spirit.   A person who wishes to communicate with a departed loved one and seeks the help of a medium, may be deceived by a Spirit who pretends to be whoever that person longs to communicate with and may say things that are not true (One should think twice before calling on a departed loved one to communicate, for we never know what their mental and emotional state is in the Spiritual realm, or if they have, at that time the ability and/or permissions to answer such a call).  These are just two examples, but the cases are innumerable. The important point here is to be aware of the fact that Spirits can not bring us any any absolute and irrefutable proofs of their identity, and that we must be always on guard.

So, when a communicating Spirit does offer a name, what resources do we have to attribute some level of trust to that name?  Well, as Kardec says, it is easier to confirm identity with those of our day, those known to us.  In this case, common "proofs" if identity may be language, use of words, recollection of specific events of their life (especially when known only to those to whom they come to communicate), and by many little corroborating circumstances and indications that present themselves gradually, in a course of sessions, with it always being better to wait for proofs than to force them. Kardec warns that sometimes, even similarity of writing, signature, turns of expression, and other personal peculiarities can be forged, which is why they those similarities are valuable only as presumption, strengthened by accompanying circumstances.

When receiving communications from those who claim to be personages who lived in ancient times, proofs identification can be especially difficult, and in some cases impossible.  Kardec says that "we are reduced to an appreciation based on moral and intellectual considerations, judging of them as we judge of men by their thoughts and language.

What about the communications purporting to come from superior Spirits or honored personages?  Kardec tells us ("Mediums' Book" Ch XXIV) that when a Superior Spirit communicates under any well-known name and says nothing inconsistent with the elevated character of that personage, the presumption is considered in favor of the identity claimed, and that, at the very least, we may be sure that it is a Spirit of the same degree.  The Superior Spirits explain that Spirits of a high degree form a collective whole (of sympathetic groups, uniform in perfection), and the majority of them are completely unknown to us (those whom we know are the relatively few who have lived on Earth).  As such, they can, when needed and without any practical inconvenience for us, substitute themselves for one another, in response to our human need for names to fix our ideas in regard to the Spirits who communicate.  Keep in mind, however, that this is a completely different case from Spirits of an inferior rank who assume honored names to gain credit for their statements. We must always be on high guard against such deception, and these latter Spirits, in due time, will always display an inconsistency that reveals their attempts to deceive and their true nature.   

We include here this quote from "The Mediums' Book":  "The best of all proofs of identity is found in the language of the communications, and in the fortuitous circumstances by which the manifestations are accompanied.....The style of a speaker or writer may be imitated by inferior Spirits, but not the thought; ignorance can never imitate knowledge, nor vice, virtue......In order to distinguish between truth and falsehood, the medium and the evoker must employ all their perspicacity.  They must understand that  perverse Spirits are capable of anything and everything, and that the higher the name assumed by a Spirit, the more suspicious we should be of his veracity."

 General Nature of Communicating Spirits

In teachings of a general nature, when we have no particular interest in knowing the exact personage of a communicating Spirit, we can see how the question of identity (of a name) is of little importance.  In this case, what is of interest to us, is not the personal individuality of the Spirit, but rather the content and quality of their communication.  When referring to inferior Spirits, we are interested in both learning from their conditions and testimonies, as well as helping them to improve their current state and move forward in a positive direction.  Regarding communications from Spirits of an elevated nature, we are most interested in their message and the quality of their teachings.

Kardec writes that common sense is the sole criterion by which we ascertain the quality of Spirits and the value of their communications, and that Spirits are to be judged of by their language and actions, the sentiments they inspire, and the counsels they give, and that while carefully scrutinizing the style of Spirit-communications, we must also examine their meaning, weighing their statements coolly, patiently, and without prejudice.

As one continues to study the works of the Spiritist Doctrine, he/she will develop the knowledge upon which to analyze Spirit communications and determine the nature of a communicating Spirit.  In general terms, however, we can look at the basic characteristics of Superior and Inferior Spirits, of which we find a discussion In Chapter XXIV of "The Mediums' Book".  Based on this discussion, we have formulated the following table.

One other important point, or word of caution, should be made, which is that intelligence, as Kardec says, does not necessarily indicate moral superiority, for the two do not always go hand in hand.  Kardec writes that "a man's having possessed scientific knowledge during his human life is not always a proof of his wisdom as a Spirit", for such Spirits "may be swayed by prejudices of terrestrial life and not yet rid of ideas that they have cherished." 

Lastly, we add this advice from "The Mediums' Book" (pg 304). To discourage deceptive Spirits and distinguish between communications of good and inferior spirits, we should submit all Spirit communications to scrupulous examination, and analyze the ideas and expressions, rejecting everything that runs counter to reason and common sense, everything in contradiction with the character of the Spirit who claims to be manifesting.  When any point appears obscure, suspicious, or doubtful, we must ask for the necessary explanations.

For more reading the nature and identification of Spirits, please see Chapter XXIV of "The Mediums' Book", entitled "Identity of Spirits."

Kardec, Allan. "Identity of Spirits." The Mediums' Book. 2nd ed (1st edition FEB). Trans. Anna Blackwell (translated 1876). Ed. Livraria Espírita Allan Kardec. Brasilia-DF, Brazil:  Federação Espírita Brasileira [Brazilian Spiritist Federation}. 1986. 296-318.

Schubert, Suely Caldas. "A Identificação dos Espiritos" [Identification of Spirits] Mediunidade: Caminho Para Ser Feliz [Mediumship: The Path to Happiness]. Sao Paulo. Casa Editora Espírita "Pierre-Paul Didier". 1999.  Place of Publication: Publisher. Year. 126-136.