We will discuss speaking and writing mediums together here because they both involve the direct action of the Spirit upon the physical body of the medium, and as such, have some details of mechanisms and application in common. 

Speaking Mediums  |  Writing Mediums  |  Additional Considerations

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 Speaking Mediums 

Definition

The faculty exercised by speaking mediums, also called psychophony, is that which permits a Spirit to act upon and utilize the vocal organs of the incarnate (medium) to verbally transmit its message.  In other words, the Spirit utilizes the vocal organs- and essentially the physical body- of the medium as an instrument to communicate through the spoken word and with accompanying gestures.  In this way, the Spirit is able to converse "directly" with the incarnates who are present.  In order for this to happen, the medium enters into a mediumistic trance that allows the bonds between his Spirit and his material body to loosen, whereby his Spirit temporarily disengages from the physical body (though only partially, i.e. always remains connected via a a fluidic "chord", for complete separation would mean death), thereby "loaning", so to speak, his body to the communicating Spirit.

Frequent Use in Sessions

It is this kind of mediumship that, for various reasons, is most used in Spiritist mediumship sessions; a few of these reasons are offered by Sueli Caldas Shubert.  She writes:

"1. It is easier and faster to verbally transmit the thought of the Spirits than to write them.

 2. The medium can be trained faster in the exercise of psychophony [editor's note: She also writes in another passage, "It is the best suited for the training needed by the medium, by offering a more dynamic, rapid, and efficient communication"]

3. The communicating Spirit is eager to pour out its emotions and narrate its drama, which contain valuable lessons for the incarnate who are listening."

She also points out that, with respect to the first reason, this is especially opportune in the case of sessions that are held to give aid to Spirits who are suffering or are in need, or to those who are involved in harmful ties with incarnate individuals; all of them are in such great need of  help, enlightenment, and fraternal dialogue, that they are more efficiently aided through the discourse that is thus established with the session's incarnate counselor. 

Divaldo Franco points out another significant and beneficial factor in this form of mediumistic communication, again, especially valuable in the aid given to suffering spirits.  It is an energy exchange that takes place between the medium and the Spirit.  He says that "when a Spirit approaches a medium, the latter, like a sponge, absorbs the positive or negative energy, depending on the degree of evolution of the communicating Spirit.... In the case of the suffering Spirit, as the medium absorbs the its energy, the Spirit likewise absorbs the animalistic fluid of the medium; in this process, the Spirit's vibratory density is reduced."  Divaldo explains the resulting effect like this. He says that suffering spirits become enveloped within a vicious circle [of negative energy], which can be compared to someone trapped inside a closed room with no ventilation. As soon as ventilation is opened to the room, the individual breathes the pure air and enjoys relief from the suffocating situation. Likewise, through the phenomena of psychophony and the resulting "fluidic shock", the suffering Spirit will be relieved from a true state of stupor just by becoming enwrapped in the magnetic (fluidic/energy) field of the medium. (Divaldo as quoted in "Qualidade Na Prática Mediunica)

Speaking mediums do not service suffering Spirits only however; they also serve as instruments for enlightened Spirits who, through the incarnate intermediary, offer words of encouragement and contribute valuable knowledge and instruction.   With respect to the absorption of energy mentioned above, in the case of a good Spirit that is communicating, the medium will always benefit from the Spirit's healthy energies that, upon absorption, produce positive sensations for the medium. 

Conscious and Unconscious Psychophony

There are both conscious speaking mediums and unconscious speaking mediums*.  

The conscious (including the semi-conscious and fully conscious) speaking medium works in a lighter trance and has a certain consciousness of what the manifesting Spirit is saying, while the words are being dictated, and after the communication, he/she vaguely remembers what was said. These mediums are common. 

The unconscious speaking medium works in a deeper trance ; he/she does not remember anything about the communication when the Spirit leaves.  This is also called somnambulist psychophony (when the medium is in the somnambulic state, his/her Spirit disengages easily from the body). These mediums are much more rare.

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 Writing Mediums 

Definition

The faculty exercised by writing mediums, also called psychography, is that which permits a Spirit to act upon and utilize the arm and hand of the incarnate (medium) to transmit its message through writing.   Sometimes, the mediums hand and arm may be used in some kind of gesture such as becoming agitated convulsively or striking the table angrily, though as Kardec notes, this always denotes the presence of imperfect Spirits.

Like the process that takes place in psychophony, in order for this to happen, the medium enters into a mediumistic trance that allows the bonds between his Spirit and his material body to loosen, whereby his Spirit temporarily disengages from the physical body (though only partially, i.e. always remains connected via a a fluidic "chord", for complete separation would mean death), thereby "loaning", so to speak, his body to the communicating Spirit.

Conscious and Unconscious Psychography

There are both unconscious writing mediums and conscious writing mediums*.  

The conscious writing medium, also called a semi-mechanical writing medium, works in a lighter trance and has a certain consciousness of what the manifesting Spirit is saying, while the words are being dictated, and after the communication, he/she vaguely remembers what was said.  Kardec writes, "[The semi-mechanical medium] feels an impulsion that is given to his hand, independently of his will, but at the same time, he knows, as he goes on, what he is writing.   These mediums are common. 

Though it is very rare, there are some writing mediums, called polygraphic mediums, through whom the Spirits reproduce their own handwriting. However, the common occurrence is for the medium to write messages from different Spirits, but all in his/her own handwriting.

The unconscious writing medium, also called a passive or mechanical writing medium , works in a deeper trance ; he/she does not remember anything about the communication when the Spirit leaves.  Kardec writes ("Mediums' Book" ), "When a Spirit acts directly on the medium's hand, he gives to it an impulsion altogether independent of its owner's will, causing it to write on uninterruptedly as long as he has anything to say, and to stop when he has finished", the marked characteristic being "the unconsciousness of the medium in regard to what he is writing, and of which he often has not the remotest idea."   These mediums are rare.  

Long Training

The development of this mediumistic faculty, in most cases, requires a long period of development and much persistence on behalf of the medium.  The Spirit Odilon Fernandes tells us that (in "We Are All Mediums"), the medium who shows tendency to write under the influence of Spirits and thus pursues the development of that faculty, must "be aware that such a mediumship demands long and exhaustive exercises before starting to receive communications which deserve to be divulged."  He writes,  we have seen many mediums with the gift of psychography, stepping back from the task, right at the start of the work, as if they expected immediate results.  The exercises are important and the Spirits cannot  afford a lack of quality in the communications which will be received by the mediums.  Many incarnate authors have written and revised their books many times before they have sent it to be published.  Even after the books have been published, alterations should be made by the authors, if they are able.  Reading the first pages that they produced at the beginning of their mediumship work, experienced mediums of psychography easily recognize that if they had to receive the same pages today, the essence of the Spirit's thoughts would be the same. However, the Spirit's would find much more literary resources in them in order to dictate the messages."  

The Signature 

A word of caution must be made here about the signatures on written messages received from communicating Spirits.  All mediums must be very careful about the name that they assign to a message that they have transmitted.  It is very easy for the medium, especially the novice, to be mistaken.  

Sometimes, this is due to the action of deceitful Spirits, who, out of pride, sheer pleasure in trickery, or some other undignified motive,  will use a name that does not belong to any personalities it has ever assumed.   

 In other cases, the medium, even without acting in bad faith, can mistakenly transmit a name.  This can happen for different reasons.  The medium may have the idea of someone he greatly admires so impressed upon his psyche that, at the first message received from a friendly Spirit, the memory of that admired being comes to his mind; then the medium is convinced that he is having the privilege of receiving a communication from that being, and such is the name that prevails in his mind and on the paper.  A second way the medium can be mistaken is when he tries to force a communication, or mentally evoke the manifestation of a given Spirit (such as a relative, a loved one etc.); should there be a communication, there is no guarantee that it is the being in question, and quite often it will be another Spirit pretending to be the one whose presence was truly desired.  A third factor that can lead to deception is when the medium allows himself to be influenced by some recent event, such as the death of someone famous, or that of a family's loved one, in which cases suddenly emerge mediums from every corner with messages that are supposedly communicated by the departed in question, yet the messages carry no proof of their authenticity.   In any of these cases, such mediums give even more opportunity for the deceitful Spirits fool them.

This ease of deception or error is a very important reason for the medium's need 1) to exercise great humility in his work and 2) to study continuously.  Excessive pride will allow a medium to become easily duped into thinking he is receiving a message from a Superior Spirit and/or of a personality well-known and admired. On the other hand, it is out of humility that a medium will recognize his present stage of moral evolution and mediumistic development , prioritize content over name, understand the true purpose for the gift called mediumship, and keep all of this in mind when transmitting messages and assigning signatures.   Likewise, continuous study will remind the medium of the need for compassion and humility.  Just as important, it will leave him better prepared to identify a Spirit's nature/character, to look for evidence of identity, and to acknowledge the factors necessary for communication with Superior Spirits.

Because the name has such little importance, messages received in Spiritist sessions of mediumship development are often signed "a friend", or something else unspecific.

With regards to teachings and messages of a general nature, we must always remember that what interests us most is not the Spirits' personal individuality, but the quality content of the communication.  

* You may also hear or read about the Intuitive speaking and writing mediums.  We will discuss these under another section (see Intuitive mediums). Differing from varieties mentioned here, they do not involve the communicating Spirit's direct action upon the body of the medium, but rather upon his soul, with which the Spirit temporarily identifies.   

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 Additional Considerations  

It should be pointed out that, in "borrowing" the body (in any way) of the medium, the communicating Spirit does not actually get inside the physical body of the medium, but rather envelopes the body energetically.

The conscious medium will, therefore, consciously perceive the thoughts of the communicating Spirit before they reach his/her physical brain. The speaking medium perceives the words and gestures that the Sprit intends to use. The writing medium knows the words that will flow from his hand before they are formed on paper.  In the case of the unconscious medium, the thought waves of the communicating Spirit work in the deepest zones of the medium's psyche-  without reaching the conscious zone, whereby the medium does not consciously register the communication that takes place, and does not remember anything after the communication.  

Regardless of the degree of consciousness of the medium, he/she has not only the ability, but also the responsibility to exercise control over the words and actions of the Spirit, especially in the case of the speaking medium.  This is not to say that the medium should change the content of the Spirit's communication to conform with his/her own beliefs;  it only refers to the fact that the medium is loaning his/her body to the Spirit for use in a communication and has, as the owner of the body, the right to cut off the communication at any time, if the manifesting Spirit wishes to communicate in vulgar or violent ways that are unnecessary and inappropriate or that could even physically endanger the medium as well as others present at the meeting.  (see also "Control of Communications" on menu at left)

Depending on the medium's degree of mediumistic evolution, level of sensitivity and depth of trance, he/she can, in addition to relaying the Spirit's message, feel the sensations transmitted by such a Spirit-- the pains, anguishes, fears, etc. of suffering and unenlightened Spirits, and the sense of calm and happiness of more elevated Spirits.   Because these sensations are transmitted and perceived through a fluidic influence (of energy), it is quite common for other mediums at the session pick up on these vibrations as well.  In the case of the suffering Spirits, mediums in development are often reminded to be humble and compassionate, for if they are perceiving any discomfort, whatever sensation they are experiencing is only a fraction of what the communicating Spirit is actually feeling. 

Peralva, Martins. "Incorporacao". Estudando A Mediunidade [Studying Mediumship]. Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil: Federação Espírita Brasileira [Brazilian Spiritist Federation]. 1998 (20th ed). 51-56.

Rigonatti, Eliseu. "Mediuns Falantes" [Speaking Mediums] A Mediunidade Sem Lagrimas [Mediumship Without Tears]. Sao Paulo: Editora Pensamento Ltda. 2000. 14-15.

Rigonatti, Eliseu. "Mediuns Escreventes" [Writing Mediums] A Mediunidade Sem Lagrimas [Mediumship Without Tears]. Sao Paulo: Editora Pensamento Ltda. 2000. 16.

Schubert, Suely Caldas. "Psicofonia" [Psychophony]. Mediunidade: Caminho Para Ser Feliz [Mediumship: The Path to Happiness]. Votuporanga- SP, Brazil. Casa Editora Espírita "Pierre-Paul Didier". 1999. 145-147. 

Kardec, Allan. "Mediums"; "Writing Mediums or Psychographs": and "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. 179; 189-190; 191; and 196-318.

Luiz, André (Spirit Author) / Xavier, Francisco Cândido (Medium). "Psicofonia Consciente" [Conscious Psychophony]. Nos Dominios Da Mediunidade [In The Domains of Mediumship].  Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil: Federação Espírita Brasileira [Brazilian Spiritist Federation]. 1945. 48. 

Luiz, André (Spirit Author) / Xavier, Francisco Cândido (Medium). "Psicofonia Sonambulica" [Somnambulic Psychophony]. Nos Dominios Da Mediunidade [In The Domains of Mediumship].  Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil: Federação Espírita Brasileira [Brazilian Spiritist Federation]. 1945. 63. 

Projeto Manoel Philomeno de Miranda (José Ferraz, Nilo Calasans, João Neves, e Geraldo Azevedo). "Beneficios" [Benefits] and "Doutrinaçã" [Counseling]. Qualidade Na Prática Mediunica [Quality in the Practice of Mediumship]. Salvador-BA, Brazil. Livraria Espírita Alvorada. 2000. 69-70 and 113 (respectively).

Fernandes, Odilon (Spirit Author) / Baccelli, Carlos (Medium). "Psychography."  We Are All Mediums. Trans.Coelho, Públio Lêntulus Vicente. Votuporanga- SP, Brazil. Casa Editora Espírita "Pierre-Paul Didier". 2001 33-34.