What Is Mediumship? Where Can I Start?

What is it to be a medium? Can anyone do it? Is this work only for the "chosen" few? Let's dive into it because the misinformation we see everywhere makes this work seem purely mystical and untouchable, but there is so much more to it.

Definitions of words you'll see:

Occult: Teachings that lie outside the bounds or mainstream science or religion.

Sitter: The person receiving the reading. Reader: The medium giving the reading.

Polytheistic: Belief in more than one god.

Monotheistic: Belief in one god.

Pagan: Polytheist, nature based traditions, outside of mainstream religion.

What Is Mediumship?

The definition of mediumship that can be found online is "the practice of acting as a bridge or intermediary to exchange information between the physical, living world and a non-physical spirit realm." So, yeah, that checks out overall, but what does any of that mean?

Do I Have To Be Born With It?

In short, no. In a longer explanation? We're all born with the potential to become whatever we set our minds to. We have to love it in order for us to actually pursue it. For example, we're all born with the potential to become professional soccer players, pianists, or artists, but will we all do it? No. Some people have more of an upper hand if they have all the tools at their disposal right at the start of their lives, but if we truly want it, we can do it. Now, it is entirely possible for me to go and simply learn to play the guitar. I could become a pretty decent guitarist as it would be a nice hobby! But would I put in all the hours of effort and learning to actually pursue it as a career? No, because it's not something I truly want to go after in my life. Now mediumship is something I've just grown deeper in love with since I learned about it, and have put in all the effort to finally open my own business for it. Simply because this is something I know can help others, even other mediums, and brings me immense joy to do.

• My Early Experiences with Mediumship: My early life, I did not know a thing about the word mediumship. Growing up Catholic, I was very sheltered when it came to these things. Now, was that because of Catholicism or my own family? Perhaps both. Anything outside of the religion was considered false, and after years of learning this, I learned to push down any spiritual "hits" I was receiving. I could "feel" spirits around me, "hear" their words, but could never put that into words because even looking up what I was experiencing online put fear into me. So I ignored it all until one day in high school I was approached by an atheist. At this point, I was so deep into repetition of the beliefs I had instilled in me, that I just had nothing else to say except lash out in anger and walk away. Now I do not remember exactly what he brought up, but I do remember my religious upbringing falling down around me, and all the beliefs I had held together like sticks and glue came falling apart. Agnosticism was part of my life until college, but again, that never sat right with me either.

• Am I crazy?: Now I am not a mental health professional or medical doctor, so I cannot personally diagnose you. I only speak from personal experience as a medium. For me, if what I heard from spirit ever got to saying terrible, hurtful, or dangerous things about me or others, I would immediately book an appointment with a licensed professional. With that said, barring any health issues, craziness is not something that even crosses my mind anymore. It did in the beginning when I was not sure who I was feeling when no one else was around, or why the images that flashed in my minds eye seemed to line up with what was going to happen in a day or two. But when I sat down and energetically felt around me, I just knew it was an energy I was meant to connect with.

• Where do you even begin?: Luckily, today we have a vast amount of witchy, occult, and psychic blogs and books to choose from. I would be wary of social media because anyone can generate anything they want, say anything they want, and no one is there to challenge them. There are some occult professionals that I would consider great resources, but again, this means their knowledge isn't limited to social media.

  • Read books. This is going to be your biggest and best help. I recommend reading an array of books from different belief systems, because you may find what resonates in the least likely of places. Even one sentence to add to your own belief system. When I mention this though, be thoughtful of closed traditions. They often require initiation and it would be incredibly disrespectful to the spirits and people in that lineage to simply insert yourself into their belief system. Also, don't just read spiritual books! Sometimes the most random book on biology, philosophy, or cooking can allow spiritual hits to come through that add or modify your belief system. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but good starting points! Some books to start off with:

    • Psychic Witch by Mat Auryn

    • The Not-So-Scary Guide to Ghosts: How to Make the Paranormal Normal by Rebekah Carmichael

    • How To Hold a Cockroach: A book for those who are free and don't know it by Matthew Maxwell

    • The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.9 Part 1) by CG Jung

    • Spirit Speaks: A Step-by-Step & Evidence-Based Approach to Genuine Spirit Communication by Michael Mayo

    • Microbia by Eugenia Bone

    • Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

    • Now do I believe everything I've read by every single author? No! But challenge yourselves. One of my teachers did this with me and it is by far some of the best advice I've received on expanding your spiritual knowledge and understanding of the universe.

  • Learn from Experienced Practitioners. See how they reflect or differ from yours. You can take what resonates and leave what does not. Let people teach you. Let people help you, but above all, remain true to yourself. Do not let one person's words guide you entirely; you must maintain your autonomy.

  • Meditate. Get to know your own energy and your own thoughts and patterns. What brings you anxiety? How would your own biases interfere with giving someone else a session?

  • Get active. On the flip side of meditation and calming down, you NEED to release any built up energy. This acts as a cleanse for you to release anything you may have picked up throughout the day from others or yourself.

  • Get to know the spirits on your team. What gods, god, goddesses call to you? Do you even want any gods in your practice? Perhaps you only want to speak to ghosts, or only speak to spirits of the place you're in. See what fits for YOU so others can see if you're a right fit to be their reader.

  • Share What You Receive Without Forcing an Interpretation. For later use: When in a session or practice session, simply say what you're seeing, don't go trying to insert your own beliefs. Now this doesn't mean you can't interpret, sometimes spirit will show you things you have associations for, so simply bring it up to the sitter and explain your definition if it doesn't make sense to them at first. If neither makes sense to them, perhaps it's something they'll understand later on! Make a list of things that your team has shown you that mean something to you. Example: A specific bird meaning that a change is coming.

  • Start small. Get a journal and write down what you currently believe. Write the date that you started this too. It doesn't have to be perfect or well written, it's just for you to see how your beliefs change over time, and they will, so don't be scared about that! These are just a few starter points, so feel free to add onto it. Some questions to ask yourself:

    • What are some of the things that you believe in about the afterlife? Do you even believe in an afterlife? Reincarnation?

    • Would you consider yourself polytheistic? monotheistic? Earth or nature based? Don't limit yourself here! Just see what feels right in that moment for you. Tune into what you feel the truth is for you!

    • Do you believe in ghosts? Nature spirits? Only one pantheon of gods (I.e. greek, infernal, egyptian)? All pantheons?

    • Close your eyes and just breathe for a moment. What do you sense around you? You don't need to know any techniques right now. Just see what you pick up on. Any spirits? Any energies of happiness, anger? Are they yours or other peoples' around you?

  • Red Flags to look out for if you go onto social media:

    • How long has their profile been up? Is it new and has 50+ posts of random information? Probably made with AI or fake, unhelpful, and completely misguiding information.

    • Do they reach out to you asking to give you a free reading? No.1 they will most likely hassle you for money afterwards, and No. 2 they will most likely not give you an accurate or worthwhile reading anyways.

    • Are they constantly spreading fear, hate mongering, or clinging to social media drama? Probably not your best bet. We're looking for educators here, not clout chasers.

    • Are they operating from a sexist, racist, or hateful framework? Saying that their way is the only way and implying that only "certain" people are chosen for their path? Please steer clear of these people. No spirituality rooted in hate is one that helps you become a better person.

    • Do they claim to be able to solve your problems? Health or otherwise? Immediately no.

Okay We Get It! But How Does Any Of That Apply to Being A Medium?

This is a question I asked myself at the beginning of my journey too! But the truth is, this is why I stated at the beginning that you really have to love this work if you want to implement it as a career or a major part of your life. If you only want to do mediumship for yourself, go at your own pace, you can always just sit with your team and do a reading for just you or close loved ones. You do not need to go all out. These are just great foundational ways to implement spirit work into your life.

Mediumship And All Spirit Work Are About Expanding

My belief is we come here for love and to expand in that in any way that feels right for us and spreads that love to others. Expanding means getting to know yourself, your traumas, your history, your doubts, fears, and deconstructing it all. It doesn't mean you're always a work in progress never ready for the next step, but it means that life is ever changing, and to be the best version of ourselves is to simply keep learning. You will never reach an endpoint, and that's the whole point.

You Keep Bringing Up Other Gods, Why?

Because I grew up in a very set belief system, I want to be sure that if anyone else has or feels how I did, they know they're not alone. I mean humanity consists of wanting to belong to something bigger than yourself, and if your path is in organized religion, I am so glad you know it is for you; however, if you can't seem to make it work for you, then please know it is not the only path. Gods of all kinds have existed throughout time and human history, not just the religions we know today, but that is a conversation for another day.

Do I Have To Be A Certain Religion To Be A Medium?

No! Mediums can be from any belief system, and many of the ones we see in mainstream media operate from more of a Christian perspective. It's what works for them, but there is no one way of doing so! All the divine wants is for us to know them, you can choose how.

What If People Judge Me?

I suppose we all hit this roadblock. I'm still working on it myself. People will judge you for everything under the sun, but honestly, we're here for such a short time, why should you have to hide what brings you immense joy? Something you can share with those who come to you. Something that spreads love and expands your life. Why would you want to minimize that? With everything being on social media, we have had to learn to navigate a world that always has its eyes focused on the next viral moment. Always recording, always observing. So many people spend their lives wishing they did more, but perhaps we should simply live it how we want to. As long as we don't hurt others, how could it possibly be wrong to spread this? Now I want to say that if your culture and religion are tied into one, choosing another path can definitely cause some emotional hurt to those in your life. But I suppose you have to see what matters most to you and adjust to how both can exist. It takes time, but so many people come around. Fear keeps us from so many things, and fear within the occult is especially prevalent.

What Does Mediumship Involve? Understanding the Clairs

When learning mediumship, you will be learning about the clairs, or the clair abilities. There are five (5) clair abilities, but some people say more or less as they can overlap. These are the basis for communing with spirits of all kinds. The methods to do so are different, but I encourage you to learn about the clairs themselves before diving into techniques on how to use them. You may already use some of these in day to day life and just not know it yet! I believe everyone has the ability to train all of these, but most likely you will use a couple that work best with you interchangeably during readings..

• Clairvoyance (Clear Seeing): Most likely you'll know this one as its used interchangeably with mediumship, but it is actually its own specific ability. Very rarely do people see anything with their physical eyes, but it often comes as images in your third eye that connect with what the spirit is telling you.

  • Example: You get a flash of an image of a bike. Maybe the sitter's team wants them to be more active or maybe the passed loved one was a cyclist. Simply say what you're seeing.

• Clairaudience (Clear Hearing): Again, very rarely do you hear anything externally. Think of when a song gets stuck in your head, you can hear it but no sound is around you, that's more so what it sounds like. You may hear a name, a song, a sound, or a sentence.

  • Example: You hear the name Aro, then something else or nothing at all.

• Clairsentience (Clear Feeling): Perhaps you feel a wave of nausea that goes away, or a sudden headache. This could mean you're picking up on a spirit or the sitters feelings.

  • Example: While practicing or readign for someone, a pressure appears in your lower back. Perhaps that person experences chronic pain or perhaps their passed loved one had back issues.

• Claircognizance (Clear knowing): Knowledge about something just appears in your mind. Ever had that instant knowing of you should or should not do something? Like that.

  • Example: You're walking down the road then just know you need to take another path. Later on you find out it was flooded where you usually walk through.

• Clairempathy (Clear emotion): I included this although it somewhat goes with calirsentience in my experience. This means you feel the spirit or the sitter's emotions clearly.

  • Example: You suddenly feel like crying, but it does not come from you, or you feel anger that bubbles inside. This could be something your sitter or spirit felt in a situation.

Knowing all of these, one thing to be wary of is to not let your emotions run the show. If the feeling of crying comes up, describe that, breathe through it, let it pass. The sitter needs space to feel whatever they're feeling in their reading. It cannot be about you. This is why it's so important to learn about you first.

Do I Have To Be A Witch To Be A Medium? Do I Have To Be A Witch To Be Pagan?

No and no. Being a witch is a completely personal path that includes actually practicing magic. Mediumship can definitely help you when speaking to spirits you may come across when practicing witchcraft, but that path is one of its own. Although there are intersections within the occult, nothing is ever simply black or white. As for paganism, I thought I'd include this question because often times people who are pagan and seen online also practice witchcraft, but again, believing in multiple gods does not mean you then need to practice witchcraft. It's also not a bad word, witchcraft, if you felt some fear while reading it, ask yourself why? Where do those beliefs come from? Everyone's path is different and that's okay!

Is Mediumship Energetically Draining?

Yes and no. Doing more than a few services day is not something I recommend because I've seen the toll it takes on other mediums, including myself. It can be tiring because it takes effort and energy to communicate. To hold a connection takes energy, and humans do not have infinite energy. Is this a bad thing? No! You're supposed to hydrate, eat, do things you love, and take care of yourself in any aspect of life no matter the job you have. You can't be expected to keep going and not stop. Always take care of yourself before working with others.

Should I Charge For Services?

This question has gotten so much attention lately, and there are people who strictly believe you should or should not charge for services. Before, there was so little education around mediumship so anyone could say they performed mediumship. Nowadays, there is much more information and how it works can be taught in a more structured way. When starting out and practicing, I did not charge because I did not feel it was right if there was a chance I wouldn't be able to bring forth one piece of information. I believe charging goes with experience. There are people who charge hundreds of dollars because they've been doing this work for a long time, much like if you are a more experienced employee at a job, you expect that to come with higher wages. Apart from experience, like anything else, you are taking the medium's time, effort, and knowledge that they put many years into. You would not ask for a free service from any other job, so why your medium? We do live in a world where we need to make money to survive. Paying them allows them to continue educating themselves to teach or help you connect with your team. Paying someone who truly cares about you and your spiritual life is far better than spending it on someone who only cares for the monetary benefit.

What If I Don't Have The Means To Pay For Any Of This?

In the beginning, I did not have money to spend on learning about mediumship. I started by accessing videos on YouTube, listening to podcasts about mediumship and occult topics, and trying to grow my basic knowledge so I had a better footing of what I wanted to find in a teacher. It got to a point that books (which many esoteric books can be found online for free) and free content only got me so far, so I invested in paying people for single, one-on-one teaching sessions. These sessions were one at a time, so more doable financially, and when I finally had saved up enough money, I began to pay for longer term teachings. It got to a point where I could not afford a long term service I really knew would help me, so I booked a one time service with this teacher, and we were able to work this out! Reaching out to teachers you admire is always worth the while. The worst they can say is no. If you truly cannot afford anything, please do not be hard on yourself. The teaching route was MY path, and yours may look very different. Take time to get to know yourself, read, write what spiritual hits come to you, and don't jump right into offering services, because your team also needs that time to help you grow as well.

What's The Difference Between A Psychic, a Medium, And A Psychic Medium?

Psychism I equate to being able to read people's energy. This may include some thoughts others have, feelings, or what they've been through recently. This comes in handy with energy work, another topic we must save for another time. All mediums are technically psychic because we use the clairs to not just read spirits energy, but also your own. However, not every psychic is a medium. Psychics focus on the person, and may not practice speaking with spirits, and that's okay! Psychic Medium has become a buzz word these days and people use it incorrectly. This is why, while I call myself a psychic medium and energy worker, I simply say medium for everyday use.

What About The Mysticism Surrounding Mediumship?

Like all things, mediumship will be mystified or turned into an aesthetic. Now loving the spooky or witchy aesthetic alone is completely fine, but to actually learn about mediumship and do it is entirely another thing. You can both love its aesthetic and practice it, but there needs to be a distinction. Do not call yourself a medium if you do not actually do anything regarding it, as this can attract people actually looking for readers. Do call yourself a medium because you feel that you are, and have put the time and effort into becoming one. Another aspect of mysticism that frightens people away is unless you have a very vocal spirit around you, you most likely will not see things flying across the room, knocking on doors, or floating people, mediumship is much more intrinsic. So do not feel the need to hesitate to learn mediumship based on aesthetics or fears that may surround it.

Do I Need Spiritual Protection?

So many people have opinions on this and the truth is, I do believe you need it, but not because it's scary or anything will harm you. The spirit world is filled with various spirits, just like our world, not all may have your best interests in mind. A protection can be as simple as envisioning energy around you, keeping anything that does not have your or your sitter's best interests in mind, out. Your energy is your own and no one can take that from you. I won't speak in terms of dark or light, because spirituality comes on a spectrum, but I do encourage educating yourself about it.

TLDR

Mediumship is a personal path that can look different for everyone. You do not have to follow a particular religion, identify as a witch, or approach the work in exactly the same way as someone else. What matters is taking the time to learn, staying curious, developing self-awareness, and remaining grounded in your own beliefs and experiences. Read widely, learn from others without surrendering your autonomy, and give yourself room to grow and change. Be mindful of your limits, take care of yourself, and approach both spiritual practice and the people you work with thoughtfully and respectfully. There is no single path to mediumship; the journey is about continuing to learn and finding the approach that feels right for you.