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Séance Séance: A sitting held for the purpose of communicating with the dead, an essential requirement being that at least one member of the company be possessed of mediumistic powers. Antiquity furnishes many examples of what may be called “ seances “—eg. Saul’s consultation with the Witch of Endor—but the term is generally used only in connection with modern spiritualism. When, in 1848, the Fox family at Hydesville called in their neighbors to listen to the mysterious sounds which have become famous as the “Rochester Rapping’s,” the gathering was too informal to be called a séance, though all the necessary elements were present; but within the next two or three years the contagion spread throughout a large part of the. eastern states, many “ circles” were formed, and the phenomena which was in the first instance apparently spontaneous was now deliberately induced. In the early stages of the movement these seances were conducted by private mediums, who took no fee for their performances, but later professional mediums arose whose seances were open to the public on the payment of a fee. Both public and private seances continued, and still continue, to be an indispensable feature of spiritualism. Besides the presence of a medium there are other conditions, which must be observed if the séance is to be productive of phenomena. The chief of these is, perhaps, the darkness or semi-darkness of the séance-room, though this is by no means an invariable condition. The reason given by spiritualists is that light interferes with the manifestations of the spirits, though a less charitable construction is sometimes put upon the insistent demand for darkness. Sometimes playing or singing, a proceeding which one of Home’s sitters states, “Always gave us a good séance”, precedes the actual séance. That this playing and singing was not without its purpose we may readily infer, for a state of expectancy and increased receptivity might easily be induced thereby, and it may be recalled, en passant, that D’Eslon and other disciples of Mesmer enjoined their patients to sing, or had some instrument played while the patients were seated around the baquet, or magnetic tub. To return to the séance; the sitters take their places around a table and join hands, thus forming a “chain.” The Baron de Guldenstubbé, in giving directions for the forming of a circle and the conducting of a séance, says:‘ In order to form a chain, the twelve persons each place their right hand on the table and their left hand on that of their neighbor, thus making a circle round the table. Observe that the medium or mediums, if there be more than one, are entirely isolated from those who form the chain.” Dr. Lapponi, in his Hypnotism and Spiritism, says: “ He (the medium) then invites some of his assistants to place their hands on the table in the following mariner. The two thumbs of each person are to be touching each other, and each little finger is to be in communication with the little fingers of the persons on either side. He himself completes the chain with his two hands. The hands of all together rest on the edge of the table.” Sometimes, again, as in the séances for table turning and talking, simply all the operators placing their fingertips on the table form the chain. When the spirits have announced their presence by raps, tilting of the table, and so on, the chain may or may not be broken, but so long as it remains unbroken the sitters are entirely at the mercy of the spirits, The phenomena, which are thereafter witnessed, are so diverse and varied that scarcely any account of a séance precisely matches another in detail, yet undoubtedly they all belong to certain well-defined classes. Lit the sphere of “physical” phenomena we have the movements of furniture, beginning with the table round which the members of the circle are seated, and affecting, perhaps, all the furniture in the room. These antics of inanimate objects in the séance-room are often practically identical with the spontaneous outbreaks of the poltergeist. Then there are the levitations both of the human body and of furniture and inanimate things. We are told of heavy wardrobes being raised to the ceiling without visible agency, and of several mediums floating upwards in like manner. Elongation is another phenomenon of the séance-room, an increase or apparent increase, of from a few inches to a foot-taking place in the medium’s height. Locked doors and cupboards are opened without keys, and without any trace of violence. Rapports of small objects— flowers, fruit, jewels, anything, in fact—are brought from a distance through closed doors and barred windows, or abstracted in mysterious fashion from sealed boxes. Inanimate things show in their actions an almost human intelligence. Heavy objects become light enough to be raised by the touch of a finger; light articles become so weighty that the combined force of all-present will not suffice to lift them. The medium can hold live coals in his hand, or in his handkerchief, without either being burned. Instruments are played upon when no visible hand is near them, or music is produced from the empty air without any instruments at all. Luminous hands and faces float in the air, sometimes recognized by the sitters as belonging to deceased friends and relatives, and touching and caresses are felt. A breeze suddenly springs up in the séance-room— though the doors and windows are still closed—and curtains and the clothes of the sitters are inflated. If the séance is an especially successful one, complete spirit forms may be materialized. If the latter manifestation is to be asked for, a small cabinet is usually provided, into which the medium retires. Soon afterwards the filmy spirit form or forms are seen to issue from the cabinet, and in them the sitters frequently behold lost friends or relatives. The spirit forms will move about the room, allow themselves to be touched, and will, on occasion, even converse with their friends in the flesh, and give away locks of their hair and fragments of their clothing. Again, the materialization may take place in the open, a small luminous cloud being first perceived, which gradually develops into a complete human figure; or, as has been known to happen, the spirit may seem to issue from the medium’s side, and remain united to him by a gossamer filament. In most cases the head and chin are shrouded in white draperies, only a portion of the face being visible. The automatic or “psychical” phenomena are of a different nature. Certain manifestations, such as tabletiltings, rapping , and slate writing, where the communication does not apparently come through the medium’s organism, partake of the character of both “physical” and” psychical” phenomena. Purely” psychical” manifestations are the automatic writing and speaking of the medium. Sometimes the latter falls spontaneously into a trance, and delivers spirit messages while in that state, or the medium may remain to all appearances in a normal condition. Not only writings and utterances, but drawings and musical compositions may be produced automatically, and though automatism of this sort is by no means confined to the séance-room it still plays a large part therein, and is especially in favor with the more serious-minded spiritualists, to whom communications from the spirit-world are of greater importance than the tricks of household furniture. Alzheimer, alternate health, alternate cure, artheritis, brujeria, back pain, carpaltunnal, demon, exorcism, ghost removal, head aches, magic, metaphysic, orisha, paranormal, santeria, shaman, sorcellery, voudou, vodou, voudoo, wicca. |
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