Some of the evidence produced by mediums to support Spiritualist beliefs has been so outstanding and persuasive that it has been only natural that the people involved, either as witnesses or as mediums, should want to write about their experiences and discoveries to share them with others. Spiritualism has a very rich literature, from its emergence in the 1840s as a religion, after the events surrounding the Fox sisters at Hydesville, to the present day. Now, perhaps, it is as popular a subject as it has ever been, thanks to the high profile work of mediums like Gordon Smith, Colin Fry, Tony Stockwell, Lisa Williams, Allison DuBois, among others, on television and in packed auditoriums. Most of these high profile mediums have written extensively. Their books are becoming increasingly popular, and sell well in both new and second-hand bookshops.
Spiritualism in Antiquity
There is little written reference to Spiritualist practices in literature before the time of Swedenborg, (see next section), and most of what we know of early societies and civilisations comes from the studies of archaeologists, historians and anthropologists. We know that ancient societies did practise a form of Spiritualism and that belief in the immortality of the human spirit was almost universal. Shamans were people who made journeys to non-ordinary realities in an altered state of consciousness. Here they would meet the spirits of the departed, who would offer their advice and guidance. Sometimes meditative practises were used to access these states of consciousness, sometimes sensory deprivation, sometimes strongly rhythmic music, sometimes hallucenogenic drugs, such as ayahuasca which is still used by shamans in the South American rain forests to get in touch with the Spirit Realms. Most Animist belief systems of early societies hold that the spirit survives the death of the physical body. Shintoism, the traditional religion of Japan, is strongly animistic, and practises ancestor worship. Taoism, the traditional religion of China, believes that the world is full of invisible spirits, and the spirits of the dead are often contacted by spirit mediums. Inscriptions as early as 3800 BC on the tablets of the ancient Akkadians show their beliefs in ghosts and spirits.
In the Bible, Saul consulted the medium of Endor and asked her to call up the spirit of Samuel, whose advice he sought about the best way to deal with the advancing Philistines. (1 Samuel 28 v 3-5) In the New Testament, Jesus appeared transfigured on a mountain, and spoke with the spirits of Moses and Elijah. This story is told in the first three gospels and can be found at Matthew 17 v 1-9; Mark 9 v 2-8; and Luke 9 v 28-36.
Both Homer and Herodotus mention the Greek oracles. An oracle was a person or agency that was thought to give good guidance or prophecy about the future or about the after-life. It was a form of divination. Oracles were thought to be the portals through which the gods spoke to man. At an oracle there would be a psychomanteum which would be a darkened, silent chamber with a low light source such as flickering candles and some sort of mirrored surface such as polished stone or a large receptacle of water, specially set up to aid communication with the Spirit World. After gazing for a long time into the mirrored surface, visions would come or apparitions would appear, that would heal grief and bring insight. Dr Raymand Moody writes about the Greek psychomanteums and their therapeutic use in his book "Reunions - Visionary Encounters with Departed Loved Ones". Sometimes at an oracle supplicants would visit the psychomanteum while they waited their turn to consult the oracle.
There are many ancient references to the widely held belief in reincarnation. The Bible mentions it more than once. St. John the Baptist was referred to by Jesus as the reincarnation of Elijah. The disciples asked on another occasion whether a blind man whom Jesus healed was born blind because of his sins, which is tantamount to saying that he had lived and sinned before he was born as a blind person. It is interesting that in this story Jesus did not correct the disciples understanding of reincarnation, but simply states that "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him [in that he, Jesus, was able to heal him.](John 9:3)." The Ancient Greek writer Herodotus tells his readers, that the Egyptians "are the earliest who have spoken of the doctrine of reincarnation, according to which the soul of man is immortal, and after the destruction of the body, enters into a newly born being".
Spiritualism has always existed, and there have always been mediums, which is hardly surprising as mediumship is a God-given gift, which most people can develop with practice and patience. Sadly, prior to its popular emergence in the public eye in the 19th Century, mediums were persecuted in most European countries, and what we would call today "spiritualist activity" had to remain an underground movement, and it left little written record. For example, The Soulmother of Küssnacht was a 16th century Swiss medium, who was able to practise her divine gift for some 15 years before coming to the attention of the authorities with the inevitable consequences.
In the 17th Century, the English poet John Milton attributed his poetic inspiration to the Muse, Clio, whom he claimed to have met. Muses were supernatural agencies, in whom Milton had strong faith and trust all his life, but we cannot claim that Milton was a prototype Spiritualist. He supported the Puritan cause in England, but privately he was unorthodox. Many other writers and artists have similarly believed that their works was divinely inspired by God or the spirit realms.
William Blake (1757-1827) was a mystical poet who came closer to being a prototype Spiritualist. From his early years, Blake had visions of angels and ghostly monks, he saw and conversed with the angel Gabriel, the Virgin Mary, and various historical figures. Encouraged by his father, he read and appreciated the works of Emmanuel Swedenborg. In 1787 his beloved younger brother, Robert, died. Blake sat by him during his last illness, and claimed to see his spirit pass through the ceiling on its way to heaven. Blake later said that the spirit of Robert came to him 'in a vision in the night' and revealed the secret technique for combining poem and picture on a single printing plate. On August 12th 1727, a friend at Blake's deathbed said he died 'singing of the things he saw in heaven'.
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Early Literature - Before the 19th Century
Before the 19th Century Emmanuel Swedenborg (1688-1742) and Franz Mesmer (1734-1815), (who gave his name to "mesmerism" and to the verb "to mesmerise"), wrote books that encouraged early Spiritualists. Swedenborg communicated with the spirit world, and said, from the revelations to given to him, that there is not a single heaven and a single hell, but rather a series of higher and lower heavens and hells. Swedenborg also taught that spirits were sometimes used as intermediaries between man and the Divine, and that we could communicate with them, although he generally tried to discourage other people from doing so, (perhaps for fear of persecution).
Mesmer introduced "mesmerism", later called hypotism, a trance-like state, which he discovered often put the hypnotised person in contact with the spirit world.
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Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) The image to the left links to the Wikipedia entry on Emmanuel Swedenborg. It is clear that Swedenborg was a man of psychic and mediumistic ability. At the age of 57 he was granted a direct perception of the spiritual world, a perception which he saw as a revelation from God. He gave up his career as a scientist and philosopher and made preparations to publish theological works which contained the spiritual |
In England he found freedom of thought and the press, and travelled to London many times in order to publish his works here. This is also where he died at the age of 84. Swedenborg did not preach or have any followers. He believed that the truth would be accepted when people were ready, a sentiment which modern Spiritualists would heartily applaud.
In 1758, he published 'De Caelo et Ejus Mirabilibus et de inferno' Ex Auditis et Visis ('Heaven and Hell' as heard and seen). Several other works followed about the Spirit World. Between 1953 and 1957 his spiritual journals were published.
This interesting UK website aims "to provide an introduction to the spiritual insights of Emanuel Swedenborg by sharing personal reflections on these insights."
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Franz Anton Mesmer (1734 - 1815) The image links to the Wikipedia entry on Franz Mesmer. Mesmer was born in Swabia Germany. He studied to be a Jesuit, then he studied medicine. His book: 'On the Influence of the Planets on the Human Body' appeared in 1766. He later began to treat patients with a sort of hypnosis, which he called animal magnetism, a therapy which he discovered. He discovered other spiritual forces, which he grouped |
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Spiritualist Literature of the Early 19th Century
Andrew Jackson Davis (1826-1910)
Andrew Jackson Davis is thought of as the forerunner of Modern Spiritualism. Davis's teaching has much in common with Emmanuel Swedenborg's. He began his work for Spiritualism after attending lectures given by the Mesmerists. In his first and perhaps greatest book he foretold the coming of direct Spirit communication with man. If you click on the image of Davis below, you will be taken to an SNU listing of some books by Davis, which have been made available by Google for online reading. Some of them, including "The Principles of Nature" mentioned below, are downloadable.
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Andrew Jackson Davis was born into a poor family at Blooming Grove in New York State, the only boy in a family of six. His mother was a lowly woman. His father spent much of the little he earned as a weaver and a shoemaker on drink. Davis showed signs of clairvoyance and clairaudience at a very young age. Acting on Spirit advice, he persuaded his father to move in 1838 to Poughkeepsie. In 1843, a Mesmerist, Dr. J. Stanley Grimes gave some lectures in the town on Mesmerism. |
Davis attended one of the lectures and became very interested. Later, a local tailor, William Levingston, helped induce a state of mesmeric trance in Davis, and found that in this altered state of consciousness, Davis could accurately diagnose disease. Davis said that in trance he could see into the human body with his spirit eyes, which seemed to be in the centre of his forehead. He could see each internal organ clearly, each emitting its own light, which became dull when there was any disease. In the next three years Davis was a successful practitioner of magnetic healing.
In 1844 Andrew Jackson Davis had a life-changing experience. During the evening of March 6th Davis was suddenly filled with a power which caused him to hurry away from Poughkeepsie, in a semi-trance state, one presumes on a long fast walk, though he had very little recollection of this, except that he felt as if he were flying through the air. The next morning, when he had regained his normal state of consciousness, he found himself in the Catskill Mountains, about 40 miles away. Here he met two distinguished Spirits, the Greek physician and philosopher Galen and the Swedish mystic and psychic Emanuel Swedenborg. Swedenborg had been in spirit for over 70 years, Galen for centuries. Swedenborg says that great revelations were given to him, and he began to understand Spirit phenomena much more clearly. This experience had a tremendous galvanising effect on Davis, who began to seriously study and record his own experiences of Spiritualist phenomena. He travelled widely in America giving public lectures and teachings from Spirit which he delivered with almost evangelical fervour. During one tour, Davis met another Mesmerist, Dr. Lyons and his friend Rev. Fishbough. Dr. Lyons was able to easily put Davis into a state of trance. Davis was then able to channel much Spirit teaching, which was recorded by Rev. Fishbough. In November, 1845, Davis began dictating his best known work, "The Principles of Nature: Her Divine Revelations and A Voice To Mankind" while in trance, which many people witnessed and marvelled at. The dictation lasted for 15 months and the book was published in 1847. It became a great success. Davis became known locally as "The Poughkeepsie Seer". Davis next began a periodical called Univercoelum, which was published from 1847 to 1849. It covered subjects like clairvoyance, trance phenomena, and his "Harmonial Philosophy".
It was in his "Principles of Nature" that Davis predicted the rise of modern Spiritualism. In it he wrote: "... this truth (Spirit communication) will ere long present itself in the form of a living demonstration. And the world will hail with delight the ushering in of that era when the interiors of men will be opened, and the spiritual communion will be established."
On March 31, 1848, Andrew Jackson Davis heard a voice saying tenderly, "Brother, the good work has begun - behold, a living demonstration is born." Davis recorded this in his diary and added, "I was left wondering what could be meant by such a message." He did not know that at that very moment, in Hydesville, New York, the very first Spirit communications to the Fox sisters, which were to begin the era of modern Spiritualism, were taking place. Davis joined the new Spiritualist movement in 1850. Between then and 1885, he wrote many more books on a range of subjects from spiritual philosophy, to health, to a descriptions of the Spirit world and the nature of Spirit.
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Spiritualist Literature of the 19th Century after 1848
Awaiting report.
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Spiritualist Literature of the early 20th Century
Awaiting report.
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Spiritualist Literature since the Second World War
Awaiting report.
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If you have any recommendations concerning Spiritualist books and literature which should be included here, or if you can add to our knowledge of the subject, please email your thoughts to the Webmaster.
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N.B. We will always be glad to present your own writing on Spiritualism in our 'Writings Section'. Members and friends of our Centre are invited to contribute. Art-work is always appreciated, either in digital form, or on paper, since it can be easily scanned to make a digital image.
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