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Kathleen Meadows

19th century spiritualism and insanity

May 27, 2015 | Comment icon 1 comment
Image Credit: William Hope
Over the past four years I've been spending much of my spare time researching 19th century spiritualism. I can't seem to get enough of it. The connections in particular between the suffrage movement, spiritualism and the emerging notions of sanity are enthralling.

The budding scientific psychology of the 19th century was keen to show that both spiritualist mediums and believers were mentally deranged, in fact that spiritualism actually attracted the insane. No doubt the popularity and buzz value of spiritualism was affording the new psychologies a weigh-in to centre stage. Spiritualism actually had a bevy of instant detractors and enemies! Traditional and established religious institutions, the medical establishment and anyone associated with mourning, burial and psychology. That’s quite an impressive list of opposition. Not surprising really that spiritualism faced such an uphill battle to get its message out to the people. Perhaps considering all its opposition it’s surprising it became as popular as it did. I think that denotes just how powerful its proofs really are.

A Gift to Prove Existence of Afterlife

Any religious experience that involved the suspension of everyday consciousness, including ecstatic divine communion or mediumship, was reducible to a pathological model. Sadly this remains an insidious barrier to authentic research in this field. Considering that spiritualism is a gift to prove the existence of afterlife, this obnoxious and pseudo-scientific pronouncement has effectively kept spiritualism off in left field for most people.

It was a well-established fact for example that women dominated the mediumship field by more than 100 to 1 male. Of course this salient fact didn't fail the notice of the medical profession. In females who were diagnosed with insanity, the disease was aligned with their reproductive system. This explained why so many women succumbed to the pathological condition of mediumship (an interesting circular argument favoured by the Victorian mind). Vibrancy and femininity were virtually contradictory notions.

There were a few gifted mediums in that time that truly challenged the notion that only males were manifestations of the divine. On the heels of the witch burnings of course there had to be an inordinate degree of prudence applied as the miracles performed by these mediums came into the public forum of debate.
Mediums Encouraged to Emphasize Christian Roots

All mediums were urged by their worried supporters to emphasize their Christian roots and use language familiar and comfortable to the Christian majority. There remain vestiges of this caution evident in many spiritualism adherents to this day.

Cora Richmond

Mrs. Cora L. V. Richmond should be the first trance medium on your list to study. She was born in 1840 in Cuba N.Y. and died in Chicago in early 1923. When she was a young child people were coming from miles around to sit with her and be healed. By the time she was 15 years old she was on the stage going into trance and bringing forth messages that would affect the course of American history. The highest celestial beings spoke through Cora. She attracted thousands of followers from around the world, inspired the brightest minds of the 19th century and was the first American woman to earn her own income.

She organized the first Parliament of Religions in Chicago (yet was soon banned from attending!). The first Spiritualist Church was built for her followers in Chicago called the Church of the Soul.

She wrote many books, and her discourses under trance were all published. She taught the most gifted mediums and attracted thousands to Cassadaga Camp every year (later called Lilydale).

Kathleen Meadows, M.A. is a practicing psychic. To read more about Cora Richmond go to http://www.psychicanada.com.



If you are interested in the esoteric sciences and psychic ability development you will find the articles on my web site an interesting read. Visit my web site https://www.psychicanada.com/. Comments (1)


Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by TheGreatBeliever 9 years ago
Haha "spiritualism and insanity"


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