The Element Encyclopedia of the Psychic World: The Ultimate A–Z of Spirits, Mysteries and the Paranormal

Introduction

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.

(Oliver Wendell Holmes)

In the last few decades interest in the psychic world has escalated. Beyond the basic Steven King novel, the idea of being psychic or having psychic abilities has penetrated deeply into mainstream culture.

The movie Ghost (1990), with Whoopie Goldberg as reluctant medium Oda May Brown, was the first blockbuster film to portray psychic phenomena in a positive light. Since then a steady stream of books, films and documentaries has followed. Organizations, seminars, workshops, websites, study programmes, chat rooms and courses in parapsychology (the study of the paranormal or unexplained) and psychic development have sprung up over night. Doctors and researchers in holistic health are assembling a startling body of evidence for the interconnectedness of mind, body and spirit. We can now speak ‘openly’ about alternative healings, meditative and psychic experiences without fear of ridicule.

Yet despite all the attention currently being given to psychic phenomena, their true nature still lies deeply shrouded in mystery. One of our favourite ways for dealing with the unknown is through language. We assign a word to an experience, to something we want to describe, and then we feel we have a handle on it. So let’s try to get a grasp on this great unknown, the universe of psychic phenomena, by assigning words to it.

To begin with, what do we mean by ‘psychic? The word psychic describes anything in connection with the psyche. ‘Psyche’ dates back to ancient times when a goddess by the name of Psyche was thought to be in charge of the invisible but essential part of human existence. Over time the word and its meaning evolved, and today a Thesaurus offers the following synonyms: mind, soul, self, subconscious, spirit, subliminal self, inner self, awareness, ego and individuality. Today we use the word psyche to refer generically to all kinds of phenomena, experiences or events that seem to be related to the invisible mind, internal body sensations and altered states of consciousness, which cannot be explained by established physical principles.

To qualify as psychic, an experience must therefore involve interactions that are qualitatively different from our normal, physical ways of exchanging with the world (e.g. verbal and nonverbal communication, sensations and bodily movements). A genuine psychic experience cannot be based even upon the most subtle, subliminal forms of perception or action.

As the experience is different for every person it is impossible to explain exactly what the psychic state is, but a large number of experiences are considered psychic. These include telepathy (mind reading), clairvoyance (psychic ability to see objects and visions), psychokinesis (mind-over-matter), psychic healing, out-of-body experiences, poltergeists, spirits and hauntings. Within the pages of this Encyclopedia you’ll find a veritable compendium of all aspects of psychic phenomena - what they are, the evidence for them, the theories which have been proposed, the dynamics which favour or suppress them, and the techniques for discovering them in yourself. You will also find biographies of famous mediums and key figures in the psychic world as well as information about divination methods, well-known hauntings and paranormal beliefs from all over the world. The aim isn’t to explain the unexplainable - as that is impossible - but to lift the veil and make the groping for words easier when it comes to researching, questioning and understanding the mysteries of the psychic world.

Introducing the psychic world [a very brief history]

Psychic traditions have existed since the beginning of recorded history and have been present in one way or another in ancient cultures all over the world. It seems that a belief in ghosts and communication with spirits of the dead has also always been with us from our earliest beginnings.

In the ancient Middle East, psychic powers were practised by prophets and are described in the Bible’s Old Testament. The royalty of many ancient cultures used divination to seek guidance in times of war and to predict natural disasters such as drought. The Egyptians believed they could communicate with the dead and forecast future events using palmistry and dream divination. In Africa the ancient peoples used trance states to contact the spirits of their dead ancestors. The Greeks used oracles at sacred locations to give prophecies of the future and the Romans looked to the stars for messages from the invisible realm. Early American psychic practices have also been documented. The Aztecs in Mexico used astrology and oracles and Native Americans relied on advice given to them by shamans who entered deep trance-like states to contact spirits.

Although belief in ghosts was present from the very beginning of human history, the first extant report of a haunted house comes from a letter written by a Roman orator called Pliny the Younger (AD 61-112). He wrote to his patron, Lucias Sura, about a villa in Athens that nobody would rent because of a resident ghost.

The best-known psychic of the Middle Ages was a French physician called Nostradamus (1503-1566). He wrote about a thousand prophetic verses, which are still analysed today by scholars looking for references to the world’s future.

After the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, during the Age of Reason, belief in psychic powers and the paranormal waned, but it was reborn again with the help of the Spiritualist movement. The foundations of spiritualism were laid by Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), who allegedly went into trances and communicated with the dead. However, it was the Fox sisters, Kate (1841-1892) and Margaretta (1838-1893), who really brought psychic phenomena to the forefront. The sisters claimed they were able to manifest spirit communication through the rappings of a peddler who had been murdered and found in the Fox home. The public were fascinated as the sisters gave public demonstrations of this psychic manifestation throughout the United States.

Even though the sisters later confessed to fraud, the Spiritualist movement was by then well underway both in the United States and in Europe. Spirit rapping gave way to séances, table-tilting, trance writing and spirit communication through a medium. Many of these techniques are still practised today by Spiritualist churches.

Perhaps the biggest influence on the advancement of psychic knowledge was that of a man called Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), who is now considered the founder of the so-called New Age movement. Cayce had remarkable psychic powers. Allegedly he could see into the future and give predictions. He could look through objects and inside the human body. He was also able to enter another person’s mind and know what that person was thinking, and sleep on a book and remember its contents.

The phenomena produced by mediums and psychics like Cayce during the height of spiritualism in the latter part of the nineteenth century quickly attracted the attention of eminent scientists and intellectuals, and the scientific investigation of alleged psychic powers, ghosts, apparitions, poltergeists and paranormal phenomena began in earnest. In 1882 the Society for Psychical Research was formed in London, and in 1885 the American Society for Psychical Research was founded in Boston. Clubs, organizations and societies dedicated to the paranormal sprung up all over the world, and as the twentieth century drew to a close the psychic world had successfully filtered into mainstream culture. It looks set to stay there.

Today we have televised séances and ghost investigations, celebrity mediums and psychics and bookshops, websites and university courses devoted to the paranormal. Over the years investigation of the paranormal has become increasingly sophisticated and precise. It isn’t about superstition and eye-witness accounts any more, but about laboratory experiments, data, theories, statistical evaluation and high technology. There are those who are keen to offer theories to prove we live in a psychic world and those who are convinced it doesn’t exist. There is a huge desire to unravel the mystery. The hotly debated question at the beginning of the twenty-first century is, are psychic phenomena real?

Fact or fiction?

Is the psychic world real? I’ll give you the answer straight out: No one knows for certain.

There are, however, many theories to explain the thousands upon thousands of documented experiences that people around the world have had since the beginning of recorded history. Some believe psychic phenomena are real, whether or not science, fraud, misinterpretation, hallucination or natural phenomena can explain them. Others argue that if something is unexplainable by science, it cannot be real. These two sides - believers and sceptics - engage in heated debates over whether reports of paranormal experiences are misinterpretations, coincidences, the product of hallucinations or something more substantial.

Meanwhile, researchers into paranormal phenomena continue to seek explanations. It seems that the three hardest words for human beings to utter are ‘I don’t know’. We demand an accounting for every claim or experience, even if that experience seems unexplainable. Consequently, scientists, parapsychologists and psychologists have come up with a variety of theories for why paranormal phenomena exist, if they exist. For example:

Sceptic: ‘Anecdotal evidence, characteristic of most psychic phenomena, is basically unreliable. Anecdotes may have natural, not mysterious explanations, such as random coincidence, fraud, imagination, or auto-suggestion.’

A believer responds: ‘The hard evidence for psychic phenomena today is founded on repeat-able experiments and not anecdotal evidence. Anecdotal evidence is considered valid in law and many other fields. The validity of anecdotal evidence does not depend upon the opinion of those listening to it.’

Sceptic: ‘If an experiment is not controlled to prevent fraud, then the results may not be trusted. This is especially so given the fact that many people who claimed to possess psychic abilities were later proven to be frauds. Parapsychology experiments are usually poorly designed. They often lack proper controls, allowing paths of intentional or unintentional information leakage through normal means.’

A believer responds: ‘There is no such thing as a completely foolproof experiment in any field of science, and it is unreasonable to hold parapsychology to a higher standard than the other sciences. Fraud and incompetence in parapsychology is addressed in the same way it is addressed in any other field of science: repeating experiments at multiple independent laboratories, and publishing methods and results in order to receive critical feedback and design better protocols, etc’

Sceptic: ‘Parapsychology experiments are rarely replicated with positive results at independent laboratories.’

A believer responds: ‘The existence of certain psychic phenomena has been reasonably well established in recent times through repeatable experiments that have been replicated dozens of times at labs around the world.’

Sceptic: ‘Positive results in psychic experiments are so statistically insignificant as to be negligible, i.e. indistinguishable from chance. For example, parapsychology may have a file drawer problem where a large percentage of negative results are never published, making positive results appear more significant than they actually are.’

A believer responds: ‘Experimental protocols have been continually improved over time, sometimes with the direct assistance of noted sceptics. Meta-analyses show that the significance of the positive results has not declined over time, but instead has remained fairly constant. There are certain phenomena that have been replicated with odds against chance far beyond that required for acceptance in any other science.’

Sceptic: ‘Currently unexplainable positive results of apparently sound experiments do not prove the existence of psychic phenomena, i.e. normal explanations may yet be found. In other words, psychic phenomena cannot be accepted as explanation of positive results until there is a widely acceptable theory of how they operate.’

A believer responds: ‘Anomalous phenomena do not disappear for lack of a theory. There have been many instances in the history of science where the observation of an anomalous phenomenon came before an explanatory theory, and some commonly accepted non-psychic phenomena today still lack a perfectly satisfactory, undisputed theory. For instance, in the past, those who sighted meteors falling to the earth were dismissed as madmen or false prophets.’

The dialogue between sceptic and believer continues endlessly. It’s a fascinating debate but as you can see from the brief snapshot above, each theory presented only fuels the arguments. While sceptics, scientists, parapsychologists, researchers and psychics debate the case for and/or against psychic phenomenon all we can do is decide on which side of the fence we wish to sit; and if we can’t decide we just have to sit on the fence instead.

Perhaps some of the arguments and theories for and against will convince you; perhaps they won’t. For the majority, though, the decision isn’t going to be based on evidence or data or what the scientists say but on individual experience and belief.

Do you believe in the psychic world, or don’t you?

Your psychic world

Those who believe in the psychic world suspect that most, if not all people have psychic ability to varying degrees. The ability is often likened to that of musical talent. Some people are naturally gifted with the ability to play and compose music, and practice makes them virtuosos. Others must learn and work and practise to be able to play an instrument even adequately or in the simplest way. But nearly everyone can learn to play to some degree. The same may hold true for psychic abilities.

This Encyclopedia is an intriguing reference tool but it has another use. If you’re interested it can also be used to help develop your own psychic potential. The information boxes and advice sections within certain entries contain practical advice and exercises designed to help you access and make use of your psychic potential. Using them will make your psychic development interesting, easy and safe.

If you do decide to work through some of the psychic development exercises here, it’s advisable to prepare yourself with the following three steps.

1. SELF-TALK

The first step is to believe that psychic potential exists and that it is present within you to develop. Although this might sound silly or trite, begin by telling yourself that you are psychic. Make it a mantra that you repeat to yourself daily and often. This kind of self-talk has a scientific basis. It is now known that when a person learns something, whether it is a physical skill like wood carving or a mental exercise like memorizing poetry, through repetition, his or her brain physically changes - ‘rewires’ itself, if you will - to accommodate that task. This process of rewiring your brain for psychic ability begins with your belief in it.

It takes time for the subconscious to be able to communicate with the conscious mind, and the best way to do this is to simply start thinking about the psychic world. All these thoughts have a positive effect on developing your gift. Knowledge will help, as you need some understanding of how things work. Adopt the policy you would take with a new hobby. Get involved in it, buy books and magazines, read at least three or four entries from this Encyclopedia every day and look for more information on the Internet or, better still, from clubs, societies and organizations devoted to the study of the paranormal.

2. PRACTICE

The second step is to set aside a time every day for your psychic development. Find a place where you won’t be disturbed and where you can read, study, calm your mind and have a go at the exercises. Like a difficult sport or musical instrument, psychic ability requires diligent practice. Unlike sports or music, however, your progress can be hard to measure because of the elusive nature of psychic phenomena (it’s difficult to know how or when it’s going to work). So the frustration level can be high, but the key to success is to not give up.

3. PATIENCE

Finally, don’t let frustration or failures make you stop. Be realistic. You can’t expect to practise for a few days and then be able to see a ghost, predict when Uncle Joe is going to call or who is going to win the lottery. Psychic abilities, even for those who have developed them to a high degree, can be unpredictable and erratic. The trick is to learn to recognize when or if they are working - and that comes with time, practice and experience.

The mystery surrounds you

There are things that occur in the world -and which have occurred since the beginning of recorded time - for which there are no lasting explanations, and clearly psychic phenomena fall into this category of unexplained mysteries. Sceptics may argue their case, and theories may come and go, but all the while the psychic phenomena that these arguments and theories are supposed to debunk or explain carry on as mysteriously as ever.

Mysteries have always happened and will continue to happen. Belief in psychic phenomena has always been widespread all over the world and these beliefs have always had a very real influence on people’s lives. Whether you believe in the psychic world, would like to believe in it but aren’t sure, or think it’s a lot of fascinating but ultimately unscientific nonsense, there is one thing that has to be accepted: we live in a mysterious world.

The universe is a puzzle, our consciousness is an enigma and even our existence in the world is an unexplained mystery. Mysteries are things we live with every day and simply have to accept, regardless of how irrational and incomprehensible they are.

If you are willing to accept that mysteries surround you, if you are willing to open your mind to new possibilities, the psychic world is out there waiting for you to discover it.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.

(Albert Einstein)

A

A COURSE in MIRACLES

A complete self-study spiritual thought system that was channelled through Helen Schucman between 1965 and 1972. It consists of a Text, Manual for Teachers and Workbook for Students and teaches that all humans share a capacity for love, forgiveness, compassion and peace. Rather than trying to change the world, it teaches, you must change yourself and your view of the world. Miracles are defined as a shift in perception from fear to love. It also emphasizes that it is but one version of the universal curriculum, of which there are ‘many thousands’. Consequently, even though its language is that of traditional Christianity, the course expresses a non-sectarian, non-denominational spirituality.

A Course in Miracles was dictated by a clear inner voice to Helen Schucman, a psychologist at Presbyterian Hospital in New York and an assistant professor of psychology at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. Schucman was born to a Jewish family in the early 1900s and was an atheist. For years she experienced mental images that came to her like photographs, and in the 1960s the images became so intense and meaningful that Schucman feared she was going mad.

In September 1965 a voice began dictating the course to Schucman with the opening words, ‘This is a course in miracles. Please take notes.’ Schucman was frightened and reluctant but felt compelled to write. She shared her experiences with her supervisor at work, William Thetford, who thought she might be having psychic visions.

In the days, weeks, months and years that followed, the voice, which never identified itself, dictated the course to Schucman, and by September 1972 the entire work was completed and arranged into chapters by Schucman and Thetford. The voice predicted that a woman would come along who would know what to do with it, and that woman turned out to be Judith Skutch, president of the Foundation for ParaSensory Investigation. Skutch and her husband, Robert, changed the name of their foundation to the Foundation of Inner Peace and dedicated it to publishing and distributing the course.

Information about the course spread quickly via word of mouth, and study groups independent of the foundation formed around the world and continue to flourish today. Schucman and Thetford chose to remain anonymous advisors to the foundation. The voice continued to speak to Schucman, who wrote down a collection of poems published by the foundation as The Gifts of God. As Schucman had wished, her identity was not revealed until after her death in 1981.

A Course in Miracles was first published in 1975. There are currently over one and a half million copies of the course in circulation worldwide.

ABACOMANCY

The art of foretelling the future by observing patterns of dust. The way the dust is blown, distributed or disturbed is read very much like tea leaves. The origins and precise method of this ancient type of divination are unknown. Sometimes the diviner uses the ashes of the recently deceased.

ABSENT HEALING

Healing that results from the sending of healing thoughts, visualization, prayers or energy towards some distant person or persons. It is based on the belief that all beings are interconnected by a universal life force or energy and that healing thoughts send out subtle energetic charges into this web of interconnection and out to the person being thought about.

Many psychics, spiritual healers, reiki practitioners and medical intuitives claim to be able to direct energy and perform absent healing. Typically healers will speak the name of the sick person or they will focus on a photograph of the person, or a candle or doll that represents the person. The healing energies are then directed to where they are needed.

How absent healing is accomplished, if it can be accomplished, remains an unproven mystery but there is compelling evidence to suggest that emotional and sometimes physical healing can take place from a distance. Aside from countless personal accounts from those who have benefited from absent healing, American doctor Larry Dossey conducted several double blind trials to test the effectiveness of absent healing in the early 1990s. At the end of the trials the groups that had been the object of prayer showed greater improvement in health than the control groups.

ACHERI

In Native American folklore Acheri is thought to be the ghost of a little girl who died of disease. Legend has it that Acheri is a frail and pale looking female spirit who lives on mountaintops and hills. At night she travels into the valleys to spread infection, disease and pain, usually to children, by casting her invisible shadow over innocent sleeping victims.

It is thought that the colour red affords protection against this entity and amulets of red thread worn as necklaces will protect children from the disease Acheri brings. Similarly, in European folklore, red charms are used to protect against harm from evil spirits.

ACUPRESSURE

An ancient Chinese healing method that involves applying pressure to selected points on the body to relieve pain and tension. It is based on the belief that the body has 14 ‘meridians’ that flow through the major organs and carry energy, called chi, throughout the body. Acupressure is an alternative medicine technique that deals with all the aspects of a person - body, emotions, mind and spirit - as one whole rather than as separate parts.

Practitioners believe that acupressure can help relieve stress and tension, relax mind and body, increase blood circulation, aid in the removal of toxic wastes from the body, provide relief from head, neck and shoulder aches, promote the healing of injuries, increase energy levels and increase overall feelings of well-being. In a typical session the client lies fully clothed on a soft massage table while the practitioner presses gently on points on various parts of the client’s body. The session is non-invasive and gentle and generally lasts for about one hour. However, most clients normally require a number of sessions to complete a treatment.

ACUPUNCTURE

An ancient Chinese healing system and alternative medicine technique that involves inserting and stimulating particular points on the body with fine needles. Acupuncture, like acupressure, is built on the theory that there are special ‘meridian’ points on the body connected to the body’s internal organs and that ‘vital life energy’ (chi) flows along these meridian lines. According to this theory, disease is caused by interrupted energy flow; inserting the needles restores normal flow

Acupuncture needles may be twirled, heated or stimulated with a weak electric current, with ultrasound and sometimes even with wavelengths of light. Acupuncture is used to treat pain, depression, allergies, asthma, arthritis, bladder problems, digestive upsets, colds, flu, smoking, fatigue, gynaecologic disorders, headaches, migraines, high blood pressure, low libido, stress, stroke, drug addiction, vision problems and even AIDS.

ADELPHI THEATRE, GHOST OF

The Adelphi Theatre in London is thought to be haunted by the ghost of a celebrated Victorian actor called William Terriss. Terriss was a stylish and popular actor highly regarded in his day and seldom seen without his trademark pale gloves.

On the night of 16 December 1897, during a run of Secret Service, a thriller staring Terriss and leading lady Jessie Mil-ward, Terriss was murdered by an out-of-work actor, Richard Prince, who had been fired due to alcoholism and ever after bore a grudge against the profession. Prince especially resented the success and charisma of Terriss.

As night fell Prince ambushed Terriss as he unlocked the stage door in Maiden Lane and stabbed him. Terriss died in Jessie Milward’s arms, whispering ‘I’ll be back’. Prince was tried and convicted of murder but declared insane. He spent the rest of his days at Broadmoor prison, where he passed the time writing his own plays and, of course, playing the heroic lead.

The first sighting of Terriss’s ghost was in 1928. A stranger in London, who did not know about the murder, saw a male figure dressed in grey Victorian clothes suddenly vanish in Maiden Lane. Later he identified the figure as Terriss from a photograph.

Again in 1928 an actress who was using Jessie Milward’s old dressing room, felt light blows on her arms, a sensation of being grabbed and the inexplicable shaking of her chaise longue. She also saw a green light above her mirror and heard tapping on the door. Later she discovered that Terriss used to tap Milward’s door with his cane when he passed it. In 1962 there was another sighting: a greenish light that took the shape of a man was seen by a frightened workman. The light opened the stage curtains and then proceeded to the stalls and tipped down the seats.

Members of the station staff at Covent Garden tube station, which now occupies the site of a bakery where Terriss stopped daily, have several times reported hearing disembodied gasps and sighs after hours. One young porter, Victor Locker, immediately requested a transfer after encountering the phantom, an experience he described as being immobilized with an oppressive weight pushing down on him. In 1955 ticket collector Jack Hayden reported seeing on numerous occasions an elegant phantom with ‘a very, very sad face and sunken cheeks’, attired with opera cloak, cane and pale gloves walking the platform or ascending the spiral staircase. Hayden left Covent Garden in 1964 and the sightings have been less frequent, but Terriss still puts in the occasional cameo appearance, especially in the train tunnels between Covent Garden and Holborn.

ADEPT

One who has achieved the highest mastery of mystical and/or occult powers. An adept is particularly proficient or knowledgeable about the nature and laws of the universe.

Those who wish to become adepts may become apprentices, or ‘chelas’, to adepts, in which case the latter are known as masters. The activities of adepts are diverse. They can control forces both in the spiritual and physical worlds and prolong their lives for centuries. Adepts can use their wisdom both for good or for evil purposes. The term ‘adept’ was also employed by medieval alchemists to denote a master of their sciences.

AEROMANCY

One of the oldest forms of divination, practised by the priests of Babylonia, aeromancy is a method of divination by observing atmospheric - air or sky - phenomena, such as wind currents, cloud shapes and formations, comets and falling stars. Examples include the Bethlehem star heralding the birth of Christ and the appearance of Halley’s comet around the time of the battle of Hastings, supposedly foretelling the victory of William the Conqueror. There are several different forms of aeromancy, including austromancy (wind divination); ceraunoscopy (observing thunder and lightning); chaomancy (aerial visions); and meteormancy (meteors, especially shooting stars).

AFFIRMATION

A positive phrase or sentence that through frequent repetition uses the power of your mind to create a truth or reality. Even though you may not be consciously aware that you are doing it, everyone uses affirmations (i.e., positive self-talk) to boost confidence and motivation at some time or other.

Affirmations are powerful verbal messages repeated over and over again, so that they become embedded in your brain and create new pathways of thought and action. In other words they provide your intuition with new avenues for insight and opportunity and prepare your mind for change. Once the mind is prepared for change and new opportunities it is thought to be far easier to create those opportunities.

Using your will power

Affirmations are easy to do and can be beneficial if used correctly. It takes three to four weeks for the mind to absorb new information, so you need to be patient and persistent.

Think about what you want to improve in your life. Are you happy with your job? Do you want to stop smoking? Would you like to lose some weight? Choose your goal, but make sure it is achievable.

Let’s say you want to lose weight. You now work out a statement suggesting that you are reaching your goal. Be careful how you word it though, because if you say something like ‘I don’t want to be fat anymore’, your mind will focus on being fat, not on your goal, which is weight loss. But if you say something like ‘I want to be thin’, this is too vague for your mind to assess. However, something like ‘I am going to lose six pounds this month’ gets you in touch with the end result and is specific at the same time. It gives your mind something constructive to work with. Now write this affirmation down, and repeat it to yourself several times a day for at least three to four weeks.

Of course, besides affirming the statement, you also need to use your common sense and take the necessary steps to help you towards your goal, such as regular exercise and healthy eating if weight loss is your goal. Remember, the mind is a powerful tool, and affirmations can be a key factor in success because they help replace sabotaging negative self-talk with optimism, goal-setting and positive resolve.

Affirmations are typically used by men and women in sport and business but they can be useful for any career or life skill where goal setting and mental strength is crucial. Psychotherapists, motivational speakers and life coaches tend to use them as tools to help empower their clients and build self-esteem, and alternative medicine therapists tend to suggest the use of affirmations to encourage the body’s self-healing process.

AFRIT

The Afrit comes from Arabian and Muslim folklore and is alleged to be a spirit demon who rises up like smoke from the spilt blood of murder victims. They are said to inspire unspeakable terror and, because of the unjust, brutal nature of their demise, they are ruthless towards their victims. Sometimes they are said to appear in the form of desert whirlwinds, and it has also been said that they can take on a form similar to the Christian Devil, with hooves for feet and horns on their head. Driving a new nail into the bloodstained ground is thought to prevent their formation.

AFTERLIFE

Afterlife (also known as life after death) is the continuation of existence beyond this world or after death. There are various sources for this belief, but the one most relied upon is the testimony of individuals who claim to have knowledge of the afterlife because they have:

Died and been sent back to life (near-death experience).

Visited the afterlife when they were unconscious (out-of-body experience).

Seen the afterlife in a vision. Remembered the afterlife from a previous existence (reincarnation).

Been visited by a representative of the afterlife such as angels or spirits.

Believe the testimonal of shamans or intermediaries between the living and the dead.

Almost every society known has some belief in survival after death, although these conceptions vary enormously. Some common ones are: a continuation of life with little change in the nature of existence; spiritual improvement through a series of stages, planes or levels; a series of lives and deaths before ultimate extinction; or the afterlife as a place of reward or punishment based on faith or good deeds on earth and bodily resurrection at some future date.

Christian folk traditions suggest that the souls of good people are converted into angels upon death. However, a more orthodox reading of scripture suggests that the dead are not transformed until the Last Judgement, which is followed by a resurrection of the faithful.

Christian ideas heavily influenced nineteenth-century spiritualist authors like Andrew Jackson Davis, who dictated his lectures in a trance. Davis suggested that after their death, humans continue their spiritual progress through a series of spiritual spheres until they reach the seventh sphere and become one with the infinite vortex of love and wisdom.

Other cultures believe in a land of the dead and locate it in various places: for the Zulus, for example, it is under the earth, an underworld mirror of this world. For the ancient Egyptians, the afterlife was very important. The believer had to act well during his or her lifetime and know the rituals in the Egyptian Book of the Dead to gain entry into the underworld. If the corpse of the pharoah was properly embalmed and entombed, the deceased would accompany the sun god on his daily ride. Other societies believe in universal-ism, which holds that all will be rewarded regardless of what they have done or believed, while still others consider the afterlife less important compared to the here and now.

Another afterlife concept, found among Hindus and Buddhists, is reincarnation, either as animals or as humans. Followers of both traditions interpret events in our current life as consequences of actions taken in previous lives. Some traditions believe in personal reincarnation, whereas others believe that the energy of one’s soul is recycled into other living things as they are born.

Those who practice spiritualism believe in the possibility of communication between the living and the dead. Some societies distinguish between the ghost, which travels to the land of the dead, and a different part of the spirit, which reincarnates. The ghost part of spirit is thought to be strong three or four days after death, and therefore various rituals are performed to discourage the ghost from returning to haunt the living.

AGE OF AQUARIUS

Term used to describe a new age of thinking in Western culture based on the astrological calculation of the Precession of the Equinoxes. According to Western astrologers, the Age of Aquarius is one of the 12 great ages, corresponding to the 12 signs of the zodiac, each lasting approximately 2,000 years.

Each of the 12 ages is thought to be characterized by particular cultural moves in society, thought and religion. Astrologers believe that for the past 2,000 years or so our world has been in the Age of Pisces, characterized by disillusionment and sceptisicm, and that we are now experiencing the dawn of a new age: the Age of Aquarius.

The shift to Aquarius is believed to herald revolutionary change, because Aquarius is the sign of knowledge, scientific breakthroughs and discoveries, but many think that there could be a price to pay for this overemphasis on intellect and science - the breakdown of old domestic structures. Although Aquarius can be tolerant and humanitarian, suggesting the possibility of a golden age, the Aquarian need for total freedom without interference may be uncompromising and dangerous.

No astrological organization or official body has agreed upon a specific date to begin the Aquarian Age: some say that it began as early as 1904, others that it begins around the year 2000, and still others say that it will not start until as late as 2160. The 2160 date was calculated by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and coincides with various predictions of cataclysms which are to be followed by 2,000 years of peace. The disagreement in dates is due to the backward movement of the vernal equniox through the zodiac. The vernal equniox takes around 26,000 years to make a complete cycle in the zodiac, but a gradual slipage creates a retrograde of one zodiac sign every 2,160 years - some astrologers take this into account, others do not.

Edgar Cayce, called by some the father of New-Age thinking, believed that the transition between the ages of Pisces and Aquarius overlap and the implications of this wouldn’t be fully understood until the twenty-first century.

Theories about the Age of Aquarius vary as much as the date. Some believe it is a time of new beginnings while others associate it with times of ending such as Armageddon or Judgement Day. This disparity may be because Aquarius is ruled by two planets: Saturn, the symbol of time and endurance, and Uranus, the symbol of revolution. Generally, though, the Age of Aquarius is thought to be an era of enlightenment, joy, accomplishment, peace and spiritual empowerment.

The term Age of Aquarius’ was popular in the 1960s, a period of great upheaval, social change and interest in spritual development and alternative lifestyles. The great conjunction of Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn on 5 February 1962 was said to be a sign of the dawning of a new age, and Age of Aquarius’ has since been supplanted by the term New Age.

AGENT

A ghost or spirit that is seen by someone. It can also be used to describe the energy that is causing a haunting. For example, in a poltergeist situation it is often thought that a child at the age of puberty is somehow causing the disturbances through some form of telekinetic projection. In this case, the child is considered the agent.

ALLUROMANCY

A form of zoomancy also known as ‘feliomancy’. It is the art of predicting the future by observing the movements of cats, especially the way they jump and where they land. For example, a cat washing its face and ears could indicate rain; a cat washing one ear three times might suggest visitors from the direction in which the cat is looking; a cat following you could mean you will come into money, etc. Since ancient times cats have been associated with mystery and the occult, so it is hardly surprising that diviners used them to search for clues to the future.

AIR

One of the four natural elements harnessed in magical rites and associated with the Zodiac signs of Gemini, Libra and Aquarius. Air symbolizes communication and intellectual pursuits as well as new beginnings. In magical use, the element of air corresponds to the East and the colour yellow. It is one of the two elements that are associated with the masculine (the other being fire). Its ritual tool is the athame and/or sword, although in some traditions it is the wand. Its symbol is an equilateral triangle, with its point pointing upwards and a horizontal line passing through the centre. In Wicca an air elemental is one of the four spirits that energize a spell and help bring the spell-caster’s wishes into being.

AKASHA

In Buddhism and Hinduism, akasha is the all-pervasive life force, a universal medium. It fits all space and penetrates all matter. It is everything, and everything is in it.

Hindu philosophy interprets the akasha as the ether, the fifth element that permeates the universe, acting as an agent through which electromagnetic forces operate. In the practice of Yoga, the akasha is one of the three universal principles, along with prana (breath of life) and creative mind; the three are all sources of psychic power. From akasha comes will, which makes anything possible.

In Buddhism the akasha is space, both space that is bound to the material world and space that is infinite. Madame Blavatsky, co-founder of the Theosophical Society, introduced this notion to the West and compared the akasha to other forms of the universal life force, such as the sidereal light of the Rosicrucians, the Hebrew ruah or moving spirit and the quin-tessance or luminous fifth element, invisible to humans, which binds the other four elements. Blavatsky suggested that the akasha forms the world soul, or anima mundi, and produces mesmeric operations of nature.

AKASHIC RECORDS

Akashic is a Sanskrit word meaning the fundamental etheric substance of the universe. According to Theosophy, the Akashic Records, or Book of Life, is extrasensory information that exists in another dimension, like the ultimate cosmic library. The records contain information on all world events and all thoughts and deeds that have taken place or will take place on earth. They may be read only by adepts. Rudolf Steiner, for example, claimed to have consulted the Akashic Records for his descriptions of Atlantis. Edgar Cayce also claimed to have seen the Book of Life. Some psychics say they consult the Akashic Records through clairvoyance or during out-of-body experiences.

The Akashic Records are also called the Universal Memory of Nature, and it is thought that everyone has an inherent ability to see his or her own book and all the things they have done or felt in life. It is simply a matter of developing the psychic ability.

The process of consulting the Records is described by psychics as like visiting an enormous library and looking up information in books. Some say they are greeted by doorkeepers or spirit guides who assist them in finding the correct information. The books are kept in rows, line upon line, stack upon stack, corridor upon corridor. Some books are charred, turned up at the edges and blackened, as if they have been pulled out of a fire, some are beautifully illuminated scrolls, and others are embossed in gold leaf with pages in rainbow colours. Yet others are bound in red leather with special emblems.

ALAMO

The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, is a landmark that is believed to be truly haunted. Originally a chapel built in 1718 by monks, the Alamo was later expanded into a fortress for Texans to use as a stronghold against the Mexicans in the battle over land rights. In March 1836 the President of Mexico, General Antonio López de Santa Anna, and 4,000 troops laid siege to the Alamo. The 11-day battle led to the deaths of almost all the 188 defenders of the Alamo and 1,600 Mexicans. The victorious General López ordered the bodies of the dead Texans to be dumped in a large grave and the Alamo to be torn to the ground. Legend has it that when the Mexicans tried to tear down the walls, ghostly hands extended to stop them and they fled in terror.

Today the suffering of those who died has not been forgotten. There have been several sightings of grotesque apparitions coming from the walls of the Alamo, and screaming and yelling at night as if the terrible events of 1836 are replayed over and over again. There are other reports of a ghost on top of the Alamo, walking back and forth as if trying to escape.

See Residual haunting.

ALCATRAZ

Alcatraz, the harshest, loneliest and most haunted of America’s federal prisons, is located on a dark and damp rock in San Francisco Bay. The story of Alcatraz does not begin or end with the use of the rock as a prison - the island was known to Native Americans as a place that contained evil spirits. Many believe that an evil energy still remains to this day. As parapsycholo-gists suggest, where so much trauma and negative emotion has occurred there is bound to be residual energy, and Alcatraz has the feel of an immense haunted house, complete with fog and restless spirits, despite the fact that Alcatraz was closed as a prison in 1963, and today is maintained by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area as a tourist attraction.

Alcatraz, originally named La Isla de Los Altraces (The Island of the Pelicans), was first an army fort and prison. In 1934 it was turned into a maximum-security federal penitentiary where convicts were sent solely for punishment, not rehabilitation. Conditions were terrible and escape impossible. Many inmates were driven insane; others preferred to kill themselves rather than endure the brutal conditions.

Since the prison’s closing no visual apparitions have been seen, but guards and tour guides have reported feelings of sudden intensity pervading the cells and corridors, the sound of men’s voices, whistling, clanging metal doors, screams, the running of feet down corridors and anxious feelings of being watched. Some of the more haunted locations on Alcatraz appear to be the warden’s house, the hospital, the laundry room, and Cell Block C utility door, where three convicts and three guards died in an attempted escape in 1946. The most haunted area, however, is the punishment block - D Block, or solitary, as it was called. Some guides refuse to go there alone. The cells reportedly remain intensely cold, even if it is a hot day.

To this day visitors continue to report feeling strange on their visit to Alcatraz, although some acknowledge their reaction might be influenced by their knowledge of the misery and suffering that went on there.

ALCHEMY

The term alchemy, commonly believed to refer to attempts to change base metals into gold, covers a wide range of topics -from the discovery of a single cure for all diseases to the quest for immortality, from the creation of artificial life to straightforward descriptions of scientific techniques. Broadly, one could describe alchemy as the art of converting that which is base, both in the material and spiritual world, into something more perfect. Symbolically, alchemy is the mystical art for human spiritual transformation into a higher form of being.

The spiritual teachings of alchemy were based on the idea that humans have a spirit or soul as well as a physical body, and it was thought that if the spirit could be compressed or concentrated, the secret of changing one aspect of nature into another could be discovered. The elusive catalyst that allowed this change to take place is known as the philosopher’s stone, which is not a stone but a powder or liquid that turned base metal into gold and, when swallowed, gave everlasting life.

Alchemists are often pictured as stirring a bubbling concoction of base metal on a fire, hoping it will turn to gold. However, not all alchemists were like this, and some of the best minds of the last twenty or so centuries have studied alchemy as a way to unlock the secrets of nature.

Alchemy probably first emerged in ancient Egypt and China. In China it was purported to transmute base metals into gold, and the gold so produced was thought to have the ability to cure disease and prolong life. In Egypt the methods of transmutation were kept secret by temple priests. Western alchemy has its basis in the skills of those Egyptian priests, Eastern mysticism and the Aristotelian theory of the composition of matter. Aristotle, following the theory of Empedocles, taught that all matter was composed of four elements: water, fire, earth and air. Different materials found in nature contained different ratios of these four elements, and so by proper treatment a base metal could be turned to gold.

In the eighth and ninth centuries, Chinese, Greek, and Alexandrian alchemical lore entered the Arab world. Arabian alchemists postulated that all metals were composed not of four elements but of two: sulphur and mercury. They also adopted the Chinese alchemists’ concept of a philosopher’s stone - a medicine that could turn a sick (base) metal into gold and act as the El or elixir of life - and so begun a never-ending quest for this elusive catalyst.

Arab alchemical treatises were popular in the Middle Ages. Indirectly, through Arabic, Greek manuscripts were translated into Latin, and alchemical explanations of the nature of matter can be found in the treatises of such scholars as Albertus Magnus (c.1200-1280) and Roger Bacon (c.1214-1292).

Before the scientific revolution, alchemists were respected figures on the European scene, and kings and nobles often supported them in the hope of increasing their revenue. But among the sincere were charlatans and swindlers, and their fraudulent activities led to alchemy getting a bad name. Even as late as 1783 a chemist called John Price claimed he had turned mercury into gold. When he was asked by the Royal Society to perform the experiment in public, he reluctantly agreed. On the appointed day, however, he drank some poison and died in front of the invited audience.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, many practical alchemists, like Paracelsus, the first in Europe to mention zinc and use the word ‘alcohol’, turned from trying to make gold towards preparing medicine. The story is told of a seventeenth-century chemist who claimed he had found the elixir of life in the waters of a mineral spring. This substance has since been identified as the laxative sodium sulphate.

After the scientific revolution in the seventeenth century, alchemy became marginalized, and interest in transmutation became limited to astrologers and numerologists. Nevertheless, the scientific facts that had been accumulated by alchemists in their search for gold became the basis for modern chemistry. In the West, interest in the spiritual dimension of alchemy was rekindled in the mid-twentieth century through the work of psychiatrist Carl Jung on alchemical spirituality.

Today there are few practising alchemists. The fact is, scientists have discovered how to change base metals into gold, but the process is uneconomical and so alchemy today is a spiritual rather than a practical quest. Sincere seekers are people of great wisdom and morality. For them the search for spiritual perfection takes precedence over the quest for easy riches. Genuine alchemists see the universe as a unity and believe that by exploring the infinite workings of its parts they can better understand the whole. The symbolism of turning base metal into gold represents exactly what they are trying to do within themselves - refine themselves spiritually - and it could be said that alchemists are simply taking a more scientific approach to the age-old quest to ‘know thyself.

ALECTROMANCY

An ancient Roman method of divination using a cock or a hen placed in a circle of grain, round which are written the letters of the alphabet. The letters close to where the bird pecks are gathered and assembled to answer specific questions. If a simple yes or no is required, then only two piles of grain are used, and the most pecked grain pile provides the answer.

Alectromancy was also practised by listening to the crows of a cock and the periods at which they were heard. Another method was to recite the letters of the alphabet, noting those at which the cock crowed.

A well-known story involving alectromancy is that of the Roman emperor Valens, who used alectromancy to divine the name of his successor. He always got the name ‘Theod’, and so Valens ordered all those with the name Theodorus to be killed. Had he done his research properly, however, he might have been more successful: it was a man called Theodosius who actually succeeded him.

ALEUROMANCY

Divination through sortilege of fortunes written on slips of paper inserted into balls of dough and baked, mixed and distributed randomly. Used mainly by the ancient Greeks it is seldom practised today, although it is the origin of modern-day fortune cookies.

ALLHALLOWS EVE

See Halloween.

ALOMANCY

A method of divination that interprets random patterns of salt. Little is known of this ancient art of divination, but it accounts for some of the modern salt-related superstitions, including the saying that bad luck is likely when the salt cellar is overturned and the practice of throwing a pinch of salt over the shoulder for good fortune.

ALTERED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS [ASC]

The term ‘altered state of consciousness’ was coined by parapsychologist Charles Tart (b.1937), and it refers to a shift in the pattern of consciousness or normal waking state, for example during hypnosis, trance or dream state, when the conscious mind is subdued and the unconscious takes over. The operation of some psychic phenomena depends on being in an altered state of consciousness, but ASCs are difficult to study because of their subjective and internal nature, and because there is no universal state of consciousness from which to begin such a study.

States of consciousness take place in four levels of brain-wave activity: beta, alpha, theta and delta. Beta level is complete waking consciousness. Alpha level is where material from the subconscious is available to the mind, as in meditation or daydreaming. The theta level is equivalent to light sleep, a state of unconsciousness in which one is vaguely aware of what is going on around one. The delta level is deep sleep.

Many ASCs can be differentiated, ranging from dreaming to trance to mystical states of consciousness, such as that experienced during a shamanic state. ASCs can occur spontaneously or can be induced through disciplines such as Yoga, Zen and other forms of meditation, prayer and magical techniques. They can also be induced through chanting, dancing, fasting, sex, hypnosis, trauma and sleep deprivation.

Orthodox science largely rejects the experiences and knowledge gained from ASCs, many of which are intensely spiritual in nature, but scientific research has been effective in the areas of dreams, meditation, biofeedback and drug-induced states. Laboratory tests since the early 1950s on ASC-induced techniques such as relaxation, hypnosis and meditation have also been shown to enhance psi function, especially extrasensory perception (or ESP).

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

Medical or health practices based on unconventional principles, methods, theory, practice, treatments and knowledge -unconventional in that they are not in line with standard, traditional or orthodox medical practice and scientific beliefs. If the alternative therapy is offered alongside orthodox medicine it is called complementary medicine.

Alternative medicine is often (but not always) based upon metaphysical belief. Some of the most popular alternative techniques that incorporate metaphysical beliefs include acupressure, acupuncture, aromatherapy, Ayurvedic medicine, body cleansing, bodywork, chelation therapy, chiropractic, craniosacral therapy, energy medicine, electrodiagnosis, herbalism, holistic medicine, homeopathy, iridology, macrobiotics, naturopathy, osteopathy, polarity therapy, psychic healing, reflexology, Reiki, Rolfing, subliminal tapes, therapeutic touch and traditional Chinese medicine.

AMERICAN GHOST SOCIETY [AGS]

A society of ghost investigators with members throughout the United States and Canada. The society was formed in 1995 by Troy and Amy Taylor, as the Ghost Society of Central Illinois. It expanded quickly and became the American Ghost Society in 1996. Within a few years it had nearly 500 members, including many prominent authors, law enforcement personnel and paranormal investigators.

The AGS maintains a network of area representatives and local research groups, and the Taylors organize annual conferences and meetings. The AGS publishes a magazine dedicated to ghosts and hauntings, the quarterly Ghosts of the Prairie, and also operates a website (www.prairieghosts.com), which includes the largest Internet bookstore dedicated to the subject.

Membership of the AGS is open to all, and the emphasis is on a high standard of investigation of hauntings using detective work - visiting and inspecting sites, interviewing witnesses and using high-tech ghost detection equipment. Psychics and mediums are not used because they are considered too subjective. All data, once analysed, is presented to the public. The following is an extract from the AGS mission statement:

The American Ghost Society is a national network of ghost hunters and researchers who conduct investigations into the paranormal in a non-metaphysical manner. One of our main goals is to seek out allegedly haunted locations and to assist those who are experiencing problems with the paranormal. The group members then look for authentic evidence of the paranormal and try to determine if the location is haunted. We are seeking genuine evidence and are careful about the presentation of this evidence … insuring that it is legitimate, researched, and analyzed before being presented to the general public … The credibility of the group is maintained above all else as we do not work with psychics or conduct investigations using metaphysical methods. We are not ‘Ghost Busters,’ but when a case does prove to be genuine, assistance through other channels may be provided at the location owner’s request … In addition, we do not claim to be experts in the paranormal, as no experts exist when it comes to the supernatural, no matter what anyone may claim or who may claim to be one. We are instead working to present an image of competent researchers who are collecting the most authentic evidence possible. Investigations conducted under the auspices of the American Ghost Society are always held to the standards of the group and are conducted with integrity, honesty, and with discretion.

The Taylors opened the Haunted Museum in 2000 in Alton, Illinois. The museum houses a collection of books, articles, photographs and materials concerned with ghost research. Prior to the museum’s opening, when the displays were being prepared, several strange phenomena were reported at night. Lights that were switched off were mysteriously turned on by the morning, books fell from shelves, items would vanish one night and reappear the next and displays were rearranged. Curiously, the building’s alarm system was never activated to indicate the presence of human intruders.

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PSYCHICAL RESEARCH [ASPR]

Founded in 1885, the American Society for Psychical Research is the oldest psychical research organization in the United States. It investigates psychic or paranormal phenomena through scientific means. Among its founders was the Harvard psychologist and professor of philosophy William James while among its benefactors was the inventor of the Xerox machine, physicist Chester Carlson. Its library and archive contain rare books, case reports, letters and manuscripts, which date back to the 1700s.

The ASPR serves as a global information network, providing publications and educational services which offer ‘responsible information about relevant contemporary and historical research’. It has an exhaustive library of information on almost every experiment conducted on just about every type of paranormal phenomena. You can visit the society in New York City or look it up on the Internet: www.aspr.com.

See also Society for Psychical Research.

AMHERST HAUNTING

The Amherst Haunting is a tale of poltergeist activity that took place in Amherst, Nova Scotia, in 1878 and centred on a 19-year-old woman, Esther Cox, recently threatened with rape. One night, soon after the traumatic event, Esther started to feel ill and went to bed early. Later she woke up screaming that she was dying. It is said that ‘Her eyes went bloodshot, her hair stood on end, and her body puffed up to twice its normal size.’

Strange, violent movements filled the small, two-room cottage where Esther lived with her extended family. Thunderous bangs erupted from under the bed. Sheets were ripped off her and tossed into a corner. A doctor who came to examine her watched a bolster move of its own accord. Along the wall he watched words a foot high being scratched into the plaster: ‘Esther Cox you are mine to kill!’

The disturbances in the house continued, including terrifying claps of sound and unexplained fires - lit matches materializing out of nowhere and dropping on to beds. After some time, the longsuffering landlord decided he’d had enough of his property being damaged and asked Esther’s family to leave. She alone left instead, finding work at a nearby farm, but her job was cut short when the barn erupted into fire and the farmer had Esther charged with arson. She was sentenced to four months in jail, of which she served one month before being released.