A medium can use their psychic ability to receive messages from those who have died. That is the standard definition that applies to most practitioners of mediumship. There are exceptions. A few can speak to those still living but unable to speak for themselves, such as people in comas or who are otherwise unable to communicate in more than yes and no terms. Some mediums can receive messages from higher beings, such as angels and ascended masters.

Mediumship is not to be confused with channeling, which is similar in that people who channel can also connect to angels, ascended masters, and other powerful positive spirits and entities such as Quan Yin or Gaia. The significant difference is that when someone is a channeler, the primary personality of the body steps aside and allows that spirit to step through and inhabit the body for a short time to allow for direct communication with them.

A medium is a messenger between the living and the non-corporeal being they are contacting. The medium is always part of the conversation as a separate being. A channeler lets the parties speak without being in the middle. They serve as a vessel for the non-corporeal being to communicate. I’ll talk more about the differences between them in a bit.

Why would someone want to be a medium?
Some don’t have a choice. Most people who eventually become mediums already have the ability. It’s only a matter of training and setting boundaries. It’s not uncommon for a person who could see and talk to spirits as a child or young teenager to become a medium at an early age. Like all psychic gifts, it’s up to the individual if they are willing to develop that gift or ignore it. Depending on how strong it is, it might not be possible for them to ignore it, and to learn how to control it is the only way to make the ability seem more like a gift and less like a never-ending nightmare.

People with the gift of mediumship can talk to the dead. The problem is that the dead have no sense of time. Why? Because they’re dead. They only know that this living person they’ve encountered can hear them, and they want a chance to say what they want. The problem with this is that it could be the middle of the night, and the medium needs to sleep to be cognizant at work the next day. Not every person with abilities makes their living that way. Most have regular jobs and live normal lives except for their gift. It makes it very difficult for a person to have a schedule when ghosts attempt to talk to them 24 hours a day. The solution is to attend mediumship classes to get a handle on the gift and make it fit into their lives in a way that works.

The primary reason people embrace their gift of mediumship is to help others. Grief can be overwhelming, and having some words of comfort from loved ones on the other side can help the living go on. Then there are those brave souls who will help find missing persons. While it is a noble effort and can be of great comfort to the family of the missing, it can also be challenging for the medium. Often as part of the communication with the departed, their mode of passing is conveyed. Some people get images of how the person died, and some feel it in their bodies. It all depends on how the medium processes that information. It can be difficult to feel the pain of how someone died, even if it’s only a fraction of what was experienced in that person’s last moments.

When there is a chance that the missing person might be dead, the medium could experience or see images of that person’s last moments of life. It would be tough to witness what essentially would be a violent end. It takes a special kind of person willing to take that on.

Most mediums set boundaries about who they will speak to and who they won’t. Setting those boundaries is essential in preventing a connection to unhelpful spirits or entities. I’ll explain more about that in another post.

Why would someone choose to be a channel instead of a medium?

As I mentioned, a person who channels steps aside during the conversation. Where they go depends on what the person decides to do. Sometimes the host spirit steps to the side and is aware of everything. Other times, they go to a designated spot of their making and are completely unaware of what the visiting spirit says or does.

If the person trusts the spirit they are channeling and feels they can do this safely and reclaim their body when they want to, it can be easier than conducting the session as a medium. Having a medium in the middle risks something getting lost in translation. The spirit might be trying to convey something specific that could be misinterpreted or misunderstood and thus miscommunicated by the medium. In channeling, as the message comes directly from the spirit inhabiting the host body, this cuts down on the chance of that happening.

The other thing to note is that channelers usually channel only one or two specific beings and no one else. It stops the likelihood of the channel becoming possessed and having their body hijacked. This is one of the drawbacks of being a medium as well. Some souls would love nothing better than getting a second chance at life in a living body. Mediums have to take great care to make sure that doesn’t happen as well. I know a medium who doesn’t protect herself well. I’ve often observed energies not good for her attached to her. It’s a psychic gift that requires practitioners to protect themselves well to do a good job and maintain their personal well-being.

There are a lot of psychic gifts that can be explored with practice and experimentation. Channeling and mediumship don’t fall into that category. It’s best to have a teacher and/or a mentor who can give you the rundown of the pros, cons, prizes, and pitfalls of having this ability. It’s also a good idea to make sure nothing goes wrong. It really is part gift and part skill. It requires patience, focus, and concentration to do well. Accepting your gift as a medium or choosing to develop that gift through study, training, and practice can be an exciting and rewarding aspect of embracing your psychic abilities.