I agree with Native. Spiritualism has been with us from the beginning of man. Native cultures have had spiritual ceremonies going back to their beginning. The Greeks had their spiritualism which existed long before Christianity so spiritualism was here before the bible. To me, the bible is simply a book of fiction and politics meant to control the masses. Nothing particularly spiritual in it for me. And Rosicrucianism predates the Fox Sisters by almost a couple of hundred years and was an active 'movement' for those seeking enlightenment before them.

Just imagine, how Spiritualism manifested itself in the past.

Ancestor worship may have fueled it. The desire to contact the loved one who had passed away must have been as important role just as it is does today.

Even today, Eastern Buddhists are known for their Spirit Houses which include such strange 'offerings' as cigarettes, food, Hell money, etc. That culture, is in many ways foreign to the West, but a study of those cultures can help us to understand how Spiritualism came about.

As we begin to look at ancient Spiritualism, it should be noted that Spiritualism touches in to, if not mimics, Necromancy. It should be noted that Shamanism also touches in with Spiritualism.

Has anyone read Dawn Hill's series of books??? They give a great insight into Spiritualism in practice. It is far more than just mediumship.

"All we have to decide in this world is what to do with the time we are given." Quote from Gandolph the wizard.

I like that.(Though some do come with a task to perform).

simple
 

I haven't read those books but Spiritualism is and always was far more than just mediumship.

The essence of practical Spiritualist mediumship is, however, to reassure us of our survival beyond corporeal death, to give comfort to the grieving and also to provide healing for those needing it.

None of that, of course, has anything specifically to do with the history of Spiritualism, the title of this thread.

Where to start with the history of Spiritualism?

Taking from Traveler's post, I will start with the Fox sisters or should I say, Fox sisters and mother.

Something that made the Fox sisters and mother's contribution to Spiritualism is the realization "It can see as well as hear" as spoken by eleven year old Kate Fox. This should not have been looked at as something strange, but it was.

Many claim Spiritualism has its root in Animism. In animism, talking to other spirits such as the spirit associated with a tree, is common and is generally a 2 way conversation. Many claim animism is the oldest religion and is incorporated to a certain degree in virtually all, if not all religions. It appears people have drifted away from that core belief, that is, if it is the first belief system.

As with the Fox sisters and Mother: Spirit attention seemed to have been attained thru eleven year old Kate Fox who was able to 'hear' and not be afraid. To her, the mysterious knocking were almost amusing as reflected in her comment "Here, Mr. Split-foot, do as I do." It appears, she might have thought she was 'playing' with the Devil as she called the producer of the rappings, Mr. Split-foot which is a term sometimes used for the Devil.

Since I have a clinical social work post graduate degree (in addition to my primary corporate management/consulting career), I attend continuing education courses for mental health professionals.

There was a recent online continuing education course that discussed ADCs (after death communications) and it was stated that 70% of widows have reported some form of ADC with their departed (disincarnate) spouse. The psychiatric profession now acknowledges ADCs (communication with spirits) and evaluation criteria are now part of the DSM (Diagnostics and Statistics Manual for mental health professionals). In the past, many thought that this was hallucinatory craziness and a mental illness, but now it is being discussed openly among mental health professionals as such communications are actually quite common now. (They were probably equally common in the past but people were afraid to openly discuss them.)

This is a good thread. I think that Spiritism has always existed but people were afraid to share such experiences in the past.

Thanks for the nice comment.

I also suspect Spiritism has always existed.

As for the Fox sisters and their mother, their activities back in 1848 with Mr. Split-foot evolved in finding out who was making the rappings. It was a spirit by the name of Charles Rosna, a peddler who had been murdered there in the house five years previous.

A question is "When did they become Mediums?"
Some would say when they began speaking to spirit.............