🤓HISTORY OF SPIRITUALISM🤓
 

Some people think of Modern Day Spiritualism from the events that unfolded on March 31, 1848 but was that 'all' of the story.

What made that event so special?

Lets have this as an open discussion as we try to unravel what happened and the repercussions.

Spiritulism has been around since time immemorial it has always been here but the people who practised it were called witches and were burned at the stake for it.
You only have to look at the Native culture to see that it was used but everything comes from Mother Earth and the Creator,it was only in later years that others caught on and tried to make it their own
that the changes came in


Namaste

QUOTE 2 EXCERPT:


Communication with spirits is even in the Jewish Bible as in the "WITCH of Endora" story where the spirit of the prophet Samuel was invoked for King Saul. Witches were burned at the stake in the past, as Native Spirit duly noted, so they had to be very very cautious.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_of_Endor

In that account with the "Witch of Endora", Saul could also communicate with Spirit so there was no real reason for him to go and see the Witch. Saul could have easily used the Urim and Thummim.

As far as I am concerned, Spiritualism is part of a greater belief system which in the eyes of many, is Animism.
I look at Animism as being 'Spirit in everything'.

QUOTE 4 EXCERPT: While you are probably correct that Saul could also have communicated with Spirit directly, the story indicates that he did indeed elect to see the Witch for some reason that we probably will never discover at this point in time.

From the NIV, 1 Samuel 28:3b claims "Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land." clearly implies that Mediums did reside in the land. Being Saul was at war, verse 6 shows he had exhausted all options he had except seeking out a Medium "He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets." And in the next verse, he did seek out the medium.

For there to be Mediums in the land, the Bible makes it clear there was interest in communicating with the dead.

QUOTE 7 EXCERPT:


Your rendition of the Biblical story is indeed accurate and your conclusion is quite reasonable based on what has been written.

Absolutely ! :thumbsup:

However, as mentioned previously, mediums in those times (as well as in other time periods) had to be very very careful lest they be identified as "witches" with catastrophic consequences.

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.............

It was Isaac Post who first suspected Leah Fox was a Medium.
The belief was later reinforced when the Fox sisters visited the home of Andrew Jackson Davis.

ISAAC AND AMY POST
 

The Fox Family lived in Hydesville, New York in 1848. Today, Hydesville, New York no longer exists. The foundation of that house still exists and is part of a Museum located at 1510 Hydesville Road, Newark, NY.

Isaac Post and his wife lived about 32 miles west of Hydesville, NY at 36 Sophia Street in Rochester New York. That street is now known as North Plymouth Avenue. Not far from their home was the first house I ever 'bought'. It was a huge, 2 story home and may have been used by the underground railway to smuggle slaves from the South to Canada. As for the Post home, Isaac and Amy Post were part of that underground railway and their home was definitely used by the railroad. They were Abolitionists and they originally were Quakers. Because of their beliefs, they changed and became Hicksites. It should be noted that Susan B. Anthony's family were Quakers and they also changed to be Hicksites.

Isaac and Amy Post held meetings in their homes in which such people as Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony and Sojourner Truth attended. Small World! Six years before the Fox family came on the scene, Isaac Post helped form and was an officer of the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society.

Isaac Post wrote a book in 1852 titled "Voices From the Spirit World, Being Communications From Many Spirits by the Hand of Isaac Post, Medium" which might provide a clue to the type of mediumship that was going on between the Fox's sister (circa 1848) and Post's version of mediumship. In the book, Isaac Post refers to the prior mediums as "rapping mediums" whereas his mediumship took on a different appearance. He communicated with Spirit as a "writing medium" which we call today, Automatic Writing.

He channeled an assortment of people, some of them several times. He began writing down his channelings on July 4, 1851. One person he channeled on September 15, 1851 was George Fox. This Fox was not related to the Fox sisters/family. George Fox was the founder of the Quakers, a group that helped bring forth a lot of the concepts we have accepted that are attributed to Spiritualism. As previously mentioned, Isaac Post and his family had broken away from the Quakers in which the main issue revolved about slavery. Isaac Fox was an Abolitionist whereas the Quakers were neutral on the subject. When Isaac Post channeled George Fox on November 12, 1851, it was revealed that George Fox was not neutral as we had suspected but was involved in returning slaves to their 'rightful' owner.

The question as to when the Fox sisters and Mother became mediums seems to have been answered when they began talking back and forth to the Spirit in their home in which they communicated thru rappings.

researched
 

Anyone interested in a fully-curated history of individuals and events important in the movement, philosophy and religion of (Modern) Spiritualism could do worse than to look into the SNU's extensive - FREE - online resource.

Paul Gaunt curates their library and current and back issues of the online publication are readily available. Follow the link at the foot of this posting to open a FREE subscription.

Issues of 'Pioneer' are .pdf file downloads which can be viewed using standard built-in browser readers, free-standing readers such as Sumatra and Adobe Reader, or via free phone-apps from Google and Apple stores.

https://www.snu.org.uk/the-pioneer-journal

Why Isaac Post?

He was nearby and having a Quaker background, he was open to the Gifts from Spirit, where people can communicate with Angels, etc.

And then there was the rappings?

History is filled with people who got messages via rappings way before the Fox sisters and Mother came on the scene in 1848. An interesting science is Typtology, which is the scientific word for rapping.

curated
 

For a deeply researched, historical account of the history of Modern Spiritualism go to: https://www.snu.org.uk/the-pioneer-journal

What will be found is a FREE, downloadable resource covering in great detail the emergence of the movement, philosophy and religion of Spiritualism and all the pioneers whose dedication helped bring it about.

It is produced by Paul Gaunt, an expert on the history of Modern Spiritualism. He works at the SNU, the Spiritualists' National Union based in the UK.

Thanks, bobjob! :)

always a pleasure, Miss H :smile:

Thank you for the link. I subscribed to the e-mail version of the journal as it seems to contain some interesting articles.

my pleasure :hug3:

Paul Gaunt has an encyclopedic knowledge and many years practical experience in the fields of mediumship and Modern Spiritualism.

I'm not big on history but I do find his carefully researched work very impressive and interesting. He doesn't speculate about things or offer opinions but simply researches historical material and compiles what he finds in a highly readable way.

Separately from that he gives lectures at the Arthur Findlay College.

Sounds like you are sayin that I should stop posting on this thread.

where?
 

I'm not promoting the Spiritualists' National Union's help service over any other body's and would be delighted to learn what the American organisation has to tell us about the history of Modern Spiritualism. It would make a very helpful counterpoint to the Brit. approach.

I'm lost about where to look for it though..... :confused:

QUOTE 30 EXCERPT: I just got my first e-mail from Paul Gaunt and it looks interesting.

great job! I do hope you enjoy reading them - there are plenty more to go at when you've finished that one!

The question might be asked "When did Spiritualism begin?"

Probably, a long time ago. Spiritualism and Animism are sometimes used interchangeably. In the Far East, Animism is commonly practiced. In the West, the word seems to be hardly mentioned. I suspect if one can grasp Animism, one can easily grasp Spiritualism. It should be noted that numerous authors have made claims that Animism might be the oldest belief system and many claim remnants of animism can be found basically in all of the religions.

As for the history of Spiritualism, there also appears to be the issue of languages not preserving what happened here and over there, etc.

So, let's examine an account most of us have heard one way or another.

There once was a woman by the name of Hannah. No matter what she did, she could not get pregnant. She asked the Lord for help and promised if he would give her a son, he would serve the Lord for all his days and a razor would never touch his head. Shortly afterwards, she became pregnant and had a son named Samuel saying “Because I asked the Lord for him.” Later, she would say to her husband “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”

The boy continued to grow. The boy slept in a sacred place in which various religious artifacts resided. Then one night, "the Lord called Samuel". Not once, but three separate times. Samuel thought it was the Lord of that 'Temple' but in reality it was the Lord, God. At that time, Samuel could not recognize God's voice. That morning, the Lord, the head of the 'Temple', asked Samuel what God had told him. Samuel told him everything even though the message was not a pleasant message. The message..... came true shortly aferwards.

The only people who can tell you to stop posting on any thread are the Mods or admins.
This forum is a Discussion forum any one can take part.


Namaste

Soon, Samuel was recognized by the people of the land to be a Prophet. There should have been much rejoicing but that did not happen. The reason was, the message that came thru Samuel came true.

For starters, the country's enemy killed 4000 of the country's soldiers. Then the container of the sacred relics which Samuel slept near every night, was taken out and brought to the enemy's camp. At first, the enemy was frighten because of what those relics had done in the past but the enemy regained their composure and then killed 30,000 foot soldiers! At this same time, the relics were captured and the head of the 'temple', his two sons were killed.

QUOTE 37 EXCERPT:


What are your thoughts on Samuel? I've been wondering whether he was a really true divinely inspired prophet.

His annointing of Saul as king might not have been the best "divinely inspired" choice.

Samuel's role in the genocide of the Amalekites, including innocent animals and children, has also raised lots of questions.

Even his annointing of David as king has not been without obvious problems (the Uriah/Bathsheba story, for example).

To stay on topic with the theme of Spiritualism, the Witch of Endor story (in which the spirit of Samuel reportedly appeared to Saul) suggests that Saul did NOT rest in peace but was lingering over some of the mess that he himself created in his role as a prophet of Israel. :confused:

Would you please enlarge/explain what all this means. I'm lost...:confused:

There are numerous articles on the Witch of Endor.

https://margmowczko.com/witch-endor-...uel-king-saul/

Briefly, before his passing, the prophet Samuel reportedly told King Saul that God had turned away from him and that Samuel would be annointing another (David) as the next King of Israel.

Before the battle with the Philistines during which both Saul and his sons were killed, Saul went to the Witch of Endor (a medium) to invoke the Spirit of Samuel who reportedly materialized and told Saul about his imminent death.

My personal opinion is that Samuel's spirit lingered because he was the one who had annointed Saul as the first King of Israel and seems to have regretted that choice as Saul was NOT a particularly good king ... which is why Samuel abandoned him and annointed another.