Experiences, Business Practices, and Familial Characteristics of Secular American Mediums
Abstract
Little is known about the day-to-day activities of practicing mediums in the US. Medium participants (n=128; 91.4% female, 93.6% white, 54.0 years) completed online surveys. Over 60% reported each psychic, precognitive, remote viewing, sychometry, and energy healing abilities, and half communicate with living and deceased animals (47.6% and 52.4%, respectively). The majority (55.9%) first experienced mediumistic communication at 10 years or younger. Family members with similar abilities were 74.2% female and 69.3% from the mother’s side. Participants worked with law enforcement (21.5%) or other investigators (32.8%) and had ‘training’ with living mentors, spirit guides, or the deceased. In person readings are most popular; most mediums perform two or less readings per week lasting 31-60 minutes. Nearly 30% do not charge for readings; 82.8% of those who do, charge less than $200. These novel data provide unique insight into the lived experiences of mediums and offer directions for future research.