Are Spirits Real And Can Spiritualism Practices Help Conjure Them ?
Necromancy Magic As A Gateway To The Afterlife
Spiritualism beliefs
The Spirits Book tells that the entire universe was created and divided into two parallel worlds by a supreme being (God): that of material living beings and the invisible one of the dead or spirits. The human body would only be a vehicle or an envelope for spirits which at the moment of death would wander freely for a certain time before reincarnating. Through spiritualism practices and rituals or via medium, it would be possible to contact these spirits of the dead as to find answers to outstanding questions or to obtain oracles. Spiritualism philosophy maintains that spirits can manifest through necromancy but also take the form of ghosts, and in this case exert a real psychic power over the concerned person. Are spirits real as some necromancers claim they are, and if so, it is possible to conjure them through spiritualism rituals ? And what about reincarnation ?
Victorian spiritualism
In the nineteenth century, spiritualism practices began to develop and transformed into a true movement comparable to religion. Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail, who made himself known under the false name Allan Kardec, is the main instigator of the spiritualism movement and wrote several spiritualism books (known as the spirits bible) ; five extremely popular books including The Book on Mediums and The Spirits Book. Just in Brazil alone where Allan Kardec's spiritualism has become the dominant religion, there are now millions of fervent followers.
Medium Daniel Dunglas Home, who boasted being able to levitate and to generate poltergeists on command, was also instrumental in bringing victorian spiritualism to life, especially in England and America where many journals and esoteric circles began to take interest in the spirit world. Towards the end of the victorian era, paranormal phenomena, parapsychology, charlatanism and clairvoyance became so omnipresent that in 1882 the Society for Psychical Research was founded in London. The primary mission of the organization is to investigate and demystify in a scientific way everything related to the paranormal and to the spirits world.
The twentieth century was marked by a resurgence of popularity for Allan Kardec's spiritualism movement as an alternative to Christian doctrine, perceived as rigid and subjective. More than ever, followers want objective answers to existential questions that they try to obtain through spiritualism rituals. In The Afterlife, a parapsychology work written in 1962, Hans Geisler attempts to bring scientific answers based on experience to questions that have haunted men's minds since time immemorial.
Entering the world of the dead through Necromancy rituals
Necromancy magic aims to allow for a connection with the afterlife as to enter into communication with the world of the dead and its spirits. A typical spiritualism seance generally takes place around a pedestal table where a glass is placed over a large sheet of paper containing the alphabet and numbers, but also the words yes and no. The atmosphere and concentration of the members participating in the spiritualism seance is absolutely vital to the success of the conjuration and it is preferable in many cases to use a medium. Once the participants are together and the atmosphere established, the spirit of a dead person is conjured and the glass moves on the pedestal table as to answer the questions asked.
When conditions are met, spirit conjuring works fine and results are convincing but in other cases answers are often telepathically induced by the participants. Moreover, even if the session is successful, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether the answers come from the conjured spirit or from another entity. Just like the living world, the world of the dead is unpredictable and contains lots of associated risks; participants should be aware of this and assume the potential danger.
The glass technique is the most popular and simplest form of necromancy magic to implement but there are also other variants which allow deeper communication with the spirits world. The most powerful necromancers would not only be able to easily obtain oracles from spirits but also reanimate corpses and use them as zombies.
The harmful consequences of spiritualism practices
Entering the world of the dead is a business that can have serious repercussions. Since the purpose of necromancy rituals is first and foremost to obtain oracles and answers, an addiction to spirits may form and an easily influenced person may even lose any form of judgment. Some report having felt terrified followed by anxiety attacks after witnessing the manifestation of a spirit. When the conjured entity turns out to be a demon, the frights can turn into obsession and in the most extreme cases possession. The situation is all the more serious because only an experienced shaman priest can exorcise satanic spirits. In the nineteenth century, there were several cases of necromancy magic which dramatically ended in madness and sometimes even suicide.
Ectoplasm
In spiritualism beliefs and parapsychology, spirits are manifested through ectoplasms, an invisible organic essence that allows telekinetic interventions such as moving objects or in poltergeist cases making noises seeming to come from nowhere. Ectoplasms would also rise above transcendent mediums and only appear in photographs as a kind of gray veil.
