a definitive feature of the shaman is (his) capability of entering into a state of ecstasy in order to participate directly in the spiritual dimension of reality, as healer, diviner, clairvoyant, and psychopomp (an escort of the soul of the deceased into the realm of the dead).5
Necromancy is also a forerunner of mediumship. It is found in India, ancient Egypt, China, and Persia and was known among the ancient Romans and Greeks.6 Ancient Greece was a world âcrowded with supernatural power,â and
the events of life seemed to depend upon the wills of demons and gods. To discover that will, the curious Greeks consulted soothsayers and oracles, who divined the future by reading the stars, interpreting dreams, examining the entrails of animals, or observing the flight of birds.7
Public oracles were established at temples in Greece. At Delphi, priestesses called the Pythia gave messages while in trance. They inhaled a âdivineâ gas which emanated from beneath the temple, chewed narcotic laurel leaves which caused them to fall into a delirium and convulsions, âand thus (they were) inspired (to utter) incoherent words which the priests translated to the people.â8 The priestess in the tower of Beilos in Babylonia also received her messages while in trance.
Two prominent and immediate ancestors of contemporary mediumship and modern spiritualism were Emanuel Swedenborg and Franz Mesmer.
Emanuel Swedenborg
Emanuel Swedenborg was born in Stockholm, Sweden, January 25, 1685. The son of a Lutheran minister, he was educated at Uppsala, and in England, France, Holland, and Germany. He studied metallurgy, geology, and chemistry and was an Assessor on the Board of Mines and a legislator in the Diet. His studies in physiology and psychology caused him to ponder the idea of the spirit. In his mid-fifties, Swedenborg turned to theology. In 1736, he began experiencing unusual dreams and out-of-the-body states. He ultimately found his scientific and other intellectual pursuits unsatisfying and he began to follow Divine guidance.9 He collected his experiences, which included conversations with angels in heaven, into books such as Heaven and Hell, Divine Love and Wisdom, and The True Christian Religion.
One of Swedenborgâs primary teachings was the Law of Correspondences. Simply stated, Swedenborg believed that there are two realms of existence: the physical (phenomenal), and the spiritual (real). These realms are counterparts of one another. Similarly, the Bible has an internal and external sense. Swedenborg denied the orthodox interpretation of the Trinity and instead of one God in three persons, he taught that God was one in three principles, each of which were manifest in Jesus Christ. Thus, the Father is the principle of love, âinfallible and exhaustless;â the Son is the principle of Divine Wisdom; and the Holy Spirit is the âenergy of divinity which operates in humans to inspire, console, and sanctify them.â Swedenborg wrote that 1770 was the beginning of the New Age when the New Jerusalem as envisioned by Saint John appeared. The twelve foundation jewels of the New Jerusalem are âthe genuine verities that shine forth in the Old and New Testament, and its crystal walls (are) the doctrinal truths that Swedenborgâs writings had revealed.â
The Swedenborgian movement did not intend to start a new church but was a forum of persons interested in Swedenborgâs writings. Robert Hindmarsh established weekly meetings in England in 1783 which he called the âTheosophic...