Unveiling the Secrets of Hosting a Séance: Complete Guide for Spirit Communication
The Eckharts lecture on seances at a conference. (2018)
INTRODUCTION TO THE SÉANCE
A séance is a gathering of people with the intention of communicating with spirits. It is a technique that first came to prominence during the great Spiritualism movement of the Victorian era, although man has attempted spirit communication since he was first capable of analytical thought. What happens when we die is one of the great conundrums that has troubled man for millennia, and the séance is one of the many ways we have tried to answer this question.
Although it would be true to say that séances of one kind or another have been taking place since mankind first mourned their dead and wondered if it was still possible to communicate with them, the séance as we would recognize it first emerged during the Spiritualism of the late 1800’s.
In the year 1848, Kate and Maggie Fox, sisters from rural New York, set the world alight with their unique form of spirit communication. In answer to the sisters’ questions, spirits would respond by making bangs, knocks and raps sound out - this was the beginning of the archetypical “one knock for yes, two knocks for no” style of spirit communicate on - and within a few months of going public with their unique abilities, the Fox Sisters (as they were known) were performing sell-out theatre shows on both sides of the Atlantic. In their wake was born the whole spiritualism movement.
In a typical séance, the guests will sit around in a circle. All light is extinguished, and the guests form a protective circle by holding hands. Then the medium or the séance host will call out the immortal lines: “Is there anybody there? If there are any spirits amongst us, please communicate with us in any manner possible!”
The séance has long been shrouded in mystery, and most people’s experience of the séance is limited to what they see in horror films and on the television. This essay will attempt to de-mystify the séance, and demonstrate how anybody, whether a medium or not, can successfully host a séance in their own home or location of choice and do it safely and satisfactorily.
The kind of phenomena experienced at a typical séance is wide and varied, but can mainly be broken down into the following categories:
Spirit apparitions: A spirit will form in the room and will be seen by the guests. Sometimes these are partial apparitions, so perhaps an arm or a head will be seen rather than the entire body.
Noises: Spirits may choose to answer questions by banging on walls, tables or the floor. Or the spirits may choose to growl, whisper or simply speak their answers out loud.
Lights: Spirit lights, fairy lights, or orbs may be seen floating above the séance table.
Physical contact: Guests may feel themselves being pushed, their hands being stroked, their hair played with, or phantom hands on their shoulders.
Physical reaction: Being in close contact with spirit energy can bring about some strange physical reactions from the guests. People may faint, suddenly feel very hot or cold, or they may suffer from a headache, nosebleed or nausea.
Emotional reaction: Participants may suddenly feel very happy and giggly or very sad and tearful for no apparent reason. This could be because they are picking up on the emotional state of the spirits that surround them. So for instance the spirits of children may be quite playful and giggly, whereas the spirit of a suicide victim may be remorseful and sad.
Dreams: Following the séance, many participants may experience dreams as they sleep in which spirits appear before them. It may be that with sleep the conscious mind relaxes and allows spirit communication that the mind was unable to pick up on during the actual séance.
THE SÉANCE HOST TOOL KIT
Items that you will need are:
Tarot cards. If you are a capable tarot card reader you may wish to include tarot card readings for your guests as part of your evening.
A collection of pendulums. Pendulums are especially useful items and I would suggest having at least 3 with you for an evening of séance. A pendulum can be any item on a length of string; some pendulums can be purchased that have a crystal weight, others are homemade and might use a wedding band or a meaningful object. While holding the hand as still as possible, the pendulum will begin to move independent of the user in the presence of spirits or possibly the highly attuned subconscious.
A wine glass for glass moving wrapped in silk, cloth, or at the very least tissue paper. I still use the same glass that I used for my very first glass moving session many years ago. I suggest you do the same - use the same glass again and again. After a while the glass will become “attuned” to the spirit world and will respond before the guests even place their fingers on to it! A stemmed bowl type of wine glass works best, although I have seen other people using a tumbler type of glass very effectively.
A selection of candles and/or tea lights.
Matches and/or lighter. I suggest having both just in case one is misplaced during the seance.
A good flashlight and preferably a back-up too
A stick of Dragon’s Blood incense & a bundle of Santo Palo
Frankincense
A white Candle
A pack of alphabet cards or scrabble tiles
A nice bag or wooden box to place all your items in.
And if possible, find a table of your own to use for glass moving. Designating your own table for glass moving will create a form of psychic battery, where the table will begin to “know” its purpose (much like the glass), and the spirits you contact may become more and more familiar with the same table and glass.
USEFUL DEFFINITIONS
As a séance host you may be asked questions regarding the paranormal world by some of your less well-informed guests, so a short list of definitions may prove useful:
Astral Projection: The separation of a person's astral body, which can move outside the confines of the physical body.
Aura: The aura is believed to be a field of energy that surrounds all living creatures. Many clairvoyants claim to be able to see auras, and can produce “aura readings” based on what they see - size, shape, color, vibrancy etc.
Cartomancy: is the art of fortune telling using cards, whether that be playing cards, tarot cards, oracle cards or even angel cards.
Clairaudience: means clear hearing. A psychic ability which enables someone to hear voices or noises unheard by other people - usually the voices of spirit.
Clairvoyance: means clear seeing. A psychic ability to see objects, people or events not perceived by the 5 traditional senses - usually spirit.
Deathbed Experience: Experience of a dying person, in which s/he is aware of dead friends or relatives.
Déjà Vu: Feeling of a person that he has already lived through the current experience.
Demon: A demon is popularly thought to be a malevolent spirit or more accurately a fallen angel. However, in the world of the esoteric, a “demon” is simply an entity that vibrates on a lower plane than an angel. Not all demons are “evil” but that doesn’t mean they are to be trusted. For the purposes of a séance, demons are banished at the outset.
Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP): Voices, usually of deceased beings, recorded paranormally on a magnetic tape.
ESP Cards: Special kind of pack of cards; normally consists of 25 cards in five sets of five different symbols. Also known as Zenner Cards.
Extrasensory Perception (ESP): Umbrella term to cover paranormal acquisition of information about persons, events, or objects.
Ghoul: A ghoul is usually a demon, but sometimes a human, who enjoys eating human flesh - typically dead human flesh from corpses it has dug up!
Halloween: is also known as All Saints or Samhain (pronounced Saw-ain). Traditionally it lasts from sundown on October 31st to sunup on November 1st. It is thought to be the time when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is at its thinnest, and communication between the two worlds is easiest. It is a Celtic tradition to leave a candle in the window to guide home the spirits of departed loved ones, and from this the Halloween pumpkin grew. It is also traditional to leave a seat at the dinner table empty in case a beloved spirit should choose to join the family at mealtime.
Haunting: Occurrence of paranormal phenomena on several occasions at one location. Often associated with apparitions or poltergeists.
Levitation: Lifting and suspension of an object or a person in the air without apparent use of orthodox physical or technological means.
Lucid Dream: A dream in which the dreamer is aware that he is dreaming.
Medium: A medium can bring forth messages from loved ones who have deceased, and also pass messages onto the deceased. Mediums are often (though not always) “spiritualist s”, which is a Christian based religion that also believes it is possible to talk to the deceased through mediums. A medium may or may not exhibit psychic tendency. Often the two abilities go together, but not always.
Occultism: Umbrella term concerning doctrines such as divination, magick and astrology.
Orbs: are also known as spirit lights. They are believed to be balls of energy that signify a spirit is attempting to manifest itself and/or a young spirit that does not yet have the ability to manifest itself completely. Another school of thought is that they are dust particles caught in the flash of a digital camera or other digital recording device.
Ouija board: The Ouija board was developed as a simple, easy to carry alternative to “glass moving” which was very popular during the spiritualist movement of the mid-1800’s. It is simply a board with letters of the alphabet and numbers on it, and a wooden or plastic pointing device (called a “planchette”) is used as an instrument through which the spirits can communicate with the living. The Ouija board was first copyrighted by the Kennard Novelty Company in the early 1890’s, and the copyright holder at time of writing (2011) is Parker Bros.
Out-of-the-Body Experience: Experience of being spatially separated from the physical body, varying from being in a physical-like space that appears to include the location of the physical body to being in a space differing to a lesser or greater degree from physical manifestation.
Paranormal: Phenomenon which is considered impossible according to the established scientific worldview.
Parapsychology: Scientific study of psychical phenomena.
Precognition: Paranormal knowledge of a future event.
Premonition: Feeling of an event, often disastrous, which is about to happen. Similar to precognition.
Psi: Umbrella term covering every form of ESP and PK.
Psychic: Person gifted at affecting psi. Has the ability to know things instinctively, things such as what a person is thinking, what is behind a locked door, or what the contents of an envelope are. The psychic may also have special abilities such as the ability to stop or start watches or bend metal. Uri Geller is a good example of a psychic. Psychics glean information from their own abilities.
Psychical Phenomena: Umbrella term covering phenomena not explicable by orthodox scientific theories (including medicine and technology).
Psychical Research: Umbrella terms covering all types of study of psychical phenomena. See Parapsychology.
Psychokinesis (PK): Paranormal influence of the mind of a person upon physical objects.
Séance: Session usually held with a medium (though not always as we shall see) with the intention of communicating with spirit.
Sensitive/Intuitive: Someone described as being “sensitive” or “intuitive” is often someone who has latent psychic abilities. They may not have developed their skills, but they may experience very strong deja-vu’s, very vivid dreams, and will certainly have had the odd “weird” moment when something they were just thinking about has happened. A sensitive or intuitive person may also be someone who isn’t quite psychic but has definite leanings in that direction. In many ways it is a watered-down psychic, and the term intuitive is being used more and more these days by professional psychics and mediums who wish to shy away from traditional stereotypes.
Spirit Photography: The appearance of images of the deceased on photographic film or plates.
Tarot cards: are the most popular form of card used for fortune telling and divination. Tarot card originate (or at least this is one theory amongst many) from ordinary playing cards being placed together with a set of cards used for reciting tales from the Old Testament, probably during the 1600’s.
Zener Cards: see ESP Cards.
Four individuals gather around a table for a seance.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why Host a Séance?
There may be many reasons why you would want to host a séance. Perhaps you are part of a paranormal investigation team and want to experiment with different methods of spirit communication. Perhaps you are hosting an evening of ghost hunting. Perhaps you are wanting to communicate with a spirit you believe to be residing in your home. Or, maybe you are simply fascinated with the spirit realm and hosting a genuine séance is one of the things on your “to do” list!
However, it is important that I warn you against hosting a séance if your intention is purely to communicate with relatives or friends that have passed over. My experience is that such communication can be very emotional and is fraught with pitfalls. My advice to you, should you wish to communicate with the spirit of a loved one, is to get in touch with your local Spiritualist church or possibly a medium who comes highly recommended, or myself or Kat. Certainly, I would warn in the strongest possible terms against the use of a Ouija board to communicate with a loved one, and we will talk about that in more depth later.
Where to Host a Séance?
If you are running a ghost hunting company or are part of a paranormal investigation team then you will clearly host the séance in the location that you are working at. If you are taking your first tentative steps into the realm of spirit communication, you may host your first séances in your own home or at the home of a friend. At first this may sound a little weird and may conjure up images from movies such as “Paranormal Activity”, but as long as you work safely (and I’ll explain about that later) there will be no danger to you. Hollywood (and the public) loves spooky films and words such as “séance” and “Ouija board” have an immediate emotional resonance with people. They make for great elements in a ghost story, but you should not believe anything that you see in films. If you follow some basic rules the spiritual danger to you and your guests is very minimal.
You may be tempted to hold a séance in a local graveyard. Although this would certainly be very atmospheric, there are a few issues that you need to consider very carefully before engaging in such an activity. Firstly, there may be local laws in force where you live that forbid such activity. The graveyard may be private property and you may need permission from the owner to undertake a séance - and the likelihood is that they will refuse. Also, you may find residents, should they observe what you are doing, can become quite defensive and may suggest in the strongest possible terms that you leave. Remember that the spirit realm is a highly emotive subject, and we should always be aware of the sensitivities of others. Again, we shall discuss this in more depth later.
In all honestly, atmosphere aside, a graveyard makes for a poor place to host a séance. Firstly, it is outdoors and as such is subject to the vagaries of the weather. Graveyards do not tend to be comfortable locations, and comfort is a very important part of a successful séance. But perhaps the most important thing to remember is that graveyards are not actually very haunted places! They may look atmospheric and conjure up all the right kind of images, but very few graveyards are haunted. Would you want to be reminded constantly of your bodily death? Or would you rather move on to heaven, or go to visit your loved ones?
A Happy Medium?
Historically séances have employed a medium to lead proceedings. They would guide the séance and they would be a vessel through which the spirits pass messages. If you wish to employ a medium for this purpose, there is absolutely nothing to stop you and séances can and do work very well with a highly trained medium. Yet it is possible to perform a séance sans medium.
Since I cannot advocate for all mediums or vouch for individuals I have never met, I must provide the following warning: The world of the paranormal is full of the unethical and some level of madness. Always use your best judgment when hiring a medium or a reader. For the purposes of this book, Kat & I will instruct you on how to hold a safe séance without the need for a medium. I prefer to encourage the guests at the séance to have their own experiences and to be able to vocalize their individual experiences during proceedings.
In a medium-led séance all eyes tend to be on the medium and the experience is dictated by how the medium acts and reacts to what is going on within the room. This is fine, but if you take the medium out of the equation the guests then have free reign to experience proceedings on their own terms. The guests become the center of attention rather than the medium. This is how I prefer to work when unable to work with Kat. No two séance hosts will run an event in the same way, and this is healthy.
The Ouija Board Question?
At many séances a Ouija board may be employed. Many people have some concerns about the dangers of using a Ouija board, and because I don’t want anyone at my séance becoming overly concerned with negative stereotypes, I do not use them. I do however use an early form of the Ouija known as “glass moving” or “glass divination”, and we will discuss this is much more detail later in the book.
My personal view is that the real danger from a Ouija board is psychological not spiritual. Trouble can occur when people who have no experience with spirit communication buy a Ouija board for a bit of fun. They may invite some friends to their house, open a bottle of wine, and think that “playing around” with a Ouija board will make an interesting alternative to watching Netflix or listening to some music. When the Ouija board starts to speak, when the planchette starts to move, inexperienced people (their heads full of Hollywood images) can get a little freaked out, especially if the board starts to spell out a message. The participants may decide they no longer think that playing around with the Ouija is fun and throw it immediately into the trash or try to hide it under their bed and forget all about it!
But what happens if something bad then happens to one of the participants? What if they crash their car, lose their job, or worse? Human beings are hard-wired to make connections where there are none, and so the events (playing with the Ouija and, for example, crashing the car) become linked, cause and effect. The story is circulated amongst friends and colleagues, it gathers momentum, becomes an urban myth, and from that moment forward anything bad that happens in the participants lives is attributed to the night they played around with a Ouija board.
The truth is, of course, that bad things happen in people’s lives. Bad things are as much a part of living as good things. So, the car crash, the lost job, the slip down the stairs, the divorce etc. would all have happened with or without the Ouija experience.
It is those kinds of negative images and negative thoughts that I do not want to bring into my séances, which is why I steer clear of using a Ouija board and instead employ glass moving.
Inviting Your Guests?
Choosing who to invite to your séance is important. Clearly for the best results a collection of people who have a belief in the paranormal and who are perhaps spiritually sensitive will yield best results. Sometimes people who may be a little more dismissive of the paranormal and the spirit realm may be invited simply because it would be rude not to invite them - maybe they are the husbands, boyfriends, wives, partners of those you wish to invite and you have no choice but to invite them along too!
If this is the situation explain to those less likely to engage fully with the proceedings that they need to keep an open mind during the event. Ask them to simply “go along” with things, to keep any negativity to themselves, and that maybe by keeping an open mind they will experience something wonderful during the evening. I have attended many séances where one or more of the guests were complete cynics or debunkers, and were dragged to the event by their partner or friends. However, very often it is these people who can have the most profound experience during the evening if they can embrace the evening’s proceedings.
As the séance host you must show respect to all your guests, whatever their particular belief pattern. If you are running ghost hunt or paranormal evenings where members of the general public can purchase tickets, you are likely to encounter people with all manner of beliefs from the cynical “debunker” at one end of the spectrum right through to the total and absolute believers in everything (Loch Ness monster, Big Foot, alien abductions etc.) at the other. Respect everyone’s beliefs. Do not sit in judgement or allow your own beliefs to influence how you interact with these people. Be polite and professional and welcoming at all times. This is not merely due to common courtesy! The atmosphere of a séance is delicate, and as such we must do all we can to avoid welcoming negative energies into séance.
If you have the luxury, remember that 13 is the traditional number to have at a séance, so that would be a dozen guests plus yourself. However, it is unlikely that you will have the luxury of being able to invite precisely 12 guests, but if you can it really is a perfect number of guests. Why 13? There are many reasons including the obvious fact that 13 is regarded as a mystical number and the fact that there were 13 people at the last supper of Christ.
Some experts claim that 5 is an unlucky number of guests for a séance. This is to do with the 5 points on a pentagram which allegedly draws in evil forces, and the belief that Jesus was murdered with 5 wounds.
Séance or Vigil?
At some locations you will be able to sit around a table to run the séance and be perfectly comfortable. However, at some locations this may not be possible as there may be more people that can be comfortably or practically be seated. If sitting around a table is not possible for whatever reason, it is perfectly acceptable to have your group stand in a circle and hold hands. A séance conducted while people are standing is often referred to as a “vigil”, but it is essentially the same as a séance. Throughout this book when I refer to a séance you may assume that I also include “vigils” in the statement.
PREPARING FOR THE EVENING
Preparing for the Evening
Before your guests arrive, you will need to prepare the room in which the event will take place. I begin by attempting to clean the room as deeply as possible. We are preparing a space for spirit contact to be made manifest, so it is vital that we create a welcoming atmosphere. Vacuuming, dusting, and washing the floors are all important first steps. Upon cleaning, begin to assemble a small altar for the spirits. My altar includes fresh water for the spirits in a crystal glass, as well as a single white candle. It is important to burn incense that is pleasing to the spirits and welcoming, a joss stick of Frankincense is most welcoming. Once cleaned consider meditating on the intention of the evening, as well as saying a few prayers (if so inclined). If you are a practicing occultist or witch, you may perform the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. I also recommend using the banishing phrase: “HEKAS, HEKAS, ESTE BEBELOI” (“away, away, all ye profane), to clear the space of elementals, sprites, fae, and demons. Once your small altar has been constructed, begin to dim the room.
Our guide to protection rituals.
I prefer less light in the room because it helps us avoid the distraction of car lights, outdoor traffic, and can provide a sense of isolation from the affairs of the world. It is possible to (and indeed the Spiritualists do) hold a séance in the bright daylight. I find that many are so conditioned by the pace of modern life that limiting distraction is the easiest way to ensure a successful séance. Once the light is dimmed, I will place an offering of flowers in the room, as well as light a few candles and turn off the electric lights. Electric devices seem to have adverse reactions to the spirit realm, and for this reason, it is best to avoid using electronic equipment, cell phones, or even standard light bulbs.
The First Few Minutes
As your guests enter, just allow them a few moments to soak up the atmosphere. Some people may be drawn to the flickering candles, other may decide to look at your display of esoteric items. Many will engage in excited discussion, although usually this will be hushed and whispered, almost like you would expect to hear in a church. Once your guests appear to have settled in and have disposed of coats, bags, etc., invite them to be seated.
Introductory Talk and Experiments
Once your guests are settled in, I find it is a good idea to have an introductory chat and a few simple psychic experiments to get them in the right mood for the activities that are to follow. We must remember that attending a séance is not something that people tend to do on a regular basis, and some of your guests may be feeling a little nervous about what to expect. By having a chat, explaining what will happen, and then helping your guests tune into their own psychic abilities (latent or otherwise) at the start of the evening we have the opportunity to relax everybody and get all of the guests feeling comfortable.
The Ghost & The Spirit
For the first part of my introductory talk I explain how in the “real world”, the world outside of the séance room, words like “ghost” and “spirit” and fairly interchangeable, they basically mean the same thing. However, inside the séance room or on a paranormal investigation the correct terminology is especially important.
A Ghost is like a recording of an event that has long passed. It’s like watching the same tape of a movie that you recorded a long time ago again and again. An event has taken place that was of such an emotional intensity that it somehow managed to burn itself onto the atmosphere or perhaps the fabric of time. So for instance a ghost of Mary Queen of Scots may be seen again and again walking down the same staircase, seen by different people over a large number of years. If you jump out in front of the ghost and wave your arms around there will be no response. There is no intelligence behind a ghost. It is purely a recording of a past event. You cannot communicate with it, and the ghost has no awareness of itself, its surroundings, or of anything else. It has no more intelligence than a DVD player.
A Spirit is completely different. A spirit is the soul or energy of someone who has passed over. The spirit will typically return from “the other side” to communicate with the living, or on very rare occasions it may be a spirit that for whatever reason has remained on earth. It may have some important message to impart or it may simply want people to know that it is okay. But there is most definitely an intelligence there, and it can be communicated with. It is the spirits that we hope to establish communication with later in the evening.
Why would a spirit remain on earth?
Perhaps it still feels it has work to do or has an important message to pass on, perhaps it simply doesn’t realize that it is dead or has simply chosen to ignore the call to “go into the light”, or perhaps it is afraid of a judgement that might be waiting for it if it does go into the light and come face to face with the gates of Heaven!
Temperature Fluctuations
I will also explain the phenomena of temperature fluctuations. When standing or sitting in the séance room, or while glass moving, or indeed at any point in the evening, people may feel suddenly very cold or even suddenly very hot. This is thought to be a phenomenon that occurs when a person is standing in the same space as a spirit. Some people, due to their “energy”, interpret spirit as being very cold, while others with a different “energy” may experience that same spirit as being very hot. And if someone is experiencing a temperature fluctuation on just one side of their body, this simply means that they are only half standing in the spirit’s energy. Encourage your guests to speak up if they experience any temperature fluctuations during the night.
Pendulum Experiment
The pendulum experiment is the first opportunity in which the guests may participate in some actual spirit communication. I ask the spirits that may be present to move the pendulums in the hands of the guests. Slowly, some of the pendulums may begin to move back and forth. If some of the pendulums begin to move, I ask the spirits to shift the movement of the pendulums from back & forth to left & right. If this continues, ask that the spirits stop moving the pendulums!
You may be surprised at the speed at which the pendulums move. It is imperative that guests keep their hands as still as possible. If the pendulums are particularly active in the hands of some guests, you may even try asking yes or no questions by utilizing a pendulum board.
The Readings
Following the opening experiments, you may think it is appropriate to give your guests a quick reading. If you are not a reader yourself, you might have a friend who would like to undertake this part of the evening. Or, perhaps you would prefer to get to the actual séance as quickly as possible and do not want to hold up proceedings by engaging in readings. That is fine, each event and each séance host is different. However, if you decide to offer your guests a reading, there now follows some words of advice.
You can choose to give any kind of reading you feel most comfortable with - tarot, rune, aura, palm, even tea leaves! My personal choice is the tarot, which I have been reading with for over 13 years now. If your group is small (say 6 people), you can quite easily give every one of your guests a reading each. Simple. Just keep it brief and punchy and upbeat. It works best if everyone else can watch each other’s reading, that way you can spend some time explaining to everyone the history of the tarot, how they work etc., and obviously you don’t need to go too deep or personal.
The Glass Moving Session
Once the introductions, opening experiment, and readings are complete, it is time to begin! Glass moving is probably one of the oldest forms of physical communication with the spirit realm, and its routes lay with the spiritualist movement of the 1800’s. All techniques described below equally apply to the Ouija board, however (as explained earlier) I tend to shy away from the Ouija purely because of the “baggage” attached to it. People have often heard all kinds of urban myths about what has happened to people after using the Ouija, and because of the negative ideas that people often harbor about the Ouija it is probably best just to steer clear. Glass moving is very simple. All that happens is that a perfectly normal wine glass (stem variety works best for me) is turned upside down on a table. Several volunteers place an index finger on top of the upturned base of the glass, and then spirits communicate with the living by moving the glass.
I have a set of alphabet cards (around the same size as normal playing cards) that I place around the table in alphabetical order, and I also place a burning tea-light at one side of the table. Once these are in place the spirits can communicate by either moving the glass to the letters in order to spell out words, or by moving the glass towards or away from the candle in response to simple yes/no questions - so for example a question of “are you happy?” would be answered by the glass moving towards the candle for “yes” or away from the candle for “no”.
Glass Moving Hints and Tips
Always use a table that has a nicely polished surface. This will obviously allow the glass to slide more easily. A rough topped table will result in the glass tipping rather than moving, or at best moving in a very judder-y manner. A nice, polished surface is ideal. I have my own table that I take with me to all my events. It is about 2 ½ feet x 1 ½ feet and is ideal, and I keep it highly polished. I would highly recommend procuring a table specifically for glass moving if you’re at all likely to be engaging in the practice on a regular basis. Tell people to keep a nice, light touch on top of the glass. They do not want to press to hard. It needs to be a “feather-light” touch.
Once the glass is moving, allow it to just go where it wishes for the first minute or so. This is called “finding the table”. Then begin with some simple questions that can be answered by moving the glass towards the candle or away from it. If the contact with the spirit is good and strong and the glass is moving freely, move on to asking questions that need to be answered by using the alphabet cards. When you ask the spirit to move the glass towards the alphabet cards to answer specific questions, you may need to do a little bit of deciphering. Sometimes words will be slightly misspelled, and you may need to figure out what it is that the spirit is trying to say.
Regarding volunteers, I like to have groups of three or four with their finger on the glass. Three seems to be a good number, although if the glass is having problems getting going I may up the number to four just to add a little bit more energy. I have in the past had around 20 people on the glass at the same time with the glass flying around the table! This is a very impressive sight and never fails to send chills down my spine! I always try to use people who have experience with glass moving or the Ouija board in our first attempt, especially if they were successful on previous occasions. They know what to expect, and when the glass starts to move they won’t get too excited or freaked out! This also allows those who have never experienced glass moving to see what to expect when their turn arrives. Before starting I tell people that no harm will befall them from taking part in glass moving, but if anyone would rather abstain and just watch that’s fine. I certainly don’t want to feel like I’m forcing anyone to participate who would rather not, so I’m very cautious to avoid even the slightest hint of peer pressure.
I also recommend that if you are holding a seance without a medium, and you are not a medium yourself, to limit the glass moving communication to spirits of place, rather than loved ones. This is a very tricky area, and I touched on it very briefly earlier in the book. To put it simply, glass moving and/or the Ouija are terrible vehicles for communicating with the spirits of loved ones who have passed. Because spelling out words with the glass and the alphabet cards can be so hit and miss which can then lead to a lot of frustration and misunderstanding. Imagine if the only way you could communicate was by moving a glass planchette!
If the glass moving does bring forth a personal message, the person receiving the message may become quite emotional. Be prepared for this and approach all communication with empathy. Be patient, be understanding, and most of all tell the guest how wonderful they are and how well they’ve done. If the message is a confusing or involved question, it is best to refer the individual to a local spiritualist church, well-regarded medium, Kat or myself, or someone with vast séance experience.
Tell your guests that if at any time anything “funny” starts to happen, if the glass starts to spell anything that’s “not nice” I will stop the session immediately and turn the glass the right way up thus releasing the energy. I am also not beyond telling spirits to “leave now” (or worse!) in a loud commanding voice if anything negative starts to happen. Always remember that this is your glass moving session, you are in charge, and it’s your responsibility to make sure that at the end of the night everyone has had an uplifting, positive and spiritually fulfilling experience. Remind your guests of the protection that is in place, and that this protection will keep them safe.
Once the glass is moving freely, you can now start to ask all sorts of questions. After each question is answered, it is important to tell the spirit to move the glass back to the center of the table before asking the next question. This is important and avoids any confusion. Always talk politely (please, thank you etc.) but be firm and in charge.
Questions to ask are:
Move the glass to where you are standing. Show us where you are spirit.
Are you a man or a woman? Are you male or female? Move the glass towards the candle for male, away from the candle for female.
Did you used to live in this house? Move the glass towards the candle for yes or away for no.
Did you work in this house? Move the glass etc.
Did you “pass over” in this house? Move the glass etc.
How old are you? Move the glass towards the candle for a child. Move away from the candle for an adult.
Are you happy? Move the glass towards the candle for yes, move the glass away from the candle for no.
Are there any other spirits in this room with us? Move the candle etc.
What century did you live in? Move to the candle for the 20th Century. (Wait a moment or two.) Or the 19th Century? Move to the candle for the 19th Century, etc. through the centuries.
Be sure to give clear instructions of what to do after each question, and always get the glass moved back to the center of the table after each question has been answered (“Please move the glass back to the center of the table. That’s right. Move the glass back to the center of the table so we can you another question. Thank you.”)
Once you have exhausted the yes/no questions (and there’s no reason that should happen - use your imagination!) or if the glass is really moving around the table, you can turn your attention to the alphabet cards and try to get the spirit to spell out their name or any message they have. This is a natural progression from asking the yes/no style questions. I also encourage the people who have a finger on the glass to ask questions themselves. This helps to get everyone feeling involved, and if the glass is being a bit sluggish a new voice asking the questions can improve matters.
To finish off a glass moving session I would ask the spirits to move the glass around the table in a big circle, faster and faster. I would use lots of encouragement, almost shouting: “That’s it spirits, faster and faster now! Show us how strong you are! Move the glass faster and faster!” Having the glass shoot around the table in a big circle with the volunteers struggling to keep their fingers on the glass is a most impressive sight and one that will live long in the memories of your guests.
What to do if the glass does not move?
First of all, get the volunteers to take their fingers off the glass and rub their hands together, as though they are warming their hands on a winter day. This encourages a buildup of energy in the hands and fingers which the spirits can tap into more readily. Make sure they really put some energy into rubbing their hands together. You do it too. Rub your hands and say: “That’s it! Let’s get the energy levels right up!” Be optimistic, upbeat and positive.
If the glass still remains sluggish, try another three volunteers. Or you can add a fourth volunteer to bring more energy to the proceedings - or even a fifth or sixth volunteer. The more fingers you have on the glass the better chance you have of getting a sluggish glass moving.
Bringing the session to a close
If you are running the glass moving for 40 minutes, this will give you plenty of time to engage several groups of 3 or 4 people at the table. Once the time feels right to bring the session to a close, and a suitable break in proceedings presents itself, simply ask the spirit to move the glass back to the center of the table, ask the volunteers to remove their fingers, and then thank the spirits for talking to the group. “We thank you spirits for coming to us and communicating with us. Thank you for taking time to be with this night. We now leave you in peace and wish you well.” Turn the glass the right way up, allow the energy to dissipate, and then allow people to catch their breath and discuss their experiences! There will normally be nervous giggling, the puffing out of cheeks, and excited chattering.
Glass moving additions
Have one member of your group turn his/her back on the group engaged in glass moving. Then have them hold up a small mirror (I have a lovely Victorian handheld mirror) and observe the group via the mirror. The idea is that spirit energy is easier to see via the reflection in a mirror or glass, and so have this person call out if they see something or if darkness envelopes the group.
Automatic writing is the method of communicating with spirit by having spirit take control of your hand and write messages on a blackboard or piece of paper. While the rest of the group is doing the glass moving, have this volunteer sit in a corner with pad and pen (or similar) and see if any spirit messages come through onto the pad. Again, this can often lead to some extremely exciting and interesting results.
Dan & Kat Eckhart host an outdoor seance.
THE SEANCE
A séance works best with around 13 participants (13 is the tradition number of guests - probably because it is seen as a strange and spooky number!). Of course, a séance will work perfectly well with as few as 4 guests. If you have more than 15 guests, I would recommend not having a séance, but rather a “vigil”. A vigil is like a séance, but rather than guests sitting around a table holding hands, instruct the guests to stay standing in a large circle around the room holding hands. You, acting as the leader of the group, would stand in the center of the circle. In a more traditional séance, you would be seated alongside your guests.
A vigil would be conducted in the same way as the séance described below.
Have your guests sit around the table. A round table is best but by no means essential. Do not allow the nervous giggling and excited chatting to get too carried away. Bring the guests to order. At this point the room should be in darkness except for a few candles or tea-lights. If the glass moving session has gone well, your guests should have an air of excited anticipation about them. This is good. This means their imagination, creativity, and intuition are all fired up, which in turn means that they are more likely to experience spirit phenomena.
The spiritual safety of your guests is incredibly important, and there are ways we can ensure that no harm befalls them during the séance. Now, there are some “experts” who claim that safety rituals are simply not necessary and are a waste of time. Likewise, there are “experts” who will advise hours of protection rituals be performed prior to the start of the séance. I tend to err on the side of caution, so I perform several protection rituals - although these do tend to be short and to the point. I will touch on these safety and protection procedures again later, but essentially the procedures are as follows:
1. Once my guests are gathered together and following a brief welcome and introduction, I will ask our forefathers, spirit guides, and guardian angels to step forward to protect us during the evening in the following manner: “I call upon the spirits to step forward, to protect us and keep us safe as we communicate with the spirit realm. I call upon our spirit guides to step forward also, and our guardian angels to step forward also, and protect us, keep us safe this evening as we respectfully attempt communication with the spirit realm. We thank you for your time and patience and ask that you look over us and bless us with your protection.”
2. When my guests are seated in a circle, holding hands, and ready to begin the actual séance itself I will invoke a protective circle of white light to encircle us by saying the following to the group: “I want you to imagine a white ball of energy, about the size of a tennis ball, running across your shoulders from your left shoulder to your right shoulder, and that ball of white light runs down your right arm and into your right hand and into the left hand of the person next to you. The ball of light goes up their left arm, across their shoulders, down their right arm and into the hand of the person next to them. This ball of white protective light then passes in this manner from one person to the next, around and around our circle. The ball of white protective light will keep us safe, and as long as you imagine the white light, imagine it running around our circle, we will be safe. If you ever feel worried or scared just imagine the white ball of light travelling around the circle, keeping us all perfectly safe.”
3. I keep a jar of salt close to hand. If anything undesirable happens during the séance, or if someone begins to have a bad experience, I turn the lights on, calm things down, and then scatter the salt around the room. Evil spirits, demons and spectral entities will be scattered by the salt. At this point, I immediately light Dragon’s Blood Incense and use it within the room to fumigate the space. This incense acts as a “bomb” that drives out all spirits. (Do not use sage, as sage is generally used for drawing spirits IN, and although Internet Witches ™ seem obsessed with using sage, I have personally had to exorcise a few homes where well-meaning folks kept burning sage in response to spirit activity and were confused as to why burning sage was making things worse. Don’t believe everything you see on TikTok!).
4. If hosting a séance in a private home, the morning following the séance will find me walking around the room ringing a bell. The action of ringing the bell will clear the house of any entities still in situ following the séance.
Before we start the séance I will usually inform the guests of any spirits that I am aware of being around us, and I will encourage the guests to vocalize any weird feelings or experiences that they have perceived throughout the evening but have not informed the group of up until that point. I also explain the various phenomena that the guests are likely to experience - touching, smells, lights, emotions, sensations, noises etc (as described earlier). It is good to inform the group that they are not likely to see a full apparition (although we’re always hopeful), and that often spirit interaction can be a lot more subtle. Once the group is settled, I will request silence and will extinguish any candles that have been burning. This will plunge the room into darkness[1].
After the initial invitation to the spirits, allow silence to descend for a few minutes. The tension will be high, and there is every chance that a noise will be heard, or someone will say they have been touched. It is not unusual for a guest to say that they think there is someone standing next to them or behind them. If they do, reassure them that they are safe. Encourage your guests to be as vocal as possible about what they are seeing, experiencing, or perceiving.
You also need to reassure anyone who may be a little scared. Simple phrases like “It’s okay, you’re doing great,” are all that is needed. It is natural that some individuals may be frightened. If anyone gets too scared[2], always relight the candles and allow people to regain their composure.
If nothing “happens” a few minutes after the initial invitation to the spirits, simply reiterate the original invitation. If nothing then happens, you have several options:
1. Ask another guest to “call out”. This gets people involved with the event and helps to build-up the energy.
2. Move the guests around. Get all the women to sit on one side and all the men to sit on the other side. Mixing up the energy in this manner can often result in phenomena occurring.
3. If ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAPPENS AT ALL, you still have several options. We know that the spirit realm is not like switching on a TV. One cannot simply expect spirit to perform on cue. If the spirits preferred to communicate through the glass-moving or pendulums, return to such activities. Do not continue to press the spirits for contact if they have departed and be aware that just because the spirits have stopped interacting for the moment, they may make their presence known at some point in the future.
Your séance should last no longer than an hour. 45 minutes seems to be a good timescale if things are going well. Of course, this all depends on the nature and make-up of your group. When it is time to bring your séance to an end, simply instruct your guests to unlink their hands from each other. Then thank the spirits for coming through. “Thank you spirits for talking to us this evening. Please now go in peace. Thank you.”
Relight the candles or perhaps turn on a small light and allow your guests a few moments to compose themselves and for their eyes to adjust to the light. Many of your guests may be excited or even a little disturbed. They may want to talk about their experience. Give them plenty of time to do so, then reiterate that “nothing from the séance room can cause them any harm or trouble them in any way”. I will now light some Santa Paulo, a powerful incense that clears negative energy but allows positive energy to remain (unlike Dragon’s Blood which clears all energy).
Once everyone’s initial excitement and discussion has died away slightly, I would then stand in front of the group and recap the nights events. It is always nice to finish with a round of applause, so you can end your summing up by saying something like: “…and most of all, it is thanks to you. You have been a wonderful group, well done you!”
At this point, I direct my private guests to eat something. The act of eating is extremely grounding and will help re-establish a sense of reality after such an “un-real” experience. Bear in mind that you have just led a group of people on a journey into the world of spirit. This will be very draining for you and you will have every right to simply make your excuses, say your goodbyes, and slip away.
CLOSING
Working in the world of the séance and the paranormal is an extremely rewarding experience. You are creating memories that your guests will keep with them for the rest of their days. When they are grey and old and somebody mentions ghost stories, they will clear their throats and tell their friends of the night they took part in a genuine séance. They will talk about you and all that you did. I find it such a privilege to think of people over the coming decades still speaking about attending events that I hosted. It inspires me and helps me to try to do the best I can in this area every night. I hope you share that enthusiasm, and that you find working in the arena of the paranormal as rewarding and as healing as I do.
Dan Eckhart crystal gazing.
Footnotes:
[1] I prefer to hold my séances in as near to pitch darkness as possible. I find this helps people to tap into their intuitive abilities quickly and experience a more intense kind of phenomena. However, some people prefer to have a candle or tea light burning in the middle of the table. Having a lighted candle in the room during the séance does have its advantages - when a spirit enters the circle the flame from the candle will suddenly start to burn blue - but my personal preference is to aim for pitch blackness or as close as possible.
[2] Often at a séance you will have one or two “screamers”. These are people who will experience a touch on their arm or hair or hear something, and they will respond by screaming and exclaiming “Oh my god! Oh my god! I don’t like it!” and similar. Always ask if they are alright, ask them if they want the lights turning on (they often will), or ask them if they want to continue or not. Their friends will often encourage them to carry on, but as the host it is your job to be concerned for them and to do anything in your power to make them feel comfortable. If they wish to leave the séance, that is fine. Make sure a friend goes with them to look after them. If several people are getting upset, do not be afraid to bring the séance to a premature end.
A séance conducted in fear is next to useless.
*Special thanks to: P.B. ‘Lazarus’
The Eckharts create entertaining and empowering performances by marrying the fascinating techniques of old-world magick and modern psychological thought. Their unique demonstrations have earned them high praise from clients, multiple awards, and astounding press coverage. Leave your guests with an evening they will never forget: an encounter with the Other Side, the discovery of the power of the mind, or a transformative reading!
Dan & Kat Eckhart believe in creating bespoke, high-end, psychic experiences as well as turn-key solutions for hosts and event planners. Schedule a call or conference today for complete booking information and next steps!