What Happens During a Mediumship Reading?
If you are thinking about sitting with a medium for the first time, you might be feeling any number of things. Curious, perhaps. Hopeful. A little nervous. Sceptical, even. You may be grieving, and missing someone very much, or you may simply want to understand what this is.
Whatever has brought you here, one question tends to sit underneath the others: what actually happens during a mediumship reading?
So here is the short answer. During a mediumship reading, I link with someone you love in the spirit world, describe them in enough detail that you know who it is, and pass on what they want to say. You stay in your chair, on your sofa, with a cup of tea if you like. It is calm, it is gentle, and the lights stay on.
The longer answer is worth knowing too, because how a reading is conducted makes all the difference to whether you can trust it. This is how I work, why I work that way, and what I will ask of you.
What a mediumship reading is, and what it isn't
A mediumship reading is a conversation between three people: you, me, and someone in the spirit world. I think of it as a communication triangle. The spirit person communicates with me, I pass on what I receive to you, and your responses completes the triangle and energetically fuels that of the connection.
It is not fortune telling. A psychic reading looks at you and your path. A mediumship reading is about them: the mum, the dad, the grandparent, the partner, the friend, the child who has passed and wants you to know they are still around. Sometimes they offer advice too, and when they do, I pass it on exactly as it is given. I offer both, and a blend of the two, and you can read about the difference on my readings page.
It is also not a performance. I have spent years training at the Arthur Findlay College, and the single most important thing I learned there is that a medium is in service to the spirit world. I am not there to impress you. I am there to represent the person who has come to speak to you, as accurately and as gently as I can.
How a mediumship reading with me begins
My readings are 30 minutes, held privately over Zoom, so you can be anywhere in the world and in your own space. Here is the order things happen in.
I introduce myself. We take a moment to say hello and settle in. If you are nervous, tell me. It helps.
I explain how I work. Before anything else, I tell you what I am about to do and what I need from you, so nothing catches you off guard.
I ask you not to tell me who you are hoping to hear from. No names, no relationships, no back story. I would rather know nothing.
I ask you to answer with yes, no, don't know or maybe. That is the whole of your job. More on why in a moment.
I begin. I link with the spirit world and start describing who is with me.
That opening takes a couple of minutes, and it matters. A reading works best when you know what to expect before we begin.
How does mediumship work? What is happening while I read
It may help to know a little about what I am doing when I go quiet for a moment. It is far less mysterious than it sounds.
The mediumship I practise is called mental mediumship. Nothing appears in the room. The communication happens mind to mind, between the spirit person and me, and I put it into words for you.
First, I attune. Before I begin, I move my attention away from my own thoughts, and away from you, and towards the spirit world. The old comparison is tuning a radio, and it is a fair one. I am not going into a trance. I am awake, aware, and still talking to you.
Then someone draws close. I become aware of a spirit person blending with my awareness, and I begin to receive information from them. It reaches me through what mediums call the clairs:
Clairsentience, or clear sensing. I feel things: a personality, a mood, the warmth or reserve of a character, sometimes a physical sensation linked to how they passed.
Clairvoyance, or clear seeing. Images in my mind's eye, a little like a memory that is not mine. A face, a room, a uniform, a garden.
Clairaudience, or clear hearing. A word, a name or a phrase, heard inwardly rather than out loud.
Sometimes there is simply a knowing, with no picture or feeling attached.
Then I translate. This is the part few people realise. What I receive rarely arrives as neat sentences. It comes as impressions, and my job is to describe them faithfully without adding to them. The spirit person is the intelligence leading the reading. I am following, not steering.
I believe it takes a great deal of effort for those in the spirit world to communicate through a medium. They are incredibly intelligent in how they do it. They are not using everyday speech. They are reaching us through the language of the soul, and every detail that gets across has been worked for.
That is also why a medium can have the right impression and the wrong interpretation. I might be shown a ring and call it a wedding ring, when it was a signet ring your grandad never took off. The information was sound. My reading of it was off. Which brings me to the one thing I ask of you.
How does mediumship work? What is happening while I read
It may help to know a little about what I am doing when I go quiet for a moment. It is far less mysterious than it sounds.
The mediumship I practise is called mental mediumship. Nothing appears in the room. The communication happens mind to mind, between the spirit person and me, and I put it into words for you.
First, I attune. Before I begin, I move my attention away from my own thoughts, and away from you, and towards the spirit world. The old comparison is tuning a radio, and it is a fair one. I am not going into a trance. I am awake, aware, and still talking to you.
Then someone draws close. I become aware of a spirit person blending with my awareness, and I begin to receive information from them. It reaches me through what mediums call the clairs:
Clairsentience, or clear sensing. I feel things: a personality, a mood, the warmth or reserve of a character, sometimes a physical sensation linked to how they passed.
Clairvoyance, or clear seeing. Images in my mind's eye, a little like a memory that is not mine. A face, a room, a uniform, a garden.
Clairaudience, or clear hearing. A word, a name or a phrase, heard inwardly rather than out loud.
Sometimes there is simply a knowing, with no picture or feeling attached.
Then I translate. This is the part few people realise. What I receive rarely arrives as neat sentences. It comes as impressions, and my job is to describe them faithfully without adding to them. The spirit person is the intelligence leading the reading. I am following, not steering.
I believe it takes a great deal of effort for those in the spirit world to communicate through a medium. They are incredibly intelligent in how they do it. They are not using everyday speech. They are reaching us through the language of the soul, and every detail that gets across has been worked for.
That is also why a medium can have the right impression and the wrong interpretation. I might be shown a ring and call it a wedding ring, when it was a signet ring your grandad never took off. The information was sound. My reading of it was off. Which brings me to the one thing I ask of you.
Yes, no, don't know, maybe: why I only ask for four answers
This part can seem unusual at first, so let me explain it properly. I did not invent it. It is how I was taught by teachers I respect enormously, Christine Morgan and Eileen Davies among them, and I believe it is the mark of a well-conducted reading wherever you sit.
There are two reasons for it.
It keeps my attention with the spirit person. When I am working, I am listening to someone you cannot see or hear. That takes real focus. If you start telling me a story, my attention swings to you, and the link I am holding goes quiet. A one-word answer lets me stay with them and keep relaying what they are giving me, as they give it.
It stops you feeding me. If I say "I have a gentleman here" and you reply "Oh, that will be my dad, he died of a heart attack in March", you have just done my job for me. Everything I say afterwards is worth less, to you and to me. I used to be a police officer, and before that a magician. I care about evidence, and I know exactly how easily information can be led. So I would rather you gave me nothing, and let your person prove themselves.
Underneath both reasons sits a simpler one. The spirit world have put real effort into reaching you. When all you have given me is yes, no, don't know or maybe, we both know that what is coming through is from them.
Your answer
Yes - You recognise it. I can move on to the next piece.
No - Something needs clarifying. I go back and ask.
Maybe / Don't know - That is helpful too. It may be something you only find out at a later date, and that can be some of the strongest evidence of all. Part of it fits. I ask the spirit person to sharpen it.
Why a "no" is one of the most helpful things you can say
Saying no to a medium can feel awkward. It might seem rude, or it might feel as though it means the reading is not working. If either of those rings true for you, here is some reassurance: a no is exactly what I need to hear.
A no is just as helpful as a yes. Sometimes the information is right and my interpretation of it is wrong. Your no sends me back to the spirit person to ask for clarity, and that gets the reading back on track with the right information.
Holding a no back does the opposite. If something does not make sense to you and it goes unsaid, the reading can head off in the wrong direction. A clear no keeps us on course.
Your answers do something else as well. Each yes and each no fuels the energy that the spirit world uses to connect with us. So every answer you give helps the communication along.
What comes through: evidence first, then the message
Once I begin, the reading tends to move in two stages.
First comes the evidence. This is the spirit person showing you it is them. Evidence matters enormously, because it helps us recognise who is communicating. It might include:
Who they are to you, and how they passed
What they looked like, and how they carried themselves
Their personality and their humour, which never seems to leave them
Memories you shared, places that mattered, the work they did
Things that have happened in your life since they died
That last kind of evidence can mean a great deal. It suggests they have not gone anywhere: that they know about the wedding, the new baby, the house move, the ordinary days in between.
Then comes the message. Once you know who you are talking to, they say what they came to say. Usually it is simple. I am alright. I am sorry. I am proud of you. Stop blaming yourself.
There is one thing worth knowing before you sit. I cannot choose who comes through. I work with whoever comes forward, and it is not always the person you expected. I will describe who is with me, as clearly as I can, and you tell me whether you recognise them.
Is a mediumship reading scary? No. At its core, mediumship is healing
A lot of us carry an underlying fear when it comes to this sort of thing, and film and television have a lot to answer for. If your picture of a medium involves flickering candles, a trance and a voice from beyond, it would make sense to feel wary. The reality is very different. Mediumship in all its forms is healing, and I have never found it to be anything but that.
Let me take the common fears one at a time.
"Will I be told something bad?" No. I do not deliver warnings, predict deaths or pass on anything designed to frighten you. That is not what the spirit world comes to do.
"Will they be angry with me?" This worry can come up when there is guilt in the picture, perhaps about a hospital decision, a row, or a goodbye that never happened. In my experience, what comes through is love, not blame.
"Will I bring something home with me?" No. You are not opening a door that then needs closing. The people who come through are people who love you, and they were around you long before you booked.
"What if I cry?" You might, and you might not. Either is fine. If tears come, we go at your pace, and there is no rush to carry on.
My grandfather, Eddie Paul, was a medium and a spiritual healer, and I work under his name. He understood something I have come to believe completely: mediumship is ultimately about healing, love and connection. The evidence is how we get there. The healing is the point.
Grief research has moved the same way. For decades the bereaved were told to "let go" and "move on". The work on continuing bonds by Dennis Klass, Phyllis Silverman and Steven Nickman challenged that, showing that many people stay connected to those they have lost, and that doing so is a normal part of grieving. A reading does not replace grief support or the people around you. It can sit alongside them.
How to prepare for your mediumship reading
You do not need to do much. A few things help.
Find somewhere quiet and private. Somewhere you will not be interrupted, and where you feel free to react.
Tell me nothing in advance. Not in the booking form, not in the first minute. The less I know, the more the evidence means.
Come with an open mind, not a script. Hope for someone, by all means. Try not to fix on one name or one piece of proof.
Ask for the recording. If you would like your Zoom session recorded, let me know. It is included at no extra cost, and it means you can listen back in your own time.
Bring someone if you want to. More than one person can sit in on a reading.
Answer truthfully. Yes, no, don't know, maybe. That is all.
And if the reading has not resonated, say so while we are still together. I offer a full refund, provided you let me know during the appointment. I would much rather that than have you leave unsure.
Mediumship reading questions I am asked most
How long does a mediumship reading last?
My readings are 30 minutes. That is enough time to establish clearly who is communicating and to pass on what they have come to say.
Can a mediumship reading be done online?
Yes. All my readings are held privately over Zoom, and I read for people all over the world. The spirit world is not limited by distance, so being on a screen makes no difference to the link.
Should I tell the medium who I want to hear from?
No. Please don't tell me anything about who you are hoping for. The less I know, the more you can trust what comes through.
Can I choose who comes through in a reading?
No medium can guarantee a particular person. I work with whoever steps forward from the spirit world, and I describe them until you know who they are.
What is the difference between a psychic reading and a mediumship reading?
A psychic reading focuses on you and your own life. A mediumship reading is communication with someone who has passed. My most popular reading, Psychic Mediumship, blends the two.
What if I don't recognise what the medium is saying?
Say no, or say you don't know. Both help. A no sends me back to the spirit person for clarity, and a don't know may be confirmed at a later date, which can be some of the strongest evidence.
When you feel ready
There is no right time to sit with a medium, and no right reason. Some people come soon after a loss. Some wait years. Some are not grieving at all and are simply curious about what lies beyond this life. Wherever you are with it, that is a fine place to start from.
If you feel called to have a reading, I look forward to welcoming you. You can read what others have said on my reviews page, find out more about me, or view times and book a reading.
And if you only came here to understand what happens, I hope this has helped.
Jason Paul is a psychic medium based in Bristol, UK, reading for people worldwide over Zoom. He trained at the Arthur Findlay College and hosts the Soul Sync podcast.
