The Book on Mediums: Guide for Mediums and Invocators [Paperback]

Allan Kardec (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2008

A discussion of the means of communicating with the invisible world, the development of mediumship and the difficulties encountered inthe practice of spiritualism.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: RedWheel / Weiser; 4 edition (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877283826
• ISBN-13: 978-0877283829
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,807 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age > Reference

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unsurpassed classic, June 10, 2004

By 

Rick Darby - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book on Mediums: Guide for Mediums and Invocators (Paperback)

I have read dozens of books about mediumship and perhaps several hundred on psychical research and the paranormal. It's astonishing, and a little depressing, that this -- in my judgment among the best studies of mediumship and communication with the "other side" -- was written almost a century and a half ago! Despite much important research since by the Society for Psychical Research and many others, this is a field in which substantive knowledge grows very slowly.

The Book on Mediums isn't scientific in the modern sense. Nothing in it can be objectively proven under laboratory conditions, which is the gold standard and the reason that phenomena such as mediumship are very hard to investigate in a way that will answer the objections of skeptics. If you are doubtful about mediumship (and you have every right to be, until you are convinced), reading this isn't guaranteed to change your mind.

Nevertheless, I think it's a work of extraordinary quality, especially when compared with the large amount of flim-flam and rubbish that exists on the subject. Based on Allan Kardec's many years of experience with mediums and mediumistic circles, and conversations with spirits of a high moral and intellectual caliber (many excerpts of which are transcribed in the book), this text is logically sound and intuitively feels right to me.

I don't actually know that much about Kardec other than a few basic facts, such as that he was a 19th century Frenchman who founded a movement called Spiritism (not to be confused with the church of Spiritualism). It is evident from his book that he was, if not formally a scientist, nevertheless a man who approached mediumship in a scientific spirit. He did not rely on only one discarnate source for information, but collected and compared data from numerous sources and mediums.

Although obviously convinced of the reality and importance of communication with spirits of those who have passed out of physical life to a nonmaterial plane, Kardec did not take anything at face value. He emphasizes again and again that spirits are not necessarily wise or ethical. Newcomers to psychic readings are usually concerned about whether the medium is honest. (The great majority are, although some are more talented than others.) As Kardec makes clear, the much greater cause for concern is whether the spirits who come through are to be trusted. A great many of them are foolish, trivial time-wasters who delight in pretending to be famous historical figures or founts of spiritual knowledge.

Kardec probes deeply into the different types of mediumship, the best conditions for mediumship, and the best ways to relate to spirits that come through. There are, he shows, many good and wise spirits who are willing to connect with you through mediums -- but they will not waste their efforts if they sense that you are seeking them out as a game, to test them or to obtain information for improving your finances or gaining power.

For anyone just beginning to explore the subject of mediumship and communication with spirits, The Book on Mediums (and very likely the companion volume, the Book on Spirits, which I haven't read) seems to me an ideal place to start. But even those who are well seasoned in the literature of psychical research should find this extraordinarily rewarding.

The translation dates from the 19th century and the style is a bit formal by modern standards, but presents no difficulties.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Guide for Serious Scientific Study of Mediumship, November 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Book on Mediums: Guide for Mediums and Invocators (Paperback)

Spiritism is fairly unknown in the USA, but well known in some European countries and in Latin America. Hippolito Leon Denizard (Allan Kardec's real name) was a pioneer in his field. He applied the scientific method to study spiritual phenomena and encoded his findings into what is known as Spiritism.

This book continues his work begun in the Book of Spirits where, this time, he devotes his studies to the medium and the nature of communications between the material and spiritual world.

Kardec's science provides tools to study spiritual phenomena and to de-mystify them. As a member of an Institution who follows Kardec's and other Latin-American spiritist's work, This science provides rational explanations to phenomena once thought to be supernatural. Supernatural phenomena doesn't exist, there are only natural laws, which many are unknown to us. Spiritism also helps to shed light in a scientific manner to explain so-called miracles and expose many beliefs in organized and dogmatic religions which only serve to control others and hinder their spiritual growth. The Introduction is an excellent explanation to put atheistic and religious skeptics to rest.

If spiritual awakening is to continue, Kardec's work helps us begin to understand the true nature of the spiritual world and how its study will help us evolve into a more spiritual world free of the dogmatic controls of some religions and free of a materialistic world view were survival is the only purpose of life. Buy this and other Kardec books. I assure you that you wont regret it.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Description, August 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Book on Mediums: Guide for Mediums and Invocators (Paperback)

This book is an authoritative manual about the relation between the "living" world and the spiritual world. Since these two worlds are closely related, one would say that they interpenetrate themselves, the book is not intended exclusively to mediums and invocators, but anyone interested in discriminating between good and bad spirits in our constant relation with the spiritual world. For a beginner, I would strongly recommend the Spirit's Book as an introduction to the Spiritism.