Trumpets at seance: levitation tool, or sound amplifier?

I recently had the opportunity to attend a séance where a trumpet was present in the room. (No, it didn't come into use that night). The hostess of the event remarked that it was used to amplify spirit sounds.

Afterwards, I told her that I was under the impression that trumpets were used as objects to be levitated, rather than as amplifiers. She told me that they are used for both purposes.

Have you ever known of a trumpet being used for amplification of spirit sounds at a séance?

that's what they were designed to do... (think: ear trumpet)

Yes Jim the idea is to hope that Spirit will speak through them. The levitation bit came more as part of the party tricks of Physical mediums. We have a seance trumpet but I think teh dedication needed to get it working properly is beyond teh attention spam of todays instant happenings. I can now consistently get, in good light, tables moving (and how) with messages from Spirit, some writing from teh planchette, inconsistent results from th Spirit Talking Board, a form of transfiguration (better sometimes than other. In teh Christmas Tree seance we have had toys moving, balls rolling and some perceived contact with little fingers, even a few raps. BUT that seance trumpet won't speak or move.

Admin wrote:Yes Jim the idea is to hope that Spirit will speak through them. The levitation bit came more as part of the party tricks of Physical mediums. We have a seance trumpet but I think teh dedication needed to get it working properly is beyond teh attention spam of todays instant happenings. I can now consistently get, in good light, tables moving (and how) with messages from Spirit, some writing from teh planchette, inconsistent results from th Spirit Talking Board, a form of transfiguration (better sometimes than other. In teh Christmas Tree seance we have had toys moving, balls rolling and some perceived contact with little fingers, even a few raps.  BUT that seance trumpet won't speak or move.

That all sounds impressive to me, Jim!

And I'm delighted to learn more about the varied uses of the trumpet. I know very little about physical mediumship.

Sadly the more I know and teh deeper I delve into history the less impressed I am with physical mediumship.

Just as a piece of information mental mediumship extends right out to deep trance (it would include Spirit Art; Lis is quite adept at both art and deep trance when we can get her to do it) and the cross over to physical mediumship is at the point of transfiguration; which used to be perceived as an ectoplasmic mask in front of the face, however for my transfiguration it is an energetic face not ectoplasmic.

Interestingly Direct Voice hangs somewhere in the middle being closely aligned to trance. Its important to realise that around the turn of the 19th C into the 20th C most mediums gave ther messages in trance and often the guide would give the messages from loved one's, just like a modern mental medium,  while the medium was in full trance e'g Gladys Osborne Leonard's Feda (indeed one of our founders was a medium who worked in trance both for the talks and messages never saw her but a close friend of 56 years did when he first joined our centre). Not all direct voice mediumship did require a seance trumpet

So Physical is raps,  talking boards and planchettes, tables, transfiguraion trumpets, slates and materialisation. Hmm the more I learn the more I feel that true materialisation was almost as reare as hens teeth.

I recently was fortunate enough to go to Stansted Hall on the JV Trust week. A number of the tutors had known Gordon Higginson well and attended seances at Stansted where he had produced materialisations and direct voice through trumpets. Their first hand accounts were fascinating. My respect for the tutors, clearly very committed and trustworthy individuals, increased my willingness to believe that materialisation and direct voice is possible when I had previously been extremely doubtful. It was clear that these people, who I respected, believed in what they had seen. I am more open-minded now.

We have a trumpet which we put out at times but it remains inactive. However, it may take a while I refuse to do this in other than light even if it is a red light bulb.

Admin wrote:We have a trumpet which we put out at times but it remains inactive. However, it may take a while I refuse to do this in other than light even if it is a red light bulb.

Any thoughts about why once well-known physical phenomena are now pretty rare? Has anyone asked discarnate communicators why?

I've been told that physical phenomena are more rare now because people dedicate less time these days to sitting in circles and it can take years to develop these abilities. Demonstrations of physical Mediumship tend to be in closed circles. Perhaps there is greater skepticism nowadays and fear of intense scrutiny than in the past.
It would be interesting to know discarnate communicators views. Is it that it is more important to pass on mental messages now as people are more open to this?

Karenhoffen wrote:I've been told that physical phenomena are more rare now because people dedicate less time these days to sitting in circles and it can take years to develop these abilities. Demonstrations of physical Mediumship tend to be in closed circles. Perhaps there is greater skepticism nowadays and fear of intense scrutiny than in the past.
It would be interesting to know discarnate communicators views. Is it that it is more important to pass on mental messages now as people are more open to this?

I've heard much the same explanations as you have. One reason individuals might not sit for such development nowadays is that they're not inspired to do so.

I'd argue it's not unreasonable to suppose that it was wholly down to our friends unseen who began 'the big push' that led on to the mediumship of yesteryear and the movements of Spiritualism and Spiritism. I'd also argue that the progress and outcome would have been continuously monitored by those discarnates orchestrating events.

It might not be too fanciful to think that having tried many ways of transdimensional communication they might have concluded the cost/benefit ratio of physical mediumship wasn't favourable - too few positive results from a very great deal of time and effort. Add to that the situation often found in this world - novelty lasts only a short while. Folk get bored or weary of the same old, same old. Maybe our friends unseen do too? Isn't it reasonable to think they want to move on in their spiritual progress? Continuing to give their 'time' working with incarnates in the cloying, heavy physical dimension could hardly be an attractive prospect and maybe they just got 'tired' of devoting themselves? We need to remember those guys are simply individuals with their own spiritual journeys to make.

Movements of whatever kind start, run and eventually stall. That's how the movement that produced transdimensional communication of the type we Spiritualists see within our own appears to me; it started, has run its planned/intended/expected course and is now stalled.

What we Spiritualists call evidential mediumship and healing are still around but at low activity levels. Physical mediumship is much rarer and struggling under the bad name the shenanigans of the current breed of phenomenalists have burdened it with. Meanwhile the wider world's 'mediums' are more psychics and sensitives than mediums. Channelling is replacing mediumship. The DIY movement is gaining traction - larn thisen to be your own 'medium'! Channel your personal spirit guide and tell others you've got all the answers to questions of survival.

We've just begun a new decade in a new century in a new millennium. This world has changed almost beyond recognition since the time of widespread interest in mediumship. Our friends unseen are likey to be planning as I'm writing what they'll try - in the times ahead - to again communicate the message of survival. My guess is it will be in a way very different from what we remember and know.

Oy vey!

I agree Mac.
I watched the Kardec film yesterday. They seemed so certain that the movement would take hold but, aside from Brazil, we are still in the Dark Ages of spiritual development. So maybe a new approach will be tried.
Let's anticipate exciting times ahead

Karenhoffen wrote:I agree Mac.
I watched the Kardec film yesterday. They seemed so certain that the movement would take hold but, aside from Brazil, we are still in the Dark Ages of spiritual development. So maybe a new approach will be tried.
Let's anticipate exciting times ahead

Exciting times? Maybe for you, Karen, but I'm heading for 73 and I'm guessing nothing significant will happen in my present lifetime.

Spiritism appears alive and well but I have absolutely no idea if it's making any impact south of the border. It's certainly not 'up here' in the north. But there's also Sonia Rinaldi doing her stuff and that may prove more fruitful - maybe. And maybe I'm being my usual Doubting Thomas but I'm not expecting anything that moves us forward from TDC - with or without stations.

I'm guessing you mean 'Nosso Lar' by the Kardec film? I saw it on YouTube a while ago and although it was kinda OK it wasn't life-changing for me - understandably I suppose.