The Element Encyclopedia of the Psychic World: The Ultimate A–Z of Spirits, Mysteries and the Paranormal

Many psychics, spiritual healers, reiki practitioners and medical intuitives claim to be able to direct energy and perform absent healing. Typically healers will speak the name of the sick person or they will focus on a photograph of the person, or a candle or doll that represents the person. The healing energies are then directed to where they are needed.

How absent healing is accomplished, if it can be accomplished, remains an unproven mystery but there is compelling evidence to suggest that emotional and sometimes physical healing can take place from a distance. Aside from countless personal accounts from those who have benefited from absent healing, American doctor Larry Dossey conducted several double blind trials to test the effectiveness of absent healing in the early 1990s. At the end of the trials the groups that had been the object of prayer showed greater improvement in health than the control groups.

ACHERI

In Native American folklore Acheri is thought to be the ghost of a little girl who died of disease. Legend has it that Acheri is a frail and pale looking female spirit who lives on mountaintops and hills. At night she travels into the valleys to spread infection, disease and pain, usually to children, by casting her invisible shadow over innocent sleeping victims.

It is thought that the colour red affords protection against this entity and amulets of red thread worn as necklaces will protect children from the disease Acheri brings. Similarly, in European folklore, red charms are used to protect against harm from evil spirits.

ACUPRESSURE

An ancient Chinese healing method that involves applying pressure to selected points on the body to relieve pain and tension. It is based on the belief that the body has 14 ‘meridians’ that flow through the major organs and carry energy, called chi, throughout the body. Acupressure is an alternative medicine technique that deals with all the aspects of a person - body, emotions, mind and spirit - as one whole rather than as separate parts.

Practitioners believe that acupressure can help relieve stress and tension, relax mind and body, increase blood circulation, aid in the removal of toxic wastes from the body, provide relief from head, neck and shoulder aches, promote the healing of injuries, increase energy levels and increase overall feelings of well-being. In a typical session the client lies fully clothed on a soft massage table while the practitioner presses gently on points on various parts of the client’s body. The session is non-invasive and gentle and generally lasts for about one hour. However, most clients normally require a number of sessions to complete a treatment.

ACUPUNCTURE

An ancient Chinese healing system and alternative medicine technique that involves inserting and stimulating particular points on the body with fine needles. Acupuncture, like acupressure, is built on the theory that there are special ‘meridian’ points on the body connected to the body’s internal organs and that ‘vital life energy’ (chi) flows along these meridian lines. According to this theory, disease is caused by interrupted energy flow; inserting the needles restores normal flow

Acupuncture needles may be twirled, heated or stimulated with a weak electric current, with ultrasound and sometimes even with wavelengths of light. Acupuncture is used to treat pain, depression, allergies, asthma, arthritis, bladder problems, digestive upsets, colds, flu, smoking, fatigue, gynaecologic disorders, headaches, migraines, high blood pressure, low libido, stress, stroke, drug addiction, vision problems and even AIDS.

ADELPHI THEATRE, GHOST OF

The Adelphi Theatre in London is thought to be haunted by the ghost of a celebrated Victorian actor called William Terriss. Terriss was a stylish and popular actor highly regarded in his day and seldom seen without his trademark pale gloves.

On the night of 16 December 1897, during a run of Secret Service, a thriller staring Terriss and leading lady Jessie Mil-ward, Terriss was murdered by an out-of-work actor, Richard Prince, who had been fired due to alcoholism and ever after bore a grudge against the profession. Prince especially resented the success and charisma of Terriss.

As night fell Prince ambushed Terriss as he unlocked the stage door in Maiden Lane and stabbed him. Terriss died in Jessie Milward’s arms, whispering ‘I’ll be back’. Prince was tried and convicted of murder but declared insane. He spent the rest of his days at Broadmoor prison, where he passed the time writing his own plays and, of course, playing the heroic lead.

The first sighting of Terriss’s ghost was in 1928. A stranger in London, who did not know about the murder, saw a male figure dressed in grey Victorian clothes suddenly vanish in Maiden Lane. Later he identified the figure as Terriss from a photograph.

Again in 1928 an actress who was using Jessie Milward’s old dressing room, felt light blows on her arms, a sensation of being grabbed and the inexplicable shaking of her chaise longue. She also saw a green light above her mirror and heard tapping on the door. Later she discovered that Terriss used to tap Milward’s door with his cane when he passed it. In 1962 there was another sighting: a greenish light that took the shape of a man was seen by a frightened workman. The light opened the stage curtains and then proceeded to the stalls and tipped down the seats.

Members of the station staff at Covent Garden tube station, which now occupies the site of a bakery where Terriss stopped daily, have several times reported hearing disembodied gasps and sighs after hours. One young porter, Victor Locker, immediately requested a transfer after encountering the phantom, an experience he described as being immobilized with an oppressive weight pushing down on him. In 1955 ticket collector Jack Hayden reported seeing on numerous occasions an elegant phantom with ‘a very, very sad face and sunken cheeks’, attired with opera cloak, cane and pale gloves walking the platform or ascending the spiral staircase. Hayden left Covent Garden in 1964 and the sightings have been less frequent, but Terriss still puts in the occasional cameo appearance, especially in the train tunnels between Covent Garden and Holborn.

ADEPT

One who has achieved the highest mastery of mystical and/or occult powers. An adept is particularly proficient or knowledgeable about the nature and laws of the universe.

Those who wish to become adepts may become apprentices, or ‘chelas’, to adepts, in which case the latter are known as masters. The activities of adepts are diverse. They can control forces both in the spiritual and physical worlds and prolong their lives for centuries. Adepts can use their wisdom both for good or for evil purposes. The term ‘adept’ was also employed by medieval alchemists to denote a master of their sciences.

AEROMANCY

One of the oldest forms of divination, practised by the priests of Babylonia, aeromancy is a method of divination by observing atmospheric - air or sky - phenomena, such as wind currents, cloud shapes and formations, comets and falling stars. Examples include the Bethlehem star heralding the birth of Christ and the appearance of Halley’s comet around the time of the battle of Hastings, supposedly foretelling the victory of William the Conqueror. There are several different forms of aeromancy, including austromancy (wind divination); ceraunoscopy (observing thunder and lightning); chaomancy (aerial visions); and meteormancy (meteors, especially shooting stars).

AFFIRMATION

A positive phrase or sentence that through frequent repetition uses the power of your mind to create a truth or reality. Even though you may not be consciously aware that you are doing it, everyone uses affirmations (i.e., positive self-talk) to boost confidence and motivation at some time or other.

Affirmations are powerful verbal messages repeated over and over again, so that they become embedded in your brain and create new pathways of thought and action. In other words they provide your intuition with new avenues for insight and opportunity and prepare your mind for change. Once the mind is prepared for change and new opportunities it is thought to be far easier to create those opportunities.

Using your will power

Affirmations are easy to do and can be beneficial if used correctly. It takes three to four weeks for the mind to absorb new information, so you need to be patient and persistent.

Think about what you want to improve in your life. Are you happy with your job? Do you want to stop smoking? Would you like to lose some weight? Choose your goal, but make sure it is achievable.

Let’s say you want to lose weight. You now work out a statement suggesting that you are reaching your goal. Be careful how you word it though, because if you say something like ‘I don’t want to be fat anymore’, your mind will focus on being fat, not on your goal, which is weight loss. But if you say something like ‘I want to be thin’, this is too vague for your mind to assess. However, something like ‘I am going to lose six pounds this month’ gets you in touch with the end result and is specific at the same time. It gives your mind something constructive to work with. Now write this affirmation down, and repeat it to yourself several times a day for at least three to four weeks.

Of course, besides affirming the statement, you also need to use your common sense and take the necessary steps to help you towards your goal, such as regular exercise and healthy eating if weight loss is your goal. Remember, the mind is a powerful tool, and affirmations can be a key factor in success because they help replace sabotaging negative self-talk with optimism, goal-setting and positive resolve.

Affirmations are typically used by men and women in sport and business but they can be useful for any career or life skill where goal setting and mental strength is crucial. Psychotherapists, motivational speakers and life coaches tend to use them as tools to help empower their clients and build self-esteem, and alternative medicine therapists tend to suggest the use of affirmations to encourage the body’s self-healing process.

AFRIT

The Afrit comes from Arabian and Muslim folklore and is alleged to be a spirit demon who rises up like smoke from the spilt blood of murder victims. They are said to inspire unspeakable terror and, because of the unjust, brutal nature of their demise, they are ruthless towards their victims. Sometimes they are said to appear in the form of desert whirlwinds, and it has also been said that they can take on a form similar to the Christian Devil, with hooves for feet and horns on their head. Driving a new nail into the bloodstained ground is thought to prevent their formation.

AFTERLIFE

Afterlife (also known as life after death) is the continuation of existence beyond this world or after death. There are various sources for this belief, but the one most relied upon is the testimony of individuals who claim to have knowledge of the afterlife because they have:

Died and been sent back to life (near-death experience).

Visited the afterlife when they were unconscious (out-of-body experience).

Seen the afterlife in a vision. Remembered the afterlife from a previous existence (reincarnation).

Been visited by a representative of the afterlife such as angels or spirits.

Believe the testimonal of shamans or intermediaries between the living and the dead.

Almost every society known has some belief in survival after death, although these conceptions vary enormously. Some common ones are: a continuation of life with little change in the nature of existence; spiritual improvement through a series of stages, planes or levels; a series of lives and deaths before ultimate extinction; or the afterlife as a place of reward or punishment based on faith or good deeds on earth and bodily resurrection at some future date.

Christian folk traditions suggest that the souls of good people are converted into angels upon death. However, a more orthodox reading of scripture suggests that the dead are not transformed until the Last Judgement, which is followed by a resurrection of the faithful.

Christian ideas heavily influenced nineteenth-century spiritualist authors like Andrew Jackson Davis, who dictated his lectures in a trance. Davis suggested that after their death, humans continue their spiritual progress through a series of spiritual spheres until they reach the seventh sphere and become one with the infinite vortex of love and wisdom.

Other cultures believe in a land of the dead and locate it in various places: for the Zulus, for example, it is under the earth, an underworld mirror of this world. For the ancient Egyptians, the afterlife was very important. The believer had to act well during his or her lifetime and know the rituals in the Egyptian Book of the Dead to gain entry into the underworld. If the corpse of the pharoah was properly embalmed and entombed, the deceased would accompany the sun god on his daily ride. Other societies believe in universal-ism, which holds that all will be rewarded regardless of what they have done or believed, while still others consider the afterlife less important compared to the here and now.

Another afterlife concept, found among Hindus and Buddhists, is reincarnation, either as animals or as humans. Followers of both traditions interpret events in our current life as consequences of actions taken in previous lives. Some traditions believe in personal reincarnation, whereas others believe that the energy of one’s soul is recycled into other living things as they are born.

Those who practice spiritualism believe in the possibility of communication between the living and the dead. Some societies distinguish between the ghost, which travels to the land of the dead, and a different part of the spirit, which reincarnates. The ghost part of spirit is thought to be strong three or four days after death, and therefore various rituals are performed to discourage the ghost from returning to haunt the living.

AGE OF AQUARIUS

Term used to describe a new age of thinking in Western culture based on the astrological calculation of the Precession of the Equinoxes. According to Western astrologers, the Age of Aquarius is one of the 12 great ages, corresponding to the 12 signs of the zodiac, each lasting approximately 2,000 years.

Each of the 12 ages is thought to be characterized by particular cultural moves in society, thought and religion. Astrologers believe that for the past 2,000 years or so our world has been in the Age of Pisces, characterized by disillusionment and sceptisicm, and that we are now experiencing the dawn of a new age: the Age of Aquarius.

The shift to Aquarius is believed to herald revolutionary change, because Aquarius is the sign of knowledge, scientific breakthroughs and discoveries, but many think that there could be a price to pay for this overemphasis on intellect and science - the breakdown of old domestic structures. Although Aquarius can be tolerant and humanitarian, suggesting the possibility of a golden age, the Aquarian need for total freedom without interference may be uncompromising and dangerous.

No astrological organization or official body has agreed upon a specific date to begin the Aquarian Age: some say that it began as early as 1904, others that it begins around the year 2000, and still others say that it will not start until as late as 2160. The 2160 date was calculated by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and coincides with various predictions of cataclysms which are to be followed by 2,000 years of peace. The disagreement in dates is due to the backward movement of the vernal equniox through the zodiac. The vernal equniox takes around 26,000 years to make a complete cycle in the zodiac, but a gradual slipage creates a retrograde of one zodiac sign every 2,160 years - some astrologers take this into account, others do not.

Edgar Cayce, called by some the father of New-Age thinking, believed that the transition between the ages of Pisces and Aquarius overlap and the implications of this wouldn’t be fully understood until the twenty-first century.

Theories about the Age of Aquarius vary as much as the date. Some believe it is a time of new beginnings while others associate it with times of ending such as Armageddon or Judgement Day. This disparity may be because Aquarius is ruled by two planets: Saturn, the symbol of time and endurance, and Uranus, the symbol of revolution. Generally, though, the Age of Aquarius is thought to be an era of enlightenment, joy, accomplishment, peace and spiritual empowerment.

The term Age of Aquarius’ was popular in the 1960s, a period of great upheaval, social change and interest in spritual development and alternative lifestyles. The great conjunction of Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn on 5 February 1962 was said to be a sign of the dawning of a new age, and Age of Aquarius’ has since been supplanted by the term New Age.

AGENT

A ghost or spirit that is seen by someone. It can also be used to describe the energy that is causing a haunting. For example, in a poltergeist situation it is often thought that a child at the age of puberty is somehow causing the disturbances through some form of telekinetic projection. In this case, the child is considered the agent.

ALLUROMANCY

A form of zoomancy also known as ‘feliomancy’. It is the art of predicting the future by observing the movements of cats, especially the way they jump and where they land. For example, a cat washing its face and ears could indicate rain; a cat washing one ear three times might suggest visitors from the direction in which the cat is looking; a cat following you could mean you will come into money, etc. Since ancient times cats have been associated with mystery and the occult, so it is hardly surprising that diviners used them to search for clues to the future.

AIR

One of the four natural elements harnessed in magical rites and associated with the Zodiac signs of Gemini, Libra and Aquarius. Air symbolizes communication and intellectual pursuits as well as new beginnings. In magical use, the element of air corresponds to the East and the colour yellow. It is one of the two elements that are associated with the masculine (the other being fire). Its ritual tool is the athame and/or sword, although in some traditions it is the wand. Its symbol is an equilateral triangle, with its point pointing upwards and a horizontal line passing through the centre. In Wicca an air elemental is one of the four spirits that energize a spell and help bring the spell-caster’s wishes into being.

AKASHA

In Buddhism and Hinduism, akasha is the all-pervasive life force, a universal medium. It fits all space and penetrates all matter. It is everything, and everything is in it.

Hindu philosophy interprets the akasha as the ether, the fifth element that permeates the universe, acting as an agent through which electromagnetic forces operate. In the practice of Yoga, the akasha is one of the three universal principles, along with prana (breath of life) and creative mind; the three are all sources of psychic power. From akasha comes will, which makes anything possible.

In Buddhism the akasha is space, both space that is bound to the material world and space that is infinite. Madame Blavatsky, co-founder of the Theosophical Society, introduced this notion to the West and compared the akasha to other forms of the universal life force, such as the sidereal light of the Rosicrucians, the Hebrew ruah or moving spirit and the quin-tessance or luminous fifth element, invisible to humans, which binds the other four elements. Blavatsky suggested that the akasha forms the world soul, or anima mundi, and produces mesmeric operations of nature.

AKASHIC RECORDS

Akashic is a Sanskrit word meaning the fundamental etheric substance of the universe. According to Theosophy, the Akashic Records, or Book of Life, is extrasensory information that exists in another dimension, like the ultimate cosmic library. The records contain information on all world events and all thoughts and deeds that have taken place or will take place on earth. They may be read only by adepts. Rudolf Steiner, for example, claimed to have consulted the Akashic Records for his descriptions of Atlantis. Edgar Cayce also claimed to have seen the Book of Life. Some psychics say they consult the Akashic Records through clairvoyance or during out-of-body experiences.

The Akashic Records are also called the Universal Memory of Nature, and it is thought that everyone has an inherent ability to see his or her own book and all the things they have done or felt in life. It is simply a matter of developing the psychic ability.

The process of consulting the Records is described by psychics as like visiting an enormous library and looking up information in books. Some say they are greeted by doorkeepers or spirit guides who assist them in finding the correct information. The books are kept in rows, line upon line, stack upon stack, corridor upon corridor. Some books are charred, turned up at the edges and blackened, as if they have been pulled out of a fire, some are beautifully illuminated scrolls, and others are embossed in gold leaf with pages in rainbow colours. Yet others are bound in red leather with special emblems.

ALAMO

The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, is a landmark that is believed to be truly haunted. Originally a chapel built in 1718 by monks, the Alamo was later expanded into a fortress for Texans to use as a stronghold against the Mexicans in the battle over land rights. In March 1836 the President of Mexico, General Antonio López de Santa Anna, and 4,000 troops laid siege to the Alamo. The 11-day battle led to the deaths of almost all the 188 defenders of the Alamo and 1,600 Mexicans. The victorious General López ordered the bodies of the dead Texans to be dumped in a large grave and the Alamo to be torn to the ground. Legend has it that when the Mexicans tried to tear down the walls, ghostly hands extended to stop them and they fled in terror.