Who You Gonna Call? Your Guide to Spiritual Readings!
Understanding the Difference Between Psychics, Mediums, Channelers, Intuitives, Empaths, Sensitives, and Divination Readers.
Bob Olson is the host of Afterlife TV, author of Answers About The Afterlife and The Magic Mala, and founder of BestPsychicDirectory.com. You’re reading Bob Olson Connect, where you get to read his articles before they become books.
The Difference Between Psychics and Mediums
Psychics (also known as intuitives) receive messages from Universal Energy, what some people call the quantum field, which includes your aura. This ability is best used for guidance and direction. If you’re at a crossroads in your life and trying to decide which road to take, a psychic can give you information to help you make that decision.
The primary purpose of psychics is to confirm what our intuitions are telling us so that we learn to trust our inner wisdom. If a psychic can help us do that, they’ve done an excellent job.
Mediums receive messages from spirits, including deceased loved ones, spirit guides, ascended masters, and angels. Their ability is best for spirit communication.
The primary purpose of mediums is to provide evidence that our deceased loved ones are in spirit and at peace in the afterlife. In this way, mediums help comfort and heal our grief, and they teach us not to fear death.
Early in my investigation, it was said that all mediums are also psychics (meaning that they have both abilities), but psychics are not mediums (meaning they have only psychic abilities). However, in the last two decades of my research, I’ve come to recognize that this discrepancy between psychics and mediums isn’t accurate.
Due to the popularity of mediumship (spirit communication) in the late 1990s, I know dozens of psychics who have also become excellent mediums. The evidence suggests that people with psychic abilities are also predisposed to mediumistic abilities. However, this doesn’t mean that all psychics will be good at spirit communication. It’s equally valid that not all mediums are good at using their psychic ability, either. Most people tend to be better at one or the other, even if they are pretty good at their secondary ability.
Think of psychics and mediums the same way you might think of family lawyers and tax lawyers or general physicians and cardiologists. You can certainly go to your family lawyer about your taxes, and he’ll be able to help you to a point. But you’d get better service regarding your taxes if you went to a tax lawyer. Similarly, you could see your general physician about your heart, but she'll send you to a cardiologist if you need more specialized knowledge.
There are even specialties within these terms, such as animal communicators. Psychic animal communicators can tune into your living pet, and medium animal communicators can communicate with your deceased pet. In most cases, practitioners don’t emphasize the distinction and call themselves animal communicators (for living and deceased pets).
What Are Channelers?
Channelers (often called channels) are mediums with a specialty. They focus on communicating with spirit guides, ascended masters, and angels. Traditionally, channelers channel messages from advanced spirits to communicate spiritual wisdom about life, humanity, and spirituality.
While a channel can work with a single person, it is most common that channels deliver messages from these advanced-level spiritual beings in front of a group of people. After all, this information is about higher wisdom that affects everyone, not just a single person.
Many channelers work with the same higher-level spirit or a group of spirits their entire life. For instance, Jane Roberts, who channeled the Seth books, communicated with Seth. When communicating with a “group” of higher beings (often called nonphysical entities), channelers commonly refer to them by one name, such as Abraham, the Group, the Committee, or the Council. Paul Selig, who channeled The Book of Knowing and Worth, refers to his group of higher beings as “the guides.”
If you’re seeking to communicate with deceased loved ones in spirit, you’ll want to use a medium. You'll want to use a channeler to communicate with one or more advanced spirits for universal wisdom.
What Are Intuitives, Empaths, and Sensitives?
Anyone who uses their intuition to give a reading is an intuitive, which is why we now have intuitive coaches, intuitive astrologers, and intuitive counselors. These people are using the word “intuitive” in place of the word “psychic.” Yet, this is informative for us because who doesn’t want a coach or counselor with a strong intuitive ability?
On a similar note, we also have medical intuitives. Medical intuitives typically help you identify areas of the body that are out of balance. These are energetic imbalances. Medical intuitives do not replace doctors (although many assist doctors) and do not diagnose the same way a doctor would. Their role is to locate areas of the body where subtle energy disturbances often lead to pain or illness.
Empaths and sensitives are two terms for the same ability. These people have highly developed psychic abilities, specifically identifying what other people are feeling. Strictly speaking, psychics use these alternative terms to label themselves because they think the term more accurately describes their ability. They feel what their clients are feeling.
My friend Paul Selig is well-known as a channel and gives empathic readings. I’ve had a few of these empathic readings with him, and they are mind-blowing. Paul uses his ability as an empath to “tune into” your essence, thereby identifying the root of your wants, needs, and issues.
These terms can be confusing in the psychic arena because even psychics often get these terms wrong. A few psychics may call themselves an empath, sensitive, or channel merely to stand out from the crowd rather than just calling themselves a psychic. While it may not be accurate, they might do it for marketing purposes, which is why it’s important that you know the difference and have clarity before you schedule an appointment.
What Are Divination Readers?
Divination readers use “tools” to give psychic readings or tell your future. If you read my article on my first tarot reading, you’ll recognize that the tarot deck is a tool used for psychic insight and guidance. The tarot deck is the most common divination tool in the United States and is used by both professional readers and people who want to give themselves a reading.
Other tools include tea leaves, runes, I Ching coins, crystals, crystal balls, scrying mirrors, pendulums, spirit boards or talking boards (Ouija), and dowsing rods.
Divination is typically not about spirit communication; therefore, mediums generally don’t use them in spirit communication readings. Divination is more about using tools for psychic readings and future predictions. While some divination readers depend on their tools of choice and use them strictly, intuitively gifted divination readers use their tools as a guide to stimulate their intuition. In this way, they begin with a tarot deck (or other tool) and then use their intuitive ability to finish the reading.
What Type of Reader Do You Want?
Given this basic understanding, here’s a quick guide to help you choose the proper reader for your wants and needs.
GUIDANCE: If you’re seeking advice or insight to help you navigate life, get a reading with a psychic or tarot reader (or other divination reader). If you’re seeking guidance to help you with a living pet, a reading with an animal communicator who works with the living is your choice.
SPIRIT COMMUNICATION: If you seek to communicate with deceased loved ones now in spirit, get a reading with a medium. Some mediums offer animal communication if you want to speak with a deceased pet.
WISDOM: If you’re seeking wisdom about life, humanity, and spirituality, attend a workshop with a channeler (channel).
IDENTIFYING CORE ISSUES: If you’re out of touch with your core wants and needs, an empathic or sensitive reading might help you determine what is troubling you. If you’re having difficulty identifying a physical ailment or pain, a reading with a medical intuitive might be helpful.
* IMPORTANT NOTE: Many practitioners offer more than one type of reading, so you must inform the reader what kind of reading you seek (now that you know the difference). Don’t assume that the reader will know you want to communicate with your deceased parent if they also offer psychic readings. Tell them, “I want to communicate with loved ones in spirit.” Or say, “I want a psychic reading to gain insight into a problematic relationship.” Communicating your needs to the practitioner is always best.
As you know, I’ve been the founder and owner of Best Psychic Directory since 2007. Here, you can locate hundreds of legitimately gifted psychics and mediums. My directory is designed to help you find credible and reputable psychics, mediums, tarot readers, medical intuitives, and animal (pet) communicators. You can also get a reading without making an appointment on our Instant Readings page. Now that you know the difference between all these terms, you’re better prepared to choose the best reader for you.
With love,
Bob
PS, In case you missed my email announcement Saturday, my new book, Insight from Hindsight: Stories That Reveal What Life Is Trying to Teach You, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook.
You may have read some of these stories here on Bob Olson Connect. I couldn’t be happier to have this collection of stories in a book because many of you have told me what a great gift it’ll be. These stories teach you how to identify the messages life is trying to send you via your everyday experiences. You can read Saturday’s email here or read about the book on Amazon here.
