It has become a tradition for psychic reading to entice and engage the human mind for centuries by giving them a sneak peek into the future and giving them clues on how to maneuver through the complex world. These readings include other practices such as clairvoyance, astrology, the Tarot, and mediumship and are profound practices with a long historical as well as cultural background. Psychic reading is as old as human civilization and in this blog let us discuss how this psychic reading has evolved over the years.
Ancient Beginnings
Psychic readings can be considered as having a long and virtually unbroken history going back to prehistoric times. Some past societies believed in the existence of some people who could directly and impartially speak to the gods or the spirits and translate what they have received from the other world.
- Mesopotamia: It has been known that one of the first methods of determining fate or future was discovered in Mesopotamia and dates back to 4000 BCE. Thus, different types of extispicy, or divination by the examination of the liver of the sacrificial animals, and other forms of receiving omens, connected with the observation of the phenomena of nature, were practiced by the Mesopotamians.
- Ancient Egypt: People in ancient Egypt were deeply rooted in the other world and they valued oracles. The most known ancient was the Oracle of Amun at Siwa, where people came for consultation with the gods. Further, the interpretation of a dream was another element of the Egyptian lot and it was believed that they were messages from the gods.
- Ancient Greece: Greek civilization in this way played an important role in helping the advancement of psychic practices. These were priestess Pythia of the Oracle of Delphi who provided obscure messages from the gods. The Greeks also enhanced astrology noting that the heavens movement was about human affairs or fate. Philosophers of antiquity, including early distinguished philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle, started the thinking concerning the soul and its relation to the universe and established the foundation for subsequent psychic practices.
Mysticism and the Middle Ages
The medieval period saw the amalgamation of ancient knowledge with new mystical and religious influences.
- Early Christianity: Christians also practiced psychic activities in their day-to-day life that changed as Christianity expanded and so did the stand of the church. While some silence was considered forbidden the other type such as prophesying formed a part of the Christian mysticism. Religious prophets and holy people reported hearing from God and seeing specific communiqués, and these reports were regarded as noble.
- Medieval Europe: The Middle Ages became the period of intensive development of such sciences as astrology, alchemy, etc. Astrology quickly took its turn to be also significant, royal courts used the skills of the astrologer in the determination of political and personal fates. The Jewish early medieval period also saw the rise of the rather mysterious Kabbalistic traditions which mixed Jewish mysticism with other forms of esoteric traditions.
The Renaissance and Enlightenment
The extent of new knowledge that was rekindled during the Renaissance led to an interest in classical knowledge as well as the occult.
- Renaissance Humanism: Renaissance humanism also meant intellectual change and a new emphasis on the opportunities which the individual decided to seek in exploring the world. Several people plunged into society’s popularity for predicting capabilities, and his quatrains still inspire people nowadays.
- Alchemy and Hermeticism: During the Renaissance, Alchemy and Hermeticism were practiced as they were also related to spiritual and scientific aspects. Later, alchemists wanted to convert lead into gold and find the philosopher’s stone and considered these pursuits as symbolic at their core.
- The Enlightenment: The enlightening period was focused on the use of reason and rationalism hence the rejection of other forms of strange occurrences. Nevertheless, the fascination with psychical experiences was not lost, and those interested renamed them as ‘magnetism’ or ‘Mesmerism’ as a certain Franz Antal Mesmer took to experimenting with the effects of non-tangible forces on the human frame.
The Modern Era
The revival of the interest in psychic issues was observed in the 19th and 20th centuries due to the appearance of new movements and the development of technologies.
- Spiritualism: A new movement known as spiritualism emerged at that time. Followers of this movement saw themselves as intermediaries between the hereafter and the living. The Fox Sisters, who conducted séances and spirit rapping, are thought to have played a significant role in the growth of Spiritualism throughout Europe and the United States. As part of this movement, many people reported having psychic experiences, which led to many debates about their veracity.
- Psychical Research: Groups for Psychical Research in Britain were established. Using the empirical investigation of spiritualist experiences and psychic phenomena such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and mediumship, these groups set out to study psychic phenomena. The early pioneers, including Sir Oliver Lodge and William James, attempted to bring together spiritualism and scientific rationalism.
- New Age Movement: The second half of the twentieth century was marked by the appearance of the New Age with their freedom of expression spiritual and metaphysical traditions. Tarot, crystals, astrology, and psychics were used as methods of self-improvement and searching for one’s identity. Internet availability also extended the reach of psychic services where practitioners can get connected to the world in the procurement of those services.
Contemporary Perspectives
Modern psychic readings remain an occurrence that draws a lot of interest and quarrels. Another criticism which people strengthen the argument of skeptics is the absence of empirical proof for the existence of psychic abilities. But millions of people get consolation, orientation, and self-realization in psychical procedures. Scientists aiming to conduct studies under the recently emerging area of study, parapsychology, are all trying to investigate such occurrences, and people’s desire to seek psychic readings remains high.
A brief background of psychic readings encompasses the mystical field of foretelling and other related matters. Every society, starting from the reigns of the ancient Greek oracle, up to the spiritualists in the Victorian period and the psychics of the present day, has continued to seek ways and means of contacting the other world. As a definition or an interesting curiosity, psychic readings do not exclude the human race from its continuous search for life’s enigmas.