Absent Healing
Healing
that takes place when the healer is not in direct contact with the person to be
healed.
Absent Sitter Index
A
person, not present during a sitting, on whose behalf readings are given.
Acupuncture
Traditional
Chinese medical practice that involves sticking needles into specific locations
on the body.
Agent
Person
who attempts to communicate information to another in an ESP experiment. A subject in a psychokinesis
experiment. A person who is the focus
of poltergeist activity.
Akashic Records
"Memories"
of all experiences since the beginning of time, believed by some mystical
doctrines to be stored permanently in a spiritual substance (Akasha).
Alien Abduction Experience
Reported
experiences of being abducted by alien creatures, often into spacecraft.
Abductees often experience lost time and suffer loss of memory. When memories
are recovered, often using hypnotic regression, abductees may report that
surgical operations were performed on them.
Alpha Rhythm
Electrical
activity in the brain (about 10 cycles per second) associated with a state of
mental relaxation.
Altered State of Consciousness
(ASC)
A
term used to refer to any state of consciousness that is different from
"normal" states of waking or sleeping. ASCs include hypnosis, trance,
ecstasy, psychedelic and meditative experience. ASCs may not necessarily have
paranormal features.
Ancestor Worship
Religious
practices involving the veneration of dead ancestors.
Angels Index
Benevolent
spiritual beings that help people in need.
Animal Magnetism
A
term coined by F.A. Mesmer to refer to a putative force or fluid capable of
being transmitted from one person to another, producing healing effects.
Animal Mutilation
Refers
to cases in which animal corpses (often cattle) have been found with bizarre
injuries that do not seem to have a normal explanation in terms of illness,
accident or action of predators. Cuts and injuries often appear to have been
carried out with surgical precision. Typically the corpse is drained of blood.
Certain body parts may be absent
Animal Psi
Paranormal
abilities exhibited by animals.
Animism
Religious
practices based on the belief that all living things and natural objects have
their individual spiritual essence or soul.
Announcing Dream
A
dream believed to announce an individual's rebirth.
Anomalous Experience
A
general term referring to unusual experiences that cannot be explained in terms
of current scientific knowledge.
Anomalous Phenomena
Natural
phenomena that cannot be explained in terms of current scientific knowledge.
Anpsi
See
Animal Psi
Apparition
A
visual appearance (cf. hallucination), often of a person or scene, generally
experienced in a waking or hypnopompic state.
Apport
A
physical object which appears in a way that cannot be explained (seeming to
come from nowhere). Apports are often associated with the séance room and
physical mediumship.
Artifact
In
parapsychology, false evidence of paranormal phenomena, due to some extraneous
normal influence.
ASC
See
altered state of consciousness.
Astral Body
A
term used by occultists, spiritualists and theosophists to refer to a supposed
"double" of the person's physical body. The astral body is believed
to be separable from the physical body during astral projection (out of body
experience) and at death.
Astral Projection
A
term used by occultists, spiritualists and theosophists for the out of body
experience. It is believed to result when the astral body separates from the
physical body.
Astrology
A
theory and practice which attempts to identify the ways in which astronomical
events are correlated with events on earth (e.g., with an individual's
personality and biography, or with social and political trends).
Atavism
Re-emergence
of ancestral characteristics; a genetic throwback.
Augury
Divination.
Aura
A
field of energy believed by some to surround living creatures. Certain
clairvoyants claim to be able to see the aura (generally as a luminous, colored
halo).
Automatic Writing
The
ability to write intelligible messages without conscious control or knowledge
of what is being written.
Automatism
Physical
activities (e.g., arm movements, writing, drawing, musical performance) that
occur without the automatist's conscious control or knowledge.
Autoscopy
Looking back at one's own body from a
position outside of the body.
Ba
Ancient
Egyptian concept of a person's essence, believed to be immortal.
Banshee
In
Gaelic belief, a female entity who heralds a death by groaning and screaming.
Bardo Index
In
Tibetan Buddhism, an intermediate state of existence, usually referring to the
state between life and rebirth.
Basic Technique
Term
used in card-guessing tests of clairvoyance, in which the top card of the deck
is placed to one side after each guess.
Billet Reading
Procedure
in which a question is secretly written on a piece of paper, which is folded or
sealed in an envelope, and handed to the psychic who attempts to answer the
question. Various trickery can be employed by fraudulent psychics and
mentalists.
Bilocation
Being
(or appearing to be) in two different places at the same time.
Biofeedback
A
general term for techniques that involve giving a person information about
their current physiological state
Bio-PK
Psychokinetic
effects on biological processes.
Black Art
Conjuring
technique of concealing objects using black covers against a black background.
Also used by fraudulent mediums.
Black Magic
Magical
spells or rituals practiced with the intention of harming others.
Blind
An
experimental control in which subjects are not informed of certain key features
of the experiment. Also used to refer to a procedure where a judge is asked to
compare targets and responses without knowing which responses were made to
which targets.
Blind Matching (BM)
An
identical procedure to open matching, except that the key cards are unseen by
the subject.
Book Test
A
communication in which the sitter is asked to look at a specific book and page
in order to receive a significant message. An effect in which the psychic or
mentalist divines the words written on a particular page of a book.
Cabinet
A box
or curtained enclosure in which a physical medium is secured and from which
various phenomena may manifest (e.g., lights, objects moving, instruments
played). Certain stage magicians can simulate this procedure with great effect.
Call
Response
made by a subject in a card guessing or other ESP test.
Candomble
A
Brazilian spiritist religion.
Card Guessing
An
experimental test for ESP in which subjects guess the identity of a set of
cards.
Cartomancy
Fortune
telling using cards. See also tarot.
Cerebral Anoxia
Lack
of oxygen to the brain, often causing sensory distortions and hallucinations.
Sometimes used to explain features of the near-death experience.
Chance
Random,
unpredictable influences on events.
Channeling
Receiving
messages and inspiration from discarnate entities. See also medium.
Charm
A
spell or object possessing magic power.
Christian Science Index
A
religious healing movement founded by Mary Baker Eddy. Rejects orthodox medical
practice.
Cipher Test
A
coded message left by a person who intends to communicate the cipher after
death.
Circle
A
group of people who hold séances.
Clairaudience
The
paranormal obtaining of information by hearing sounds or voices. See also
clairvoyance, clairsentience.
Clairsentience
An
archaic term that refers to the paranormal obtaining of information using
faculties other than vision or hearing. Cf. clairaudience, clairvoyance,
empathy, and intuition.
Clairvoyance
A
general term that refers to the paranormal obtaining of information about an
object or event. In modern usage, this does not necessarily refer to obtaining
information visually.
Clairvoyant Medium
Or
clairvoyant. A person who obtains information paranormally (often by spirit
communication) without the need to enter into a trance state. Cf. trance
medium.
Closed Deck
A set
of cards used in a card-guessing test where each card appears a fixed number of
times. Statistical analysis of research data using a closed deck differs from
statistical analysis of data using an open deck.
Coincidence
The
occurrence, within a short space of time, of two or more meaningfully related
events and without any apparent causal connection between them. Coincidences
are sometimes bizarre and extraordinarily improbable.
Cold Reading
A
reading given with no prior knowledge of the sitter. Often a mixture of very
general statements, which could apply to anyone, together with inferences, made
from cues presented by the sitter.
Collective Apparition
An
apparition seen simultaneously by more than one person.
Collective Unconscious
C.G.
Jung to refer to a level of unconscious thought and experience shared
collectively by humans.
Communication
In
mediumship, a message purported to be from a discarnate entity.
Communicator
A discarnate
entity from which the medium receives messages.
Confederate
A
person who secretly provides information to a fraudulent psychic or mentalist.
Conjuring
Using
trickery to simulate paranormal effects, generally for the purpose of
entertainment.
Contact Mind Reading
A
technique simulating telepathy, in which the "mind reader" (who
generally holds a hand or arm) responds to slight muscle movements produced
unconsciously by the person whose mind is apparently being read.
Control
In
experimental parapsychology a procedure undertaken in order to ensure that the
experiment is conducted in a standard fashion and so that results are not
unduly influenced by extraneous factors.
Control Group
A
group of people whose performance is compared with that of experimental
subjects.
Corn Circle
Circular
(or more elaborate) formations found in growing crops, most commonly in
Southern Britain. Sometimes they are associated with UFO sightings. Many
formations appear to have been intelligently created and to have some symbolic
meaning. Despite several "confessions" made by various individuals
and groups, the crop circle mystery remains unsolved.
Correlation
An
association between two or more events or variables.
Correlation Coefficient
A
mathematical index of the degree of association between two or more measures.
Cosmic Consciousness
A
blissful experience in which the person becomes aware of the whole universe as
a living being.
Coven
A
group of witches
Crisis Apparition
An
apparition in whom a person is seen within a few hours of an important crisis
such as death, accident or sudden illness.
Cross-correspondence
Separate
items of information, received independently by two or more mediums, which make
sense only when pieced together.
Cryptomnesia
Knowledge
(acquired in normal ways) that may be revealed without the person remembering
its source. Such memories may falsely appear to be paranormal revelations.
Sometimes cryptomnesia is used as an explanation for apparently paranormal
experiences such as xenoglossy or past-life memories.
Crystal Gazing
Staring
into a reflecting surface (e.g., mirror, glass, crystal, liquid) in order to
obtain paranormal information. Also known as scrying.
Cumberlandism
See
contact mind reading.
Curse
Words
spoken or written in order to influence others paranormally, causing them harm.
Daemon (Daimon)
A
guardian spirit who communicates inspiration and advice.
Death
Generally
understood to be the extinction of an organism's life. Many doctrines assert
some form of mental or spiritual survival of physical death.
Deathbed Experience
A
dying person's awareness of the presence of dead friends or relatives.
Decline Effect
A
decrease in performance on a Psi test when the test is repeated.
Deja Experience
Deja Vu
A
person's feeling that current events have been experienced before.
Delta
A
term used to refer to any kind of anomalous experience.
Dematerialization
The
paranormal fading or disappearance of a physical object.
Demonic Possession
Possession
by evil spirits.
Deport
The
paranormal movement of objects out of a secure enclosed space.
Dice Test
Experimental
techniques for investigating psychokinesis, in which a subject attempts to
influence the fall of dice.
Direct Voice
A
voice heard in a séance, which does not seem to emanate from any person. The
voice may seem to come out of thin air, or from a trumpet used specifically for
this purpose.
Discarnate Entity
A
spirit or non-material entity. Often used to refer to the personality of a
deceased individual.
Displacement
Responses
on a Psi test that correspond systematically to target other than the intended
one.
Dissociation
Activity
performed outside of normal conscious awareness, or mental processes that
suggest the existence of separate centers of consciousness.
Divination
Practices
involving the interpretation of signs or symbols that seek to obtain oracular
knowledge of events. Examples of divinatory practices are geomancy, tarot, I
Ching, sortilege, and reading tealeaves.
Divining Rod
A
forked rod (or sometimes a pair of L-shaped rods) used in dowsing.
Doppelganger
A
mirror image or double of a person.
Double
A duplicate
of one's own body.
Double Blind
An
experimental procedure in which neither the subject nor experimenter is aware
of key features of the experiment.
Down Through Technique (DT)
An
experimental test for clairvoyance in which the person guesses the order of a
stacked series of target symbols (e.g., cards) from top to bottom.
Dowsing
The
paranormal detection of underground water or mineral deposits (or lost persons
and objects) using a divining rod or pendulum.
Drop-in Communicator
An
uninvited communicator who 'drops in' at a sitting.
Earthquake Effect
A
phenomenon produced by the physical medium D.D. Home, involving the room
shaking as if there was an earthquake.
Ecstasy
An
altered state of consciousness in which the person experiences great rapture
and loss of self-control.
Ectoplasm
A
semi-fluid substance exuded by a physical medium from which materializations
may form.
EEG (Electro-encephalography)
A
method of recording variations of electrical activity in the cortex of the
brain.
Electronic Voice Phenomena
(EVP)
Elemental Spirit
A
spirit associated with one of the classical four elements (fire, earth, air and
water).
Elongation
Paranormal
extension of the physical body, reported in some mystics and physical mediums.
Empath
Someone
who shows considerable empathy, especially of the apparently psychic type.
Empathy
The
ability to understand the experience or emotional state of another person or
animal. Often used to refer to an apparently psychic ability to experience
another person's sensations, pain or emotions.
Entity
See
discarnate entity.
ESP
See
Extrasensory Perception.
ESP Cards
See
Zener Cards.
Etheric Body
Similar
to astral body.
Evil Eye
Alleged
ability of some people to harm others by looking at them.
EVP
Electronic
Voice Phenomena.
Evocation
The
summoning of (often evil) spirits using a magical incantation or ritual. Cf.
invocation.
Exorcism
A
religious or quasi-religious rite to drive out evil spirits.
Experiment
A
test carried out under controlled conditions.
Experimental Group
A
group of subjects who undergo a specific experimental procedure. Often results
from this group are compared with those of a control group.
Experimental Parapsychology
Para
psychological research involving experimental methods rather than survey
techniques or the investigation of spontaneous cases.
Experimenter
The
person who conducts the experiment.
Experimenter Effect
Influence
that the experimenter's personality or behavior may have on the results of an
experiment.
Extradimensional
Originating
outside our normal space-time reality.
Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
Paranormal
acquisition of information. Includes clairvoyance, telepathy and precognition.
Extraterrestrial
Originating
beyond planet Earth. Not normally considered to be extra dimensional.
Fairy
Small,
human-like mythical being. May be benevolent or malevolent.
Faith Healing
Healing
that is associated with prayer or belief in Divine power.
False Awakening
An
experience in which a person believes he or she has woken up, but actually is
still dreaming.
Faraday Cage
A
wire mesh enclosure that provides a shield to radio waves.
Feedback
The
giving of information to subjects about their performance on a test.
Fire Walking
Walking
on red-hot coals, without pain or damage to the feet.
Flying Saucer
A
term, coined in 1947, to refer to unknown disk-like aerial objects, often
believed to be extraterrestrial spacecraft.
Focal Person
Person
who is at the center of poltergeist activity.
Forced-Choice Test
An
ESP test in which the subject guesses from a predetermined list of alternative
targets.
Fortean Phenomena
Strange
phenomena, especially those that challenge conventional scientific knowledge.
Named after the American researcher and writer Charles Fort. Fortean phenomena
include those generally considered paranormal, but also bizarre non-paranormal
events such as monsters and prodigies, extraordinary coincidences, and unusual
rains.
Fortune Telling
Various
practices which aim to divine future events.
Fraud
The
deliberate faking of paranormal phenomenon, generally for the purpose of
financial gain, psychological manipulation, or notoriety. Faking for the
purpose of entertainment (e.g., by stage magicians and mentalists) is not
normally classed as fraud.
Free-Response Test
An
ESP test in which the subject responds freely (does not choose from a fixed
list of targets). For example, the subject may write down or draw their
impressions, or may talk freely into a tape recorder. In order to assess the
accuracy of the responses, they are compared with various targets (including
the actual target) by a judge.
Ganzfeld
A
technique for investigating ESP in which the person experiences an absence of
patterned stimulation. This generally involves the subject wearing halved
table-tennis balls over the eyes while listening to hiss (white noise) through
headphones.
General Extrasensory
Perception (GESP)
ESP
in which it is unclear whether the results are due to clairvoyance, telepathy,
precognition or retrocognition.
Geomancy
A
system of divination involving the interpretation of lines or figures.
GESP
See
general extrasensory perception
Ghost
Popular
term for an experience believed to indicate the presence of the spirit of a deceased
person.
Gimmick
In
conjuring, any small concealed apparatus that is used to produce a magical
effect. Also used by fraudulent mediums.
Glossolalia
Unintelligible
speech generally uttered in a dissociated or trance state. Also known as
"speaking in tongues".
Guardian Angel
An
angel believed to protect the individual.
Guide
A
spirit who is believed to assist a person's spiritual journey.
Hallucination
A
sensory experience that does not correspond to physical reality.
Haunting
Paranormal
phenomena such as apparitions, unexplained sounds, smells or other sensations
that are associated over a lengthy period of time with a specific location.
Healer
Someone
who claims the power of healing.
Healing
Generally
indicates cures that cannot be explained in terms of accepted medical
principles.
Hex
An
evil spell or magical curse.
To
practice witchcraft.
Hit
A
response that accurately matches the target.
Hot Reading
A
reading given in which prior knowledge of the sitter has been obtained, often
using devious or fraudulent means.
Huna
An
Hawaiian religious practice involving clairvoyance, precognition, healing,
miracles and magic.
Hyperaesthesia
Exceptionally
acute sensory awareness.
Hypnagogic Imagery
Imagery
occurring in the hypnologic state (occurring while dropping off to sleep).
Hypnopompic Imagery
Imagery
occurring in the hypnopompic state (occurring while waking up).
Hypnosis
An
ASC involving a heightened degree of suggestibility..
I Ching
Ancient
Chinese "Book of Changes". It describes 64 hexagrams (patterns of 6
broken and unbroken lines), which are used in a divinatory practice involving
the throwing of yarrow stalks or coins.
Illusion
An
appearance that leads the person to draw-mistaken conclusions or a perceptual
trick.
Imagery
The
ability to perceive images in the mind. (Visual, auditory, tactile)
Immortality
Various
beliefs based on the assumption that some aspect of personal existence survives
death.
Incline Effect
An
increase in performance on a Psi test when the test is repeated.
Incorruptibility
Inexplicable
lack of decay in a corpse.
Indirect Voice
Mediumistic
phenomenon in which the discarnate entity appears to speak using the vocal
apparatus of the medium. Often the voice will sound very different from the
medium's normal voice.
Intuition
The
non-paranormal ability to grasp the elements of a situation or to draw
conclusions about complex events in ways that go beyond a purely rational or
intellectual analysis.
Invocation
Summoning
benevolent spiritual beings. Cf. evocation.
Jack: Archaic term applied to particularly
terrifying spirits.
Jack in Irons
The
ghost reported to haunt the back roads of the English county of Yorkshire.
Jack-O'-Lantern
A description the "will-o'-the-wisp",
"corpse candles", "iganis fatuus", or other forms of
spirits characterized as a luminous ball of light. The jack-o'-lantern was
believed to be a wandering soul, unable to find refuge in heaven or hell, which
would lead those foolish enough to follow them to their deaths.
Judge
Person
who compares targets and responses in an Psi experiment.
Ka
Ancient
Egyptian term for the double or astral body.
Karma
Hindu
and Buddhist ethical doctrine of "as one sows, so shall one reap".
Key Cards
Reference
cards used to indicate each target alternative in a card-guessing test.
Kirlian Photography
A
photographic method involving high frequency electric current, discovered by
S.D. & V. Kirlian in the Soviet Union. Kirlian photographs often show
colored halos or "auras" surrounding objects.
Kundalini
In
Yogic belief, a source of tremendous vital energy that may be stimulated by
various practices. Kundalini, or the "Serpent Power", is believed to
provide energy for paranormal phenomena.
Laying on of Hands
A
healing practice, in which the healer's hands are placed on or near the body of
the sick person.
Levitation
The
paranormal raising or suspension of an object or person.
Life Review
Flashback
memories of the whole of a person's life often associated with the near-death
experience.
Lucid Dreaming
Dreaming
in which the person is aware that the experience is a dream. Often associated
with feelings of aliveness and freedom, and with the ability to control dream
events.
Lucidity
An
early term for clairvoyance, most commonly Lucid dreaming.
Luminous Phenomena
The
experience of strange lights or glows, often around objects or people.
Lycanthropy
The
supposed magical transformation of a person into the form of a wolf. See also
shape-shifting, therianthropy, and werewolf.
Macro-PK
Psychokinetic
effects that can be directly observed rather than only inferred from
statistical analysis.
Magic
The
practices that aim to use paranormal or spiritual means to influence events.
Magician
A
person who practices magic.
Majority Vote Technique
An
ESP procedure in which several subjects guess a target (or one subject makes
several guesses). The most frequent guess is used as the response.
Mantra
A
sacred sound or sacred syllables used in meditation.
Matching
Refer
to preferential matching, matching tests.
Matching Tests
Card
guessing tests in which the subject uses key cards when making guesses. See
also blind matching, open matching, and screen touch matching.
Materialization
The
formation of a visible and tangible object or human shape during a séance.
Matrixing
see Pareidolia.
Mean Chance Expectation (MCE)
The
most likely chance score in a Psi test.
Medicine Man / Medicine Woman
A
witchdoctor or shaman.
Meditation
Mental
or physical-mental techniques, which aim to produce spiritually desirable
states of consciousness.
Medium
A
person believed to act as an intermediary between discarnate entities and the
living. See also clairvoyant medium, trance medium, mental mediumship, and
physical mediumship.
Mediumship
Activity
of a medium.
Mentalism
A
branch of conjuring involving the simulation of Psi.
Mental Mediumship
The
paranormal obtaining of information by a medium. Cf. physical mediumship.
Mesmerism
A
system of healing made popular by F.A. Mesmer, involving the induction of
trance states and the supposed transfer of animal magnetism.
Metal Bending
Psychokinetic
ability to bend metal objects.
Metamorphosis
See
shape shifting.
Metempsychosis
Another
term for reincarnation.
Micro-PK
Psychokinetic
effects that cannot be directly observed, but only inferred from the
statistical analysis of data.
Mind Reading
Refer
to telepathy.
Miracle
A
beneficial event attributed to supernatural or divine intervention.
Misdirection Index
Techniques
used by conjurers and mentalists to distract a person's attention or confuse
their thinking.
Mnemonist
A
person who has learned techniques that enable extraordinary feats of memory.
Morphic Resonance
According
to Rupert Sheldrake, a manner of referring to the way in which the
"morphogenetic field" of an object or organism may influence distant
fields.
Multiple Personality
A
psychiatric condition in which the person manifests two or more distinct and separate
personalities at different times. Cf. possession.
Mystic
A
person who has mystical experiences.
ASCs
involving experiences of ecstasy, unity, timelessness, loss of self, divine
revelation, etc.
Mysticism
Religious
or spiritual doctrines, which argue that the human mind or soul can directly
experience the divine.
Near-Death Experience (NDE)
Experiences
of people after they have been pronounced clinically dead, or been very close
to death. Typical features of the NDE are an OBE, life review, a tunnel
experience, light, coming to a boundary (marking death), seeing dead friends
and relatives, experiencing a loving or divine presence, and making a choice
(or being told) to return. Occasionally NDEs can be frightening and
distressing. NDEs often have profound effects on the person's later life.
Necromancy
Black
magic practices involving communicating with the dead.
Newspaper Test
(a) A
communication in which the spirit forecasts an item in a future day's
newspaper.
Null hypothesis
The
hypothesis that experimental results are due to chance.
Numerology
A
system of divination involving the interpretation of numbers.
OBE
See
out of body experience.
Object Reading
Occam's Razor
The
principle that we should always prefer the simplest explanation of events.
Occultism
Esoteric
systems of belief and practice that assume the existence of mysterious forces
and entities.
Omen
A
sign that foretells events.
One-Ahead Principle
In mentalism,
a procedure for sequentially revealing information where the revealing of one
item gives the mentalist the next answer. Also used by fraudulent clairvoyants.
OOBE
See
out of body experience.
Open Deck
A
series of cards used in a card-guessing test where each card is chosen randomly
and independently. This enables each target to be selected any number of times.
Statistical analysis of research data using an open deck differs from
statistical analysis of data using a closed deck.
Open Matching (OM)
A
card guessing procedure in which key cards are placed face up on the table. The
subject then places the unseen target cards in piles in front of each key card,
according to their guesses. See also blind matching.
Oracle
An
answer to a question, believed to come from the gods,
Also
a shrine at which these answers are given.
Ouija Board
A
board with letters and numbers on which messages are spelled out by
unconsciously moving (with the fingers) a glass or planchette.
Out
In
conjuring and mentalism, a convincing explanation for an apparent failure, or a
convincing alternative ending to an effect that has not worked as planned. Also
used by fraudulent clairvoyants and mediums.
Out of Body Experience (OBE,
OOBE)
A
fully conscious experience in which the person's center of awareness appears to
be outside of the physical body.
Palmistry
The
art of assessing a person's character and forecasting life events by examining
features of the hand. See also divination.
Paranormal
Beside
or beyond the normal. Inexplicable in terms of our ordinary understanding or
current scientific knowledge.
Paranormal Dream
Dreams
in which the dream imagery provides paranormal knowledge (e.g., ESP or
precognition).
Parapsychology
Term
that refers to the experimental and quantitative study of paranormal phenomena.
Now generally used instead of "psychical research" to refer to all
scientific investigation.
Pareidolia
(from Greek para- amiss, faulty, wrong + eidolon, diminutive of eidos appearance, form) is a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (usually an image) being mistakenly perceived as recognizable. Common examples include images of animals or faces in clouds, seeing the man in the moon, and hearing messages on records played in reverse.
Past-Life Memories
Mental
images that are believed to be memories of previous lives. Se
Past-Life Regression
A
technique of hypnosis involving regressing people to supposed previous lives.
See
Pendulum
An
object suspended by a thread. Movements of a pendulum are often used by dowsers
to locate objects or answer questions.
Percipient
Person
who receives impressions in an ESP test.
Phantasm A phantom or an
apparition.
Phenomenology
An
approach to research that aims to describe and clarify a person's own
experience and understanding of an event or phenomenon.
Phrenology
The
reading of character and mental ability from the shape of a person's skull.
Physical Mediumship
The
production of paranormal physical phenomena (lights, sounds, materialization,
elongation, levitation, etc.) by a medium. Physical mediumship often (but not
always) involves a state of trance. See also mental mediumship.
Picture Drawing
A
free-response ESP test in which the subject attempts to draw impressions of the
target.
Pilot Study
A
preliminary study, generally of modest scale.
PK
See
psychokinesis
Placebo Index
An
inactive treatment often given to a control group.
Placement Test
A
test for PK in which the subject attempts to influence the place in which dice
or other objects land.
Planchette
A
small platform on casters generally used with a Ouija board. Sometimes used
with an attached pencil to produce automatic writing.
Plant Psi Index
ESP
exhibited by plants.
Pocomania
A
Jamaican spiritist religion. Refer to Voodoo.
Poltergeist
German
word meaning "noisy or troublesome spirit". Poltergeist activity may
include unexplained noises, movements of objects, and outbreaks of fire,
floods, pricks or scratches to a person's body. Unlike hauntings, which are
associated with specific locations, poltergeists typically focus on a person
(the focal person or poltergeist agent) who is often a young child or
adolescent. Many physical mediums experienced poltergeist activity in their
childhood.
Possession
Refers
to cases in which a person's body is apparently taken over by another personality
or entity.
Prayer
Communication
with a higher being or spiritual power.
Precognition
The
paranormal awareness of future events. See also prediction, premonition,
prophecy.
Prediction
A
statement that claims to foretell future events.
Preexistence
Belief
that the personality or soul exists prior to birth.
Preferential Matching
Technique
in which a judge ranks a subject's free responses in terms of their similarity
to various possible targets.
Premonition
An
experience believed to foretell future events.
Presence
A
subjective feeling that a person, animal or discarnate entity is present.
Probability
The
likelihood that results in a test was due to chance.
Process research
Research
that aims to investigate factors affecting Psi.
Proof research
Research
that aims to demonstrate the existence of Psi.
Prophecy
(a) A
prediction, usually resulting from a sense of spiritual revelation.
The
ability to receive prophetic revelations.
Proxy Sitting
A
séance in which another person sits in on behalf of the person receiving a
communication.
Pseudo-Random Numbers
Numbers
generated by an electronic calculator or computer using a complex mathematical
algorithm that simulates a random process. Although the numbers generated are
essentially unpredictable, they are not strictly random. See also random
numbers, random event generator.
Psi
A
term used to encompass all paranormal abilities. Includes both ESP and PK
abilities.
Psi-Hitting
Significantly
better than chance performance on a Psi test.
Psi-Mediated Instrumental
Response (PMIR)
Theory
put forward by Rex Stanford that Psi activity is used to serve an organism's
needs.
Psi-Missing
Significantly
worse than chance performance on a Psi test. Psi missing is also evidence for
Psi, because a target can only be missed consistently if the person
"knows" what it is.
Psyche
Generally
refers to the mind.
Psychedelic
Literally
"revealing mind". A class of plants and drugs (e.g., peyote,
psilocybin, LSD) that can produce florid ASCs.
Psychic
A
person who exhibits Psi ability (also used as an adjective).
Psychical Research
Term
coined in the late 19th century to refer to the scientific study of the
paranormal.
Psychic Healing
Forms
of healing using psychic powers. See also laying on of hands, psychic surgery.
Psychic Photography
General
term used to refer to paranormal photographic images. See also Kirlian photography,
spirit photography, thoughtography.
Psychic Surgery Index
Actual
or simulated surgical procedures carried out by healers.
Psychokinesis (PK)
The
paranormal influence of the mind on physical events and processes.
Psychometry
Obtaining
paranormal knowledge using a physical object as a focus. Also known as object
reading.
Pyramid Power
Beliefs
that pyramid shapes can produce paranormal effects.
Qualitative Method
A
research method involving the collection of non-quantitative data (e.g., observations,
interviews, subjective reports, case studies). Cf. quantitative method.
Quantitative Method
A
research method involving the collection and statistical analysis of numerical
data. C
Radiesthesia
Theories
based on the assumption that living organisms emit some kind of radiation or
emanation that is capable of being detected using instruments or by dowsing.
Radionics
Use
of instruments to detect radiation from living organisms. See also
radiesthesia.
Random
Refers
to events that are, in principle, haphazard and unpredictable.
Random Event Generator (REG)
An
electronic device, which uses a random physical process (e.g., radioactive
decay) to generate random events or random numbers.
Random Number Generator (RNG)
See
random event generator.
Random Numbers
Numbers
generated in an unpredictable, haphazard sequence.
Random Number Tables
A
printed table of random numbers usually made up of several rows and columns of
computer-generated numbers. To use the table a starting value is chosen by
randomly selecting a row and column (e.g., by throwing a dice). Working through
the table using any previously chosen systematic rule then chooses successive
numbers. Suitable rules might be (1) moving horizontally to the right, skipping
alternate numbers, or (2) moving vertically down, selecting every fifth number.
The selected random numbers may then be used, for example, to determine target
sequences.
Raps
The
name given to unexplained knocking sounds associated with physical mediumship
and poltergeist activity.
Raudive Voices
Intelligible
voices recorded on magnetic tape under conditions of silence or white noise,
which are, heard only when the tape is played. A phenomenon discovered by
Konstantin Raudive.
Reading
Information
given by a psychic or medium to a sitter.
Rebirth
In
Buddhism, the belief that there is some continuity of mind from one life to the
next. Buddhism, however, does not accept the existence of the individual soul
and therefore does not view rebirth as the soul's literal re-incarnation.
Receiver
See
percipient.
Recurrent Spontaneous
Psychokinesis (RSPK)
A
technical term for poltergeist activity.
Regression
A
statistical technique that enables predictions to be made from a set of data or
a technique used in hypnosis, involving suggesting to hypnotized persons that
they are returning to an earlier time. Sometimes the regression occurs
spontaneously, without suggestion.
Reincarnation
The
belief that some aspect of a person's being survives death and can be reborn in
a new body at some future date. Reincarnation is often seen as a repeating
cycle of death and rebirth in which future lives are influenced by past and
present actions through the law of karma.
Remote Viewing
An
ESP procedure in which a percipient attempts to become aware psychically of the
experience of an agent who is at a distant, unknown target location.
Response
An
action made by a subject in an experiment.
Response Bias
Tendency
of a subject to prefer particular responses.
Retroactive Psychokinesis
Paranormal
influence that an agent can have on an experiment after it has been completed.
Retrocognition
Paranormal
knowledge of past events.
Ritual Magic
Magical
activity involving rites and ceremonies.
Run
A set
of trials in a Psi test.
Santeria
A
Cuban spiritist religion.
Skeptic
A
person inclined to discount the reality of the paranormal and to be critical of
parapsychological research. Generally seeks rational or scientific explanations
for the phenomena studied by parapsychologists.
Score
Number
of hits obtained by a subject in a Psi test.
Scoring
The
process of determining a subject's score.
Screen Touch Matching (STM)
A
card-guessing procedure in which the subject and experimenter sit on opposite
sides of a screen, which has a small gap at the bottom. Key cards are hung on
the screen in front of the subject (the faces may be seen or unseen).
Underneath each key card is a blank card that can be seen by both subject and
experimenter. The experimenter holds the target cards and the subject indicates
the guess on each trial by pointing to the corresponding blank card. The
experimenter then places the card in a pile on his or her side of the screen in
a position corresponding to that of the indicated blank card.
Scrying
See
crystal gazing.
Séance
A
mediumistic session.
Second Sight
Another
name for clairvoyance.
Sender
Another
name for agent.
Sensitive
Another
name for a psychic.
Sensory deprivation
Conditions
of greatly restricted sensory input.
Series
A
sequence of runs in a Psi experiment.
Serpent Power
See
Kundalini.
Shaman
A
witchdoctor or medicine (wo)man who communicates with spirits while in trance
and who has the power of healing. May also show other paranormal abilities.
Shape-Shifting
Paranormal
ability to assume the form of another person, an animal or other entity.
"Sheep"
Name
given to a subject in a Psi test who believes in the phenomenon.
Sheep-Goat Effect
Effect,
discovered by the parapsychologist Gertrude Schmeidler, in which
"sheep" score higher than mean chance expectation (MCE) on Psi tests,
while "goats" score lower than MCE.
Siddhis
Name
given to paranormal powers associated with the practice of Yoga.
Significance
Results
of an experiment are said to be statistically significant when they are very
unlikely to be due to chance (and hence, in a Psi test, are more likely to be
due to Psi). The chance probability is reported as the "significance
level".
Simultaneous Dream
A
dream whose elements correspond closely with those in the dream of another
person.
Sitter
A
person who has a session with a medium.
Sitting
A
séance.
Sixth sense Index
Popular
term for ESP.
Skeptic
See
sceptic.
Slate-Writing
Writing
that appears on a slate during a séance. Often produced by fraudulent mediums
and mentalists.
Sleep Paralysis
An
(often frightening) state of seeming to being awake but unable to move.
Somnambule
A
person who performs physical activity while asleep (e.g., sleep-walking).
A
person in a deep hypnotic state.
Sorcery
Black
magic
Sortilege
Divination
by lots.
Soul
The
spiritual element of a person, generally believed to be immortal.
Space Brothers
Extraterrestrial
entities, channeled by some mediums.
Speaking in Tongues
SPE
Subjective
paranormal experience.
Spectre
A
ghost or apparition.
Spell
Written
or spoken words believed to have magical power.
Spirit
A
discarnate entity, soul, Divine essence.
Spirit Communication
See
communication.
Spirit Cure
Healing
that is believed to result from the intervention of spirits.
Spiritism
See
spiritualism.
Spirit Photography
Photographs
of figures or faces, believed by some to be those of deceased persons. These
photographs are generally revealed as fraudulent.
Spiritualism (Spiritism)
Religious
doctrines that advocate communication between the living and the spirits of the
dead using a medium as intermediary.
Spontaneous Cases
Paranormal
phenomena that occur in everyday life, unsought and unexpected.
Spontaneous Human Combustion
(SHC) Index
Refers
to cases in which a badly burned human body has been discovered in
circumstances suggesting that the fire originated spontaneously in or on the
body of the victim.
Statistics
Mathematical
techniques for analyzing and interpreting numerical data.
Stigmata
Unexplained
markings on a person's body that correspond to the wounds of Christ.
Stimulus
See
target.
Subject
A
person whose Psi ability is being investigated.
Subjective Paranormal
Experience (SPE)
Or
Subjective Psi Experience. An experience that the person who has it believes to
be paranormal.
Subjective Psi Experience
(SPE)
See
subjective paranormal experience.
Subliminal Perception
Perceiving
without conscious awareness.
Super-ESP Hypothesis
The
suggestion that people are capable of unlimited ESP. The super-ESP hypothesis
is often presented as an alternative to the survival hypothesis in explaining
mediumistic phenomena (the medium is believed to obtain information using
super-ESP powers and not directly from the spirit of a deceased person).
Supernatural
Paranormal
Survey
A
method of data collection that involves interviewing a representative and often
large group of people.
Survival
The
belief that some aspect of the person lives on after death of the body.
Synchronicity
A
term used by C.G. Jung to refer to coincidental events that are meaningfully
but not causally connected.
Table-Tilting
Mysterious
movements of a table, usually occurring in a séance when groups of people place
their hands on the surface of the table. Often the movements are interpreted as
spirit communications. Also known as table turning or table-tipping.
Table-Turning
See
table tilting.
Target Index
The
object or event, which the subject attempts to perceive (ESP tests) or
influence (PK tests).
Tarot
A
special deck of cards used in fortune telling.
Telekinesis
Paranormal
movement of objects.
Telepathy
Paranormal
awareness of another person's experience (thoughts, feelings, etc.). In
practice it is difficult to distinguish between telepathy and clairvoyance. See
also ESP.
Teleportation
Paranormal
transportation of objects to a distant place.
Temporal Lobe Activity
Electrical
activity in the temporal lobes of the brain. Often associated with strange
sensations, time distortions and hallucinations. Sometimes used as an
explanation for seemingly paranormal experiences such as apparitions and alien
abduction experiences.
Theosophy
Quasi-religious
and philosophical system of the Theosophical Society, founded in 1875 by Madame
Blavatsky. Its paranormal claims were controversially and damningly reported
upon by the Society for Psychical Research in 1885.
Therianthropy
The
supposed ability to change from human to animal form and back. See also
lycanthropy, shape-shifting, werewolf.
Theurgy
Magical
practices which aim to contact and communicate with the gods.
Thoughtography
Paranormal
ability to produce images on photographic film (e.g., by concentrating on a
mental image).
Thought Transference
See
telepathy
Trance
A
dissociated state of consciousness, generally involving reduced awareness of
surroundings and external events.
Trance Medium
A
person who enters a state of trance in order to produce mediumistic phenomena.
Transcendental Meditation
A
technique of meditation taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, involving the
repetition of a sound (mantra).
Transmigration of Souls
See
reincarnation.
Transpersonal Psychology
The
study of experiences, beliefs and practices that suggest that the sense of self
can extend beyond our personal or individual reality. The subject matter of
transpersonal psychology overlaps to some extent with parapsychology, but the
two disciplines tend to have different approaches and emphases. Parapsychology
is primarily concerned to investigate evidence for and against the reality of
paranormal phenomena. Transpersonal psychology, on the other hand, is more
interested in investigating the transpersonal significance of such phenomena
(i.e., the ways in which they may give people a sense of connectedness with a
larger, more universal or spiritual reality).
Traveling Clairvoyance
An
early term for the out of body experience.
Clairvoyance exhibited when a subject travels in imagination to another
location.
Trial
In
Psi tests, a single attempt to demonstrate paranormal ability (e.g., one
attempt to guess a card or one attempt to influence the fall of the dice).
Trumpet
A
conical tube (often luminous) used in séances to produce direct voice
communication.
Ufology
The
study of UFOs.
Umbanda
A
Brazilian spiritist religion.
Unidentified Flying Object
(UFO) Index
Unexplained
sightings of lights or objects in the sky, often taken to be evidence of
extraterrestrial visitations.
Up Through Technique
An
experimental test for clairvoyance in which the subject guesses the order of a
stacked series of target symbols (e.g., cards) from bottom to top.
Veridical
Information
or experience that is confirmed by facts and events.
Veridical Dream
A
dream that corresponds to real events (past, present or future) that is unknown
to the dreamer.
Vision
A
religious apparition.
Voodoo
A
spiritist and ancestor religion, originating in Africa, and now found
predominantly in Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba. Magical rites, trance states and
possession all play a major role in Voodoo.
Werewolf
A
person who has been magically transformed into a wolf or other dangerous beast.
See also lycanthropy, therianthropy, shape shifting.
White Magic
Magical
spells or rituals to produce beneficial effects. Cf. black magic.
White Noise
A
hiss-like sound, formed by combining all audible frequencies.
Wicca
System
of witchcraft, especially as practiced today in western countries.
Witch Index
Someone
who practices witchcraft.
Witchcraft
Folk
magic.
Witchdoctor
A
medicine wo(man) or shaman.
Xenoglossy
The
ability to speak or write in a language that has not been learned.
Yoga
Religious
philosophy originating in India. It advocates the use of physical and
psycho-spiritual techniques to lead the person to higher consciousness.
Zener Cards
Set
of 25 cards (5 each of circle, square, Greek cross, five-pointed star, three
wavy lines) designed by the perceptual psychologist Karl Zener for use in
card-guessing tests of ESP.
Zombie
A
corpse that has been partly brought back to (soul-less) life by magic.