Seance Season

'Tis the season for Mediumship, Channeling and Communication with the Dead.

Fall has always been my favorite time of the year, and Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. I shared this love with my late grandmother, the inspiration behind our Dead Grandma TOTEM Flower Essence.

Growing up, my grandmother would orchestrate a mind-blowing Halloween haunted house experience every year. Her desire to scare the shit out of children was so deep and so pure that, one year, she convinced one of my uncles to put out a very creepy scarecrow a few days before the trick or treaters were to make their rounds. Then, on All Hallow’s Eve, my uncle put on that exact scarecrow outfit— and sackcloth mask— to sit in the exact position of the previous scarecrow in the yard.

The aim? To lull the neighborhood kids into a false sense of familiarity with what they thought was an inanimate object. But, come Halloween night, it wasn’t inanimate anymore, and my uncle would slowly lean over to brush the leg or arm of a trick or treater in his terrifying costume, convincing them that the scarecrow had actually come to life.

Long story short: my uncle scared a grown man so badly with this scarecrow trick that the he screamed with fright, recollecting himself just enough to threaten to knock my uncle out in front of a group of young children.

We declared that Halloween a complete victory.

And, after many decades of awesome Halloweens to follow, I actually got married to my husband on Halloween. The way we look at it? We took advantage of an interdimensional travel special, enabling all of our ancestors and dead relatives to easily join the fete from the other side.

Kind of like an astral Expedia sale.

And I think this is why I’ve always loved Halloween season: the happy memories of childhood now bleed into a palpable presence of my loved ones from the other side. It forms a kind of energetic chain through time and space, giving me the feeling of being supported by unseen friends and family as the veils between the worlds thin to essentially nothing.

On Halloween, magic is everywhere.

And this is the precise time of year when the work of mediumship becomes the easiest— and most fun— to undertake.

All about Seance Season

September marks the beginning of what I call Seance Season, an annual dimensional shift that heightens as we approach the peak on Halloween. Many pagans, witches and yes— even shamans— celebrate Samhain from October 31st through the first week of November.

Within this week, a variety of cross-cultural celebrations emerge: All Saint’s Day, The Day of the Dead, All Hallow’s Eve, and the Feast Day of Nicnevin— a celebration of a Scottish Fairy Queen that grants wishes.

In paganism, Samhain is the third and last of the Three Spirit Nights: a time to celebrate with the spirits. In this tradition, Hecate— a goddess of witches and witchcraft and the dead— may be engaged to facilitate contact between the living and the dead.

TOTEM friends may note that Hecate is actually featured in our TOTEM Tarot Deck in place of the more traditional Final Judgement card. Our tarot card’s image evokes a kind of Ghostbusters/ Gozer the Gozerian meets Chrysler Building vibe, asserting the primordial power of this ancient, witchy deity.

[And, might I add, our TOTEM Tarot Deck is kind of perfect for Seance Season. Just spooky enough to evoke the vibe but approachable enough to not be full-on scary.]

Samhain is the perfect excuse to undertake a seance: a meeting at which people attempt to make contact with the dead, especially through the agency of a medium.

Regardless of the name or specifics of your tradition for Seance Season, the overall theme remains the same: celebrating and honoring the dead.

And it’s worth noting that the keyword in that sentence is honoring.

The business of mediumship

Approaching the realm of the dead is serious business, and must be done with a healthy sense of respect, honor, and etiquette. Dishonoring or insulting the dead or, god forbid, the goddess Hecate— particularly during seance season—can result in some pretty unwanted negative attention from the spirit realm.

Frankly speaking, this is why I have amended TOTEM shop policies around Mediumship Sessions since moving to Austin. By ensuring that I only provide this service to existing clients that I know are a good fit for this kind of experience, I can mitigate any potential negativity and maintain my professional reputation in the underworld as a polite and honest broker of connections with the living.

Trust me: it matters.

But, with a bit of discipline, strong boundaries, an experienced intuitive hand, and a positive attitude, undertaking mediumship work can be an affirming, uplifting and seriously illuminating experience this Seance Season.

What is mediumship?

While there are a variety of nuanced types and styles of mediumship out there in the world, they all have some consistent, key components.

As a working shaman, I approach mediumship from a shamanic perspective, in which the medium is acting in the role of psychopomp: a spiritual guide capable of navigating the astral plane and energetically traveling to and from the other worlds, including the underworld or land of the dead.

I energetically travel and make contact by means of channeling: consciously shifting my mind and mental space in order to achieve an expanded or altered state of consciousness that is called a “trance”. To achieve this state of consciousness, I work to empty my own human thoughts, shift into a receptive energetic state, and intentionally request a psychic connection to a spirit guide.

In the case of mediumship, I set the intention to connect with a client’s— or my own— ancestors and deceased loved ones.

Often, these sessions are supportive, constructive and emotional, leaving clients with the feeling of having spent time with a loved one and realizing, despite their healthy skepticism, that there is life after death. Our deceased loved ones, ancestors and spirit guides can provide priceless life advice, healing words, and ongoing guidance, and it’s one of my favorite sessions to do.

As Seance Season unfolds, my books get very busy with 1:1 client sessions, so if you’re interested in booking a Mediumship Session or any other service TOTEM offers before Halloween, make sure to secure your session HERE ASAP.

Learn Mediumship— from a Medium: Online Workshop

Or, better yet, learn to become your own medium!

On Saturday, October 28th, I’ll be hosting an online workshop that distills more than 20 years of lessons learned and best practices to empower the attendees to safely commune with the dead and those "on the other side" during this Seance Season.

In this online workshop, we will review the practical recommendations, potential pitfalls, and all-around tips and tricks for anyone seeking to undertake the work of mediumship-- for themselves or for friends or clients.

This isn't that superficial, cultural-appropriation mediumship drivel you can find all over the internet— or on crappy reality TV shows. Rather, this workshop will leverage ancient techniques to GO DEEP on mediumship with a trained, certified shaman and medium with an active client practice.

Have you always wanted to communicate with the dead? Do you think you might be a natural medium? Would you like to expand your spiritual skills? Offer this service to clients? Would you like a spiritually-substantive experience around this Halloween holiday? Are you a practicing medium that would like to learn new tricks or get better at energetic protection and boundaries?

If "yes", then this workshop is for you. If nothing else, what a great way to spend a spooky Saturday smack dab in the middle of Halloween time!

Attendees will leave this workshop with a thorough understanding of these ancient techniques and exercises to carry them and their practice moving forward.

Learn more and register to secure your spot for this online workshop HERE.

Flower Essences for Seance Season

Seance Season is the perfect time to embrace witchy potions, and there are a handful of our TOTEM Flower Essences uniquely built to support this very merry (and spooky) time of the year:

Underworld, made of Hellebore

Named after Hella, the Norse Goddess of Hell and the Underworld (and the former’s namesake), Hellebore flowers— also called Lenten Roses— are generally the very first flowers to emerge from the snow in early spring, right around Catholic Lent and Ash Wednesday in the Northern Hemisphere.

Our TOTEM Underworld Flower Essence is made of hellebore and facilitates a connection with the Underworld, also called the Lower World in shamanism. It facilitates better energetic access to the world of ancestors, supporting mediumship, channeling and related work requiring communication with the "other side".

Underworld is an excellent flower essence for anyone wanting to connect to ancestors, "ghosts", or the mythical realm of the dead this Seance Season.

Learn more or purchase a bottle at 50% off HERE.

Seance Spray, made of Marigold

Are you planning on creating an altar to honor your ancestors this Samhain? Set aside some time to connect with your departed loved ones? Undertake a seance of your own?

You might want to get a bottle of our Séance TOTEM Flower Essence Spray, made of marigold flowers, to prep your sacred space for a visit from deceased family members and ancestors.

Our TOTEM Séance Flower Essence Spray clears your sacred space while inviting your ancestors and deceased relatives to visit by infusing the air with the essence of concentrated marigold flower. It’s distinct, peppery scent— free of any added perfumes or oils— is an excellent addition for any medium’s or practitioner’s working space.

Learn more or purchase your own bottle at 50% on Etsy HERE.

Dead Grandma, made of Marigold

The oral tincture version of our Seance TOTEM Flower Essence spray, Dead Grandma is the ultimate flower essence for anyone wanting to connect with deceased loved ones or undertake mediumship work this Seance Season.

Our Dead Grandma TOTEM Flower Essence is made of marigold and supports connection with our ancestors. The official flower of the Day of the Dead, marigold is an ideal amplifier of your latent natural mediumship abilities. It also gives the user a grounding, nostalgic and cozy feeling, often returning them to an ephemeral state they associate with pleasant moments in childhood— like trick or treating!

Dead Grandma TOTEM Flower Essence can also accelerate epigenetic healing, particularly if the inherited trauma is from the mother’s side of the family— aka “momma trauma”.

Learn more or purchase at 50% off on our Etsy Shop HERE.

Witching Hour, made of Chamomile

In Ancient Egypt, they would drink chamomile tea before attempting to interact with the Realm of the Dead. They believed that this herbal tea, made of chamomile flowers, helped to facilitate contact with the dead and focus the information in a mediumship session.

Our Witching Hour TOTEM Flower Essence facilitates likewise assists with these efforts, as well as offering the user a deep sense of tranquility with spiritual awareness. Witching Hour Flower Essence energetically enables you to release the stress of the day, creating a transition between activity and relaxation and to support your psychic efforts.

Learn more or purchase at 50% off on our Etsy shop HERE.

White Magic, made of Queen Anne’s Lace

Queen Anne’s Lace is one of the witchiest flowers around. I always associate it with the open fields that spring up at the edges of cities or in vacant lots, infusing an otherwise concrete landscape with a little bit of magic.

Our White Magic TOTEM Flower Essence is made of Queen Anne’s Lace, energetically stimulating spiritual insights and vision, especially in the realm of "green magic" and "kitchen witchery". This is an ideal flower essence for anyone studying or practicing herbalism, herbal witchcraft, and even just looking to start a witchy garden. This flower essence is ideal for the practitioner seeking to create magic with plants-- or just level-up in their psychic work.

Learn more or secure your bottle at 50% off on our Etsy Shop HERE.

Black Mirror, made of Black Iris

Last but not least, our Black Mirror TOTEM Flower Essence is the ultimate tincture for those those wanting to develop their psychic abilities.

Named after the black scrying mirrors that witches, mediums and psychics use to “gaze”— a form of divination— this flower essence facilitates psychic sight into the “other side”. It’s ideal for anyone that wants to expand their capabilities in reading tarot cards or runes or tea leaves, or who just want to see what they can glean from a crystal ball.

Learn more or purchase your bottle at 50% off on our Etsy Shop HERE.

Enjoy your Seance Season

I hope to see many of your faces in our upcoming online Mediumship workshop, but if I don’t: have some fun.

Life is hard and weird and everything is so stupid and serious these days. When we connect to the spirit realm— or even just give ourselves permission to enjoy Halloween like when we were kids— we instantly get a bit of crucial perspective, a priceless opportunity to relax and let our ancestors help us out just a little bit.

We’re not alone. Death is not the end. And, during Seance Season, we get a window through which to remember these existential truths!

-Rachel