The Father of Harlem Spiritualists

Rev. John White is a remarkable figure that I learned about in my research into Spiritualist history. He was a highly educated and cultured man, and dedicated much of his life to teaching and preaching Spiritualism. 

He held office in General Assembly of Spiritualists, fought against segregation in Spiritualist Churches, and became President of the National Colored Spiritualist Association. I couldn't find much regarding his early life, but I did find a good amount of information on him, including a picture of him, which in itself is a rare find. 

Rev. White studied at Wilberforce University, and in 1880 he entered the Institute of Fine Arts at Chicago, where he studied Painting. He was employed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, where he gained recognition and marked distinction within the ranks of the best copyists of his days, specifically in oil painting.

Rev. White was a member of several lodges and fraternal organizations, he was a founder of the Knights of Alpha and Ladies of Omega, a member of Elk-Gopher Lodge No. 105, St. Paul, Minn; the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, Frederick Douglas Lodge No. 9005, St. Paul, Minn; Knights of Pythias, Pride of Minnesota Lodge, and  member of the Court of Calanthe, Minneapolis, Minn.

Rev. White was pastor of the Universal Spiritualist Church of New York City. He worked to promote Spiritualism among African-American communities of New York City, and was instrumental in organizing many Spiritualist Churches and assisting in the training and development of many Mediums and Healers for public ministry. His dedication as a missionary to spread Spiritualism in Harlem, earned him the title of the “Father of Spiritualists in Harlem.” 

Rev. White was eventually elected as a trustee on the board of the General Assembly of Spiritualists, which at the time was the New York State Auxiliary to the National Spiritualist Association. 

He became known through out the country when in 1922 the National Spiritualist Association debated in convention to segregate Spiritualist Churches. A quote from the New York Age described him as "laboring to avert a parting of the ways while he is a champion in the defense of the colored members." 

During a National Convention of the National Spiritualist Association (now known as the NSAC), a motion was proposed by a faction of Pro-Segregationist delegates that the National Spiritualist Association should adopt an official policy of full racial segregation, and vote to disaffiliate African-American members. 

After days of heated debate the convention voted to create an auxiliary for African-American Spiritualists, which would continue to be chartered through the National Association, thus allowing members to retain their membership with the National Association. 

Although at the time this was considered a victory by most, several delegates withdrew from the convention in protest, believing that the compromise for unity came at the cost of sacrificing of the principles of Spiritualism which preach the equality of all people. This dissenting movement would lead to an era of flourishing of African-American run independent Spiritualist Churches and Assemblies. 

Rev. White was elected as President of the National Colored Spiritualist Association. He took this as an opportunity for African-American Spiritualists to build up their own communities, practice self-determination, and most importantly spread the message of Spiritualism. 

He worked tirelessly as a missionary traveling throughout the United States; while in the South he visited Missouri, Florida, Louisiana, and in the North visited mostly urban areas such as Detroit, Chicago, and New York. Rev. 

White passed away at age 70 on June 21, 1926 in Harlem Hospital after a lifetime of dedication to helping others and preaching and teaching the message of Spiritualism.

Houngans & Mesmerists: Haitian Vodou and Mesmerism

In 1778 Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer set up a medical practice in Paris where he promoted his new theories of magnetic healing. Mesmer claimed that he had discovered a natural energy that flowed through the natural world; he called this energy “animal magnetism”. He theorized that diseases, both mental and physical, were caused by this magnetic energy being blocked or unbalanced in individuals, and developed a system of magnetic healing that would assist in restoring balance in individuals, thus curing various illnesses and conditions. 

Although his teachings were dismissed by the Royal Society of Medicine, they proved to be very popular among the upper class of French society. These aristocratic supporters of Mesmerism promoted as well as studied his teachings, learning to become healers themselves, spreading his teachings through France and other nations. 

In 1784 many members of the upper classes of the French Colony of Saint Domingue (Haiti) eagerly awaited the arrival of Count Antoine Chastent, a student who studied under Mesmer himself in Paris after undergoing a successful treatment for Asthma. Upon his arrival Count Antoine founded a Magnetic Society in Cap-Haïtien (then called Cap-Français) where he offered his services as a healer, as well as training others in the practice of Mesmerism. He also organized for magnetic healing to be offered in the Municipal Poorhouse of Cap-Haïtien. 

The popularity of mesmerist healing was largely due to it’s gentle and accessible nature. Mesmerist treatments included baths in magnetized water, and hand passes over the body that functioned as a form of energy medicine, balancing the magnetic fluids and energies that were explained to run through the body. This is in stark contrast to the Royal supported forms of orthodox medicine that included bloodletting and expensive medicines that were compounds of highly toxic minerals such as mercury. 

It was the accessibility of Mesmerism that earned the immediate distrust of not only the established medical professionals of France and Saint Domingue, but also many of the colonial government officials. Not only did this Healing practice take away business from the government approved trained Doctors, but the Mesmerist claim of the unity between humanity and the rest of creation was considered dangerous to the rigid racially based caste system of colonial society. By teaching that human beings were united by a natural energy, and that any person, of any class or race, could be empowered to learn and practice this form of healing came dangerously close to promoting a social equality that was against everything the colonial caste system stood for. 

 Another reason for the distrust of Mesmerism, was due to the fact that early on the practice developed a more Spiritual component to it; Mesmerists quickly discovered that when individuals were treated with magnetic energies they would sometimes enter a state of “magnetic sleep” or a trance-like state. During this state individuals would often experience psychic phenomena ranging from being able to channel spirits through mediumship to astral projection. Although alternative spiritual practices such as occultism and fortune-telling were popular at the time, they were forcefully denounced by the Roman Catholic Church.

By 1786 we know for certain from records that Mesmerism had become a regular practice among enslaved persons as well as free people of color. Many Plantation owners had initially promoted magnetic healing as an alternative medical practice in order to cut medical costs rather than hiring doctors to treat their enslaved workers, and several actually had some of their enslaved workers trained in magnetic healing in order to curb the cost of having to pay a Mesmerist healer to visit their plantation. 

Many of the individuals initially trained in mesmerist healing were those already acting as herbalists and healers, most of whom were also Houngans and Mambos, Priests and Priestesses of  Haitian Vodou. 

Haitian Vodou is an African Diasporic religion that gradually developed in Haiti. Combining African, Native American, and French Catholic practices, enslaved people managed to preserve their ancient traditions of healing and spirituality, while simultaneously creating a new Haitian spiritual tradition. 

Vodouisants believe in a creator God who is served through working with spirits known as Lwa. These spirits are synchronized with the Catholic Saints, and are referred to as the mystères, anges, saints, or les invisibles. The Lwa are venerated for help, healing, and protection in exchange for service and devotion. Together with Ancestor veneration, practices of divination, herbalism, and healing, Haitian Vodou is a complex and empowering spiritual tradition that was forged in one of the harshest, oppressive environments imaginable. 

The practices of Mesmerism were quickly embraced by Vodouisants largely due to the similarities with their own spiritual and healing practices. The Mesmerist practices such as preparing baths for healing, ritual hand passes, and trance mediumship, fit incredibly well within the spiritual worldview held by Vodouisants. 

This enthusiastic embrace of Mesmerism among the enslaved and freed persons proved too much for the slave owning colonial elite, and the fear and distrust of enslaved persons rebelling caused the government to issue a ban on “the practice of magnetism to all those of African descent, free or not.” Colonial records from Cap-Haïtien listed four enslaved persons being arrested for practicing magnetic healing; both Vodou and Mesmerism were regarded by the colonial authorities as dangerous and subversive to the colonial regime, as they were both empowering and encouraging to the oppressed. 

On the night of August 14, 1791 a ceremony was conducted in Bwa Kayiman, the woods outside of Cap-Haïtien (which coincidentally was also where the first presence of Mesmerism was brought just seven years earlier), a pig was sacrificed to the Lwa, and the spirits instructed that it was now time to overthrow the brutal and oppressive slave owning class and claim their freedom. This marked the beginning of the years-long Haitian Revolution; by 1804 Haitian was a free republic. 

Many French newspapers were quick to blame Mesmerism as one of the subversive elements that led to Haitian Revolution and the loss of their colony. Dr. Mesmer, who was still living at the time and had been an ardent supporter of the French Revolution and Revolutionary politics of liberté, égalité, fraternité (which many Haitians took as a rallying cry for their own Revolution) is said to have commented with some pride that his teachings had been helpful in causing a Revolution in Haiti. 

Mesmerist healing continued to be practiced long after the Revolution. With many Haitians continuing their interest in Mesmerism and Magnetic Healing, and other popular spiritual traditions such as Spiritualism, Freemasonry and Martinism. 

The word Magnétiseur, is actually still in use in the Haitian vocabulary to this day, referring to Folk Healers that continue to use the spiritual practices of magnetic energy passes to heal and assist those in need.  

One of the most widely read spiritual books in Haiti today is Les Prieres Merveilleuses, or Miraculous Prayers by Abbe Julio published in 1896. Abbe Julio was a French Catholic Priest that had become very interested in the Mesmerist tradition of magnetic healing and other popular alternative spiritual traditions. 

Eventually breaking with the Roman Catholic Church to join an Independent Catholic Church, he presented a highly spiritual reinterpretation of Catholicism and Catholic methods of Prayer, that focused on spiritualist principles and magnetic healing.  His texts are actively studied by many Vodouisants, and the phrase “ougan pike liv” is often used in Haiti to refer to Houngans who have studied these works and are knowledgeable of their prayers and ceremonies. 

In Haiti Mesmerism became synonymous with freedom, and was integrated into the Vodou corpus of healing knowledge. Magnetic healing was a practice that offered freedom from an oppressive colonial system, and continues to offer spiritual fulfillment in the lives of Vodouisants today.

Something Ouija This Way Comes

Spirit Boards are unfortunately one of the most controversial tools used in mediumship today, despite the fact that they were once considered to be an essential tool for spirit communication. 

The concept of a spirit board developed through a combination of two forms of physical mediumship: ‘table-tipping,’ where the alphabet was spoken allowed during a séance and the spirits would ‘tip’ the table when the correct letter was chosen, and “planchette writing” where a small wooden board would be used to produce automatic writing (early versions sometimes had small wheels on them, and would have a space for a pencil to be attached). 

These tools were combined to make an easier method, where the planchette could be moved by the spirits to point to letters pre-written on a small board. In 1890 businessman Elijah Bond designed and patented a spirit board he termed the “Ouija Board.” This patent would eventually be acquired a few years later by William Fuld, who is truly responsible for the popularity of the Ouija Board and is considered the “Father of the Ouija Board.” Through a hugely successful marketing campaign he turned the concept of a “Ouija Board” into a household name. 

Early Spiritualist literature actually promoted the uses and benefits of spirit boards for developing mediumship.

In the The Mediums Book, written by Allan Kardec, several forms of writing mediumship are grouped together including the use of a planchette, he comments that these forms are some of the "simplest and most convenient" methods for beginning mediums to practice their spiritual development with.

In Genuine Mediumship by William Walker Atkinson, he actually mentions Ouija Boards by name, stating, “Ouija Boards are sold at a moderate price, and will be found a valuable adjunct to any spiritualist circle.” He also gave instructions on how to use them, and also explains how the reader can create their own at home.  

Unfortunately with its mass production the spirit board became removed from it’s spiritual purpose and became to be seen as a parlor game to entertain and frighten people. This lead to misuse and misunderstanding, which then ended up causing these simple boards to be surrounded in urban legends, superstitions, and Hollywood Horror pop culture. 

I remember asking for a Ouija Board for probably my eighth or ninth birthday. I remember mostly playing around with it and looking at it, but having very little desire or interest to conduct a séance, I mostly just wanted to own it because I thought it was fun looking and ‘spooky’. 

It wasn’t until I was in high school that I would seriously begin to practice and use one. I used it as a way to practice physical mediumship and communicate with my spirit guides: both in solitary sittings by myself, and also fairly often with a good friend of mine who was also interested spiritualism and spiritual phenomena (and is also a fantastic medium). 

Thankfully due to a new generation of freethinking Spiritualists, the taboos surrounding Spirit Boards are slowly beginning to be overcome, and the practice is making a bit of a resurgence. 

It may take awhile for the image to recover from all the damage done, but it seems that the Spirit Board is finally being restored back to its rightful place as a Spiritualist tool of healing and spiritual development.

Spiritualist Healing: The Great Unseen Healing Force

One of the forerunners to the Spiritualist Movement was the healing practice known as Mesmerism, named after Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer. Mesmer was born in Austria, and studied medicine at the University of Vienna in 1759. 

In 1775 Mesmer discovered a kind of magnetic energy that ran through all living creatures. He called this energy "animal magnetism." He theorized that diseases, both mental and physical, had roots in this natural energy being blocked or unbalanced in individuals, and developed a system of magnetic healing that would assist in restoring balance thus curing various illnesses and conditions. 

In 1778 He left Vienna and set up practice as a Doctor in Paris. Although his system of Healing was rejected by the French Royal Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of Medicine (more likely for political reasons than actual scientific ones), his teachings proved to be quite popular. Unlike orthodox medical practices at the time which relied on bloodletting and (expensive) harsh treatments with toxic minerals such as mercury, Mesmer's magnetic healing was much less invasive, and much more accessible. 

It was very quickly discovered that when individuals were treated with these magnetic energies they would sometimes enter a state of “magnetic sleep” or a trance-like state. During this state individuals would often experience psychic phenomena ranging from mediumship to astral projection. After his death in 1815 his teachings still remained very popular due to several books published by his students. 

His teachings spread to England, the United States, and also the French Colonies at the time such as Louisiana and Haiti. As time went on the practice began to shift to a more spiritual practice. Although healing was still emphasized, many began to practice Mesmerism purely to investigate and develop spiritual gifts. 

With the rise of the Spiritualist Movement, many of these Mesmerist Healers quickly became Spiritualists, and forever integrated this form of healing to the Spiritualist movement. Mesmer's system of Magnetic Healing is still the primary form of healing used in Spiritualist Churches and Spiritist Centers throughout the world. 

This healing system blends of Spiritualist principles with the magnetic healing of Mesmer. The Healer will act as a Medium for spirit guides to pass magnetic energy to the recipient, this assists the body in restoring itself to a natural state of balance and harmony. This is often done through the Healer laying their hands on one's shoulders, or may be done through a series of hand passes over the individuals body. Healing can also be done at a distance, with the Healing focusing on those in need allowing their Guides to direct the healing energy to where it may be needed. 

Spiritualist Healing is also somewhat unique among other forms of Healing that developed around the same time, such as various forms of New Thought and Christian Science. Medicine and medical practices are not outright rejected in favor of a purely spiritual approach. 

Spiritualism, which emphasizes a positive view of the natural world, prefers to adopt a holistic approach to healing, where the body, mind, and spirit are all treated as important. Spiritist Centers and Spiritualists Churches will recommend various forms of medical treatment in addition to spiritual healing. In Brazil, many Spiritist Centers function as clinics, with resident Doctors, and several Hospitals are actually run by Spiritists, offering medical treatment and Spiritist Healing.

Healing is generally accompanied with prayer. Spiritists, many will select prayers for Healing found in Kardec's Collection of Selected Prayers. American Spiritualists will often use short affirmations or passages from the Bible or Book of Psalms, such as, "Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me" 

The most well known prayer among American Spiritualists is simply known as the prayer for Spiritual Healing, which is used in Spiritualist Church services is as follows: 

I ask the Great Unseen Healing Force 

To remove all obstructions from my mind and body 

And to restore me to perfect health. 

I ask this in all sincerity and honesty 

And I will do my part. 

I ask this Great Unseen Healing Force 

To help both present and absent ones 

Who are in need of help 

And to restore them to perfect health. 

I put my trust in the love and power of God.

Italian Spiritualism Part 2: Folk Spiritualism

Although Scientific Spiritualism and Kardecist Spiritism were popular with the educated elite as I discussed in Part 1, the majority of Italians, particularly Southern Italians, practiced Spiritualism alongside Catholicism as a blended Italian Folk Religion. 

Spiritualism and Mediumship tended to be embraced as a spiritual practice, rather than a separate religion or philosophy. The vast majority of individuals considered themselves as Catholic and continued to keep their traditions of praying to saints and celebrating the catholic sacraments and mass, but would incorporate the belief in Mediums and Seances, accepting this as simply already being part of what they had already believed. 

Spiritualism was (and still is) particularly strong in Naples, where it blended with the Catholic devotion to the Souls in Purgatory. In Roman Catholicism, it's taught that "Purgatory is a state in which those suffer for a time who die guilty of venial sins, or without having satisfied for the punishment due to their sins."  What this means is those who were Baptized and lived as mostly good people but not quite perfect, would end up in this state of being in the afterlife, so that they can purify themselves to reach heaven. 

Traditionally this was depicted with an image known as Anima Sola, or the "Lone Soul." The Soul would be shown as being immersed in "purifying fire" but with chains broken and their eyes lifted to heaven, showing that they are given hope that through prayer and purification they will reach heaven. 

The living are encouraged to pray on behalf of those souls in Purgatory. The Catholic Church teaches "The faithful on earth can help the souls in Purgatory by their prayers, fasts, alms-deeds; by indulgences, and by having Masses said for them." In turn, the Holy Souls in Purgatory can pray for those Catholics who pray for them. These teachings blended with the Spiritualist/Spiritist concepts of an active and progressive Spirit World, where through acts of Charity both the living and the dead could spiritually progress and evolve. 

 A center for this devotion was the Fontanella Cemetery. The vast mass grave is a paupers' cemetery where many of the poor and unknown dead were interred, including thousands of individuals that died from plagues that swept through the city of Naples. Locals visit the cemetery and offer prayers for these individuals who have no family to pray for them. Devotees often adopt skulls to pray for, leaving small offerings and flowers. In many cases the spirit of the body will reveal their name to the individual through dreams or mediumship, and will thank them for their prayers with blessings and favors.

Some of the Skulls are considered particularly generous and have gained their own reputation as essentially folk saints. An example is a Skull given the name Princess Lucia, the Skull is adorned with a tiara and has a reputation for being able to grant the prayers of those searching for love, particularly women praying for a husband. Other examples include Brother Pasquale, a skull who will appear to individuals in dreams as a monk and offer them lucky lottery numbers, and also Concetta who, unlike the other skulls that are covered in dust, appears to shine with a dew considered to be evidence of her ability to work hard to grant the prayers of devotees. 

Italian Spiritualism Part 1: Famous Spiritualists

In the late 1800s Spiritualism and Spiritism became extremely popular in Europe. In Italy, especially among the educated upper classes, Spiritualism was treated with a highly scientific and philosophical view. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (author of Sherlock Holmes and devoted Spiritualist) actually took note that the most scientific minded Spiritualists came from Italy: 

Italy has, in some ways, been superior to all other European states in its treatment of Spiritualism—and this in spite of the constant opposition of the Roman Catholic Church... Italy has been very rich in mediums, but she has been even more fortunate in having men of science who were wise enough to follow facts wherever they might lead. 

Although Doyle is correct that Scientific Spiritualism was popular with the educated elite, it was actually Spiritism that was the most widely practiced tradition of Spiritualism in Italy. 

Spiritism is a Spiritualist tradition that is based on the writings of Allan Kardec, which places emphasis on education, spiritual development, and the virtue of charity.  Florence became a center of Spiritism, and published books, articles, and newspapers that helped spread the message and practices of Spiritism across the peninsula even as far as Sicily. 

In the 1871 Year Book of Spiritualism an anonymous Sicilian Woman was interviewed who stated that in 1865 a Spiritist Society was started "according to the instructions contained in the works of Allan Kardec," that although the Sicilian clergy were extremely hostile to this group, the individuals "scorning the threats of the priests, courageously followed its investigation" 

Eusapia Palladino 

Eusapia Palladino is probably the most famous (or infamous) Italian Medium in the history of Spiritualism. Eusapia was a bit of a shock to most English speaking Victorian Spiritualists of the time. She was supposedly incredibly blunt, had a very hot temper, and spoke in a 'low class' Neapolitan dialect, rather than the Tuscan Italian of the upper classes. 

Eusapia was born in one of the poorest areas of Italy and raised as an orphan in Naples. She started to show psychic and mediumistic abilities at an early age, and eventually rose to become one of the most popular physical mediums of her time. What caused much of her infamy, however, was how blatantly little she cared about being caught in practicing fraudulent mediumship. 

Simply shrugging off that people expected her to produce phenomena and that she gave it to them. Yet, what is interesting to note, that as many times as she was caught in fraud, she also seemed to have demonstrated genuine abilities as a Psychic and Medium, leaving researchers puzzled when they were unable to explain several phenomena that produced. 

Ernesto Bozzano 

To quote Sir Arthur's History of Spiritualism, "Ernesto Bozzano, who was born in Genoa in 1862, has devoted thirty years to psychical research, embodying his conclusions in thirty long monographs" He also participated in several of the experimental seances involving Eusapia Palladino. 

Controversially for his time, Bozzano also conducted studies regarding the phenomena of mediumship and psychic abilities occurring with animals, demonstrating that not only were animals able to participate in this phenomena, but actually concluded that they share in an afterlife as well as human beings. 

Girolamo Parisi 

Girolamo Parisi is fairly obscure these days as a Spiritualist figure, but he is a favorite of mine. He was described by the famous American Spiritualist James M. Peebles as "a truly kind and generous man." Parisi published a Spiritist Newspaper in Florence known as Aurora, and promoted the teachings of Allan Kardec among Italians. 

He wrote two short essays "To The Spiritualists of England and America" which offered his opinion that Spiritualism in these countries would greatly be benefited by the study of Spiritist Philosophy, and that the teachings of Spiritism would strengthen the good points of American and British Spiritualism and also make up for some of the deficiencies he felt were present in the practices of Spiritualists in English speaking countries. 

Spiritualist Baptism: Crowned With Flowers

American Spiritualism as a religious institution really doesn't have that many rituals. Most Spiritualist Churches were largely organized by philosophically minded Spiritualists who felt that rituals were at best a distraction from pure spiritual worship, and at worst, a superstitious hold over from the Dark Ages. 

However, despite the mission of some Spiritualists to have a religion free of ritual, the vast majority of Spiritualists very much wanted it. To this day most Spiritualist rituals are largely private, however, the concession was made for the ritual of Baptism. 

Possibly the first recorded Spiritualist Baptism took place in 1896 in Pittsburgh, PA. The ceremony was performed by a Mrs. Ida Whitelock from Boston, MA. The ritual was described as almost exactly as a Christian Baptism "save for the omission of the name of Christ." The child was instead Baptized "In the name of All Good." 

Although this was similar to a Christian ceremony, one unique difference that we shall see repeated in Spiritualist Baptisms is the central importance of flowers. In this first ceremony, the baptismal water was sprinkled on the child using a white rose, and a small white carnation was placed in the infant's hand. Those participating in the ceremony, the child's parents and godparents, were asked to hold a chain of flowers throughout the ceremony. 

In 1897 the Times-Picayune described the first Spiritualist Baptism occurring in New Orleans where "several young ladies and little children will be baptized with flowers, according to Spiritualist ritual" In this case we see an interesting transition to where the individuals are actually described as being Baptized with flowers. 

In 1911 another large Baptismal event was recorded in the South Bend Tribune which states that the Indiana Association of Spiritualists held a large Camp meeting at Camp Chesterfield which included "the baptismal with flowers of several children." This instance again repeated the Baptism specifically with flowers, but added another element: each child was crowned with a wreath of roses and was actually blessed by the Spirit Guide of each child. 

The Spiritualist Baptism is unique in these two aspects: 1. the individual is baptized with flowers (either petals or petals in water), and 2. a blessing of their Spirit Guides or Guardian Angels are prayed to during the ritual, to guide and keep them over the course of their life. These two parts form most of the standard form of the rite you will see in most Spiritualist Manuals. 

[Update]

When I wrote this in 2021 I explained that "baptism of children in Spiritualist Churches these days is somewhat uncommon, and adult baptism even less." I have actually seen the number of Spiritualist baptisms go up in recent years, and even had the privilege to officiate one.

Regarding adult baptisms, I wrote "Although I haven't seen many written instances of Adult baptism, I have been informed by a few individuals that it exists" I very recently came across a rare Spiritualist Manual that was probably published in the 1970s that has information going back to at least the 1950s or earlier that actually included a complete layout for the service of an adult Spiritualist Baptism. 

A few years ago when I was serving at a Spiritualist Church a friend suggested that we bring back this practice and also allow adults to participate and receive Spiritualist baptisms. I absolutely am for the idea, and I hope this beautiful ceremony might catch on again some day.