A medium serves as a bridge between you and your deceased loved ones. An authentic medium won't attempt to censor or control what a spirit wishes to communicate to you during a reading. The medium's sacred duty is to convey what the spirit has to say.
Take Advantage of a Free Reading Offer
Free medium readings can give you a glimpse into a medium's abilities. You can use it as a tool to evaluate whether the medium is legitimate and whether you wish to continue working with them. The free reading will be brief and only provide you with a sliver of information. However, what you receive and how you feel about the medium should be enough for you to evaluate if you wish to pursue a reading. You should never hesitate to pass over anyone you don't feel good about.
How to Evaluate Your Free Reading From a Medium
It is only natural to evaluate the medium during your free reading. However, it's more important to be in the moment and understand everything that the medium is telling you. It is easy to misunderstand or miss something if you're trying to figure out if the medium is faking it or is truly in contact with your loved one. It's also natural to want to test the medium. This type of game playing is detrimental to your reading.
You're better served by listening to what the medium is telling you and then asking appropriate questions. If you don't understand something, the time to question the medium is during the reading. Keep in mind that your expectations of what you'll receive in a reading may not match with what you receive. It may be more, less, or something totally unexpected.
Did the Medium Contact Your Loved One?
You should have a sense of whether the medium contacted your loved one. You should be able to recognize the nuances of your loved one's personality. Keep in mind that the medium has no more control over who answers their call than you would if you randomly dialed a telephone number.
Granted, an adept medium can usually make the connection you seek, but sometimes the spirit is unwilling to communicate with whoever is calling, or another spirit might have more pressing information to convey to you. Be patient and be grateful for the spirit that answers the call. Respect is of the utmost importance whenever dealing with spirits. You should treat them politely the same way you would any person you meet.
Was the Information Specific to You?
One way to truly evaluate a medium is the information that is given to you. There should be personal knowledge about you and your life together that the medium couldn't possibly know unless speaking with your loved ones. The small details will help you evaluate the authenticity of your reading. If the information given to you could apply to anyone, then this could be a red flag.
Did the Medium Know Things Not on Your Social Media?
It's very easy to look up information about a person ahead of time. A legit medium won't research clients prior to the reading. Some of the information the medium gives you will no doubt be public knowledge. However, there should be more content in your reading that is private and personal. These are things that the medium couldn't find online, especially things only you know.
Did You Receive New/Helpful Information or Insight?
Often the information that comes through in a reading isn't what you expected. Few readings match with what the client envisioned. Sometimes the reading far exceeds expectations, while other times, the information sought is withheld by spirit for various reasons, such as the timing is wrong for you to know at that moment, knowing might interfere with your life path, and so on. That said, your reading should have offered you some new information or insight that is helpful to your situation.
Was the Information Verifiable?
One way to authenticate a medium is with verifiable information. This should be very easy to accomplish when communicating with a deceased loved one. However, keep in mind not all mediums communicate with spirit the same way. Some use trance, automatic writing, and other methods. In some instances, there can be a certain element of interpretation, but overall, the information you're given should ring true.
Was the Medium Open to Your Questions During the Reading?
An authentic medium will gladly ask your questions of the spirit she/he is communicating with. If the medium talks over your attempts to ask questions, gives an off-handed response, or simply dismisses your questions, this is a red flag. The medium is there to serve as a conduit between you and spirit and the information you seek.
Did the Reading Give You What You Wanted?
Many people seek out a medium for help. You may need some information from your loved one, reassurance they are okay and continue to exist beyond death, or you may want to connect with your guides. Whatever your reason for going to a medium for a reading, you should feel that your reading gave you some of that information or some sense of reassurance.
Would You Schedule Another Reading With the Medium?
The best sign that you felt your reading was authentic and met your expectations is that you would schedule another reading with the same medium. If you would recommend the medium to your friends, then you obviously felt good about your experience with the medium.
What to Look for in a Medium
One of the first things to look for in a medium is how you feel around them.
Good Rapport With Medium
Do you have an instant rapport and are you comfortable with them? A medium is going to be privy to a great deal of personal information once you engage them to conduct a reading.
Trust Your Intuition
You should have a sense of trust and ease when you're with the medium. If you feel good in the presence of the medium, especially if you have an instant liking, you'll be more open to the medium, making their job much easier and ensuring a better reading for yourself. If you don't have these feelings, then go with your instincts and don't pursue any further.
Read Reviews of Medium
Most people seek out reviews before scheduling a reading with a medium. You can find reviews online through yelp, psychic groups on social media, and the medium's website. If the medium has published books, you can read the book reviews to get a better understanding of how the medium is perceived. You may want to purchase a book or two to see what they share with readers.
A good reputation is the medium's calling card. The sign of a high-quality medium is one who has good reviews and satisfied clients. If a medium conducts accurate and authentic readings, the clients will be eager to sing praises. By the same token, if the medium isn't authentic and clients realize they were scammed, you'll be able to find those reviews as well. Just keep in mind that some people don't want to hear the truth, and in those instances, they may retaliate with negative reviews. You must use your own discernment when relying on reviews to make a decision about hiring a medium.
Seek Referrals for a Medium
You can join a psychic or paranormal group and once you're comfortable with the group and have contributed, you might ask for referrals. One of the best resources for a recommendation and evaluation of a medium is through a local metaphysical store. Many of these shops rent space to all kinds of readers and energy workers. The owners usually vet anyone they allow to be associated with their business, so you can usually find a reliable and authentic medium through the shop. Even if the shop owner doesn't feature mediums, they will certainly know most of them in your area and be able to offer you recommendations and contact information.
If you aren't certain about a medium, you can request they provide you with a client reference or two. Just be prepared that such a request may not be granted because of the intimate nature of a medium/client relationship. However, some clients are enthusiastic about sharing their experiences, so it won't hurt to inquire.
You may also come across some mediums who don't feel that it's right to charge an individual for a reading, and these are the elusive mediums you can only find through word of mouth. It's customary to tip this type of medium with whatever you feel is appropriate after your reading. However, there are some mediums who simply won't accept any form of compensation, since they feel the introduction of money can taint or influence their readings. These mediums tend to be very good readers, but prefer to stay out of the limelight.
How to Avoid a Fraudulent Medium
Most mediums are legitimate, especially those you have a face-to-face reading with. Before you engage with a medium that is operating a business, you can check for any complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). It's far easier to fool someone when conducting an online reading since an Internet search can easily pull up valuable information about you and your loved ones, especially with social media. There are certain things you shouldn't do when working with a medium to avoid being scammed. These include:
- Don't give a medium too much information when you first sit down or during the reading itself.
- Beware of a medium who asks too many questions. This method is used to gain information that the person can then mirror back to you.
- Don't give any info to the medium about how the person you wish to contact died. An authentic medium will have access to this information.
- Don't continue with a medium who withholds information in exchange for more money. If the medium withholds information and asks for more money to finish, then run. This is a scam.
- Don't worry if all the information doesn't come through the first time. There can be a lot of information that is coming through, and your session may run out before the spirit has finished. Most mediums will simply make another appointment with you. But, if you're going to be charged higher rates or the medium asks for a large sum of money upfront in order to continue, you're dealing with a con artist.
- Don't give out your credit card information for a free reading.
- Don't continue with a medium that uses scare tactics to extort money from you, such as you'll die or something horrible will happen, if you don't pay the medium extra. For more money, they'll intervene on your behalf. This is a costly hoax.
Working With a Medium
The ideal situation is for there to be a rapport between you and the medium, and above all trust. Talented mediums often provide comfort to clients with personal messages from their deceased loved ones.
