ardec presents a case that happened around December 1761, in the city of Dibbelsdorf – Germany, whose documents were published in 1811. The original article, written by Dr. Kerner, was translated into French by Alfred Pireaux.

It is another article of interest about the spiritist facts, which have always occurred everywhere and at all times. However, science was not yet ready to seriously analyze them, even less in the case of Germany at that time. 

Despite the fact that the facts – clever knocks on a corner of the Kettelhuts' house – were analyzed from all possible aspects, reaching the point of demolishing walls and a deep hole, in addition to confining all the residents to their houses and placing in observation the suspects, nothing was found. The only possible answer was never accepted, and they ended up prosecuting and condemning, under a coercive confession, the Kettelhuts.

We highlight Kardec's observation, always surgical in his words:

OBSERVATION: If we pay attention to the date when these things took place and compare them with what is happening in our day, we will find in them perfect identity in the manner of manifestation and even in the nature of the questions and answers. Neither America nor our time discovered the scouting spirits, as they did not discover the others, as we will demonstrate by countless authentic and more or less ancient facts.

KARDEC, RE Aug/1858

There is, however, between current phenomena and those of the past, a major difference: the latter were almost all spontaneous, while ours are produced almost at the will of certain special mediums. This circumstance allowed them to be better studied and their cause more in-depth. To the judges’ conclusion that “perhaps the future will enlighten us in this regard”, today the author would not answer: “the future has not taught us anything yet.” If this author were still alive, he would know, on the contrary, that the future taught everything and that the justice of our days, more enlightened than a century ago, would not commit, in relation to spiritist manifestations, mistakes that remind those of the Middle Ages. Our own sages have penetrated far enough into the mysteries of Nature not to play with unknown causes. They are shrewd enough and do not expose themselves, like their predecessors, to a denial of posterity, to the detriment of their reputation. If something appears on the horizon, they don't run to proclaim, "This is nothing", for fear it might be a ship. If they don't see it, they shut up and wait. This is true wisdom.

The study of the Revista Espírita of July 1858 gave us space for an important aside, regarding Psychography. We talked about the following topics at our meeting, as you can see below.

In The Mediums' Book    

178. Of all the media, handwriting is the simplest, most comfortable and, above all, most complete. All efforts must be directed towards it, as it allows for the establishment, with the spirits, of relationships as continuous and regular as those that exist between us.. It should be used all the more diligently, as it is through it that spirits better reveal their nature and the degree of their improvement, or their inferiority. Because of the ease they find in expressing themselves in this way, they reveal their innermost thoughts to us and allow us to judge them and appreciate their value. For the medium, the faculty of writing is, moreover, the one most susceptible to being developed through the exercise of the medium..

Mechanical Mediums

They are those whose movement of a pencil, pen or even hands on a keyboard takes place independently at will. The movement is uninterrupted and the medium is not aware of what he writes.    

179. […] When absolute unconsciousness occurs, there are so-called passive or mechanical mediums. This faculty is precious, as it does not allow any doubt about the independence of the writer's thought.

Intuitive Mediums    

They are those who write under the influence of the Spirit, being aware of what they write.    

180. […] it is possible to recognize the suggested thought, as it is never preconceived; it is born as the writing is being traced and, often, it is contrary to the idea that was formed in advance. It may even be outside the limits of the medium's knowledge and abilities.

Semimechanical Mediums

181. In the purely mechanical medium, the movement of the hand is independent of the will; in the intuitive medium, the movement is voluntary and optional. The semi-mechanical medium participates in both these genres. He feels that his hand is given an impulse, despite his own will, but, at the same time, he is aware of what he is writing, as the words are formed. In the first, thought comes after the act of writing; in the second, it precedes it; in the third, it accompanies him. These latter mediums are the most numerous.

Inspired Mediums    

They are those who write consciously, but whose content origin is from contact with other Spirits. They are like intuitives, with the difference that the intervention of an occult force is much less sensitive there. In this case, it is much more difficult to distinguish one's own thought than the one suggested to it.    

182. […] It can be said that all are mediums, because there is no one who does not have their protective and family spirits, who strive to suggest healthy ideas to the protected ones.

If everyone were well aware of this truth, no one would fail to frequently resort to the inspiration of their guardian angel, in moments when they don't know what to say or do. Let each one, therefore, invoke it with fervor and confidence, in case of need, and very often he will be astonished at the ideas that come to him as if by magic, whether it be a matter of a resolution to be made or something to compose. If no idea comes up, it's just that you have to wait.

Foreboding Mediums

184. Foreboding is a vague intuition of things to come. Some people have this faculty more or less developed. It may be due to a kind of double vision, which allows them to glimpse the consequences of current things and the filiation of events. But it is often also the result of occult communications, and above all in this case those who are endowed with it can be called psychic mediums, which constitute a variety of inspired mediums.

In this group study, we treated the article in question in a somewhat different way, as we noticed that it gave us the opportunity to go into a very important depth regarding mediumship and the differences between how it was treated in Spiritism, as a scientific doctrine born from the rational observation of facts and spiritist (spiritual) communications and how it is treated today. Thus, we cover the following main topics:

• What is the medium's influence on communication?
• Animism and the fear of being a psychic
• Can and should we judge mediumistic communications? In what way?
• Myths: we cannot summon spirits; Evoking Spirits Causes Obsessions
• Lições aprendidas: a distância entre o “movimento espírita” atual e o Espiritismo original; a necessidade da retomada dos estudos

Based on the article “Impostor spirits — the false Father Ambrósio” — Spiritist Magazine, July 1858

We hope that both the video of our debate and this reading will be of great benefit to you!

The pitfalls of mediumship

We recognize: studying Kardec on your own is not always easy. It is a difficult language and, many times, full of references to neologisms and the context in which Professor Rivail was inserted, in a way that such contextualization¹ is very opportune, in the foreground, as the use of research in the web, while reading.

“Escolho” significa, no sentido figurado, uma dificuldade. E Kardec abre o referido artigo falando sobre tais dificuldades:

One of the pitfalls presented by spiritist communications is that of imposter spirits, who may mislead their identity and who, under a respectable name, try to pass the grossest absurdities. On many occasions this danger has been explained to us. However, he is nothing to those who scrutinize both the form and the content of the language of the invisible beings with whom he enters into communication.. […] Nothing is easier than to guard against similar frauds, however small our good will.

Kardec seems to make quite simple, even banal, this task of identifying the communication of an imposter Spirit, isn't it? But why, then, nowadays, so many absurdities have been accepted, via mediumistic communications, as if they were the legitimate expression of a serious and honest Spirit, knowing the absolute truths?

Acontece que o “movimento espírita” (eu chamo de movement in order to distinguish Spiritism from what its adherents, who are not always well-informed and knowledgeable about the Doctrine, do) has largely forgotten the most basic postulates of the Doctrine of Spirits. Now, right at the beginning of the second part of The Spirits' Book, in items 100 to 113, Kardec presents us, didactically, a general scale, nomeada por ele “Spiritist Scale“, where, grouping in a more or less general way, the dear professor shows us the general characteristics of the Spirits in their different evolutionary scales, grouping them into three main orders: Imperfect Spirits (third order), Good Spirits (second order) and Pure Spirits (first order).

It is verified, even by the logical observation of our evolutionary condition, that we put ourselves in contact mainly with the Spirits of the last two orders, especially with those of the third, with whom we are more easily attuned mentally. It is also a known fact that spirits differ from us, incarnates, only because they do not have the constriction of the physical body and, due to the absence of this, they have a more free thought, in general, from the smothering of the physical brain. Therefore, like us, they do not change their opinion or knowledge simply by leaving matter through disincarnation and, like us, they can speak what they know, what they believe they know, or else they may seek to deceive, either out of ostensible malice or out of pride in wanting to say what they admittedly do not know.

We have already reproduced the Spiritist Scale in a previous article, but we are going to highlight some important details of this third order of Spirits, which is where the problems in mediumistic communications are concentrated.

Como se comunicam os Espíritos da terceira ordem – Espíritos Imperfeitos

Tenth Class – Impure Spirits

They are inclined to evil, what they are worried about. They give treacherous, disloyal advice, blow away discord and distrust, and they mask themselves in every way to better deceive.

In language they are trivial, coarse, have baseness of inclination, and cannot long deceive with false wisdom.

Ninth Class – Levian Spirits

They are ignorant, malevolent, inconsequential and mocking. They meddle in everything, respond to everything, without worrying about the truth. They like to cause little annoyances and little joys; to produce discord; to maliciously mislead by mystifications and pranks.

His communications are almost always witty and lighthearted, but often lacking in depth.

Eighth Class – Pseudo-Wise Spirits

They have quite extensive knowledge, but they believe they know more than they really do.

It's a mixture of some truths with the most absurd mistakes, through which they penetrate the presumption, pride, jealousy and obstinacy, which they have not yet been able to undress.

Now, we have, here, a very important basic knowledge about the way these Spirits express themselves, don't we? And of course, as good spiritists, we will not stop here and will seek to study The Spirits' Book and other works, in order to acquire even more knowledge that can help in our contact with the Spirits. After all, it is not for nothing that Kardec, in the introduction to The Mediums' Book, begins like this:

Every day experience brings us confirmation that the difficulties and disappointments that many encounter in the practice of Spiritism originate from ignorance of the principles of this science, and we are happy to have been able to prove that our work, carried out with the objective of guarding the adepts against the pitfalls of a novitiate has borne fruit and that many people must have managed to avoid them after reading this work.

It is natural, among those who deal with Spiritism, the desire to be able to put themselves in communication with the Spirits. This work is intended to find the way for them, leading them to take advantage of our long and laborious studies, since a very false idea would form those who thought it was enough, to consider themselves an expert in this matter, to know how to put their fingers on a table, in order to to make her move, or to hold a pencil, in order to write.

One thing is certain: Kardec had no time to waste with empty words destined to embellish a pride or a vanity that, as it was very well demonstrated, he didn't have. So, what we have to do is put aside pride and dedicate ourselves to studying, instead of thinking that we know everything simply because we have any practical contact with the Spirits! That way it's much easier to judge a spiritual communication or trying to penetrate the real face of the Spirit that communicates – and Kardec, in that same article (by the fake Father Ambrósio) will give a simple and clear lesson on how to do it. We will deal with that later on.

How to deal with mystifying spirits?

To mystify means to deceive, to deceive. And we will highlight two questions asked by Kardec, directly to the mystifying Spirit (that of the false Father Ambrose, whom he had evoked) that raise important questions, which are discussed below.

“14. ─ Que pensas do que disseste em seu nome?

─ I think like those who thought of me listened.”

The question here is: who listened to them? The medium would be listening, necessarily? In other words: was that medium's fault that false communication?

“16. ─ Por que não sustentas a impostura em nossa presença?

─ 'Cause my language is a touchstone [material used to assess the purity of a material], with which you cannot be deceived.”

Why in that environment (Kardec's) did that Spirit say he couldn't deceive?

But in order to answer these questions, let's move forward in our reflections, which will make the answers very clear.

Animism

We think it is important to raise the question of animism, since it is something that persecutes and takes the sleep of many mediums and leaders of spiritist groups. Animism is the concept in which the medium presents his own content, his own thoughts, instead of presenting purely the thought of the Spirit who communicates.

It is something that actually happens a lot, being the reason for many fears, as we said, because the hypothesis was created that the medium needs to be a totally passive tool for spiritual communication. This is still true when we talk about the communication of a Spirit through a medium. However, it should not be turned into a tool of persecution or self-persecution. The importance of the question here is linked to the medium's honesty:

• When the medium acts in a totally honest way, seeking to be a good tool for the Spirits, stripped of vanity and pride, his mediumship can be developed through practice and favored by study. Thus, in more or less time, the communications given through it will be more and more “clean”, expressing the original thought of the Spirit. Therefore, animism, in this case, should not be something to be feared, as it is related to the degree of development of mediumship, considering that, in the early stages, the medium will commonly complete thoughts or translate them according to their own ideas, which are not necessarily contrary to those of the Spirit.

• When the medium consciously acts (under the gaze of material lucidity) expressing ideas that are not of a Spirit, that is, when he is not acting as a medium, but only by himself, in a waking state, but he tries to trick, as if it were a mediumistic communication, expressing the most terrible nonsense, yes this is a serious case, a problem directly linked to the medium's morals, which needs to be treated with fraternity but with firmness, so that this medium does not put the group's harmony in check. When it acts in isolation, in this case, it is only necessary that it is not taken seriously, as, unfortunately, many spiritists have done.

The honest medium must learn that, whenever he is unfocused or when no Spirit is communicated, he must inform the group, without any fear of being affected by a self-love that, in this particular case, should never exist. Unfortunately, the current spiritist centers, with the mediumistic meetings open to the public, have placed on the mediums' shoulders a deleterious responsibility of having to always be ready and available for mediumistic phenomena, which is not logical, since, mediumship being a capacity rooted in the organism, as a sixth sense, can also present several obstacles, just as a cold can take away our olfactory ability.

But there is a third aspect to consider: sometimes the animism may be welcome, as expressed in the following question from OLM (The Mediums' Book):

223 - 2nd. Can written or verbal communications also emanate from the Spirit incarnated in the medium?

“The soul of the medium can communicate, like any other. If he enjoys a certain degree of freedom, he recovers his qualities as a Spirit.[…] Because, you know, among the Spirits you evoke, there are some who are incarnated on Earth. They, then, speak to you as Spirits and not as men. Why shouldn't the same be done with the medium?”

In such a way, if the spirit of the medium itself can communicate - which happens more easily in states of somnambulism and ecstasy, as the answer to question 223-3a makes clear - it is clear that it can also bring valid and important knowledge, in the same way that a spirit freed from matter would do.

I believe that the subject of animism is relatively well understood from what has been exposed. But what about the fear that the medium may have of transmitting a communication of low content, that is, a communication frivolous, of indecent or deceptive language? We believe that the following approach will respond well in this regard.

The medium's moral influence

Having raised the issue of the fear that the medium may have of giving way to a communication of less high content, we need to reflect on the medium's role in this regard. Kardec addresses, of course, this questioning in OLM, seeking to identify the connection between the medium's morals and the mediumistic ability. Let's see:

226. 1st. Is the development of mediumship related to the moral development of mediums?

"No; the college itself takes root in the body; regardless of morale. The same is not true, however, with its use., which can be good or bad, according to the medium's qualities.”

5th. In the lessons given, in general, to the medium, without personal application, does he not appear as a passive instrument, for the instruction of others?
“Often, warnings and advice are not addressed to him personally, but to others to whom we cannot address ourselves, except through him, who, however, must take his part in such warnings and advice, if not blind him. self-love.

The first question reinforces what we said about the mediumistic faculty being rooted in the organism, which means that both the good and the bad can be mediums of greater or lesser capacity. However – and therein lies the main objective of the mediumistic faculty – the good or bad use we make of it is what will guide our morals and the will to use it for our own progress, in the service of humanity, or not.

The fifth question goes like this: the medium, as much as he is a passive instrument, must always be attentive to the communications he intermediates, because, no matter how much they are directed to others, they can have personal application - which reinforces the previous thought.

226. 6th. Since the medium's moral qualities drive away imperfect spirits, how can a medium endowed with good qualities transmit false or rude answers?

“Do you know all the corners of the human soul? Moreover, the creature can be light and frivolous, without being vicious. This is also the case, because sometimes he needs a lesson in order to keep his guard up.”

The sixth question points out that, often, a low-level communication can occur through the sympathy of mediums with Spirits who think like him or who have the same inclinations, even if this is not visible in the medium, on a daily basis. They can also happen because he sometimes needs a lesson to keep himself on his guard, or else, we suppose, so that the study group remains on guard, because we suppose that a good medium can still mediate a communication of this content. in order to test the attention of that group.

All this, however, is very valid if the group or the individual is attentive and they treat communications seriously and honestly. Otherwise, such communications, which will happen more often, will lead to the downfall of one or the other.

226. 8th. Is it absolutely impossible to obtain good communications from an imperfect medium?

“An imperfect medium can sometimes obtain good things, because, if he has a beautiful faculty, it is not uncommon for good spirits to make use of him, in the absence of another, in special circumstances; however, this only happens momentarily, because, as long as the spirits find one that suits them best, they give preference to this one.”

Spirits communicate in a friendly environment, preferably.

Note. It should be noted that when good spirits see that a medium is not well assisted and becomes, due to his imperfections, the prey of deceiving spirits, circumstances almost always arise that reveal their defects and distance them from serious and well-rounded people. -intentioned, whose good faith could be lacquered. In this case, whatever faculties he possesses, his departure is not to be missed.

a moral medium complicated but with good mediumistic abilities, it can be used by good spirits in specific situations, such as when there is no other or when the spirits think that they will produce good or that they will be able to avoid evil by doing so. Other than that, they walk away.

Kardec's note says it all: if a medium, due to his inclinations, is no longer well assisted (by good spirits) and becomes prey to inferior spirits, he is, by the good spirits themselves, removed from serious and well-intentioned people.

Conclusions about the moral influence of the medium

• A medium of good morals can be the target of a mystifying spirit. This can be a warning, as in the case that Kardec will address.
• A medium of "questionable" morals can be used, if he has a powerful mediumship, by a high spirit. However, much more often he will be the target of inferior spirits, who will end up making him fall, especially when he uses his mediumship for “questionable” purposes.

The False Father Ambrose

Kardec, in order to study the problem, approaches the case that occurred at Spiritualiste de la Nouvelle-Orléans (Click here to download the original, in French), where two deceiving spirits had posed as Father Ambrósio and Clement XIV, weaving a dialogue that was too frivolous and empty.

Kardec then evokes the three Spirits: The real Father Ambrósio, the false Fr. Ambrose and the false Clement XIV, but rather declares:

Let us hasten, however, to declare that this circle does not only receive communications of this order; there are others of a very different character, in which we find all the sublimity of thought and expression of superior spirits.

As it is possible to verify in the original magazine and also in the free translation done by our collaborator, Ariane, in the second part (third page of the document), the communications of the real Fr. Ambrose are much higher and deeper.

Kardec's conversation with the Spirits and our reflections

To the Spirit of the true Fr. Ambrose:

5. ─ How could you allow similar things in your name? Why have you not come to unmask the impostors?

─ Because I can't always prevent men and spirits from having fun.

6. ─ We understand you about the spirits. But as for the people who collected the words, they are serious people; they were not looking for fun.

─ One more reason. They must have immediately thought that such words could not but be the language of mocking spirits.

Not always good spirits can prevent such situations, because, above all, they respect the free will of others. In addition, they may allow such situations to serve as a warning to the group or individual.

7. ─ Why don't the spirits teach in New Orleans, principles perfectly identical to those they teach here?

─ Soon the doctrine dictated to you will serve you. There will only be one.

8. Since this doctrine will have to be taught there later, it seems to us that if it were taught immediately it would accelerate progress and prevent some from having harmful doubts.

─ God's plans are always impenetrable. Are there not other things which, in view of the means which he employs to attain his ends, seem incomprehensible to you? It is necessary for man to get used to distinguishing the true from the false. Not everyone could receive light from a jet without being dazzled.

The Spirit of the true Fr. Ambrósio makes it clear: the Spiritist Doctrine found, in France and in the Kardec context, the necessary basis to make itself shine with full force, without overshadow, since the sciences were very well prepared to receive their teachings, treating them rationally and with a scientific method.

A great lesson from Kardec

We talked, before, about the need to seek to distinguish the communications of the Spirits, identifying if they are honest or products of deception and if they are of more or less wise Spirits (remembering that a communication can be serious and honest, but, even so, of little importance). or no wisdom). Let's see, then, the following questions and answers exchanged between Kardec and the real Fr. Ambrose:

 9. ─ Would you be kind enough to give us your personal opinion regarding reincarnation?  

Spirits are created ignorant and imperfect. A single incarnation would not be enough for them to learn everything. It is necessary that they reincarnate in order to enjoy the happiness that God has reserved for them.  

10. Does reincarnation take place on Earth or only on other globes?  

Reincarnation takes place according to the progress of the Spirit, in more or less perfect worlds.  

11. This does not clarify whether it can occur on Earth.  

Yes, it can happen on Earth, and if Spirit asks for it as a mission, it will be more meritorious to him than if he asked for it to advance more quickly in more perfect worlds.

Now, Kardec was talking about a completely different subject. Suddenly starts asking about reincarnation? Because?

Simple: because he was trying to probe the knowledge of that Spirit, in order to know if he was really talking with a wise Spirit or if he was talking with a deceiving Spirit. Brilliant, no? This is how we should proceed, even today and always, but for that, it is necessary that we are attentive, that we have knowledge and that we leave the condition of simple passive spectators of spiritual communications.

Kardec continues, now asking the false Foot. Ambrose:

15. ─ Why did you use a respectable name to say such nonsense?

─ In our eyes, names are worthless. The works are everything. As from what I was saying, they could see what I really was, I didn't attach importance to the name replacement.

Look: the deceiving Spirit knows that the “listeners” (we know that communication was through psychography) could judge who he really was, through what he expressed. Therefore, he did not attach any importance to using the name of Fr. Ambrose.

lessons learned

Vivemos um Espiritismo muito distanciado do Espiritismo “de Kardec” (entre aspas, pois sabemos que o Espiritismo não pertence a ele nem saiu de sua cabeça). E isso não é bom, porque o Espiritismo “de Kardec” é aquela doutrina científica, nascida com base na observação racional dos fenômenos espíritas e na concordância universal do ensinamento dos Espíritos.

Today, in the Spiritist milieu, on the one hand, the medium is persecuted for “animism”; on the other hand, many mediums are treated as oracles, as if their opinions – because any individual thought, in the face of the Doctrine, that has not passed through the sieve of reason and universal agreement, can only be taken as opinion — of themselves or of the spirits that communicate, could be taken as the supreme expression of truth and wisdom. We have just seen how false and dangerous this premise is.

Should we not evoke the Spirits?

In addition, several myths were created, such as the one that says that we should not evoke the Spirits (which is only valid in case of lack of good intentions, which would constitute, in Kardec's words, a true desecration) and how what says that evocations can result in spiritual obsessions. Now the spirits are all around us all the time, and they approach us according to their affinities with what we are and think, in the depths of our soul. To obsess us, it is enough that they want to use our unwillingness and our permission and, for that, do not need to communicate with us through mediumship.

It is worth noting that if a medium or mediumistic group becomes the target of spiritual obsession, it is because there is a moral problem there, linked to the imperfections of each one, over which they need to be vigilant. Kardec and countless other researchers used educated and balanced mediums to evoke all kind of spirit, without ever suffering from obsessions to do so. Just to reinforce: these evocations had a serious purpose and were made by serious people. If they were made out of mere idle curiosity or amusement, they would be related to a moral problem, and so there we have the highlighted problem.

This question, of the possibility and validity or not of evoking the Spirits, was already very well addressed by Kardec in his article “Spiritism without the Spirits”, in the RE of January 1866, about which we made some important considerations in an article namesake (Click here to access it).

Também, na Revista de 1858, no artigo “Obsessed and Subjugated” Kardec addresses the issue of the dangers of Spiritism in more detail. We suggest reading the article emerged from our studies.

Spiritism needs defense

Many claim that Spiritism does not need to be defended and, much more, that it needs updating, as it would be outdated. I begin by saying that Spiritism needs defense YES. Affirmations contrary to this seem to come from Spirits contrary to the propagation of this Doctrine, Spirits who, by the way, have never read Kardec, who should come out in defense of Spiritism whenever appropriate. It is not a defense that attacks religions or beliefs, but a defense that points out the inaccuracies and errors, in the face of Spiritism, in the so-called Spiritist affirmations and practices.

I've heard a lot, in the spiritist environment, in different parts: the times are come. For a long time I thought it was just a warning about the difficulties we are going through. However, today I reflect: analyzing it coldly, do we really live something very different from what we already lived in other times of humanity? Or could it be that the Spirits were informing that the time has come to restore what was corrupted?

One thing is a fact: it is time to start reorganizing thoughts and resume studies that have been forgotten or lost for a long time. Some researchers have brought very important information, based on documents and original works, hitherto unknown, allowing us to know not only Spiritism in its essence, but also the sciences that gave rise to it or that, together with it, form an inseparable set. .

Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo, in the work Autonomy: the untold story of Spiritism, brings us information about Rational Spiritualism. This formed the Moral Sciences of the time and which gave basis to Spiritism, which, according to Professor Rivail's own thought, was a development of the first; at work Mesmer: a denied science of magnetism, brings very important information about Magnetism, a science that is so often cited not only by Kardec, but by the Spirits themselves. As magnetism was a very well-established Science in its time, it never had in-depth explanations by Kardec, who could not imagine that it would be extinct in the following decades; and Simoni Privato, in Allan Kardec's Legacy, gives us information regarding not only an alleged adulteration of The Genesis, a subject that is still full of controversial discussions, but also gives very important information about the complete deviation that the Parisian Spiritist Society, later transformed into an Anonymous Society and led by Pierre Gaetan Leymarie, suffered at the hands of this gentleman.

Based on these studies and on Kardec's studies, Spiritists honestly interested in seeing the return of serious research work, together with Spirits, along the lines of Kardec, need to do their part in defending the Doctrine, disseminating it without accusing and, above all, , urging the mediumistic groups to re-register communications with the Spirits, delving into them and leaving the mere condition of patient spectators, living under the misunderstood phrase, which became the motto, “the telephone rings from there to here”, to resume serious evocations and produce important material that, one day, can be independently analyzed again (read this succinct article about this reflection).

Conclusion

Unfortunately, the spiritist movement is quite distant from Kardec and from Spiritism in its real face. It started to accept the most diverse blunders, allegedly transmitted by mediumistic sources, some well known, which has caused a lot of damage not only to the movement itself, which is increasingly emptied, but also to the image of Spiritism before the society, which has learned, in large part, to see Spiritism as that opinion that comes to the surface whenever any disaster happens to say that, there, people who were redeeming a collective debt were victimized, being, therefore, guilty and deserving of that event. And this kind of thinking is widely reproduced about individual or collective tragedies, causing aversion and distancing.

As if that were not enough, Spiritism, since Kardec's death (in 1869), began to be flooded with ideas roustaguists (de Jean-Baptiste Roustaing), “doutrina” essa que se instalou no meio espírita brasileiro desde antes do início do século XX, inclusive por great sympathy from Bezerra de Menezes às suas ideias. Embora a FEB, autointitulada “cúpula do Espiritismo no Brasil”, só tenha adotado a obrigação do estudo das obras de Roustaing a partir de 1917 (read more here), the Roustainguist (or Rustanist) influence was already strong in this environment for a long time.

Then came the influences Ramatists, following the same pattern: ideas of a clearly pseudo-wise Spirit (Ramatis), who believes he knows more than he knows and who wants to put himself with messianic characteristics, rewriting the truth and putting Kardec in the trash, contradicting the Spiritist Doctrine and Science itself in countless points and, finally, without citing several other examples, came the divinism, also with the same messianic content, this time through an individual who proclaims himself the reincarnation of Kardec and who also produces the most diverse types of ideas contrary to what was already established by the universal agreement of the teachings of the Spirits and by reason.

Anyway: the Spiritist Movement is forgotten by Kardec, to the point that there is almost no Spiritism in many points, but a religious spiritualism (in the sense of dogmatic religion and full of rituals, hierarchies and priests). We need, I repeat, to do our part, actively, but without contention, that is, looking for groups and individuals honestly interested in this task, in order to assist in the restoration work, because,

what is basic, cannot be surpassed!

This is an honest and open reflection. It so happens that, today, one only thinks about indoctrinate. We forget, however, that Spirits have a lot to teach us – even the most unhappy ones, because we can analyze their current state, the reasons for the complications in their lives and, from that, obtain a lot of important knowledge. Studying Kardec, we see that not only he, but also many groups distributed across Europe and North America carried out serious research on the subject through mediumistic communications – not just waiting for “the phone to ring from there to here”, but carrying out evocations with serious and useful purposes.

Furthermore, at that time, it was customary to annotate everything, generating large volumes of documents regarding these communications, which could then be studied independently by external researchers, through rationality, seeking to find agreement between them. It is practically what Kardec did, and it is what allowed the structuring of Spiritism as a Scientific Doctrine. Today this is rarely done, except in the production of “letters” from disembodied relatives (whose communications could be much better used). My point is: we will need to resume this methodology, after all, human science has advanced a lot, but Spiritism has practically stopped in time, and many concepts that are accepted today did not go through this necessary methodology. If, today, the various groups of studies or mediumistic practices spread out there resumed this task, taking care not to contaminate each other from the sharing of ideas not sanctioned by this method, we could once again have a large volume of production. of contents that, little by little, could be analyzed. This, however, requires at least the basic study of The Spirits' Book and The Mediums' Book.

Imagine, por exemplo, as controvérsias e falta de informações a respeito das “cidades espirituais”: não podemos, claro, perguntar ao Espírito, na sessão mediúnica: “Ei, você vive numa cidade espiritual? Onde fica?”. Isso provocaria, quase sempre, uma ideia contaminada como resposta. Antes, perguntaríamos: “poderia nos dizer como foi a sua chegada no plano espiritual? O que encontrou aí? Qual é a sua ocupação, hoje? Você se cansa? [Se sim] O que você faz para descansar?”

He understands? There is another very positive point: in addition to learning from such reports, with effects on ourselves, our thoughts and our attitudes, these communications are also very useful to Spirits, especially those in a state of disturbance, who, when contracted to the mediumistic connection, he focuses a little more, again and can, at that moment, reflect a lot on his condition, changing his life.

Anyway, that's it. It has to start over, somehow. We just cannot forget to study Kardec for this, in order to avoid the difficulties already known and dealt with very clearly by him.

During 1858, Ermance Dufaux received some autobiographies mediumistic. Among them, the authors were the French kings Louis XI and Charles VIII. Allan Kardec praised the work of Ms. Dufaux and transcribed excerpts from the “Confessions of Louis XI” in the Spiritist Magazine. That same year, Kardec released three messages psychographed by the young sensitive.

This communication specifically doesn't seem to have much relevance to us at this point. They are historical facts, used to evidence the authenticity of the communicating Spirit. We emphasize that Louis XI no it is São Luís, the Spirit who always communicated as one of the “mentors” of Kardec's studies.

In addition to them, she received a mediumistic autobiography from Joan of Arc, already mentioned in the edition of January 1858 RE

For those who want to know more about Ms. Ermance Dufaux, Click here

The Doctor. Xavier was a doctor of great talent and who had been very busy with magnetism, on which he had left a manuscript that he supposed would revolutionize Science. Before I died I read The Book of Spirits and wanted a contact with Allan Kardec, which he was unable to do. Months after his death, his evocation took place, at the request of the family, which was carried out in the presence of Kardec. He took care to exclude, in this publication, the questions and answers of a private nature.

Note: communication contains hits and misses on the part of the Spirit. Kardec presents both, as he wants to lead us to verify and reflect on the fact that the Spirit does not become wise by disincarnating.

our comment

After summoning, Dr. Xavier answered questions about the Spirit Doctrine, about the beginning of life, about the union of the Spirit to the new body, as well as the disunity of the Spirit at the end of the corporeal life.

Dr. Xavier said that the Spiritist Doctrine is a great work, and its worst enemy is religions, the beliefs of men. (Author's N.: So current... We can see that not much has changed since then... )

When Dr. Xaier was asked about the body retaining organic life for a few moments after separation from the soul, he said that the body feels what caused it to die only for a few moments.

At the time of separation, he said:

Question. 21 – How does the separation between the soul and the body occur at the time of the body’s death?

Reply. Doctor – Like a fluid that escapes from any vessel. 

Question. 22 – Is there a really clear line of demarcation between life and death?

ans. Dr. — These two states touch and confuse each other; in this way, the Spirit gradually detaches itself from its bonds; he unravels them, he does not break them.

Question. 23 – Does this detachment of the soul operate more readily in some than in others?

ans. Dr. – Yes: in those who in life have already risen above matter, because, then, their soul belongs more to the world of Spirits than to the terrestrial world.

Question. 23 – At what point does the union between the soul and the body occur in children?

Reply. Doctor – When the child breathes; as if it received the soul with the outside air.

RE March 1858, Dr. Xavier

Observation (Allan Kardec) – This opinion is a consequence of Catholic dogma. In fact, the Church teaches that the soul cannot be saved except by baptism; Now, as natural intrauterine death is very frequent, what would that soul become, deprived, according to her, of this only means of salvation, if it had existed in the body before birth? To be consistent, baptism would have to be performed, if not actually, then at least intentionally, from the moment of conception.

Our observation – The theory given by this Spirit about the moment of union between the soul and the body is not absolutely exact. The union begins from conception, that is, from the moment when the Spirit, without being incarnated, connects to the body by a fluidic bond, which is increasingly tightened until the moment the child sees the light. . The incarnation is only completed when the child breathes.

Follow the conversation with the Spirit of Dr. Xavier about intrauterine life, about spontaneous and induced abortion, about how the Spirit happens in these situations, in short, about the union of soul and body. This complete and very well explained understanding is in the Book of Spirits, by Allan Kardec, cap VII – From the return of the Spirit to Corporal Life, Union of the soul and the Body, from questions 344 to 360.

In addition to the passages cited from the Spirits' Book, we suggest consulting O Céu e o Inferno, Allan Kardec, Part Two: Examples, Chapter I. The Passage, Publisher Feal where there is an extensive explanation of what we discussed in the LIVE

The Queen of Oude has been summoned. She was an Indian Queen (her name was Malika Kishwar) who had visited England. On his return trip to India, he fell ill and died in Paris, in 1858. More details here queen of oude From now on, we'll call it Queen.

The queen appeared very disturbed, finding it difficult to understand what was happening to her. From their conversation, we could see their arrogance and pride. Several questions were asked about her opinion of her earthly life, the condition of women, the life of Indians, about Muhammad, God, Jesus, but she said that she was too powerful to be occupied with God.

She said that she missed life, that she hoped her subjects would come to serve her. She said more than once that she was always queen, even in other lifetimes. She was extremely arrogant.

The queen, in addition to being disturbed, seemed quite annoyed with the questions, which was questioned. She said she was forced to come:

question 22 ─ Why did you respond so quickly to our appeal?

ans. Queen: - I didn't want to do it, but they forced me. Do you think that I would deign to answer you? Who are you by my side?

Question. 23 – And who forced you to come?

Reply. Queen: – I don't know myself... since there shouldn't be anyone greater than me.

The Queen of Oude, RE March/1858

The conversation ended as soon as the Espírito de Sao Luis intervened:

question 32 ─ We only ask you to be kind enough to answer two or three more questions.

Reply. Saint Louis – ─ Leave her, poor misguided! Have mercy on your blindness. May she serve as an example to you! You do not know how much their pride suffers.

We thought we would find in this Spirit, if not philosophy, at least a truer feeling for reality and healthier ideas about earthly vanities and grandeur. Far from it, earthly ideas retained all their strength in her: it is pride, which loses nothing of its illusions.

This evocation description is also found in the book Heaven and Hell by Allan Kardec, Second part, chap. VII – hardened spirits.

In this article, Kardec reports the case of a murderer named Lemaire. He was invoked after his execution on December 31, 1857 in Paris.

Lemaire was a young man of 23 – 24 years old. He was arrested several times for theft followed by murders more than once. Escaped from prison, was held back again. He was feared by society. here you go article in french about your life.

When invoked by Kardec, through Ms. Raquel, immediately spoke up for questions. In his words, there was a clear regret for his actions. Besides, he was embarrassed.

Lemaire said he found his victims he murdered and felt remorse. His moral pain was unbearable,

– Do they have hatred and a desire for revenge?

– Do not. Your prayers draw to me the atonement. You cannot appreciate what a horrible torture it is all due to the one who is hated.

In RE, Assassin Lemaire, question 20.

He added, through responses from his summoners, the following:

 ─ How do you plan to rescue crimes?

─ By further evidence, but it seems to me that Eternity is between me and them.

question 32

He was very upset, which must have made them want to be able to give some kind of comfort to the Spirit of Lemaire.

This evocation is also described in the book Heaven and hell by Allan Kardec, Second Part, chap. VI – Repentant criminals.

Today, October 3, is the birth anniversary of Allan Kardec – Hypolite Leon Denizard Rivail¹, his registered name – and, as we understand his fundamental role in the study of the Doctrine of the Spirits, which he called Spiritism, we are going to address a very important subject, which, for those who study Kardec’s works, may even sound puerile, unimportant: the “Spiritism without Spirits”.

Now, it will not be rare for someone who has already heard the most diverse statements or who is aware of the widespread thought that we should not disturb the spirits by evoking them. Many are based on the well-known phrase by Chico Xavier, “the phone rings from there to here”, attributing to it a distorted understanding and making it a stony clause in the mediumistic code: “we cannot evoke them. We must wait for them to look for us.” There is nothing further from the truth and even from the purpose of Spiritism.

Noteworthy, Chico's phrase can be interpreted as follows: “we can evoke them, but it depends on them, not on us, whether they will respond or not”. Furthermore, we need to remember that Chico was constantly surrounded by thousands of people in search of a message from their deceased loved ones. Chico could not guarantee that he could attend to all of them, being led to say, in my own words: “Brothers, I am just an intermediary and I cannot, by myself, attend to everyone. Therefore, I place myself at their disposal, allowing their communications, as the good spirits judge best”.

This opinion, however, that we should not evoke the Spirits, comes from very far away and, in fact, was very pleasant to those who, after Kardec, did not want that the method of universal agreement of the teachings of the Spirits remained standing, since it would put down their personal opinions. This is well known.

Allan Kardec, in the Spiritist Magazine of January 1866, in an article with the same title as ours, makes the following observation:

Let us now examine the matter from another point of view. Who made Spiritism? Is it a personal human conception? Everyone knows otherwise. Spiritism is the result of the teaching of the Spirits, in such a way that without the communications of the Spirits there would be no Spiritism. If the Spiritist Doctrine were a simple philosophical theory born of a human brain, it would only have the value of a personal opinion; coming from the universality of the teaching of the Spirits, it has the value of a collective work, and that is why in such a short time it has spread throughout the Earth, each one receiving for himself, or for his intimate relationships, identical instructions and the proof of the reality of the demonstrations.

And he goes on, criticizing the enemies of the Doctrine who, because they see in the universality of the teaching of the Spirits, a great enemy to his own ideas:

Well then! It is in the presence of this patent, material result that attempts are made to build into a system the uselessness of the communications of the Spirits. Let's agree that if they didn't have the popularity they acquired, they wouldn't attack them, and that it is the prodigious vulgarization of these ideas that raises so many opponents to Spiritism. Don't those who reject communications today look like those ungrateful children who deny and despise their parents? Is it not ingratitude towards the spirits, to whom they owe what they know?

Where the Spiritist Movement took a detour

After Kardec, as we already know, the Spiritist Movement suffered a huge deviation, practically putting the Lyonnais master and his method of study into oblivion. After that, when he arrived in Brazil, the Movement was already quite altered in its bases, forgetting that Spiritism without Spirits is just a system of personal ideas, ideas that proliferated among Spiritists for more than a century.

Roustaing, one of the first major opponents of Spiritism, a contemporary of Kardec, moved by enormous vanity, mainly through Pierre-Gaëtan Leymarie, inserted his contents in the spiritist environment which, if it were not enough to be contrary to the Spiritist Doctrine in many points, were obtained through of one Spirit--that is, no universality of teachings. If they had encouraged such a method, they would see such theories denied by the Spirits themselves, which would not be interesting to the personal vanity of the “chosen one”.

Astonished, I discovered recently that the FEB itself, at the beginning of the 20th century, defended Roustangist ideas as a complement to Allan Kardec:

And it was to understand its preponderant usefulness [of the Gospel] that the Federation instituted its study in the sessions on Tuesdays, preferring it to the Gospel according to Spiritism [by Allan Kardec], which only contains the moral teachings, The Four Gospels (Revelation of Revelation), dictations to J.-B. Roustaing, because this revelation is complete, containing not only the development of those teachings, but the explanation of all the acts of Jesus' life, with a new and enlightening orientation about nature and his messianic mission.

(FEB, 1902, p. 1)

We see, therefore, since when such harmful ideas have infiltrated Spiritism, especially in Brazil, where several mediums – not questioning their purposes and values – started to be taken as oracles or prophets - again, nothing universality of teachings.

But do we need it today?

Many, however, will say: this method of Kardec, based in evocations, it was only useful for the birth of Spiritism. Today, we don't need that anymore, because we already have a lot of content that serves as a teaching base.

Yes, unquestionably we have so much foundation of moral teaching today that, if we really understood them, we would be light years ahead in our spiritual evolution. However, it was not the same with the teachings of Christ who, even so, sent us the Promised Comforter – The Doctrine of the Spirits. Why? Because the Spirit advances first in intellectuality, to only later advance in morality. How, then, to reduce this distance? Only through the union of faith and science. And that was Kardec's mission, so well accomplished in the study of the Doctrine of Spirits.

Now, we cannot forget: Spiritism is a science moral and philosophical aspect, born of study and observation of the spiritist manifestations, obtaining, from them, the knowledge, based on the universality of the teachings of the Spirits – that is, the distribution of the teachings of the Spirits everywhere, obtaining, from these teachings, the agreement, under the light of reason. We thus arrive at a conclusion:

To remove the evocations from Spiritism is to remove its main characteristic: that of a science that, as Kardec has always demonstrated and defended, should go hand in hand with human science.

So, we are forced to note, too, that evocations, with a serious purpose, are still necessary and, perhaps, always will be. Or do we already know everything about our relationships with Spirits and the world of Spirits? Or has the advancement of human science not brought, on the one hand, so many confirmations and, on the other, new doubts, regarding these relationships and our spiritual nature? Or is it that the mystifications did not start to flood the Spiritist Movement?

Let's see, regarding the last question, the thoughts of Cláudio Bueno da Silva on the portal O Consolador:

When talking about mystification, about deviations from the route of the spiritist movement, it is impossible not to mention the famous and traumatic “isms”, which caused so many controversies: Ubaldismo, by Pietro Ubaldi; Ramatisism, by Ramatis; Roustainguismo, by JB Roustaing; Edgar Armond's Armondism; Divinism, by Oswaldo Polidoro, and other “isms”. All of them with a curious characteristic: in the midst of truths, many misconceptions that differ from the Spiritist Revelation, codified by Allan Kardec. Although some of these propositions did not really arise within the spiritist movement, they infiltrated it, leaving remnants that still persist in many centers and federations across the country.

But the onslaught of shadows don't stop. Some time ago, many spiritist houses were “invaded” by the theory of indigo children, an imported version about the reincarnation of many intelligent “little angels”, full of independence and malice, but also full of rebelliousness and aggressiveness who, according to the fantasy of their North American “creators”, have the mission of renewing (?) the Earth . Many spiritists were delighted with the news and for a long time there was nothing else to talk about inside the spiritist house.

CLÁUDIO BUENO DA SILVA – http://www.oconsolador.com.br/ano6/285/claudio_bueno.html

The Spirits themselves defend our communication with them

The reading and study of Allan Kardec's work demonstrates to us, without ceasing, that the Spirits come willingly, whenever possible, to respond to the evocations carried out. When kind or wise spirits are happy to transmit good teachings; when Spirits, still inferior, find relief in exposing their difficulties or in transmitting some word of comfort to their relatives. At other times, as permitted, they convey important advice, as we can see in the article “Mama, Here I Am”, by RE of January 1858:

Julia: Mother, why do you grieve? I'm happy, very happy. I don't suffer anymore and I always see you.

The mother: But I do not see you! Where are you?

Julia: Here beside you, with my hand on Mrs. X (the medium) to write down what I say. See my handwriting (the handwriting was really the girl's).

The mother: You say: my hand. So you have a body?

Julia: I no longer have the body that made me suffer so much, but I have your appearance. Aren't you happy because I don't suffer anymore and because I can talk to you?

The mother: If I saw you, would I recognize you then?

Julia: Yes No doubt; and you have seen me many times in your dreams.

The mother: I really saw you in my dreams, but I thought it was a figment of the imagination, a memory.

Julia: Do not. It is I myself who am always with you and I try to comfort you; I was the one who inspired you with the idea of evoking me. I have many things to tell you. Distrust Mr. Z… He is not sincere.

(This gentleman, known only to the mother, mentioned spontaneously, was a new proof of the identity of the Spirit who manifested.)

The mother: What can Mr. Z?

Julia: I can't tell you. This is forbidden to me. I can only warn you to be suspicious of him.

We need, therefore, to remember that mediumship serves exactly this purpose: exchange between the “two planes”. If it were not so, God would not give us this ability. Yes, it is a fact that we must try to walk with our own feet, without giving in to the urge to ask the Spirits about everything. But it is also a fact that, with seriousness and good purpose, they have much to help us, both in personal matters and in matters of general importance. And this, by the way, they do constantly, through our intuition.

But then, if we think we need clearer communications, what can we do? Live in doubt?

I think that we need to think very carefully about this in order to really not to occupy mediums and spirits with something that we ourselves can understand or do, including steeped in the teachings already existing in Spiritism. We should act like the student who, before asking silly questions, should always research the already existing knowledge, otherwise he could even be scolded by the teacher: “you didn't study carefully. The knowledge is there; go back and reread”.

For the rest, if there is serious purpose, they will answer us within the limits allowed. If, on the other hand, there is no serious purpose, the good spirits will be able to give us a good ear tug, in the best of cases; in others, malicious spirits may respond, with the intention of causing us difficulties and deviations, or just making fun of us.

Conclusion

Being a memorable date, in short, in the life of this Spirit that we know as Allan Kardec, we need, in recognizing his work so well done and so dedicated, to recover the real history of Spiritism, restoring its essence and removing the obstacles that took such a large part of it.

Spiritism without Spirits, that is, Spiritism without universal agreement of the teachings of the Spirits and therefore without the Wow search for communication with them is not Spiritism: it is just personal opinion.

---

1. Among Allan Kardec's own handwritten papers is an autobiographical sketch in which he corrects his first name, normally spelled Hippolyte, to the true spelling Hypolite. Canuto Abreu made considerations in an article, which can be accessed at https://espirito.org.br/autonomia/allan-kardec-data-e-nome. as well as Kardec's manuscript. Also the year of his birth was corrected in that same document, having been born in 1803 and not in 1804 as later biographies wrongly recorded. [Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo- Autonomy: the untold story of Spiritism]

We think it is important to highlight our own considerations about material phenomena, since they still raise many doubts and discredit, especially after Spiritism has gone through almost 150 years of misrepresentations and false understandings.

Material phenomena still exist, just as the mediums who produce them still exist, this is logical. However, we believe that such phenomena, today, may not have so much expression because, when they occurred, they were motivated to draw attention to spiritist phenomena, which, some claim, is no longer needed today.

This is one way of seeing. The other would be that these phenomena only diminished after the development of Kardec's studies because, then, they were no longer necessary, since it was much easier to communicate through psychography, mainly, than through blows. But even then, these phenomena did not stop completely, as we can see with the example of Mr Home and, later, with the example of the well-known medium Eusápia Palladino, studied by Cesare Lombroso with great seriousness and dedication.

Now, as Spiritism has been so misunderstood over time and methodological studies have been forgotten in the past, leaving room for mystifications and the unbridled growth of materialism, even among spiritualists, we ask: would such phenomena not come today? bring attention again to the spiritist facts? We dare not answer categorically, but only recall the several reports that are put to our eyes every day, in the various groups on the subject, on social networks, and about which, for the moment, we only highlight: “what if?”