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Glossary
of Paranormal Terms
Below
are some common words used in the field of Paranormal Research.
If you feel we have missed a word, please use the definition
submittial form to the right and we will be happy to add your
term. Golden State Paranormal reserves the right to shorten
or change content emailed to us. Submitted content becomes
the property of Golden State Paranormal.
Alchemy
- The Science of turning the baser metals into gold or
silver by chemical means. The byproduct, "Quicksilver," was
thought to have magical powers. This was a very perfected
science in Egyptian times and lasted all the way up into the
14th-16th Century A.D. when some of the alchemy methods were
lost due to wars and fires that were amid in those times.
Anomaly
- An irregular or unusual event which does not fit a standard
rule or law. An anomaly is something which cannot be explained
by currently accepted scientific theories. Anything weird,
abnormal, strange, odd, or difficult to classify is considered
an anomaly.
Apparition
- A supernatural manifestation of the soul of a deceased
human or animal. Better known as a ghost.
Astral
Projection - When the spirit travels outside of
the body either to the astral plane or another location on
this plane. Also known as Out of Body Experience (OBE). Aura-
An emanation of energy, which surrounds all living things.
Many with psychic abilities are able to see and interpret
this energy. Can be viewed through the use of Kirlian photography.
Automatic
Writing - Phenomena in which people write without
conscious thought. Many feel that it is spirits writing through
the body of a living person. Parapsychologists feel that the
phenomena is due to automatism.
Clairaudience
- Hearing voices, astral music or discarnate beings.
Clairoleofactor
- To have an extraordinary sense of smell, as if you could
smell flowers before they bloom or smell trouble before it
occurs or death before it happens.
Clairsentience
- The ability to clearly feel yours and/or another's emotions
and sensations. Clairvoyant- Having the supposed power to
see objects or events that cannot be perceived by the senses.
Cross Species
Communication
- To have a special rapport and understanding with animals,
plants or alien beings.
Crystalomancy
- The art of gazing into a crystal globe, a pool of water,
a mirror, or any transparent object. The person may put him/her
self into a hypnotic state to see visions or to summon forth
spirits or demons.
Curse
- A calling on a god or spirit to visit trouble or evil
upon a person.
Deja-Vu
- Certain events and experiences seem as if you are re-experiencing
the event or situation that has happened at another time.
As familiar as the experiences are, you cannot recall nor
figure out when they happened.
Demonic
Spirit - An entity or spirit spawning from the
devil that is or was of this earth. They have the capability
of human possession, and the strength greater than any flesh
and blood creature. Usually demonic spirits are distinguished
by their dark, or black masses of psychic energy.
Demonology
- One who studies and practices the art of demonology.
An individual who specializes in the removal of evil or demonic
forces from a given environment using the art of demonology.
One who brings demonic forces out of their slumber to be cast
away. Someone who uses the art of demonology to incantate
demons for ones use in battling them.
Direct
Writing - Direct writing is when spirits actually
write using any means. This can be done by slate writing or
by pen and paper. Divination – The obtain unknown knowledge
or future events from omens. Astrology may be considered divination.
Divining
Rod - A forked rod from a tree said to indicate
the presence of water or minerals underground. Dowsing – To
be able to find underground water and/or underground minerals.
EBE- Extraterrestrial Biological Entity. Ectoplasm- A product
of psychic energy which usually forms as a fog like mist,
solid white mass, or vortexes.
Elemental
- Nature spirit of one of the four elements.
EMF
- Electromagnetic Field (EMF) meters measure levels of
electromagnetic radiation - which ghost hunters believe
apparitions emit when they are attempting to manifest. This
radiation originates from a wide variety of sources, including
the earth, people, electronics and power lines. Quality Paranormal
Investigators will use an EMF Detector to do baseline readings
prior to the investigation and debunk anything showing up
before the investigation and log it.
Empathy
- Rarely used in modern parapsychology, the popular usage
of this term refers to a low-level form of telepathy wherein
the empath appears to be aware of the emotional state of a
distant person. An empath may also be able to "broadcast"
emotions to others.
ESP
- Communication or perception by means other than the
physical senses.
EVP
- Electronic Voice Phenomena - EVP's are the recorded
disembodied voices of what is believed to be spirits. These
voices are often not heard while recording is being performed
but are heard when the recording is played back. Related to
Instrumental Transcommunication.
Guardian
Angels - These are Angels who are assigned to protect
all living creatures. Each person is said to have their own
Guardian Angel.
Ghost
- The disembodied spirit or image of a dead person appearing
to be alive. Ghosts are the most common of the paranormal
phenomenon. Ghosts only have enough energy to show up as orbs
in photos, or to make certain personal items go missing.
Ghost
Hunter - See: Paranormal Investigator
Haunting
- A ghost that returns to the same place and is said to
haunt a home, business, or property for whatever reason. A
ghost usually haunts places, not people.
Holy
Water - Water that has been blessed by a member
of the clergy. Holy water is said to have the ability negate
negative forces.
Intelligent
Haunting - An intelligent haunting is thought by
some to be a haunting by a responsive entity, and dynamic
in nature unlike a residual haunting. A characteristic of
an intelligent haunting is the ability of the phenomenon imposed
by the entity to have free will or to make conscious decisions.
Intuition
- Act of knowing without the use of usual rational processes.
Based partly on subconscious pattern association of known
information, and partly on subconscious psi impressions.
Kirlian
Photography - The photographing of the human aura.
Two Russian scientists, Semyon and Valentina Kirlian founded
this process.
Karma
- The doctrine of fate as the inflexible result of cause
and effect; the theory of inevitable consequence. “what goes
around comes around” Lucid dreams- The ability to control
what happens in your dreams. Levitation- The rising of an
object or person by no visible means.
Manifestation
- materialization: an appearance in bodily form (as of
a disembodied spirit)
Metaphysics
- Derived from the Latin word meta which means beyond,
metaphysics would literally mean that which is beyond the
laws of physics. Occult- The body of knowledge that is hidden
or secret in the areas of the paranormal, preternatural or
supernatural.
Orbs
- Orbs appear as solid or transparent "balls". They appear
in many shapes and some colors, with white being the most
common. Orbs with rings around them or appear to have ‘faces’
tend to actually be dust. These orbs are seen by overzealous
ghost hunters as paranormal energy. There is much controversy
over orbs and their relevance.
Ouija
Board - Game board manufactured by the Parker Brothers
company. Used to communicate with what people believe are
spirits. Ouija boards, instead, open a pathway for foul spirits
and demons to enter. When used by someone with no knowledge
of how the board works, or the curious and inexperienced,
this can cause problems. Golden State Paranormal Research
Society does not use – and does not condone the use of these
boards as a safe means to communicate with spirits.
Out
Of Body Experience - State in which the spirit
of a person travels to the astral plane. It is said that people
can in some instances travel to other locations on the physical
plane. Also known as OBE, astral projection or remote viewing.
Paranormal- Beyond the normal of human or scientific explanation.
Paranormal
Investigator - A person that visits locations that
are believed to have paranormal activity. They act as an impartial
professional that attempts to find out what is causing the
activity whether it’s paranormal in nature or not. Some ‘Hauntings’
can be easily debunked as loose pipes, passing cars, poor
electrical connections giving the resident peace of mind.
Parapsychology
- Derived from the Latin word para, which means beyond,
parapsychology literally means beyond psychology. It is generally
defined as the scientific study of paranormal phenomena. Literally
beyond psychology. The study of apparent new means of communication,
or interaction, between organisms and their environment (commonly
referred to as psi, or psychic ability), beyond those presently
understood by the scientific community.
Past
Life Recall - To remember or have mental flashes
about living in another century.
Pentacle
- A 5 pointed star with the single point UP encompassed
by a circle. The five points represent the elements (Earth,
Air, Fire, Water, Spirit) and the circle signifies unity.
The Pentacle is used for protectin by Wiccans or people who
perform Witch Craft. This is not an evil or Satanic symbol.
It simply signifies the spiritual beliefs of the wearer very
similar in comparison to the Christian Cross.
Pentagram
- A 5 - Pointed star with the single point facing
DOWN without a circle. The two top most points represent the
horns of the goat. The lower single point represents the beard
and the two points to the side represent the ears of the goat.
It is often a symbol used in conjunction with Satanic Cults.
Phantom
- An apparition or specter. Existing only as an energy
form.
Planchette
- The pointer instrument used with a Ouija board. It is
triangular in shape with a circular window with a pin through
it.
Possession
- An altered state of consciousness in which the conscious
personality of the individual is replaced with that of an
other personality thought of as a possessing entity.
Poltergeist
- A general term applied to a variety of site-, or sometimes
person-, specific physical phenomena. These can include temperature
variations, anomalous sounds, and movement of physical objects.
The word 'poltergeist' literally means 'noisy spirit' and
was coined back when such phenomena were thought to be due
to the presence of some sort of mischievous entity. Currently,
poltergeist phenomena are usually considered to be related
either to unusual physical conditions at the affected site,
or to be related to
Psychokinesis
- Anecdotal reports suggest that many poltergeist focus
on an individual under some form of emotional stress.
Precognition
- Pre-knowing; where nondeductible information about a
future event is acquired.
Precognitive
Dreams - To have dreams of events or incidents
before they happen.
Prediction
- To be able to predict future events before they occur.
Premonition
- Feeling or warning about a future event. This may be
a vague feeling or it can be quite specific. Pyrokenesis-
setting something on fire with your mind.
PSI
- A general term for parapsychological phenomena that
includes informational (RV, ESP) and energetic (PK) effects.
Psi, or Y, is the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet.
PSYCHIC
- Popular term used to denote a person who regularly uses,
or who appears to be especially gifted with, psi abilities.
Also refers to general phenomena related to the mind (from
Greek psyche).
Psychokinesis
- mind over matter.
Rapping
- This can vary from a light knocking sound to a heavy
pounding. It usually emanates from the walls, but sounds as
if it is coming from everywhere. Spirits sometimes communicate
through rapping. Reincarnation- A rebirth of a soul into a
new body.
Residual
Haunting - Experiences from the living that are
imprinted in a specific location and are replaying on a cyclical
basis, like the playback of a movie, such as apparitions doing
the same things or voices and sounds being heard at always
the same time of the day. Many hauntings can be of this sort
and not necessarly animated by conscious spirits.
Ritual
- A prescribed form or method for the performance of a
religious, solemn ceremony. Rituals can be used for good or
bad.
SCRYING
- A term used to cover a wide range of divination techniques
which parapsychology would tend to classify as types of ESP.
Most scrying techniques involve some degree of fixation on
a surface with a clear optical depth (e.g. a crystal ball,
a pool of ink or deep water) or on an area which shows random
patterns (e.g. flames in a fire, smoke), the idea being that
subconscious information available to the scrying will be
manifested in their interpretation of the imagery or random
patterns they see. Techniques using a clear optical depth
are actually very similar to the idea behind the homogenous
visual field used in Ganzfeld ESP research. Shaman- A wizard
in tribal societies who is an intermediary between the living,
the dead, and the gods.
Specter
- Something that exists only in appearance. Same as phantom.
Spell- A word or formula believed to have magic power. Occasionally
other objects are also used in casting a spell.
SHC
- Also known as spontaneous human combustion. Where a
person starts on fire for no apparent reason.
Telekinisis
- The movement of objects by scientifically inexplicable
means.
Telepathy
- Communication of one's mind with another by means other
than the normal senses.
TRANSMEDIUMSHIP,
TRANSCHANNELING - To have severe personality shifts.
Voodoo
- African religion which believes in seven gods and uses
spells and conjuring for personal gain or to hurt others.
Wraith- An apparition of a living person that appears as a
portent just before that person's death.
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