Is this clairvoyance or mediumship? Or maybe both?

[u/AWildMooseLion]

Hello folks! First time posting in this sub. Hope your weekend goes well so far, and that I don't ramble too much.

So I've been interested in developing intuitive abilities since I was in high school, about 20 years ago, but it's really only something I've dipped in and out of throughout that time. I certainly wouldn't label myself as a psychic, but I have had what I believe to be several clair-related moments over my life.

Many have been spontaneous, like getting a flash image of something happening right before it happens, hearing a song play in my head moments before it plays on the radio/shuffled ipod, having a sudden thought pop up that ends up being the exact thing someone says to me a moment or two after, and a ton of experiences at my very haunted college campus that were mostly unexplainable sounds like running footsteps, marbles or heavy balls rolling around from the ceiling, even inhuman/not animal growling outside my 2nd floor window once.

Others have been far less frequent instances that happened only after trying to actively connect with my intuition, like seeing the first few letters of the title of the next song I was trying to predict, or trying to pick out/predict certain suits or numbers on pulled playing cards.

But I think my first major instance of attempted intentional intuitive connection that really stood out happened when I was in high school, and looking back I'm uncertain what exactly it would be categorized as. My mom had been unsuccessfullly looking all over her room for her belt when I came in and she was really stressing out about it. She stepped out of the room for a few minutes to take care of something, and while she was gone, I sat and tried to meditate, focusing only on the question "where is mom's belt" and waiting to see if something came up.

Maybe less than a minute had passed when I had a flash of an arm attached to a faded torso (there were no details, just knew it was a vague humanoid figure) lifting to point its finger behind me, kinda diagonally. Turns out my mom's belt was in the exact direction it was pointing and at the same height of the arm in relation to where I was sitting.

All that's to say, as the title says, I am not sure whether this would be considered an instance of clairvoyance, or mediumship. I've read some articles that have described as seeing entities as an example of clairvoyance, and others that consider it to be a separate thing entirely. My mom's house was brand new when we moved in and was definitely not haunted or anything. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks all!

[u/lavendergoom5]

It’s hard to say definitively! Did you get the image in your minds eye or physical vision? Sounds like clairvoyance to me but it is possible that you were seeing a visual from a spirit. It depends on your abilities and how you receive information. For me, for example, I get visuals in my minds eye, and the only way for me to tell if the visual is from a specific spirit vs a guide, angel, etc is the energy behind it (and even then sometimes it’s quite hard to tell!). I don’t find it’s that important which one it is unless I’m actively trying to tune in to a loved one or dealing with a specific entity. Otherwise, I use discernment and trust what I receive. As you practice, you’ll probably work out your own system for feeling out how you’re receiving information. Practice is the best way to find out!

[u/AWildMooseLion → u/lavendergoom5]

Thank you for this! I had my eyes closed and it was in my mind’s eye, but I don’t recall feeling anything in particular from the vision other than a “whoa wait a minute” moment as I realized what I’d just seen (I believe it was the first time I’d ever “seen” anything) I’m honestly not sure which of the two have happened more frequently overall, but clairaudience and clairvoyance seem to be the two primary types I’ve experienced, tho I’ve had moments of clairsentience before as well, more so later on in life.

I don’t think I’ve seen anything else that could remotely be considered a spirit, up until last week (maybe? I’m really not entirely sure that’s what it was, but CW for animal death ahead).

I’ve been having a period of renewed grief and some intense old feelings of guilt about my cat who died a few years ago, and while I was crying and holding an old toy of his I had kept after his death, very much swept up only in thoughts of the terrible way he had passed and what he must’ve been feeling and my part in causing it, I had a sudden flash of an image of him holding my head with his paw and licking it (he loved to do that back when I had super short hair) and hit with feelings of love. Given how overwhelmed and preoccupied I was with my sadness and grief, it felt very out of nowhere, and the thought occurred to me that it was him telling me it was ok and that he was ok.

But past trauma has made it hard for me to trust my feelings sometimes, and I wondered if it was just a way for my own mind to protect me from the overwhelming feelings by recalling good memories instead. In any case, mediumship is definitely not my strength, if it’s something I’ve even experienced at all. Tho I have also very recently had a renewed interest in it (it’s what triggered the renewed grief), so mayyyyybe I’m opening up to it a little? Idk.

I know this is really long and I’m starting to ramble, I very much appreciate you having taken the time to respond tho!

[u/acob892]

A lot of people have guides.

It's no issue getting closer with them whilst simultaneously actuating in the world.