Understanding Symbolic Communication
Explore the role of symbolism within evidential mediumship and discover how an impression can communicate meaning beyond its literal appearance. This chapter examines why symbols arise, how context shapes their significance, and why the same image may represent something entirely different from one communication to another. You will also explore the development of a personal symbolic language and learn how patience, curiosity and discernment can help uncover meaning without relying upon fixed definitions or premature conclusions.
Book Three: Evidential Mediumship
A Common Question
How do I know what a symbol from Spirit is supposed to mean?
Answer
A symbol does not always have one predetermined meaning. Its significance may depend upon the communicator, the recipient, the surrounding impressions or associations that have developed through your own mediumship. Rather than immediately assigning an interpretation, begin by observing what has been presented and allow context to provide further understanding. With experience, some symbols may become familiar, while others will remain unique to a particular communication.
Introduction
Symbolism is one of the most fascinating aspects of evidential mediumship because it demonstrates how much meaning can be conveyed through a single impression.
An image, object, color, place or action may appear within the medium's awareness without an immediate explanation. A key may be shown. A train may pass through the mind. A particular flower, number, animal or piece of music may suddenly become prominent. Sometimes these impressions refer directly to something from the communicator's life. At other times, they represent an idea, experience or association that must be explored before their purpose becomes clear.
This is where symbolic communication differs from literal information.
If a medium is shown a bicycle, it may refer to a bicycle the communicator owned. That would be literal. But the same image might represent childhood, freedom, a particular journey, an accident, competitive cycling or a memory shared with the recipient. The image remains the same; its significance changes according to the circumstances surrounding it.
Symbols therefore require curiosity rather than immediate conclusions.
One of the easiest mistakes for a developing medium to make is assigning a familiar definition too quickly. A rose must mean love. A clock must mean time. A bridge must mean transition. Although these interpretations may occasionally be appropriate, treating them as universal definitions can limit the information Spirit is attempting to convey.
Human associations are far more individual than that.
A rose may refer to someone's garden, a wedding bouquet, the name Rose, a favorite perfume or flowers placed beside a photograph after a passing. A clock may relate to an occupation, an inherited possession, a significant time of day or someone's lifelong habit of arriving late. Meaning belongs to context, not simply to the object being perceived.
Over time, mediums may also develop personal symbolic associations.
Certain images may repeatedly correspond with particular information. A specific flower might consistently indicate a grandmother, for example, while a particular building may become associated with education. These associations can become useful forms of shorthand between Spirit and the medium, but even familiar symbols should remain open to reconsideration when the surrounding information suggests something different.
Symbolism is therefore not a code to be memorized.
It is a language that develops through association, observation and experience. Some of that language becomes personally familiar; some belongs specifically to the communicator; and some may only make sense within a single sitting.
Throughout this chapter, you will explore how symbolic impressions function within evidential mediumship, how meaning is shaped by context and why interpretation should remain flexible. Most importantly, you will learn to approach symbols not as puzzles that must be solved immediately, but as invitations to explore what Spirit may be expressing through them.
Why Spirit May Communicate Symbolically
Symbolism offers a remarkably versatile way for Spirit to convey information. A single image can carry associations with a person, place, memory, emotion or experience, sometimes communicating far more than a lengthy explanation could express. For the medium, understanding why symbolism may arise helps remove some of the mystery surrounding it and places the emphasis where it belongs: on the information being conveyed.
An image can contain several layers at once.
Consider the impression of a lighthouse. It could relate to a place where the communicator lived, an occupation connected with the sea, a holiday remembered by the family or an object displayed in their home. It could equally convey something less literal, such as guidance during a difficult period. The image itself provides a starting point, while the surrounding information helps reveal which aspect is relevant.
This ability to hold several associations makes symbolism an efficient form of expression.
The mind is capable of responding to imagery almost instantly. Seeing an old school desk may evoke childhood, education, a particular teacher and an entire period of life before any of those ideas have been expressed in words. In this sense, a symbol can function almost like a compressed piece of information, carrying several possible references within one impression.
Memory frequently works in much the same way.
A particular song can return someone to a specific moment. The smell of woodsmoke may evoke a childhood home. A photograph can bring back not only the people pictured, but the occasion, the location and the feelings associated with that day. Human memory is filled with these connections, making imagery and sensation especially suited to communicating experiences that may be difficult to convey through language alone.
Some concepts are easier to experience than to explain.
The medium may sense heaviness rather than receive a verbal description of responsibility. An image of an open road might accompany information about travel, independence or a major change in someone's life. A sensation of warmth may relate to a physical environment, an emotional memory or something personally associated with the communicator. In each case, the impression provides a doorway into information that can be explored further.
Symbolism can also bring together different aspects of a person's story.
Imagine being shown a sewing machine. It might initially appear to indicate a hobby. Further information could reveal that the communicator made clothes for their children, worked professionally as a seamstress and later taught a granddaughter to sew. What began as one simple image has opened into occupation, family history, personal ability and a shared memory.
This is one of the strengths of symbolic communication: it can create connections between information that might otherwise appear unrelated.
However, symbols do not need to be treated as mysterious messages requiring special knowledge to decipher them. Doing so can make interpretation unnecessarily complicated and may encourage the medium to search for hidden meanings when a much simpler explanation is available.
Sometimes a tree is simply a tree.
It may refer to the large oak outside the family home, the communicator's work as a gardener or a tree planted in their memory. There is no need to assign ideas of ancestry, strength or spiritual growth unless the communication itself provides a reason to move in that direction.
This grounded approach is important.
The purpose of symbolism is not to make mediumship appear mystical or obscure. Its purpose is to convey information in a form that can be perceived and explored. The image is valuable because of what it communicates, not because it is symbolic.
For the developing medium, this creates a useful shift in perspective. Instead of asking immediately, What does this symbol mean? it can be more helpful to remain curious about why this particular impression has appeared and what associations accompany it.
What does it bring to mind?
Does anything else arrive alongside it?
Is there an emotion, person, place or period of life connected with it?
Does the impression remain literal, or does further information begin to reveal another layer?
Questions such as these allow the communication to expand without forcing it into a predetermined interpretation.
With experience, symbolism can become less puzzling and more practical. Images, sensations and associations begin to be appreciated as different ways information may be expressed, each offering another route through which the communicator can convey something about their life or connection with the recipient.
Ultimately, symbolism serves evidential mediumship best when it remains in service to the communication itself. It does not need to be elaborate, mysterious or impressive. Sometimes one familiar image is enough to open the door to an entire memory, relationship or chapter of a person's life—and its value lies simply in where that doorway leads.
Literal, Symbolic or Both?
One of the subtler skills in working with impressions is learning not to decide too quickly what an image represents. Something perceived during a communication may describe an actual part of the communicator’s life, carry an associated meaning, or do both at the same time. Remaining open to these possibilities allows the information to develop before an interpretation is attached to it.
A literal impression refers directly to something that existed or occurred.
If the medium is shown a grandfather clock, for example, there may genuinely have been one in the communicator’s home. An image of a fishing boat might relate to a vessel they owned, the work they performed or an activity they regularly enjoyed. In these instances, what is perceived corresponds with something tangible from the person’s history.
Symbolic impressions operate differently.
The object or image becomes a means of conveying an idea rather than describing something physically present. A closed door might suggest an opportunity that was unavailable, a period of separation or an aspect of life the communicator kept private. A suitcase could relate to change, departure or preparation for a significant move.
The challenge is that the medium may not initially know which of these possibilities applies.
An image does not arrive conveniently labelled literal or symbolic. The distinction often becomes apparent only after the impression has been explored alongside the information surrounding it. Deciding its purpose too soon can unintentionally narrow a communication that has more to reveal.
Consider the image of a piano.
The communicator may actually have owned and played one. That is literal information. Yet the piano might also lead to memories of family gatherings, lessons given to a child or a piece of music associated with an important relationship. The original image is factual, but what it opens into carries additional significance.
This demonstrates an important principle: literal and symbolic do not always exist as opposites.
An impression can operate on more than one level.
A wedding ring may refer to an actual piece of jewelery while also drawing attention to a marriage. A railway station may identify a real location and simultaneously introduce the subject of a departure that changed the family. A particular flower might have grown in the communicator’s garden while also being associated with an anniversary or someone they loved.
The medium does not need to choose one meaning and discard the others.
Instead, the original impression can be held steadily while further information is allowed to develop around it. What else accompanies the image? Is there a person connected with it? Does a location become apparent? Is there an emotion, memory or period of life attached to what is being perceived?
These additional elements often provide the context needed to understand the impression’s purpose.
Suppose a medium becomes aware of a passport. Rather than immediately concluding that it represents travel, they might remain with the image. A particular country may then come forward, followed by a sense of permanent relocation and separation from family. What began as a simple object has now developed into a much fuller account of emigration and the effect it had upon the communicator’s life.
Had the passport been classified immediately as merely a symbol for “a journey,” much of that information could have been missed.
The reverse can happen as well.
A medium may see a pair of scales and initially wonder whether the communicator worked in a profession connected with weighing or measurement. As the communication progresses, there may be no occupational connection at all. Instead, further impressions may indicate a difficult decision between two competing responsibilities. The scales were serving as a visual representation rather than describing an object from everyday life.
Neither interpretation should be favored simply because it appears first.
This is where restraint becomes valuable. The medium can communicate the original impression without pretending to understand its complete significance. Saying, “I’m being shown a pair of scales, and I want to stay with that for a moment,” preserves what was received while leaving room for its purpose to become clearer.
This approach also prevents the medium from turning every image into a metaphor.
Once students become interested in symbolism, there can be a tendency to search for deeper meaning in everything they perceive. Yet doing so can move them away from straightforward evidential information. An old blue bicycle may not represent freedom, childhood or forward movement. The communicator may simply have owned an old blue bicycle.
Literal information deserves to remain literal when the communication supports it.
Equally, an impression that begins with a factual reference should not be prevented from developing further. If the bicycle later leads to a childhood accident, a brother who taught the communicator to ride or a treasured memory with the recipient, those additional layers can be explored as they arise.
The guiding principle is openness rather than classification.
Instead of asking, Is this literal or symbolic? as though only one answer can be correct, the medium might ask, How is this impression functioning within the communication?
That question leaves considerably more room for discovery.
With experience, the distinction often becomes easier to navigate, but there will still be occasions when the medium cannot determine precisely why something has been shown. That is perfectly acceptable. The responsibility is not to solve every impression before speaking it. Sometimes accurate description is enough, and its relevance becomes apparent to the recipient.
Literal and symbolic information are therefore not separate languages competing for attention. They are different ways an impression can carry meaning, and sometimes they work together within the same piece of evidence.
By resisting premature conclusions and remaining attentive to what develops next, the medium allows each impression to reveal as much—or as little—as it was intended to convey.
Context Determines Meaning
A symbol rarely reveals its full purpose when considered on its own. Its significance is shaped by what surrounds it—the communicator being presented, the evidence already received, the recipient's connection with that person and the impressions that follow. Learning to consider this wider context is one of the most important skills in working responsibly with symbolic information.
Imagine that a medium is shown a set of keys.
Viewed in isolation, those keys could suggest countless possibilities: a home, a vehicle, security, responsibility, independence or access to something important. Attempting to select a meaning from those possibilities would involve considerable guesswork.
Now place the keys within a communication.
If the medium has already received information about a family business and then becomes aware of keys being handed from one person to another, they may relate to responsibility for that business being passed to the next generation. If the recipient has just confirmed that the communicator loved restoring cars, the same image could have an entirely different relevance. If an impression of a new home follows, the keys may simply refer to moving house.
The symbol has not changed.
The context has.
This is why symbolic interpretation should never rely upon the image alone. Surrounding evidence provides a framework that helps narrow the possibilities and brings the intended association into clearer focus.
The communicator also provides context through the life they lived.
A deck of cards connected with someone who regularly played poker carries a very different significance from the same image presented by a grandmother who spent every Friday evening playing bridge with friends. If neither connection existed, the cards might lead somewhere else entirely. Understanding who is communicating can therefore help determine how an image belongs within their story.
The recipient contributes another layer.
A symbol may refer to an experience shared specifically between the communicator and the person receiving the evidence. An image of a park bench might seem insignificant until the recipient understands it as the place where they regularly met their father for lunch. In such a case, the meaning could never have been discovered through a general definition of bench. Its value comes from the relationship attached to it.
This is why the question “What does this symbol mean?” can sometimes be too limiting.
A more useful question is:
“What is this connected to?”
That small change encourages exploration rather than immediate interpretation.
What person accompanies the impression?
What period of life seems relevant?
Does it belong to a location?
Is there a memory attached to it?
What information appeared immediately before it?
What begins to develop afterward?
These connections can reveal far more than searching mentally for a definition.
Sequence can be especially informative.
Impressions do not always arrive randomly. The order in which information appears may indicate how one detail relates to another. A medium might first perceive a school building, then a violin, followed by the awareness of a young girl. Considered separately, the three impressions could lead in many directions. Taken together, they may point towards music lessons during childhood, a school performance or someone who later became a musician.
The relationship between the impressions provides the clue.
This does not mean that every sequence forms a perfectly ordered narrative. Mediumistic information can move unexpectedly between subjects, and one impression may occasionally introduce something entirely new. The medium should therefore observe sequence without imposing structure where none has been given.
Emotional context can be equally revealing.
Suppose an image of a suitcase appears. If it is accompanied by excitement and anticipation, it may relate to a much-loved holiday, adventure or new beginning. If the same suitcase arrives alongside sadness and a sense of separation, it may point towards emigration, leaving home or a difficult departure.
The object remains identical, yet the emotional quality surrounding it changes how it can be explored.
Timing within the communication can matter as well.
A symbol presented while establishing the communicator may function as identifying evidence. The same image arising later, during discussion of a shared memory, may serve an entirely different purpose. Paying attention to where an impression appears helps the medium understand the role it may be playing at that particular moment.
Context can also protect against one of the greatest difficulties in symbolic work: personal assumption.
Every medium has their own associations. An ocean may suggest freedom to one person, fear to another and childhood holidays to someone else. Those associations are worth noticing, but they should not automatically be transferred onto the communicator. The surrounding evidence must be allowed to determine whether a personal association is relevant.
Sometimes the context will remain incomplete.
In those moments, there is no requirement to produce an explanation. The medium can describe the symbol accurately and continue. Additional evidence may clarify it later, or the recipient may already understand why it matters.
Not knowing immediately can preserve accuracy far better than an interpretation offered simply to fill the gap.
As experience develops, working with context becomes less about searching for definitions and more about observing relationships between pieces of information. The medium begins to notice how an image belongs beside a memory, how an emotion changes the character of an impression, or how something presented earlier suddenly becomes relevant when another detail arrives.
Symbolic communication becomes clearer when the medium stops treating each symbol as an isolated puzzle.
The question is not simply what the symbol means, but where it belongs.
When attention shifts towards the communicator, the recipient, the sequence of evidence and the associations surrounding an impression, symbolism becomes grounded in the communication itself. Meaning is no longer imposed upon the image from the outside; it emerges from the context in which the image was given.
Moving Beyond Universal Symbol Definitions
As mediums begin exploring symbolic communication, it can be tempting to search for a reliable set of meanings that will make every image easier to understand. Books, charts and online references may suggest that particular symbols always represent particular ideas: a butterfly means transformation, a bridge represents transition, water relates to emotion or a white feather signifies Spirit.
These associations can offer inspiration, but they should never become rules.
Symbolic language is far too individual to be reduced to a universal dictionary. The meaning attached to an image is influenced by personal history, culture, family traditions, beliefs and lived experience. What carries one association for one person may evoke something entirely different for another.
Consider the image of a snake.
For one person, it may be associated with fear or danger. For another, it could connect with a beloved pet, a career working with reptiles or a childhood spent in a particular environment. Within some cultural traditions, snakes may carry additional meanings that differ considerably from the medium's own associations. Assigning a predetermined definition before understanding the circumstances could therefore lead the interpretation away from what was intended.
Even familiar symbols deserve this openness.
A heart may certainly relate to love, but it could also refer to a heart-shaped necklace, a cardiac condition, artwork displayed in someone's home or a particular object exchanged between two people. A book might suggest learning, yet it could just as easily refer to an author, librarian, favorite novel or something the communicator gave to the recipient.
Common associations are possibilities—not conclusions.
This distinction is important because memorized interpretations can gradually become automatic. The medium sees an image and immediately supplies the definition they have learned. Once this habit develops, it can become difficult to determine whether the meaning arose through the communication or through previous conditioning.
The medium may then begin interpreting the symbol before truly exploring it.
This is one of the limitations of depending heavily upon external symbol lists. They can encourage the belief that successful interpretation comes from remembering the correct definition, when symbolic work actually requires flexibility, observation and responsiveness.
There is no examination in which every image has one correct answer.
A more useful approach is to regard established associations as starting points. If a rainbow brings hope to mind, that association can be acknowledged without deciding that hope must be the intended meaning. The medium can remain with the impression and see whether anything else develops around it.
Perhaps a location appears.
Perhaps a person becomes associated with it.
Perhaps the recipient once photographed a rainbow during an important family occasion.
Perhaps the communicator had a particular connection with rainbows that the medium could never have known.
Remaining receptive allows these possibilities to emerge.
Cultural differences deserve particular consideration as well. Colors, animals, numbers, plants and objects can carry meanings that vary significantly between communities and traditions. An image interpreted positively within one culture may hold a completely different association within another. Assuming that the medium's own understanding is universal can unintentionally place personal beliefs over the communicator's experience.
The same principle applies within families.
Families create symbolic languages of their own without necessarily calling them symbols. A particular song may belong to a family celebration. A robin may remind everyone of a grandparent. A certain number may be connected with an old family joke. These associations are meaningful because of shared history, not because they appear in a reference book.
Spirit may therefore use an image in a way that contradicts everything the medium has previously associated with it.
This is not a problem to be corrected.
It is an invitation to remain adaptable.
A symbol that has consistently carried one meaning across several communications may appear differently when working with another communicator. Rather than insisting upon the familiar interpretation, the medium can allow the present communication to establish its own significance.
This flexibility protects against another subtle difficulty: seeing what we expect to see.
Once an image becomes strongly associated with a particular meaning, expectation can begin to influence interpretation. The medium may stop investigating because they believe the answer is already known. Remaining curious prevents familiarity from becoming assumption.
External resources can still have educational value.
Learning about symbolism in mythology, psychology, religion, art and different cultures can broaden awareness and introduce associations the medium may never have considered. The difficulty arises only when those references are treated as authoritative translations for mediumistic impressions.
Knowledge can expand possibilities.
It should not restrict them.
Ultimately, symbolic communication is not about memorizing the correct meaning of an image. It is about discovering how that image functions within a particular communication, with a particular communicator, for a particular recipient.
When fixed definitions are released, the medium becomes free to encounter each symbol as it arrives. Familiar associations remain available, but they no longer dictate the outcome. Instead of consulting an internal dictionary, the medium stays attentive to the communication itself.
And that openness allows symbolism to remain what it should be: a flexible language capable of expressing the individuality of Spirit rather than a collection of meanings decided in advance.
Discovering Personal Associations
Every medium brings a lifetime of memories, experiences and associations to the way impressions are perceived. Long before mediumistic development begins, the mind has already formed countless connections between images and meaning. A particular scent may recall a grandparent, a certain building may suggest childhood, or an old-fashioned telephone may immediately evoke a particular period in time.
These associations can become a useful part of evidential communication.
Spirit may work with imagery that is already familiar to the medium because familiar references can convey information efficiently. If the medium strongly associates a particular style of clothing with the 1940s, for example, that imagery may help indicate an era. Someone who grew up around farming may respond immediately to the difference between agricultural tools that another person would struggle to identify. Existing knowledge provides a vocabulary through which information can sometimes be expressed.
This does not mean that Spirit is limited to what the medium already knows.
Rather, familiar associations can provide useful reference points. Just as two people who know one another well may communicate an entire idea through a single phrase or gesture, an established association can convey something quickly without requiring every detail to be explained separately.
Personal memories can function in a similar way.
Imagine that the medium had an uncle who was exceptionally meticulous and always kept his workshop perfectly organized. During a sitting, an image of that workshop might unexpectedly enter awareness. The medium should not conclude that their uncle is communicating. Instead, they might consider what qualities the memory represents to them: precision, orderliness, craftsmanship or perhaps a particular occupation.
The personal memory may be acting as a reference rather than as the subject of the communication.
This distinction is important.
When familiar imagery appears, the useful question is not always, Why am I thinking about this person or place? Sometimes the better question is, What does this person, place or object represent to me?
That enquiry can reveal why the particular association has surfaced.
A childhood teacher might represent strict discipline. A grandmother's kitchen might suggest hospitality. A certain song may connect with a decade rather than with the song itself. An airport could immediately evoke long-distance travel for one medium, while for another it may be associated with emotional reunions because of experiences within their own family.
Understanding your personal associations therefore requires self-awareness.
The more familiar you become with the connections already held within your own memory, the easier it becomes to notice when one of them may be serving as a reference point. This does not require analyzing every thought or creating elaborate meanings for everything you perceive. It simply involves becoming curious about the associations that arise consistently and the information they appear to accompany.
Personal association and personal assumption, however, are not the same thing.
An association offers a possibility.
An assumption turns that possibility into a conclusion.
If seeing a hospital reminds you of illness, that connection may be useful. But immediately deciding that the communicator died in hospital goes further than the original impression supports. There may instead be a career in healthcare, a lengthy period of visiting someone who was unwell, the birth of a child or another experience entirely.
The association can open a direction without determining the destination.
This is why personal references should remain flexible. They can help the medium explore an impression, but they should never override information that develops differently. If further details contradict the initial association, the medium must be willing to release it rather than trying to make the communication conform to what first came to mind.
Sometimes the reason for a particular image becomes apparent only afterward.
A medium may wonder why Spirit used a memory from their own childhood to convey something about a communicator they never knew. Later, they may discover that a specific feature within that memory—the type of house, an item of clothing, a family circumstance or even the atmosphere of the experience—closely matched what needed to be expressed.
Moments like these can teach the medium a great deal about their own perceptual language.
They demonstrate that the mind is not merely a passive receiver. It contains an enormous library of memories, sensory experiences and associations that may provide useful ways of expressing information. Becoming familiar with that library can expand the medium's ability to work with symbolism while still maintaining discernment.
It is equally important to allow new associations to form.
An image does not need to carry the same personal reference forever. Experience changes us, knowledge expands and our understanding of imagery becomes more nuanced. What once suggested only one idea may eventually hold several possibilities depending upon the circumstances in which it appears.
For this reason, discovering personal associations is an ongoing process rather than something to master once and complete.
The aim is not to catalogue every image in your mind or assign each one a permanent definition. It is to understand yourself well enough to notice when your memories and experiences may be providing a useful bridge for information—and to remain discerning enough not to mistake that bridge for the message itself.
When approached in this way, personal associations become valuable tools rather than fixed interpretations. They allow Spirit to work through imagery that already carries meaning for the medium, while leaving enough openness for each communication to reveal how that imagery is being used.
The medium learns something important in the process: sometimes understanding a symbol begins not by asking what it means universally, but by asking why this particular image was shown to you.
Developing a Personal Symbolic Language
As experience accumulates, some mediums begin to notice that certain images, sensations or references return with surprising consistency. What once seemed like an isolated impression may appear again in another sitting, carrying a similar purpose. Over time, these recurring associations can become part of a personal symbolic language between Spirit and the medium.
This language is discovered rather than invented.
There is an important difference between deciding in advance that a symbol will mean something and observing that the same association has repeatedly been supported through experience. If a medium chooses that a yellow rose will always represent friendship, they may unintentionally begin interpreting every yellow rose according to that expectation. Nothing has yet demonstrated that this is how the image functions within their mediumship.
A genuine symbolic association develops differently.
Suppose a medium repeatedly becomes aware of a particular style of military cap shortly before receiving information connected with armed service. The first occurrence may seem incidental. If the same reference appears during several unrelated sittings and is repeatedly validated in connection with military experience, a pattern begins to form.
The meaning has earned its place through consistency.
Validation is therefore an important part of developing a personal symbolic language. A recurring image becomes useful not simply because it feels familiar, but because experience has shown that it reliably corresponds with particular information.
This process usually happens gradually.
The first time a symbol appears, the medium may have little understanding of it. The second time, there may be a sense of familiarity. After several occasions in which the same association proves relevant, the medium begins to appreciate that Spirit may be using an established reference.
Repeated experience creates a form of shorthand.
Imagine that a medium consistently sees the front door of their childhood school when information relates to teaching or education. Spirit does not necessarily need to present an entirely new classroom scene each time. That familiar image may provide an efficient way of directing attention towards an educational connection.
Yet even established symbols should never become automatic conclusions.
If the school appears during another communication, the medium may initially consider education because previous experience supports that association. However, they should remain available to other possibilities. On this occasion, the image might refer to childhood, a particular building, a school friend or an event that occurred during those years.
A personal symbolic language is useful precisely because it is flexible.
Keeping track of recurring impressions can help reveal patterns that might otherwise be forgotten. Some mediums prefer to make brief notes after sittings, recording an image, their initial interpretation and what was later confirmed. Others become sufficiently familiar with repeated associations that they retain them mentally.
The purpose of recording symbols is not to create a rigid dictionary.
Instead, observation provides an opportunity to compare experiences over time.
Did the same image appear in similar circumstances?
Was the interpretation confirmed?
Did the symbol consistently lead towards one subject, or has it carried several meanings?
Was the original understanding accurate, or did later information reveal something different?
Questions such as these turn experience into learning.
A written record can be particularly useful when an association seems reliable but has appeared only occasionally. Looking back across several months of practice may reveal a pattern that was not obvious during individual sittings. Equally, it may show that a symbol once believed to have a fixed meaning was actually being used in several different ways.
Both discoveries are valuable.
The aim is not to accumulate an ever-growing catalogue of symbols. In fact, becoming too dependent upon established associations can eventually restrict perception. If every image is immediately translated according to previous experience, the medium risks listening to their own symbolic system rather than remaining attentive to the present communication.
Personal symbolism should support receptivity, not replace it.
This means allowing meanings to earn consistency rather than assigning them prematurely. A symbol that has been validated many times can reasonably become a familiar reference, but it should still be approached with enough openness for Spirit to use it differently when necessary.
The language may also change as the medium changes.
New experiences create new associations. Knowledge expands. Earlier references may become more nuanced, while others may gradually disappear from use. Spirit may introduce completely unfamiliar imagery as the medium's awareness becomes capable of working with a wider range of information.
There is no reason for a personal symbolic language to remain static.
Like any living language, it can grow, adapt and acquire greater subtlety over time. An image that once conveyed a broad subject may eventually reveal finer distinctions. What initially indicated only medicine, for example, might later develop separate associations for nursing, surgery, medication or hospital care as repeated experience provides greater definition.
This gradual refinement is one of the reasons patience matters.
Symbolic understanding cannot be rushed into existence. It develops through receiving, observing, testing, validation and reflection. Each communication contributes another piece of experience from which the medium can learn.
Eventually, familiar symbols may become useful companions within mediumship, offering efficient references without requiring lengthy interpretation. Yet their value comes from the history behind them—the repeated occasions on which their relevance has been demonstrated.
A personal symbolic language is therefore not something a medium sits down and creates.
It is something Spirit and the medium gradually establish together.
And perhaps its greatest strength lies in that distinction: the language is not based upon what the medium has decided a symbol should mean, but upon what experience has repeatedly shown it can mean.
When a Symbol Is Meant for the Recipient
Not every symbol received during evidential mediumship is intended to be understood by the medium.
Sometimes an image appears because it belongs directly to the recipient's memories, experiences or connection with the Spirit communicator. In these moments, the medium's task may be surprisingly simple: describe what has been perceived and allow the recipient to understand why it matters.
This can require a different kind of trust.
Mediums naturally want to understand the information they receive. When an unfamiliar image appears, there can be an immediate desire to interpret it, explain its purpose or discover the story behind it. Yet some symbols contain meaning that exists entirely outside the medium's knowledge.
Imagine suddenly seeing a small green suitcase covered with travel stickers.
The medium may have no idea why such a specific object is being presented. To the recipient, however, it could be unmistakable—the suitcase their mother carried on every family holiday, an object still stored in the attic or something connected with a treasured childhood memory.
In this situation, interpretation would add very little.
The description itself is the evidence.
Private associations can be especially powerful because their significance belongs to the people involved rather than to a commonly understood symbolic meaning. A ceramic rabbit, a particular street sign, an unusual phrase written on a birthday card or the image of three oranges sitting on a windowsill may appear almost meaningless to an outsider while carrying an entire story for the recipient.
The medium does not need to know that story in order to present the information faithfully.
This principle can be liberating for developing mediums. There is often an assumption that receiving an impression creates an obligation to explain it. When no explanation arrives, the medium may begin searching mentally for one, drawing upon personal associations or trying to construct a logical connection.
That search can take the communication further away from what was originally presented.
There is wisdom in knowing when not to interpret.
If an image is clear but its purpose is not, the medium can simply describe it: “I’m being shown a small silver bell with a blue ribbon attached to it. I don't understand the significance, but I feel I should give that to you exactly as I see it.”
This preserves the integrity of the impression without diminishing it simply because its relevance is unknown to the medium.
The recipient may understand immediately.
At other times, they may need a moment to search their memory. They might remember the object only after another detail is presented, or discover its relevance through a conversation with a family member after the sitting. There is no requirement for every symbol to produce instant confirmation.
When the recipient does understand the reference, the medium should also resist the temptation to supply the explanation for them.
Leading questions such as, “Was that something your mother gave you?” or “Does this relate to your childhood home?” introduce possibilities that were not part of the original impression. A more neutral approach allows the recipient to explain the connection in their own words if they choose to do so.
This distinction protects the evidential value of the information.
If the medium describes an unusual object and the recipient independently explains its significance, the connection has emerged without suggestion. The medium has presented what was received; the recipient has supplied the meaning from their own experience.
There may even be occasions when the recipient prefers not to explain.
A symbol could relate to a private conversation, an intimate memory or an experience they do not wish to discuss. Confirmation does not always require disclosure. A recipient may simply say that they understand the reference, and that can be enough.
Respecting that boundary is part of responsible mediumship.
The medium is not entitled to every story behind the evidence. Their role is to serve the communication, not to satisfy personal curiosity. When something private has been conveyed successfully, there may be no reason to ask for further details.
This introduces an important form of humility into symbolic work.
Mediumship does not require the medium to become the authority on every impression that passes through their awareness. There will be times when Spirit provides the image, the medium provides the description and the recipient holds the understanding.
Each person contributes something different.
The communicator brings the reference.
The medium conveys it.
The recipient knows why it matters.
When this is accepted, symbolic communication becomes far less dependent upon the medium's ability to solve everything. An unfamiliar image no longer has to feel like an incomplete piece of work. It may already be complete; its meaning simply belongs to someone else.
Learning when to interpret and when simply to convey is therefore an important part of discernment. Sometimes the greatest service a medium can offer is not an explanation, but accuracy—the willingness to present an impression exactly as it arrived and then step aside.
Because in evidential mediumship, understanding everything is not always the medium's responsibility.
Sometimes being the messenger is enough.
Exploring a Symbol Without Forcing Its Meaning
When a symbol appears during evidential communication, the medium does not need to understand it immediately. The first responsibility is simply to notice what has been presented. Rather than rushing towards an explanation, remaining with the original impression gives it an opportunity to reveal more.
Begin with what you actually perceive.
If an image of a lantern appears, resist the impulse to decide that it represents guidance, hope or finding one's way. Instead, observe the lantern itself. Is it old or modern? Is it lit? Is someone carrying it? Does it appear indoors or outside? These qualities may contain information that would be lost if the image were translated too quickly into an abstract idea.
Detail can often provide direction.
Color may be significant. A red dress is more specific than simply being shown clothing. A blue front door may connect with a particular home. A yellow car may relate to an actual vehicle remembered by the family. Before treating color symbolically, consider whether it may simply be describing something accurately.
Movement can offer another clue.
A stationary train creates a different impression from one pulling away from a platform. A bird resting on a branch conveys something different from one repeatedly circling overhead. An unopened letter differs from one being torn apart. Paying attention to what is happening within an image can reveal information that the object alone does not provide.
The emotional quality surrounding a symbol deserves equal attention.
An empty chair accompanied by warmth and affection may relate to a familiar place where the communicator regularly sat. The same chair accompanied by loneliness could connect with absence, separation or another emotionally significant period. Rather than assuming that the object itself carries the meaning, notice how the impression feels when it is presented.
Location can further refine what is being shown.
Where does the symbol seem to belong?
A pair of boots beside a farmhouse door may lead in a very different direction from identical boots appearing in a military setting. A ring displayed in a jewelery shop has a different context from one being placed into another person's hand. The setting can transform an otherwise broad image into something much more specific.
Associations may also arise spontaneously.
While observing a symbol, the medium might suddenly think of childhood, hear a particular name or become aware of an occupation. These accompanying impressions should be noticed without immediately combining them into a conclusion. They may belong together, but allowing their connection to establish itself helps prevent the medium from constructing a story that has not actually been given.
When the purpose remains unclear, the medium can ask inwardly for clarification.
This need not become an elaborate internal conversation. A simple enquiry such as “What are you showing me about this?” or “Help me understand why this is important” can be enough. The key is to ask and then return to receptivity rather than immediately answering the question yourself.
Clarification may arrive in many forms.
The image might change. Another object may appear beside it. A word, emotion, memory or physical sensation may follow. The medium may suddenly become aware of a person or period of life connected with what is being shown. Each additional impression offers another piece of information from which understanding can develop.
Sometimes the symbol itself will unfold.
Imagine being shown a locked wooden box. Rather than deciding that it represents secrecy, the medium remains with the image. The box then opens, revealing medals inside. An awareness of military service follows, along with the feeling that the medals were stored away rather than displayed.
The original image has now developed into something considerably more precise.
Had the medium immediately interpreted the locked box as hidden emotions or something kept secret, the evidential information contained within it might have been missed entirely.
This illustrates why patience is so valuable when exploring symbolism.
The medium is not trying to solve a puzzle as quickly as possible. They are observing an impression while giving Spirit sufficient opportunity to expand upon it. Sometimes only a few seconds are needed; on other occasions, its purpose may become apparent much later in the communication.
There should also be a point at which exploration stops.
Repeatedly questioning an image can eventually move the medium away from receptivity and into analysis. If no further information arrives, there is nothing wrong with presenting the symbol exactly as it was received.
For example:
“I keep being shown a small wooden boat. I don't have anything further with it at the moment, so I want to give you the image rather than try to explain it.”
This is not an incomplete communication. It is an honest one.
The recipient may understand the reference immediately. Its relevance may become apparent later, or another impression may eventually return the medium to it. What matters is that uncertainty has not been filled with an invented explanation.
Developing this approach requires a balance between curiosity and restraint.
Curiosity encourages the medium to explore what else may be available.
Restraint prevents exploration from becoming invention.
Together, they create a thoughtful way of working with symbolic information.
With experience, the medium becomes increasingly comfortable remaining in that space between receiving an image and understanding its purpose. There is less urgency to name the meaning and greater willingness to observe what unfolds.
Ultimately, working skilfully with a symbol is not about finding the cleverest interpretation. It is about staying faithful to what was presented, exploring what genuinely accompanies it and knowing when enough information has—or has not—been given.
Sometimes the meaning becomes beautifully clear.
Sometimes the symbol is all you are meant to give.
Wisdom lies in knowing the difference.
Common Questions
Can the same person do both psychic reading and mediumship?
Yes. Many practitioners work with both abilities. What matters is being clear about which they're doing in any given session.
Is one better than the other?
Neither is inherently better—they serve different purposes. What matters is matching the service to what the sitter needs.
How do I know if I'm getting genuine mediumship?
Genuine evidential mediumship provides specific, verifiable information about deceased individuals. If everything is vague or could apply to anyone, it may be psychic reading presented as mediumship.
Should I develop psychic ability before mediumship?
Some teachers recommend this path. Others work with mediumship directly. Both approaches can be effective. See how your development naturally unfolds.
The Spirit Wisdom Academy Perspective
At Spirit Wisdom Academy, we approach symbolism as a language of association rather than a system of predetermined definitions. An image does not arrive with a universal translation attached to it. Its significance belongs to the circumstances in which it appears and may be influenced by the communicator, the recipient, the medium or the connections that emerge between them.
This is why symbolic interpretation should remain flexible.
The moment a meaning becomes absolute, possibility begins to narrow. A familiar image may have carried one association many times before and still be used differently today. Remaining receptive allows each symbol to be encountered on its own terms rather than being confined by previous experience.
Expectation should never decide meaning before the communication has had an opportunity to reveal it.
When a symbol appears, the medium may have an immediate association with it. That association can be useful, but it is only one possibility. The surrounding evidence, emotional quality, sequence and personal circumstances may point towards something entirely different. Context provides direction; expectation can sometimes obscure it.
For this reason, we encourage students to become comfortable with discovery.
There is wisdom in approaching an unfamiliar image with genuine curiosity rather than feeling pressured to produce an instant explanation. Curiosity asks, What else can I learn about this? Certainty declares, I already know what this is. One keeps the communication open; the other can close it before its full purpose has emerged.
A personal symbolic language should be approached with the same care.
Recurring associations can become valuable references when they have demonstrated consistency through repeated experience and validation. They are not meanings chosen in advance, nor should they become permanent rules. Their reliability is established over time, and their usefulness depends upon the medium remaining willing to reconsider them whenever the present communication indicates another direction.
This creates a symbolic vocabulary that is both familiar and adaptable.
As the medium gains experience, certain references may become increasingly efficient, while new ones continue to appear. Some will remain consistent for years; others may become more nuanced as understanding expands. There is no need to complete this language or master every possible symbol. Its evolution is part of the continuing partnership between Spirit and the medium.
We also believe there is humility in accepting that some meanings do not belong to the medium at all.
A symbol may carry a private significance known only to the recipient. In such moments, attempting to interpret it can add something that was never intended. Faithfully describing the impression may be the entire responsibility entrusted to the medium.
This is an important distinction.
The medium does not need to become the author of the communication.
Their role is to receive, explore when appropriate and convey what has been given without allowing personal expectation to rewrite it. Interpretation should illuminate the original impression, not replace it.
There will inevitably be occasions when a symbol remains unresolved. This should not be regarded as a deficiency. Mediumship asks for honesty, not an answer to every question. Leaving an image unexplained can demonstrate greater integrity than attaching a meaning simply because silence or uncertainty feels uncomfortable.
At the heart of the Spirit Wisdom Academy approach is a willingness to let symbolism remain alive.
It can be literal, associative, personal, shared or layered with several meanings at once. It may become clear immediately or reveal its relevance only after other information has emerged. What matters is that the medium gives it sufficient freedom to become what it was intended to be.
The responsibility, then, is not to master symbolism through memorization.
It is to become a thoughtful listener to its language.
Preserve what you were originally given. Explore without forcing. Notice what accompanies it. Remain willing to change your understanding. And when no interpretation is required, have the humility to leave the symbol in the hands of the person for whom it was intended.
In doing so, symbolism becomes neither mysterious nor mechanical. It becomes another expressive way through which Spirit can communicate—one whose meaning is discovered through openness, experience and the willingness to let understanding arrive in its own form.
Continue Your Journey
Symbolic communication invites you to become comfortable with possibility. Rather than searching for immediate answers, you learn to observe more carefully, explore associations thoughtfully and remain receptive to meanings you may not have considered.
As you move forward, carry this principle with you: a symbol does not need to be solved in order to be valuable. Sometimes its purpose will unfold through further information. Sometimes experience will reveal a familiar association. And sometimes its significance will belong entirely to the recipient.
Your responsibility is to give each impression the freedom to reveal what it came to convey.
You Have Reached the End of Chapter Seven
Congratulations on completing Chapter Seven: Understanding Symbolic Communication.
You have explored symbolism as a flexible language shaped by association, context and experience. You are now prepared to take the next step: learning how separate pieces of information can be brought together to create a fuller expression of the Spirit communicator.
Continue to Chapter Eight
In Chapter Eight: Building the Spirit Communicator, you will explore how individual impressions can develop into a complete and coherent portrait of the person communicating. You will learn how different strands of evidence can complement one another, how personality and life experience add depth beyond basic identification, and why allowing the communicator to unfold progressively can create richer, more authentic evidential communication.