For entertainment purposes only.

Why I will never write this in my terms and conditions.

Please note that this article in no way constitutes legal advice.

The other day, I was looking for a venue in Ayrshire, Scotland to host my upcoming Spirit Sessions events. I navigated to the website of a theatre in Kilmarnock, where I noticed that British medium Tony Stockwell had beaten me to it.

At the bottom of the page, in large font, it said, ‘the law requires me to state that this demonstration of mediumship is for entertainment purposes only.’

This phrase has spread throughout the mediumship community like a disease.

Many mediums believe they are obligated to state that their mediumship is for entertainment purposes only, even though they don’t believe it to be true, or they will be thrown in jail for fraud.

But how many mediums have actually done their due diligence and uncovered what the law actually requires of them in their country or state?

I refuse to say that my work is for entertainment purposes only because it is untrue. The last thing in the world a good mediumship reading should be is entertaining.

And mediums who refer to their work in these terms are selling themselves (and the rest of us) short, and adding to the narrative that mediumship is fake, valueless, and illegitimate.

For me, mediumship is a form of ancestor worship and an effective approach to emotional healing, conducted with a genuine belief in, and attempt to prove, the transcendent nature of the human spirit.

I will not tell the world otherwise.

When I think of the phrase ‘for entertainment purposes only’, what springs to mind is frivolousness. Wasting time until something better comes along. Distraction from problems and / or real life. Slot machines. Carousels. Arcade games. Scrolling.

Many genuine mediums are highly sensitive people. They are deeply attuned to a wide range of emotions including guilt. They are preoccupied with avoiding harm to others. They are anxious about getting in trouble. So they write what they believe they have to write to stay away from those outcomes, but in the process, sacrifice themselves and the gravitas of their work.

I have personally received a message from a loved one through Tony Stockwell. He is a great, and genuine, medium. He, last of all, should be saying that his work is for entertainment purposes only. And maybe he doesn’t have to.

The legislation of mediumship in the UK began with the witchcraft act of 1735, which ‘made it a crime for anyone to state that they had magical powers.’

This was replaced, at the request of Spiritualists, by the fraudulent mediums act of 1951, which aimed to prevent people from ‘deceitfully claiming to be a psychic or medium’. Interestingly, this act supposed that there were sincere psychics and mediums.

This was followed by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Directive in 2008. At this time, spiritual services fell under the same umbrella as any other goods or services trade, and consumers were protected in the same way. In a nutshell, this act states don’t mislead people. The burden of proof is on the practitioner to prove they can do what they claim.

Separately from this, the Advertising Standards Agency issued rules concerning advertising of broadcasting and non-broadcasting mediums. That is, mediums on TV and not on TV.

The ASA guidance for broadcasting spiritual / faith-based services is the only place I could find the terminology ‘for entertainment purposes only’ (P. 77, section 15.5)

For production companies who are making mediumship-related shows on TV, this disclaimer, which should appear at the beginning of the show, allows them to embellish, enhance, and edit the show for dramatic effect. It also allows production companies to make shows that are completely fictionalized, like the banned 1989 BBC mockumentary Ghostwatch, which terrified a nation.

This disclaimer was never intended for genuine, live mediumship demonstrations which are not embellished, nor for private one-to-one sittings.

If a magician was claiming to be a medium as part of his act, and had received information about the audience by dishonest means, or was using cold reading and / or mentalist tricks to deliver a ‘reading’, then he would have to declare that the show was for entertainment purposes only.

But if you are a sincere medium, gaining information in the way you claim to be, in an unembellished and unedited manner, and you are not broadcasting on television, then you do not have to write this.

You do need a disclaimer and terms and conditions for your work, for sure. But they should tell the truth and give the client an accurate view of what to expect.

The European Unfair Commercial Practices Act and the ACAs guidelines amount to:

• Don’t make promises you can’t keep.

• Back up claims with evidence.

• Don’t harass, pressure, threaten or incite fear to force a vulnerable person to buy something they normally wouldn’t buy.

Common sense really!

My terms and conditions say:

The reading / demonstration you are about to participate in is conducted with a genuine belief in the transcendent nature of the human spirit. Messages are delivered in good faith that the information about your loved ones in spirit is coming from your loved ones in spirit. The means by which this is possible is not currently understood by science, therefore, this reading / demonstration is experimental in nature and no specific guarantees of any kind can be made. If you suspect that receiving a specific message, or not receiving a specific message, will worsen your physical, mental or emotional health, please do not attend.

This is the truth. It informs the client of what to expect, and it asks them to take responsibility for deciding whether the reading / event is right for them.

If you are serious about practicing your mediumship, instruct the best local contract lawyer you can afford to help you write up the terms and conditions for your offerings. This is not a cheap investment, but it’s a worthwhile one. Knowing the law where you are, and the certainty that comes from that knowledge, is what’s best for you, and what’s best for your clients. Good boundaries are good for your mediumship.

Taking care of business is a form of self-care. Many mediums are practicing with shaky or non-existent terms and conditions. And many more are defaulting to the ‘for entertainment purposes only’ line simply because they’ve seen others do it.

The only way mediumship will be legitimized and taken seriously, is if we legitimize it and take it seriously. And part of that is thoroughly understanding our legal rights and responsibilities as practitioners.

Many spiritualists were angry that the Unfair Consumer Practices Act lumped mediums in with dodgy double-glazing salesmen and gambling. And that is understandable. Throughout the land, the law protects Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs etc. from the persecution of the public, so they can practice their religion in peace. Spiritualism is the only belief system where the law protects the public from Spiritualists, denoting a subtle but malicious discrimination against mediums that has endured from the Witchcraft Act through each of these new laws.

In 2020, the UK left the EU, so, technically, we are no longer governed by the Unfair Consumer Practices Act. This leaves scope for a new law - one that protects sitters from bad agents, whilst legitimizing and protecting the medium’s - and the sitter’s(!) - right to participate in ancestor worship together.

Mediums, what do your terms and conditions say? Do you know the law around practicing mediumship where you are? Are you and your clients informed and protected, in writing, accordingly?

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Again, I repeat, this article is just my opinion. In no way does it constitute legal advice.