The Morbid Anatomy Museum Hosts Lily Dale Mediums in Residency This June

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Lily Dale, New York, may not sound familiar, but to those who watch Supernatural or are fascinated with the Spiritualism movement it feels like home. Lily Dale has been a center of Spiritualism and Mediumship since the late 1800’s. The Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn will host 5 Mediums from Lily Dale this June 8-12, 2016 with a series of events that explore Spiritualism, the art of Mediumship and other aspects of the spirit world. There’s even a special event devoted to the infamous Fox Sisters.

Here is a look at the Mediums and Events:

Event Schedule:

Wednesday, June 8, 7pm
Spirits, Spoon Benders and Suffragettes: An Introduction to Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a philosophy and a religion based on communicating with spirits of the dead. Hugely popular in the 19th century, Spiritualism radically impacted social reform, scientific inquiry and popular culture before fading into obscurity. At its height, millions of Americans were gathering together in dark rooms, trying to make contact with the other side.

Join us for an evening of Spiritualist-themed histories and live demonstrations. Magician Acep Hale will take us on a madcap journey through this rambunctious movement, and highlight some of its most memorable figures. Shannon Taggart will provide an introduction to the practice of mediumship, and present a visual tour of the unusual town of Lily Dale, New York, The World’s Largest Spiritualist Community. And Lily Dale mediums Lauren Thibodeau and Susan Barnes will conduct a spoon bending exercise and a psychic art experiment with the audience.

Thursday, June 9, 7pm
Traditional Spiritualist Message Service
Lily Dale mediums Lauren Thibodeau and Susan Barnes will conduct a traditional Spiritualist message service, a ritual that dates back to the Victorian era. Clairvoyant messages and sketches of spirits will be delivered. Also, one audience member will receive an Auragraph, a hand drawn visual reading, prepared in advance without knowing the intended recipient.

Friday, June 10, 7pm
The Fox Sisters: Pioneers Of Spiritualism and Feminism, a lecture and conversation with Author Barbara Weisberg
In March, 1848, two young sisters—Kate and Maggie Fox—claimed to be communicating with a murdered peddler, and so gave rise to the Spiritualist movement. A few months later and a few miles away, the participants in the Seneca Falls Convention helped ignite the fight for women’s rights, a struggle continued by today’s feminists. However, the origins of Spiritualism and Feminism have far more in common than timing and geography. As epitomized by the Fox sisters, Spiritualist mediums were pioneers in the effort to expand women’s role in society, and they often suffered ridicule and worse for their efforts. Unlike most women’s rights advocates, however, they could claim the spirits as their inspiration and turn to them for solace. Barbara Weisberg, author of Talking to the Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism, looks at some of the similarities and differences between the Fox sisters and their sisters in the women’s rights movement.

Saturday, June 11, 11 am – 1 pm
Spirit Portraits, Auragraphs and Automatic Drawings: A Spiritualist Art Workshop with Medium Susan Barnes
Spiritualism’s storied past extends into the history of art. Important creative figures were inspired by Spiritualism, including William Butler Yeats, Wassily Kandinsky and Edvard Munch. Most famously, Andre Breton and members of the Surrealist movement co-opted the Spiritualist technique of automation and their use of the trance state.

In this workshop, visual arts professor, clairvoyant medium, and spirit artist Susan Barnes will cover the varied history of Spiritualist art, and demonstrate how the practice of mediumship can play into creativity. A series of exercises and activities will assist participants in making their own spirit art.  Areas to be covered include precipitated paintings, spirit portraits, auragraphs and automatic drawings. Supplies will be provided, but participants are also encouraged to bring their own tools. Art experience is not necessary.

 Saturday, June 11, 2pm – 3pm
Spiritualist Medium, Free Love Advocate and Presidential Candidate: The Revolutionary Feminism of Victoria Woodhull, An Illustrated Presentation with Dr. Cristina Zaccarini
Victoria Woodhull, was not only the first woman to run for president in 1872, but also a stockbroker, journalist, publisher, free love advocate and Spiritualist medium. Amidst a life of scandal and vilification, and even dubbed “Mrs. Satan” by the press, Woodhull was an accomplished woman even by contemporary standards: Woodhull did this all at a time when women were lacking in many basic rights to their children and property, protection from rape, and citizenship. This discussion will illustrate the myriad ways that Woodhull’s achievements were inextricably linked to the spiritual and intuitive abilities she exercised throughout her lifetime.

Saturday, June 11, 3:30pm – 5:30 pm –
One Minute Mediumship: An Experimental Workshop with Medium Lauren Thibodeau
Learn to be a medium in minutes? Lauren Thibodeau says it’s possible, and that you don’t need to be a Spiritualist to try it out. Lauren has used her teaching techniques with entrepreneurs hoping to sharpen their intuition, artists looking to work their imaginal muscle, and those interested in accessing the unconscious mind. This series of playful exercises and experiments are perfect for anyone who is looking to activate intuition, stimulate creativity or probe the psyche.

Sunday, June 12, 2pm
Traditional Spiritualist Message Service with Tea and Coffee Reception
Lily Dale mediums Lauren Thibodeau and Susan Barnes will conduct a traditional Spiritualist message service, a ritual that dates back to the Victorian era. Clairvoyant messages and sketches of spirits will be delivered. Also, one audience member will receive an Auragraph, a hand drawn visual reading, prepared in advance without knowing the intended recipient.

About the Mediums & Presenters
Susan B. Barnes, Ph.D, CSNU, 
is a former professor who has taught at the Rochester Institute of Technology, among other institutions. Author of eight textbooks in the fields of visual communications and internet/social media, she is a certificate holder from the Spiritualist National Union. Dr. Barnes teaches internationally and resides in Lily Dale, NY, where she also operates an art gallery.

Lauren Thibodeau, MBA, LPC, Ph.D, has been a registered medium at Lily Dale Assembly since 1996. A licensed professional counselor, she teaches internationally and was a distance learning faculty member at Atlantic University for 10 years. She is the author of two books on intuition. Her work has been featured in a variety of media, including the television program Psychic Investigators.

Acep Hale is a street performing magician, musician, traveler, writer, actor, and rogue gentleman scholar. Driven by the 19th century belief in propaganda by deed he performs daily on street corners everywhere to prove that magic still lives around every bend, you dont need a nine to five to stay alive, and hope springs eternal between the cracks of every sidewalk.

Shannon Taggart is a photographer, researcher and Programmer-in-Residence at the Morbid Anatomy Museum. Her photographs have been exhibited and featured internationally including the publications TIME, New York Times Magazine, Discover, Reader’s Digest and Newsweek. Currently, she is working on a book project about mediumship and the religion of Spiritualism. For more, visit shannontaggart.com.

Barbara Weisberg received the American Antiquarian Society’s Lila Wallace/Readers Digest Grant as well as the Parapsychology Foundation’s D. Scott Rogo Award for her book Talking to the Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism, named one of the best biographies of 2004 by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She is also the author of four children’s books and has produced many TV shows. Currently, she is writing a book about an illuminating and dysfunctional 19th century marriage.

Cristina Zaccarini, Ph.D, has been a professor in the Department of History since 1999, and Co-Director of Asian Studies, a program she co-founded in 2003, at Adelphi University. She is the recipient of several teaching awards, and develops courses based upon her research and publications, which include books and articles in academic journals, on the history of women, gender, healing, consciousness, and spiritualism in the United States and China.

 

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