Ascension theology isn't only a claim about directionality. Ultimately, it’s a claim about rank. Up got built, as something superior to down, roughly the same centuries and the same contact through which white got built into a colour standing for purity, and dark into a colour standing for threat, or sin, or a savagery whiteness got to define. 

The missionaries who told the ones who came before me that their ancestor altar amounted to darkness needing illumination was reaching to file and rank souls, and that a colonial administration used to sort populations. Light meant civilized, correct, saved, clean. Dark meant backward, contaminated, wrong, damned. That sorting began with gender, and then through the belief that one’s belief is more up than another, that same sorting continued with race. Notice the load-bearing vocabulary in spiritual language that likes to describe itself, these days, as post-religious. Notice the sorting.

Contemporary spirituality tends to believe it left that assumption behind when it left the church. I don't think it did. I think it rebuilt the identical hierarchy just inside the exit, and called it vibration now, or frequency, a level a person is meant to be operating at, a number consciousness is meant to clear before anyone will grant that it's legitimate. New Age spirituality rewards rightness and politeness, guards comfort, and simultaneously avoids discomfort, particularly the harmed’s discomfort at all costs. Again, notice the sorting.

How Do You Know a Sign Is Real and Not Coincidence?

I've never found a way to prove a sign with certainty, and I don't entirely trust anyone who claims they have. What they're usually selling is reassurance, and it can be exploited to trick someone in deep grief. What I can offer instead are three checks I return to every time, as a set of principles, as a way to discern and gauge.

Specificity. Does it reach for something only the two of you would recognize? This could be a private joke, a date that means nothing to anyone else, a phrase used exactly the way they used it? A robin in the yard is just a robin. A hummingbird tapping at a window in the dead of winter, in a place no hummingbird has any business still being, could very well signal a spirit embodying the bird as an avatar.

Timing. Does it arrive at an anniversary, a birthday, the morning of a decision, the exact second you have a doubtful thought?

Tenacity. Does it repeat across a series, often in threes? A psychic scent, a song that is typically not heard on the radio, small objects appearing in unusual places? A mind that wants a pattern will usually find one, but it tends to find it in a single occurrence. A series of the unusual is a pattern, and is harder to make up or dismiss.

So are mediums for real or fake?

Coming from someone who professionally offers spirit mediumship readings (psychic readings), I realize that my line of work is naturally under more scrutiny, as it should be. That said, there are quality professionals in every sector, and unfortunately, also ones who aren’t. So if you’re in need of deep spiritual and psychic work and support, here are some suggestions on what to look for.

Tips for spotting a legit psychic versus a fake medium

• Clarity: Look for someone who, even on their website or marketing materials, communicates clearly and doesn’t over-rely on buzzwords or trend-based spiritual vocabulary that’s vague or requires interpretation on your part. A trustworthy psychic and spiritual educator will use occult terminology with specificity and context, and will also be able to translate concepts into everyday, accessible language. I do my best to share a term and then define it so the querent is clear.

• Specificity: If a psychic medium only speaks in general or vague terms with unverifiable information, those are red flags. I offer spiritual guidance that is specific to a person, situation, or social/familial dynamic, and can often provide time frames as well.

• Impractical or unrealistic advice: It’s important that the psychic stays on topic and doesn’t distract the querent with unhelpful or intangible advice. They should attune to the heart of the matter, cut through distraction, and provide actionable or otherwise practical guidance.