Building a Psychomanteum

A psychomanteum is, according to Wikipedia, a small, enclosed area set up with a comfortable chair, dim lighting, and a mirror angled so as not to reflect anything but darkness intended to communicate with spirits of the dead.

The psychomanteum was popularized by Raymond Moody, originator of the term “near-death experience.” Moody believed the psychomanteum was useful as a tool to resolve grief and compared it to the Greek Necromanteion, and said its function was a form of scrying. Magicians however seek contact with many spirits, not just the Beloved Dead.

I am fortunate to have a room of my own, (I’m sure Virginia Woolfe would approve). Over the years it has been invariably referred to as library, laboratory, altar room, shrine room, temple, and most recently: spirit room. It is where I store precious books, objects, and tools. It is where I pray, meditate, and do all manner of spiritual work.

In his most recent conversation with Dr. Alexander Cummins on his podcast Rune Soup, Gordon White briefly mentions the creation and use of a psychomanteum. Though I had heard of them before, something about this conversation focused on the forthcoming book An Excellent Booke of the Arte of Magick moved it up on the priority list.

The closet in the spirit room is used for storage, most of which is organized on two sets of wire shelves as you can see in the picture below.

I still require my storage space, but the closet also meets the criteria for a psychomanteum. So for maximum flexibility, I set out to create a space that can be converted in five minutes or less.

First, I removed everything from the shelves (and not only reorganized a few things, I also found stuff that had somehow missed my KonMari marathon). Then I added casters to the shelves.

Once I put everything back on the shelves, I tested them out, making sure I could easily pull them out and put them back in.

With a now-empty closet, I set to make measurements for placement of hooks and wall sconces. I already had a floor chair with an adjustable back – perfect for reading, meditation, or journeying. Luckily, the chair is light and easy for me to pick up. It fit perfectly in the closet.

After taking a few measurements, I installed the hooks and then the wall sconces. The wall sconce located behind the chair is fitted with a candle holder perfect for tea lights.

Next I installed the hook for the sconce that will hold the mirror.

Museum wax holds the mirror firmly.

With the doors closed, it is very dark. A wool yoga blanket folded lengthwise perfectly keeps the sliver of light under the doors from coming in to the psychomanteum.

Once an operation in the psychomanteum is completed, the mirror is easily removed, the brackets/sconces are lifted off the hooks and stored away until next time. After the chair is removed, the shelves are rolled back in and all is back to normal operations pretty quickly.

I cannot speak to its efficacy yet as there are still other, secret things to be done beforehand.