Psychic Terminology: A Plain Guide to the Words Readers Use
Psychic terminology can feel like a secret language. A reader says clairvoyant, another says medium, a third talks about the sitter and the evidence, and a newcomer is left to guess what any of it means. This guide explains psychic terminology in plain words, so you know what readers mean before you book a reading and can follow every word of the reading itself.
Psychic and Medium: The Two Words People Mix Up
A psychic is someone who says they receive intuitive information about living people, situations, relationships, or possible future events. The word comes from the Greek psyche, which means soul, breath, or life force. A medium is a person who reports communicating with people who have died. The difference is the direction of the reading: a psychic reads the living world, and a medium reads the spirit world. A standard saying in the field sums it up: all mediums are psychic, yet not all psychics are mediums. A medium uses psychic ability as part of spirit communication, while a psychic may never work with spirit at all.
The Clairs: The Seven Claimed Senses
The clairs are the claimed intuitive senses, and the name comes from the French word clair, which means clear. Each clair pairs a sense with the word clear, and each one describes a different way that information is said to arrive. Most readers say one or two clairs feel strongest for them, and the rest stay quiet.
Clairvoyance: clear seeing. Clairvoyance means clear seeing. It describes receiving visual impressions, images, symbols, or scenes in the mind, like a picture that forms without the eyes. A clairvoyant may describe a place, a face, or a symbol and then ask what it means to you.
Clairaudience: clear hearing. Clairaudience means clear hearing. It describes receiving words, names, or sounds through inner hearing. A reader may hear a name or a phrase that feels distinct from their own thoughts, and then pass it on as it arrived.
Clairsentience: clear feeling. Clairsentience means clear feeling. It describes sensing emotions, physical sensations, or energy. A reader may feel a sudden sadness that does not belong to them, or a tightness in the chest that matches a question you carry.
Claircognizance: clear knowing. Claircognizance means clear knowing. It describes a sudden sense of knowing something without knowing how the information arrived. The reader simply knows a fact and then checks it against what you confirm.
Three more clairs appear less often. Clairtangence, also called psychometry, means clear touching, and it describes receiving impressions by holding an object that belonged to a person. Clairalience means clear smelling, and it describes perceiving a scent with no physical source, such as perfume or flowers. Clairgustance means clear tasting, and it describes experiencing a taste linked to a spirit communicator, such as tobacco or a favorite food.
Words About Spirit and Mediumship
Mediumship is the practice of communicating with the spirit world. In mediumship, the medium takes in impressions, thoughts, feelings, or evidence from people who have died and passes that information on to the living. The person receiving the message is called the sitter, and the person in spirit who is communicating is called the spirit communicator.
Evidential mediumship is the form of mediumship that focuses on clear details that point to one spirit communicator, such as personality traits, memories, relationships, or life events. The details give the sitter enough to recognize who is speaking. Evidence is the word mediums use for those identifying details.
A spirit guide is a helper or teacher in spirit who supports a medium in communication and growth. Many mediums say guides help them hold the link with the spirit world steady. Spirit guides are different from guardian angels, who are described as a separate order of creation that never lived a human life.
Three more words describe the energy side of the work. The aura is the energetic field believed to surround the body, and it is said to reflect emotional, physical, and spiritual states. Vibration is the level of energy at which a medium says contact with spirit becomes possible, and mediums often work to raise or adjust it. Blending describes how a medium and a spirit communicator grow closer during a sitting, so the medium becomes more aware of the personality and memories of the one in spirit.
Words About Tools
Readers use tools, and the tool is not the same as the ability. Tarot uses a deck of 78 cards with set meanings that the reader combines into a story. Oracle cards are similar but looser, with decks built around a theme and fewer fixed rules. Runes are small stones or tiles marked with symbols from an old alphabet, cast or drawn for guidance. A pendulum is a weight on a chain that swings to answer yes or no questions. Scrying means looking into a shiny surface, a crystal ball, a mirror, or still water, and letting impressions form. None of these tools proves anything on their own. The reading comes from how the reader works with what the tool shows.
Words About the Session
A reading is the session itself, and validation is the moment when something the reader says matches a fact you recognize. Validation matters because it tells both people that the link is real enough to work with. Cold reading is a term every seeker should know. It means picking up information from what a person says, how they look, and how they react, rather than from a claimed psychic sense. A good reader will tell you plainly when an impression came from observation and when it came from intuition, and a reader who never admits to guessing is worth questioning.
An empath is a person who feels the emotions of others strongly, often before a word is spoken. Intuition is the ability to grasp information directly, without working it out by conscious reasoning, and it is the base skill under all the clairs. The third eye is the name used for the inner sight linked with clairvoyance. An energy reading is a reading that focuses on the energy of a person or a situation rather than on tools or spirit contact.
How to Use These Words in a Reading
Knowing the words changes how a reading goes. You can ask a reader which clair they use most, whether they work as a psychic or as a medium, and what kind of evidence they will offer. You can also name what you want: a tarot reading, a mediumship reading, or a plain energy reading. Clear words at the start prevent confusion later, and a reader who welcomes clear questions is usually a reader worth trusting.
If you want to hear these words in action, a chat reading is a good place to start, because you can ask what each word means as it comes up and check each detail as it arrives. Ask the reader to explain any term you do not know, and to say which clair the information came through. If you would like to try a reading with a reader on PsychicSmile, open a chat reading and bring this guide with you. First 3 minutes FREE — every time, for every reading, with all advisors.
To learn more, read our guide to clairvoyance and our guide to clairaudience, then compare them with clairsentience and claircognizance. If you are unsure whether you need a psychic or a medium, psychic versus medium explains the difference in full, and our guide to mediumship covers the practice in depth. For the bigger picture, read spirit guides and what a psychic reading is.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do the terms psychic and medium differ?
A psychic reads information about living people, situations, and relationships. A medium communicates with people who have died. All mediums are psychic, but not all psychics are mediums, because mediumship is a specific use of psychic ability.
What does clairvoyance mean?
Clairvoyance means clear seeing. It describes receiving visual impressions, images, symbols, or scenes in the mind, like a picture that forms without the eyes. It is the best known of the clairs, the claimed intuitive senses.
What are the clairs?
The clairs are the claimed intuitive senses, named from the French word clair, which means clear. They are clairvoyance, clear seeing; clairaudience, clear hearing; clairsentience, clear feeling; claircognizance, clear knowing; and three rarer ones, clairtangence, clairalience, and clairgustance.
What does the term evidential mediumship mean?
Evidential mediumship is spirit communication that centers on clear details pointing to one spirit communicator, such as personality traits, memories, relationships, or life events. The details give the sitter enough to recognize who is speaking.
What is cold reading?
Cold reading means picking up information from what a person says, how they look, and how they react, rather than from a claimed psychic sense. It is a skill of observation, and a good reader will tell you plainly when an impression came from observation and when it came from intuition.
Last updated: November 15, 2026
