By Dan Pickel, Palm Springs Psychic Medium
Mediumship is communication, and communication isn’t always perfect.
That’s something I think every person considering a psychic mediumship reading deserves to understand.
A good medium isn’t going to tell you that every single word, image, feeling, symbol, or impression received during a reading will be immediately understood. Mediumship doesn’t work like picking up a telephone and having a perfectly clear conversation with someone on the other end.
Spirit communicates in many different ways. As a psychic medium, I may receive words, images, emotions, physical sensations, memories, symbols, names, places, or simply a sense of knowing.
Then comes one of the most important parts of mediumship:
Interpreting what I’ve received.
Sometimes that interpretation is immediately clear. Sometimes the person receiving the reading understands it before I do. Sometimes neither of us understands it until later.
And yes, sometimes a medium can simply get something wrong.
Understanding why that happens can actually tell us quite a bit about what mediumship is—and what it isn’t.
Mediumship Is a Process of Receiving and Interpreting
One of the misconceptions about mediumship is that a medium literally hears a deceased person speaking in complete sentences.
That can happen occasionally, but much of mediumship is considerably more subtle.
Spirit may show me a symbol. I then have to understand what that symbol means.
For example, imagine I’m shown a red bicycle.
Does the bicycle represent childhood? Did the person ride a bicycle? Was there an accident involving a bicycle? Did they give someone a bicycle? Is the color red important? Is Spirit trying to reference a particular memory?
The information itself may be accurate while my interpretation of it isn’t.
That’s why I try to give clients what I’m receiving rather than forcing information into a story.
If I see a red bicycle, sometimes the best thing I can do is simply say:
“I’m being shown a red bicycle. Does that mean anything to you?”
The person sitting across from me may know exactly what it means.
Sometimes You Don’t Recognize the Evidence—Yet
Another interesting part of mediumship is that clients occasionally leave a reading unable to place something that came through.
Then they call a family member.
Or they find an old photograph.
Or something happens a few days later that suddenly makes the information click.
I’ve had information come through that couldn’t be validated during the reading but made sense afterward.
That doesn’t mean every piece of information that doesn’t connect should automatically be assumed to be correct. I don’t believe in asking clients to twist their memories or search endlessly for a way to make something fit.
If something doesn’t make sense, it’s perfectly okay to say:
“No, I can’t take that.”
But it’s also okay to remember it.
You may discover later that it meant something after all.
A Medium Can Misinterpret a Symbol
This is where honesty becomes important.
Mediums are human.
Even when the information being received is clear, interpreting it is happening through a human mind.
A symbol that means one thing to me may mean something completely different to your loved one.
If Spirit shows me flowers, for example, I might initially associate them with a funeral, anniversary, garden, or celebration.
But perhaps your mother grew those particular flowers outside your childhood home.
The symbol was right.
The interpretation was wrong.
Part of becoming a better medium is learning when to interpret and when to simply describe what’s being received.
Accurately deciphering the information is one of the cornerstones of a good mediumship session.
And Sometimes the Medium Is Just Wrong
I think this needs to be said plainly.
Not every piece of information in every reading is going to be correct.
No legitimate psychic medium should need to convince you otherwise.
If I give you something that doesn’t connect, tell me.
I would much rather hear an honest “no” than have someone agree with me because they’re trying to be polite or because they think they’re supposed to make the information fit. Validating a piece of information that doesn’t fit, may lead the medium down a path of more inaccurate answers.
One piece of information that doesn’t connect also doesn’t necessarily negate an entire reading.
Look at the reading as a whole.
Were you given information you could recognize? Did personalities come through accurately? Were there memories, relationships, characteristics, events, or details the medium couldn’t reasonably have known?
That’s a much better way to evaluate a reading than expecting perfection from every impression.
What Helps Create a Stronger Reading?
There is another side of this conversation that doesn’t get discussed enough.
The person receiving the reading—the sitter—isn’t simply a passive participant.
Your intention and openness matter.
Before your reading, you can ask Spirit to be present. If there’s a particular loved one you hope to hear from, talk to them.
Tell them you’re having a reading.
Ask them to come through.
Think about them.
Want the connection.
You can also simply ask that whoever in Spirit has something meaningful to communicate be present.
None of this guarantees that a particular person will come through. I will never promise a client that I can summon a specific loved one on demand.
But intention can help create an environment that supports communication.
Some of the qualities I find helpful are openness, curiosity, hopefulness, a genuine desire for the reading, and a sincere desire to connect with Spirit.
You don’t have to know exactly what will happen.
That’s part of the experience.
Being Open Doesn’t Mean Believing Everything
This distinction is important.
Being open doesn’t mean saying yes to everything your medium tells you.
You should absolutely be discerning.
Openness simply means allowing the experience to unfold without actively resisting it.
There’s a big difference between someone thinking:
“I’m curious. Let’s see what happens.”
and:
“I’m going to make absolutely sure this person can’t connect with me.”
When someone deliberately shuts down, emotionally or energetically, it can make the flow of a reading more difficult.
You don’t need blind faith.
You don’t even have to walk into the room convinced mediumship is real.
Hopeful and curious is enough.
Wanting the Connection Matters
There’s something powerful about genuinely wanting to communicate with someone you love.
Mediumship, at its heart, is about connection.
If you’re coming for a reading because you deeply want to feel that connection again, acknowledge that intention.
Before your appointment, you might simply speak aloud to your loved one:
“I’m having a reading tomorrow. If you can, I’d really like you to be there.”
You don’t need a ritual.
You don’t need special objects.
You don’t need to do anything elaborate.
Just ask.
And then come into your reading willing to experience whatever unfolds.
Don’t Feed the Medium
Being open and participating in your reading does not mean giving the medium information.
In fact, don’t feed the medium.
If I say, “I’m seeing an older woman who feels maternal,” you don’t need to respond, “Oh, that’s probably my mother. She died three years ago from cancer, and we were extremely close.”
A simple “yes,” “no,” or “I don’t know” is usually enough.
Give the medium an opportunity to provide the information.
Part of an evidential mediumship reading is receiving details that I couldn’t reasonably know beforehand. If you give me the story first, you lose the opportunity to see what I might have received without your help.
At the same time, don’t deliberately withhold validation when something is correct. A reading is a conversation, and knowing when information connects helps keep the communication moving.
Be open. Be responsive. But don’t tell the medium the story—let the medium tell you.
A Good Reading Isn’t About Perfection
For me, the goal of mediumship has never been to perform a flawless demonstration where every word gets a checkmark next to it.
It’s about communication.
It’s about evidence.
It’s about recognizing personalities, relationships, memories, and experiences.
And ultimately, it’s about connection.
There may be something you don’t understand.
There may be a symbol that needs clarification.
There may be something you understand three days later.
And there may occasionally be something the medium simply got wrong.
That’s part of working with a form of communication that is subtle, symbolic, and filtered through human interpretation.
What matters is the overall quality and accuracy of the information, the integrity of the medium, and whether the reading provides meaningful evidence of the connection you came seeking.
A good medium shouldn’t be afraid of the word “no.”
In fact, sometimes “no” helps us stop, reconsider what we’re receiving, and find the correct interpretation.
And when that happens, the information that follows can make all the difference.
Ready to Experience a Psychic Mediumship Reading?
If you’ve been wanting to connect with a loved one in Spirit or you’re simply curious about what a mediumship reading may bring, I invite you to come to the experience with an open mind, curiosity, and intention.
At High Desert Medium, I offer evidential psychic mediumship readings for clients throughout Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, the Coachella Valley, Joshua Tree, and beyond, with private sessions available by Phone and WhatsApp Video worldwide.
Come curious. Come hopeful. And most importantly, come open to the experience.
High Desert Medium | Palm Springs Psychic Medium
Call 760-898-2172 or book your reading today.