Why People Go to Mediums: Motivations and Embodied Experience among Clients of the Three-Legged Stool Practice in Hungary

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3986/SMS20262910

Keywords:

mediumship, Hungary, contemporary spirituality, afterlife, embodied experience, commodification of spirituality, object-mediated writing

Abstract

This article examines contemporary mediumship in Hungary through ethnographic research among practitioners of a three‑legged stool technique and their clients. Drawing on interviews, participant observation and analysis of séance practices, the study explores why people seek contact with the dead and how these encounters generate experiential certainty, address crises and produce new forms of meaning. By situating the Hungarian material within broader European and global contexts, the article shows how individualised, experience‑centred mediumship operates within today’s spiritual and consumer landscapes.

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Published

2026-08-31

How to Cite

Ilyefalvi, E. (2026). Why People Go to Mediums: Motivations and Embodied Experience among Clients of the Three-Legged Stool Practice in Hungary. Studia Mythologica Slavica, 29, 187–208. https://doi.org/10.3986/SMS20262910

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RAZPRAVE / ARTICLES