When I channeled the 16th century alchemist Edward Kelley, who was the crystal gazer for Dr. John Dee during Dee's communications with the Enochian angels, he gave me advice to help me improve the quality of my channeling and pychic reading session work. In this short discussion, he identified the primary cause of inaccuracy in readings and channeling as self-generated shadows.

A shadow is a sub-entity or thought form that is a normal spiritual aspect of a human being designed to protect that person from spiritual stress. It provides a buffer by reinforcing the thoughts, emotions, ideas, and beliefs of the person generating it. These shadows are essential for our mental and spiritual well being.

Shadows are always present, fueled by natural mental activities. They vary in strength from a whispy, unfocused astral cloud to powerful spirit entities capable of such feats as psychokinesis and visible apparition. Edward describes their appearance as a moving and living cloud with occasional visible elements of living creatures that always encases the person who is generates it.

In order to give accurate information in a psychic reading or channeling, the medium and psychic must learn to distinguish between true perceptions, and communications and reflections from their own self-generated shadows.

This is what Edward Kelley had to say about shadow interferrence during a séance or psychic reading session:

"I believe there is no trouble under heaven which is more challenging than these shadows. They are a mental measure of the content of the person's mind and spirit. When you encounter them you may not know what they are. There are several ways I can recommend as a medium to discern their presence. First, they resemble the inward content of the medium. Second, they are out of perfect harmony with the nature of the Father. Third, the content of their message is not accurate. Finally, they are focused on the medium instead of the Father. That is the best information I can give you as a professional medium."
—Spiritual Alchemy, pages 267-8

1. "They are out of perfect harmony with the nature of the Father."
   The term "Father" in this statement should not be interpreted as the Christian Father God. Edward is referring to a statement in the Emerald Tablet that reads: "Its father is the Sun, its mother the Moon, the Wind carries it in its belly, its nurse is the Earth." (Agrippa, Three Books of Occult Philosophy, p. 711)
   
   The father Sun, in this context, is the opposite of shadow. The sun is light, and light represents truth. The psychic and medium must align their focus with this light and truth in order to accurately assess the subject of inquiry. Shadows are not aligned or focused on truth; they are focused on the medium or psychic who generates them and will reinforce that individual's beliefs and emotions even if their content is inaccurate. The perception conveyed by the shadow is a reflection of the the reader's and channeler's mind and not of the subject of inquiry. The father's nature is the shadow-banishing light that is the true and accurate information the pyschic or medium is trying to obtain.
   
   
2. "They resemble the inward content of the medium."
   A good example of how shadows resemble the inward content of the medium is found in Meric Cassaubon's book A True and Faithful Relation (page 153). Dr. Dee tried to get the angel Nalvage to describe and map the earth in physical terms. He was a cartographer and was attempting to make an accurate world map with information obtained during this channeling and scrying session. Nalvage was unable to give Dr. Dee the map. "Our manner is not as it is of worldlings: We determine not places after forms of legs, or as leaves are: neither can we imagine anything ... as those that are Cosmographers do."
   
   The transition from the focused channeling of accurate information to the reception of a false shadow reflection is very easy to see because in our time, we are able to compare the information in the channeling session to the physical geography of the Earth. In Dr. Dee's time the accurate geography of much of the Earth was unknown.
   
   Dr. Dee pushed the issue, without changing his beliefs about world geography, and the result of the séance was that the information channeled only reflected the geographical knowledge and beliefs of Dr. Dee and Edward, who was channeling the angel. The reason why this shadow prevailed in this session is that Dr. Dee and Edward believed the information they had in their posession, which was derived from ancient authorities, was accurate. They were not prepared to accept true perceptions that contridicted the information they already had. The error was not identified and inaccurate information was carried through the subsequent channeling sessions.
   
   
3. "The content of their message is not accurate."
   Retrospective analysis of each perception obtained during channeling or a psychic reading needs to be looked at and compared with the known facts of the subject of inquiry. Most of the time, the only way to tell if there is shadow influence in a session is to examine the information obtained against known factual information. Content of the channeled or psychically perceived information that does not reflect the truth is a result of shadow influence. Shadow identification is a learning priority when developing channeling and psychic skills.
   
   The comparison of information obtained from a séance or reading to the facts and outcomes of a subject of inquiry is essential to the learning process. Shadows reflect self-generated information like a mirror. Content obtained from shadow reflection usually feels correct, and the information makes logical sense. It is only through repeated exposure to physical reality that shadow presence and interferrence may be detected and avoided. Testing the information obtained against the truth will over time train the psychic and medium to focus accurately.
   
   Only physical events with a high level of verifiable information should be channeled by a beginner. Even an advanced practitioner should practice with verifiable events on a regular basis to prevent deterioration of skills. I recommend subjects of inquiry with a postive emotional tone for daily practice. Sporting event predictions are a good example of a type of event that has a high level of verifiable information and a positive emotional atmosphere.
   
   There will be times when some of the information cannot be assessed against facts, or there are items in the content that have not yet been discovered. Beginners should avoid seeking information that is likely to turn up content that cannot be verified. Post-session analysis must be done carefully, thoroughly, and with undivided focus.
   
   
4. "They are focused on the medium instead of the father."
   This is similar to point one. The sense that Edward gave me in this statement is that the focus of the medium on the reflecting shadow is something that can turn the psychic or medium on to a self-generating cycle characterized by narcisicm and self-deception. The result of this abnormal interaction is self-deception that may at times be reinforced by paranormal phenomena. I would interpret Edward's statement as a caution against delusions of granduer that can develop from this abnormal relationship with shadows. These phenomena can become very powerful and very convincing. It is one of the reasons why we place so much emphasis on learning to recognize shadows and focusing on concrete accuracy in channeling and psychic work.

In summary, the shadows are described by Edward Kelley as being an internal agent whose natural purpose is a buffer against spiritual stress. They are generated by thoughts, emotions, ideas, and other mental activity of the psyhic or medium. The shadows can interfere with séances and psychic reading sessions by presenting information that is in accordance with the beliefs, desires, and emotions of the medium or psyhic. The best way a medium or psychic can identify and eliminate this self-generated interference is to work only with subjects that contain a high level of verifiable information.

After a reading or channeling session is completed, and the events that were channeled have taken place, the information obtained during the session should be carefully examined, perception by perception, against the actual events that took place. The incorrect perceptions are a result of shadow interference. These should be marked, and the accurate information written next to them. This reinforces the focus on accurate psychic channels. If the session has a high level of accuracy it can be reinforced with a self-reward. If it is inaccurate the correct information should be written and the incorrect perceptions lightly crossed out.