49 pages • 1-hour read
Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe
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Background
Authorial Context: Laura Lynne Jackson
Laura Lynne Jackson is a psychic medium and author. She grew up in Commack, New York, and began to sense her spiritual gifts at a young age. As she explains in Signs, these gifts (including clairvoyance and clairsentience) initially unnerved her and she did her best to ignore them. Instead of channeling her abilities as a young adult, she pursued degrees in law and English. After she requested that her abilities be tested by the Forever Family Foundation (an organization devoted to facilitating connections between the seen and unseen worlds), she became a psychic medium full time. She has since performed readings “for hundreds of people and connected them with loved ones who have crossed to the other Side” (“Home.” Laura Lynn Jackson). She believes it is her responsibility as a medium to help others form bonds with people “both here and in the afterlife.”
Jackson is also a renowned speaker, influencer, and self-help guide. She has appeared on numerous popular podcasts and forums, including Molly Sims’s podcast Lipstick on the Rim, Chelsea Handler’s podcast Dear Chelsea, The Dr. Oz Show, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Netflix show The Goop Lab, and Paltrow’s podcast by the same name. She has also given talks at The Power of 3, The Rhine Research Lab, The Long Island Beauty Ball for Cancer Care, The La Jolla Riford Library, and elsewhere.
Jackson is a New York Times bestselling author. She began her authorial career with the publication of her debut parapsychology text The Light Between Us. It came out in 2016 and was published by The Dial Press. As Jackson explains on her website, The Light Between Us “tells the story of the journey [Jackson] took toward understanding [her] true purpose in the world, and the ways we are all connected to each other, both here and on the Other Side” (“The Light Between Us,” Laura Lynn Jackson). Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe (2019) is her second book.
Cultural Context: Spirituality, Intuition, and Psychic Phenomena
Signs is a parapsychology text that captures the growing cultural interest in spirituality, innate intuition, and psychic phenomena. Via psychic medium Laura Lynn Jackson’s point of view, the text seeks to offer the layperson accessible ways to attune herself to the spirit world (what Jackson refers to as the “Other Side”). While interest in paranormal communication and intuitive practices has roots in traditional witchcraft, paganism, and other ancient Eastern traditions, a growing interest in the Spiritualist movement resurged in the 19th century. In the 21st century, intuitives (also known as intuitive healers) like Jackson have gained popularity in mainstream wellness circles.
In an article from The New York Times, Lisa Held explores this growing interest in psychic phenomena and intuition as a form of self-help and healing. Held’s article particularly focuses on a Goop event Jackson participated in in 2019. At the event, the Goop vice president Noora Raj Brown explained that mediums like Jackson “are less interested in the party trick of showing off their psychic abilities and more focused on teaching people, women in particular, how to trust their guts and lean into their intuition” (Held, Lisa. “Psychic Mediums Are the New Wellness Coaches.” The New York Times, 19 Mar. 2019). While Jackson’s Signs indeed offers readers methods for recognizing and interpreting signs from the beyond, it does place a heavy precedence on Jackson’s psychic readings and abilities (predominantly in the anecdotes she shares about communicating with her clients’ late relatives).
Jackson’s work as a medium, teacher, speaker, and intuitive healer represents a fast-growing commercial market. In Held’s article, she states that “the “psychic services” industry grew steadily over the past five years, reaching over $2 billion in revenue in 2018 from activities like readings and public talks.” Celebrity interest in and backing of these psychic services has only expedited industry growth in recent years.
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