Rose Arjun | Blog

What is the difference between a Clairvoyant, Medium and  Psychic and why is it important to understand these differences?  

In the last decades, interest in spiritual work has surged like never before. TV shows, podcasts, workshops, and online communities have brought terms like psychic, medium, and clairvoyant into the mainstream conversation. These words are everywhere—on business cards, websites, Instagram bios—and they often get used interchangeably.

But here’s the thing: while they are related, they are not the same.
And even within our own spiritual community, I often see the boundaries between these roles blurred or misunderstood.

This post is an in-depth exploration of what these terms truly mean, why they matter, and how understanding their differences can make spiritual work more effective, ethical, and enriching for both the practitioner and the client.

Why the Distinction Matters?

You might be wondering: “Why does it matter what label someone uses? Isn’t it all just intuitive work?”
In everyday conversation, perhaps not. But in professional spiritual practice, clarity is essential.

When we understand how an energy worker receives their information, we can better appreciate their skill set, know what to expect from a session, and choose the right person for our specific needs.

For example:

A psychic might give accurate insights into your career trajectory, health issues, or identify the location of a lost ring.

A medium might deliver a direct, personal message from your grandmother who has passed or connect you with your beloved childhood pet.

Both are valuable—but they serve different purposes. Using the wrong term can create unrealistic expectations, leave clients disappointed, and in some cases, lead to ethical concerns.

As someone who has worked extensively in this field, I’ve met psychics calling themselves mediums, mediums identifying as clairvoyants, and everything in between. 

Normally, I’m not overly attached to labels. But here, definitions help us protect the integrity of spiritual work and honour the unique abilities each role represents.

The Psychic: Reader of Energies

A psychic is someone with the ability to perceive information beyond the five physical senses—often described as “extrasensory perception” or the sixth sense. This is not magic; it’s a heightened awareness of energy patterns and intuitive impressions.

Psychics tune into the energy of people, objects, and places in order to gather information. They might do this with or without tools—some use tarot cards, pendulums, or runes as a focus, while others work purely through intuitive perception.

The psychic’s “toolkit” often includes one or more of the intuitive faculties known as the clairs:

Clairvoyance – “clear seeing” of visions, symbols, or scenes.

Clairaudience – “clear hearing” of words, tones, or sounds.

Clairsentience – “clear feeling” of emotions or sensations.

Claircognizance – “clear knowing” that arrives without a logical process.

Through these senses, a psychic can tap into past events, present situations, or potential future outcomes. Importantly, psychics are not predestining the future—they are reading probable outcomes based on the current energy patterns, which can shift with new choices or circumstances.

Example: You sit with a psychic for guidance about a relationship. They tune into your energy and pick up on patterns of emotional distance and unspoken tension. They may “see” (clairvoyance) an image of two people standing back-to-back, “hear” (clairaudience) a song lyric about endings, and simply know (claircognizance) that the relationship is at a turning point. From there, they might advise you on your options and the likely results of each choice.

The Medium: Bridging Two Worlds

While a medium has psychic abilities, they also possess an additional, very specific skill: the ability to connect with the Spirit World.

This means they can raise their own energetic vibration and attune to the higher frequencies where the souls of the departed, spirit guides, angels, and other non-physical beings exist.

Where psychics primarily read the energy of the living, mediums act as a bridge between the physical and the non-physical.

A medium’s work might include:

Bringing through messages from loved ones who have passed.

Describing personalities, appearances, or memories that validate the spirit’s identity.

Passing on guidance or reassurance from the spirit world.

Mediumship is not about “summoning” spirits on demand. Rather, it’s about opening a channel of communication—one that is often evidential, meaning the medium provides specific details the client can recognize and confirm.

Example: During a session, you ask to connect with your late father. The medium might describe his favourite plaid shirt, his habit of whistling while cooking, and the way he used to tap the steering wheel when driving. These details—while perhaps meaningless to anyone else—are profoundly validating to you and serve as evidence of his continued presence.

The Clairvoyant: The Seer

Here’s where the confusion often begins. Clairvoyance is not a job title—it is one of the intuitive senses, a tool that both psychics and mediums can use.

A clairvoyant is someone whose primary way of perceiving is through visual impressions. They may see symbolic images, literal scenes, colours, or flashes of movement. This can happen in the mind’s eye or, in rare cases, externally as if projected into the physical space.

Clairvoyance might be used by:

A psychic to see a future event, past occurrences or, current energetic block.

A medium to see the appearance of a Spirit or other Celestial Entity.

In other words, clairvoyance is a method of perception, not a distinct category of practitioner.

Example: A psychic clairvoyant might “see” an image of a locked door when reading for a client who feels stuck in their career. A medium clairvoyant might “see” a grandmother in a floral dress standing behind the client. The sense used is the same—what differs is the source of the image.

How the Roles Overlap

While the distinctions are real, the roles can and often do overlap. All mediums are also highly psychic. Many psychics often have one dominant clair, such as clairvoyance. And some practitioners develop a balanced use of all the clairs. Many Psychics and Mediums master multiple "clairs" and deliver richer, more complex readings.

The important thing is not to conflate tools with roles, or abilities with specialties.

My Own Work as an Evidential Psychic Medium

In my own practice, I work as an evidential psychic medium, which means I draw on both psychic and mediumistic abilities and focus on providing verifiable information.

When working psychically, I might tune into a client’s life path, patterns, health issues, or relationships. When working as a medium, I aim to bring through specific, recognizable details from loved ones in spirit—such as physical descriptions, specific messages, shared memories, or personality traits and phrases they often used in life. Very often, a spirit will reveal trivial information about you or your current circumstances, just to prove they are always with you, loving and guiding you along the way.  

I regularly use clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, and claircognizance in my work. Each reading is unique: sometimes visual impressions dominate; other times, I receive more auditory or feeling-based information. The combination of senses creates a complex, multi-layered reading experience.

Ethics and Responsibility in Spiritual Work

For those already in the field, understanding the distinctions isn’t just about self-description—it’s about ethics.

Honesty – Be clear about your abilities and limitations.

Boundaries – Don’t promise connections or outcomes you can’t guarantee.

Respect – Honor the sacred nature of this work and the trust clients place in you.

Misrepresenting yourself, even unintentionally, can erode trust and harm both your reputation and the client’s healing process.

The spiritual field is vast, beautiful, and deeply diverse. But with that diversity comes the need for clarity. Psychics, mediums, and clairvoyants are not interchangeable terms. They represent different ways of working, different energetic channels, and different outcomes for the client.

When we take the time to understand the distinctions, we empower ourselves to choose the right practitioner for our needs or communicate our own abilities clearly if we are practitioners.

Appreciate the unique gifts each role brings to the table.

At its heart, all spiritual work is about connection—connection to ourselves, to each other, and to the greater mystery of existence. Whether you are a Psychic or a Medium, or even a Healer, whether that connection comes through visions of clairvoyance, auditory extra perception, claircognizance or clairsentience,  each path offers its own kind of magic.