EXPANDED Podcast by To Be Magnetic™

Ep. 379 – Mediumship, Manifestation, and Unlocking Your Intuitive Gifts with Medium Karen McGowan
Date: October 31, 2025
Host: Jessica Gill
Guests: Lacy Phillips (founder), Karen McGowan (Lacy’s mom & gifted medium)

Episode Overview

This special Halloween episode explores the intersection of ancestral rituals, mediumship, and manifesting with intuition. Hosts Jessica and Lacy reflect on authentic ways to celebrate the season and honor ancestors, while guest Karen McGowan, a seasoned medium and Lacy’s mother, offers deep insights into mediumship, energetic boundaries, and awakening intuitive gifts. The episode is rich in practical tips, vulnerable storytelling, and inspiration for anyone looking to connect more deeply with the mystical side of life—rooted in grounded, accessible TBM principles.

Key Discussion Points

1. Celebrating Halloween & Ancestral Traditions (09:13 – 22:13)

• Intentional Festivities: Lacy describes shifting Halloween back to its roots by celebrating Samhain with communal, ancestral, and seasonal rituals (“…every single community around the world…culturally, regardless of what background you come from, celebrated some form of ancestral connection.” – Lacy, 10:09).
  • Hosting gatherings centered on ancestral foods, photos, heirlooms, and authentic traditions rather than commercialization.
  • Involving children in rituals that connect them to their lineage and to the cycles of the season.
• Community & Authenticity: Both Jessica and Lacy reminisce about community-driven celebrations growing up and how reconnecting with neighbors and friends during this time feels especially nourishing.
  • “There’s something with community around this season I feel like is coming through for me and, like, wanting to reclaim a little bit more of that.” – Jessica (17:16)

2. Manifestation & Setting Intentions During a Potent Season (22:13 – 24:54)

• Collective Joy & Magic: Reflections on how the holidays are energetically charged because so many people are primed for positivity, which lifts the collective vibration (“…when collectively we’re all excited or primed for joy, it lifts the entire vibration of the planet at that time.” – Jessica, 21:06).
• Grounding Manifestation Practices: Using this period to get clear and intentional in one’s manifestation practice, aligning with authentic purpose and leveraging the “thin veil” of the season for deeper connection.

3. Mediumship with Karen McGowan: Understanding Spiritual Gifts (27:33 – 49:58)

• Experiencing Mediumship:
  • Karen describes how she receives messages: visuals, symbols, words, and “just knowing” (all ‘clairs').
  • Early challenges: fear and lack of support due to family’s religious background.
  • The importance of mentorship and self-trust in developing one’s gifts.
• Clearing Energy & Setting Boundaries:
  • Karen’s practical exercises for clearing unwanted energies (visualizing one's aura, cutting energetic ties, “zipping up” the aura).
    • “...imagine my aura and then I imagine just clearing it, cutting all ties around my whole aura, send them back to where they came from. And then I imagine I have a zipper around my whole aura. Zip it up...” – Karen (31:27)
  • Explaining “the veil is thin”: more accessible communication with spirits during seasonal transitions (especially, Samhain).
  • Spirits as “earthbound,” “just visiting,” or higher vibrational, and distinctions between them.
  • Maintaining boundaries with spirits—Karen only allows connection when she’s intentionally open to it.
  • Example: A literal “party” of spirits heard in her house during an especially thin veil (36:41).
• Purposeful Mediumship:
  • Karen positions her mediumship as a gift to bring healing and comfort, especially to the grieving, rather than fortune-telling.
    • “I don’t want to be a fortune teller... I’m here for people that are grieving or wanting to contact, you know, specific ancestor or spirit friend, whatever.” – Karen (46:03)
  • Stories of delivering specific, comforting messages from spirits to loved ones, validating their continued connection (e.g., hats, fishing trips).
  • Ethical boundaries and responsibility in sharing messages from the spirit world.

4. Practical Steps for Expanding Intuitive Gifts (53:15 – 63:41)

• Developing Intuition:
  • Try psychic circles, practice in groups, meditate, connect with nature, and journal on experiences.
    • “Meditate, get out in nature, talk to spirits, and just really try and pay attention to feelings, senses.” – Karen (53:43)
  • No medium or psychic is ever 100% right—trust the process and allow learning by experience.
• Clearing Practices:
  • Rituals such as grounding meditations, energy clearings, and calling in spirit guides.
  • Saging, lighting candles, and other energetic hygiene practices.
  • Writing down spiritual impressions and noticing patterns.
    • “Write stuff down because sometimes people forget... You’ll probably notice a pattern.” – Karen (63:18)

5. Ancestral Healing, Epigenetics, and the “Why” of Spiritual Connection (56:27 – 61:42)

• Healing Generational Patterns: Discussion on ancestral trauma, epigenetics, and the responsibility of breaking cycles for future generations.
  • “I am the stop of so many cycles for them. So many. Even within our lineage, mom. Like, on my dad’s side, where it’s just like, yeah, no, that’s done. That stops here on an epigenetic level.” – Lacy (58:06)
• Why Are Spirits Around Us?
  • Questioning the reason and nature of our connection to the spiritual and ancestral realms.
  • Loss of these traditions and intuitive faculties due to religion, colonization, and modern distractions.
  • Spirits as helpers, guides, and reminders of what matters, as opposed to sources of fear.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Lacy on Ancestral Traditions:
  “It’s so much more rich and deep and spiritually tied to the seasons and the wheel than anything that every form of religion really introduced…” (10:09)

• Karen on Developing Gifts:
  “I honestly feel I’d probably be a lot stronger today had I had somebody to mentor me and kind of work with me through the years instead of kind of…trying to figure it out.” (29:20)

• On Ethics in Mediumship:
  “I don’t want to give somebody false information just to say I’m a medium...I want to know what I’m doing to either help them or at least…be 99% sure that I’m on the right track…” – Karen (54:12)

• Jessica on Testing Intuition:
  “Just do an experiment with them, Take a month and say, I’m going to believe whatever comes through is true and see what happens.” (62:29)

• Karen on Ritual and Grounding:
  “I do a whole grounding ritual. I imagine…holy realm shining down, white light and love all around me…tree limbs coming out of my leg…grounding in to mother Earth.” (41:56)

Suggested Exercises (Timestamps Indicated)

• [31:27] Aura Clearing Visualization – Picture your energetic field, “cut ties,” send attachments back, then “zip up” the aura for protection.
• [53:43] Connecting to Intuition – Meditate, walk in nature, journal feelings or spiritual impressions, experiment with psychic circles or intuitive practices.
• [63:18] Journaling – After meditation or time in nature, write down all impressions, dreams, or synchronicities and look for patterns.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 09:13 – 22:13: Authentic and ancestral Halloween/Samhain traditions
• 22:13 – 24:54: Energetics of the holiday season & manifestation
• 27:33 – 49:58: Mediumship deep dive with Karen McGowan (her story, clearing energy, spirits)
• 53:15 – 63:41: Tips for awakening your intuitive gifts, ethical practice, and exercises
• 56:27 – 61:42: Ancestral healing, the purpose of spirit connection

Where to Find Karen

• Karen’s website and contact info are linked in the episode’s show notes.
• Email: [as mentioned in episode, confirmation in show notes]

Closing Thought

This conversation blends practical tools and soulful reflection, encouraging all listeners—whether brand new to spirituality or seasoned practitioners—to rediscover ancestral roots, honor authentic traditions, and gently open to their unique intuitive gifts during this sacred time. As Karen puts it: “They’re here to help us…get in nature, create time to be quiet…feel into your senses…and see what happens.”