Levitation or transvection in the paranormal context is the rising of a human body and other objects into the air by mystical means. Some parapsychology and religious believers interpret alleged instances of levitation as the result of supernatural action of psychic power or spiritual energy. The scientific community states there is no evidence that levitation exists and alleged levitation events are explainable by natural causes (such as magic trickery, illusion, and hallucination).
Various religions have claimed examples of levitation amongst their followers. This is generally used either as a demonstration of the validity or power of the religion, or as evidence of the holiness or adherence to the religion of the particular levitator.
It is recounted as one of the Miracles of Buddha that Gautama Buddha walked on water levitating (crossed legs) over a stream in order to convert a brahmin to Buddhism.
Yogi Milarepa, a Vajrayana Buddhist guru, was rumored to have possessed a range of additional abilities during levitation, such as the ability to walk, rest and sleep; however, such were deemed as occult powers.
It is normal iddhi power mentioned in Buddhist pali canons "Sitting crosslegged he flies through the air like a winged bird."
Jesus walks on the water to meet his disciples who are in a boat. Initially they are afraid, thinking he is a "spirit", but he quells their fears.
Saint Bessarion of Egypt (d. 466) walked across the waters of a river (Nile).
Saint Mary of Egypt also walked across a river, according to St. Zosimas.
Saint Francis of Assisi is recorded as having been "suspended above the earth, often to a height of three, and often to a height of four cubits" (about 1.3 to 1.8 meters).
St. Alphonsus Liguori, when preaching at Foggia, was lifted before the eyes of the whole congregation several feet from the ground.
St. Joseph of Cupertino (mystic, born 17 June 1603; died at Osimo 18 September 1663; feast, 18 September) reportedly levitated high in the air, for extended periods of more than an hour, on many occasions.
St. Teresa of Avila (born in Avila, Spain, March 28, 1515; died in Alba, October 4, 1582) claimed to have levitated at a height of about a foot and a half for an extended period somewhat less than an hour, in a state of mystical rapture. She called the experience a "spiritual visitation".
Saint Martín de Porres (December 9, 1579 – November 3, 1639) claimed psychic powers of bilocation, being able to pass through closed doors (teleportation), and levitation.
Girolamo Savonarola, sentenced to death, allegedly rose off the floor of his cell into midair and remained there for some time.
Seraphim of Sarov (1759–1833) Russian Orthodox saint had a gift to levitate over the ground for some time. This was witnessed by many educated people of his time, including the emperor Alexander I. A young paralyzed man brought into his cell saw Seraphim raised from the ground during a fervent prayer. Likewise, four Diveyevo sisters saw him walking above the grass lifted up from the air.
Mariam Baouardy "little Arab" (1846-1878), a Carmelite nun, who died in Bethlehem in 1878, and frequently experienced ecstasies, was seen levitating more than once by others: for example, in the garden of the monastery during times of private prayer, when living in the Carmelite monastery at Pau, in France.
Padre Pio (1887–1968), Catholic saint, who had stigmata, is said to have been able to levitate, as well as being able to bilocate.
"Demonic" levitation in Christianity
Clara Germana Cele, a young South African girl, in 1906 reportedly levitated in a rigid position. The effect was apparently only reversed by the application of Holy water, leading to belief that it was caused by demonic possession.
Magdalena de la Cruz (1487–1560), a Franciscan nun of Cordova, Spain.
Margaret Rule, a young Boston girl in the 1690s who was believed to be harassed by evil forces shortly after the Salem Witchcraft Trials, reportedly levitated from her bed in the presence of a number of witnesses.
Simon Magus, a Gnostic who claimed to be an incarnation of God (as conceived by the Gnostics), reportedly had the ability to levitate, along with many other magical powers.
It was believed in Hellenism (the pagan religion of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome) on the testimony of Philostratus that upon his death, Apollonius of Tyana underwent heavenly assumption by levitating into Elysium.
In Hinduism, it is believed that some Hindu gurus who have become siddhas (those who have achieved spiritual powers) have the siddhi (power) of being able to levitate. The power of levitation is called in Sanskrit laghiman (lightness) or dardura-siddhi (the frog power). It is said that Hindu Sadhus have a history of paranormal levitation and that when one progresses on the path of spiritualism levitation comes naturally. Yogananda's book Autobiography of a Yogi has accounts of Hindu Yogis who levitated in the course of their meditation.
Levitation is said to be possible by mastering the Hindu philosophy of yoga:
Yogi Subbayah Pullavar was reported to have levitated into the air for four minutes in front of a crowd of 150 witnesses on June 6, 1936. He was seen suspended horizontally several feet above the ground, in a trance, lightly resting his hand on top of a cloth-covered stick. Pullavar's arms and legs could not be bent from their locked position once on the ground.
Shirdi Sai Baba, an Indian yogi, is described in the Sri Sai Satcharitra to have mastered the art of levitation while sleeping.
The Transcendental Meditation movement claims that practitioners of the TM-Sidhi program of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi achieve what they call "Yogic Flying". They say that there are three stages of Yogic Flying – hopping, floating, and flying – and that they have so far achieved just the first stage. Transcendental meditation groups have held annual "Yogic Flying Contests" to see who could hop the farthest or the fastest. Proponents say the hopping occurs spontaneously with no effort while skeptics say there is no levitation and they are using their thighs to bounce in the lotus position.
Levitation has been described in Jewish text many times by use of either magic or non-magical means. Levitation by magic was depicted in Jewish texts to be practiced by Balaam who lived at the time of Moses. Magic involves directly ordering the spirits to carry out tasks thereby ignoring infinity, the god of all gods. Instead of submission to infinity, self pride and ego of the individual is used to order the spirits to carry out tasks such as levitation.
Levitation by non-magical means was practiced by many Jewish sages throughout the ages. As such, the forehead is the most important part of the body and is responsible for the source of "energy" bringing about the levitation. Most notorious was the Baal Shem Tov (הבעל שם טוב) who lived during the early eighteenth century, Which was told about: "When he snapped his fingers, his chariot and horses floated tefah (8-10 centimeters) off the ground and moved at great speed, jumping on mountains and hills, until the Baal Shem Tov reached his destination" Levitation was used for long range transport of individuals who mastered this form of transportation. However Levitation as such was not a means to an end. One can not learn levitation but rather a possibility that was made available due to a state of mind that was in complete love of God and keeping his commandments (Mitzvot) to the letter. Levitation is usually carried out by several means:
- Using the Wind: Solomon is told to get from God the ability to command the wind, which mostly used to fly a carpet, no matter the weight of what's on it.
- Using one of secret names of god: Abishai was told to use one of secret names of god to prevent David from falling after brother of Goliath threw him up to the air, creating the result of levitation.
Many Jewish rabbis and sages throughout the generations also used a form of קפיצת הדרך (Kefitzat Haderech) or "leap", which is a form of teleportation where each step taken was a distance of several miles (פרסה – literally: "horseshoe". Similar is ancient Iranian measure of distance, see parasang, about 4 miles).
The theory of levitation is explained by being in a state of mind where a person is abstract and spiritual in relation to the material or physical world on which he stands. When abstract or spiritual inspiration and thought grows to be sufficiently strong, the abstract observation becomes physical and concrete thereby enabling the person to stand on what others normally see as abstract and imaginary. To the levitator, the abstract is as real as the ground and earth is to others. The Rabbis have decreed that a height of three cubits from the ground is an abstract perimeter in which anything below that height is considered ground level. This decree has Halachic (legal) implications. Observing this decree to the letter enables levitation at a height of three cubits by materializing this abstract perimeter to be physical and concrete as is from the standpoint of the levitator.
Many mediums have claimed to have levitated during séances, especially in the 19th century in Britain and America. Many have been shown to be frauds, using wires and stage magic tricks. Daniel Dunglas Home, a prolific and well-documented levitator of himself and other objects, was said by spiritualists to levitate outside of a window. Skeptics have disputed such claims. The researchers Joseph McCabe and Trevor H. Hall exposed the "levitation" of Home as nothing more than him moving across a connecting ledge between two iron balconies.
The magician Joseph Rinn gave a full account of fraudulent behavior observed in a séance of Eusapia Palladino and explained how her levitation trick had been performed. Milbourne Christopher summarized the exposure:
"Joseph F. Rinn and Warner C. Pyne, clad in black coveralls, had crawled into the dining room of Columbia professor Herbert G. Lord's house while a Palladino seance was in progress. Positioning themselves under the table, they saw the medium's foot strike a table leg to produce raps. As the table tilted to the right, due to pressure of her right hand on the surface, they saw her put her left foot under the left table leg. Pressing down on the tabletop with her left hand and up with her left foot under the table leg to form a clamp, she lifted her foot and "levitated" the table from the floor."
The levitation trick of the medium Jack Webber was exposed by the magician Julien Proskauer. According to Proskauer he would use a telescopic reaching rod attached to a trumpet to levitate objects in the séance room. The physicist Edmund Edward Fournier d'Albe investigated the medium Kathleen Goligher at many sittings and concluded that no paranormal phenomena such as levitation had occurred with Goligher and stated he had found evidence of fraud. D'Albe had claimed the ectoplasm substance in the photographs of Goligher from her séances were made from muslin.
A person photographed while bouncing may appear to be levitating. This optical illusion is used by religious groups and by spiritualist mediums, claiming that their meditation techniques allow them to levitate in the air. You can usually find telltale signs in the photography indicating that the subject was in the act of bouncing, like blurry body parts, a flailing scarf, hair being suspended in the air, etc. Those who practice transcendental meditation (which claims to be able to teach people how to levitate), when quizzed, generally admit they were not actually levitating but bouncing.
Film
Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), the 12-year-old girl possessed by Pazuzu in William Friedkin's The Exorcist (film), exhibits many strange, supernatural powers, including levitation.
Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) in Ghostbusters levitates when possessed by Zuul.
In the 1987 horror film, The Gate, Glen (Stephen Dorff) levitates while participating in a party levitation game with his sister's teenage friends.
In Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead, Cheryl Williams (Ellen Sandweiss) becomes a "deadite" and briefly levitates before stabbing Linda (Betsy Baker) in the ankle with a pencil.
In the 1996 supernatural teen horror film, The Craft, Rochelle (Rachel True) levitates while participating in a party levitation game with her coven of witches.
In the opening sequence of the 2016 film Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, a young Bruce Wayne is seen levitating out of a well.
Games
In World of Warcraft, "Priests" have the ability to use the spell "Levitate" with the tooltip: "Allows the friendly party or raid target to levitate, floating a few feet above the ground".
In The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, characters and the player can craft and consume Levitation potions to gain access to normally impossible areas.
In Street Fighter, the Yoga fanatic Dhalsim has the ability to levitate, which was gained through his Yoga background. He also has other techniques that resemble Siddhi described by Hinduism and Buddhism.
In Psychonauts levitation is used by the player and several other characters, notably world-famous levitator Milla Vodello.
Literature
In Richard Brightfield's Choose Your Own Adventure gamebook The Secret Treasure of Tibet, the protagonist aims to find a remote Tibetan monastery where monks have learned levitation.
In Tintin in Tibet a monk suddenly starts levitating in air as Tintin and Captain Haddock prepare their departure from the monastery. The Captain tries to take a photograph, but it is too late. While floating in the air, the monk also has a vision (remote viewing) about Tintin's missing friend Chang Chong-Chen.
In the Léonard comic Génie en ballade, when Leonardo reaches Tibet by air, he is confronted by an organized air force of levitating Tibetan monks.
In the Max l'explorateur comic L'orteil de Vichnou, Max teams up with a levitating guru who has forgotten how to walk; Max remedies this by attaching a mechanical fan on his head, used as a propeller.
In the 2015 novel Barnaby Smith by Daniel Martin Eckhart, the titular hero believes that human levitation is possible. Psychiatrist Martha Lewis and her patient Barnaby Smith journey to Nepal to find a mystical flying monk.
Television
In Star Trek: The Original Series, in the episode "Plato's Stepchildren", the Platonians (the inhabitants of the planet Platonius) have telekinetic powers, including the ability to levitate, from consuming plants containing the fictitious mineral "kironide".
In Charmed Phoebe Halliwell has the power to levitate. This was one of her 'active powers'.
In Heroes Nathan Petrelli has the ability to levitate and is capable of flying at supersonic speed.
