Pictures: Phillip Castleton
It was Mitchell Coombes’ first day of kindergarten when he realised that, unlike him, other children couldn’t speak to spirits.
He’d first seen faces and heard voices from the spirit world when he was just three years old.
“I honestly thought it was natural and that everybody could see the world the way I do,” says our spiritual medium.
“I would see green luminous human forms that glowed at the end of my bed. Similar to the boy in the movie The Sixth Sense.”
While Mitchell was unique among his school peers, he was not alone in his family. In fact, he’s a fifth-generation spiritual medium.
“My mother is very psychic and intuitive, my grandmother read tea leaves and my great-grandmother read cards,” Mitchell explains. “I come from 400 years of psychics, so it’s something that’s always run in my family.”
Mitchell credits his psychic abilities to the love, support and encouragement he’s received from his family and friends. He shares that the spirits of his loved ones often visit when his family are together.
“When people celebrate birthdays, milestones or other special occasions, the other side draws close and joins in.”
Mitchell remembers seeing a classmate crying about missing her parents on the first day of school. He immediately thought that was odd as he could see her mother’s spirit next to her.
“I told her, ‘You should be happy that your mum got to stay with you today,’ and I didn’t realise until later that her mum had passed away.”
Since becoming a professional medium in 2003, Mitchell has penned three books, Sensing Spirit, Sensing Psychic and Signs From Spirit, and has had a weekly column in Woman’s Day for the past 12 years, answering readers’ questions.
Mitchell reveals, “A year before I started writing my columns, I had cut out the Woman’s Day logo, put it on my photograph and wrote on it ‘Woman’s Day psychic columnist’.
“I had a premonition I got the column and, shortly after, the magazine approached me – and I got the job!”
There is no off switch for Mitchell’s abilities and spirits often visit him in the most unexpected places.
Once he deliberately ran his shopping trolley into a woman’s cart while doing the groceries so he could pass on what he hoped would be some comforting words.
“I told her I was a medium and had accidentally bumped into her because I saw her young daughter next to her. She was saying, ‘You blame yourself for my passing.’
“It turned out her daughter was struck by a car and killed instantly while she was answering her phone. The woman told me after, ‘You have no idea how much this message helps me. I was going to end everything.’”
When Mitchell is on tour, connecting audiences to spirits, his spirit guide Red Feather, a Native American man, helps him understand messages from the afterlife.
“I never know where I’ll be drawn to in the audience,” Mitchell admits. “Instead, the spirit world directs me to who I need to speak to, to give healing messages.”
Mitchell has given readings to people from all walks of life, including families of missing persons. His main focus is helping people overcome grief.
“Receiving a message from spirits is a life-changing, healing and reassuring experience,” he says.
As most of us can’t communicate with spirits, Mitchell advises people to keep an eye out for signs from loved ones, such as feathers or coins on the ground, or even a song playing on the radio that reminds you of them.
“Even after our physical death, we are never truly alone,” he explains. “We will always have angels who are watching over us.”
Harry’s reading
When preparing for my interview with Mitchell, I knew I wanted to ask him to perform a reading for me – turns out I didn’t even need to ask!
When I arrived at Mitchell’s house, he greeted me with a warm smile and gently asked me who the older gentleman who had come with me was. I initially thought he was talking about our photographer Phil!
But it turns out my grandfather, who had passed a few years ago, had come along to help me out.
It was uncanny how much of my grandfather’s essence Mitchell could sense. He even knew he’d help me find my house!
For more info, visit mitchellcoombes.com.
If you’re struggling with your mental health, please call or text 1737 at any time to speak to a trained counsellor for free. For the Suicide Crisis Helpline, phone 0508 TAUTOKO.
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