After losing someone you love, the world feels different. Colours seem muted, routines feel hollow, and the silence left behind is deafening. But within that silence, something else often appears — subtle signs that suggest your loved one has not truly left.
A flickering light. A familiar scent with no source. A song that plays at the exact moment you were thinking of them. A dream so vivid it feels more like a visit. Are these coincidences, or is your loved one reaching out from the other side?
As psychic mediums, we hear about these experiences in nearly every session. And based on what spirits themselves tell us, the answer is clear: many of these signs are exactly what they appear to be — deliberate attempts by your departed loved one to let you know they are still present.
Electrical Disturbances
Flickering lights, televisions turning on or off, phones behaving strangely, or specific songs playing on the radio are among the most commonly reported signs. Spirits explain that electrical energy is one of the easiest mediums for them to manipulate because they exist as energy themselves.
If a light flickers consistently in one specific fixture, or your phone opens to a specific photograph without you touching it — pay attention. These are not random malfunctions. In sessions, spirits often confirm specific electrical events their loved ones noticed, providing validation that the sign was intentional.
Familiar Scents
Suddenly smelling your grandmother’s perfume, your father’s pipe tobacco, or your partner’s cologne — when there is no physical source — is one of the most emotionally powerful signs. Spirits describe generating these scents as a way to trigger your strongest sensory memories, creating an immediate and visceral sense of their presence.
These scent experiences tend to be brief — lasting seconds to minutes — and appear in unexpected locations. If you smell something deeply familiar and immediately think of your departed loved one, trust that connection.
Dreams and Visitations
Ordinary dreams about deceased loved ones are common and natural during grief. But visitation dreams are different — and most people who experience them recognise the distinction immediately.
A visitation dream feels extraordinarily real. The colours are vivid, the emotions are intense, and the departed person appears healthy, vibrant, and at peace. Communication in these dreams is often telepathic — you understand what they are saying without words being spoken. Upon waking, the dream stays with you clearly, unlike ordinary dreams that fade quickly.
Spirits describe visitation dreams as the most direct form of communication available to them. While you are asleep, your conscious defences are lowered and the barrier between the physical and spiritual worlds becomes thinnest. Many spirits wait for their loved ones to sleep before delivering their most important messages.
Animals and Nature
Butterflies, birds (especially robins, cardinals, and hawks), dragonflies, and other creatures that appear at meaningful moments are frequently reported as signs. A butterfly that lands on your hand at a funeral. A robin that sits on the windowsill every morning for a week after a passing. A hawk that circles overhead during a moment of grief.
Spirits explain that they can influence the behaviour of animals and natural phenomena to create moments of recognition. The key indicator is timing — when an animal appears at a moment that feels significant, and you immediately associate it with your loved one, that is usually not coincidence.
Physical Sensations
Feeling a hand on your shoulder when no one is there. A sudden warmth that wraps around you during a difficult moment. The sensation of someone sitting beside you on the bed. These physical impressions are reported frequently by grieving people — and spirits confirm that they are real.
Spirits describe these sensations as them drawing close to your energy field, creating a physical impression through proximity. They tend to occur during moments when you most need comfort — when you are crying, when you are lonely, when you are facing something difficult.
Coincidences and Synchronicities
Finding a coin in an unusual place. Hearing their favourite song at a meaningful moment. Seeing their name in an unexpected context. Encountering a specific number sequence they were associated with. These synchronicities are what some people call coincidences — and what mediums call signs.
The distinguishing factor is how the moment makes you feel. If a seemingly random event immediately and powerfully reminds you of your departed loved one, and the feeling it creates is one of connection rather than randomness — trust it.
Trusting What You Receive
The biggest barrier to receiving signs is self-doubt. People experience genuine spirit communication and then immediately dismiss it as wishful thinking, coincidence, or imagination. Spirits have expressed frustration about this in sessions — they send signs repeatedly, only for their loved ones to explain them away.
If something feels like a sign from your loved one, it probably is. Your intuition is more reliable than your scepticism in this area. The love between you did not end with death — it simply found a new way to express itself.
If you want to understand the signs you have been receiving, a psychic medium session can confirm the connection, share additional messages, and deepen your ongoing spiritual relationship with those who have crossed over.
To learn more about what the departed experience, read what happens when we die. For answers to common questions about mediumship, visit our FAQ page.