Levitation is the claimed rising of a human body or object into the air without any visible physical support. Reports appear in Christian hagiography, Indian yogic literature, shamanic lore and nineteenth-century Spiritualism. Believers have treated it as a sign of holiness, spiritual power or mediumship, while investigators have found no evidence that it occurs under controlled conditions and attribute cases to illusion, fraud or exaggeration.
Levitation at a glance
| Also known as | Rising, transvection (of witches), yogic flying |
|---|---|
| Type | Claimed paranormal or miraculous phenomenon |
| Famous religious case | Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663) |
| Famous Spiritualist case | Daniel Dunglas Home (1833-1886) |
| Scientific status | No evidence under controlled conditions |
| Related claims | Bilocation, psychokinesis, apports |
Meaning and early accounts
The word levitation comes from the Latin levitas, lightness. In the religious and occult literature it refers to a body lifted from the ground by a force that is not muscular, mechanical or aerodynamic. Stories of this kind are very old. Late antique Christian legend told how Simon Magus flew above Rome before falling at the prayers of the apostle Peter, a tale meant to separate holy power from sorcery. In India, lightness of the body (laghima) is listed among the siddhis, supernormal attainments said to arise from advanced yogic discipline, although classical texts often warn practitioners not to pursue such powers for their own sake.
European witch lore gave the idea a darker shade. Demonologists debated whether witches truly flew to the sabbat or were deluded by the devil, and the rising of a possessed person was sometimes cited as a sign of possession during exorcism.
Levitation in Christian mysticism
Within Catholic hagiography, levitation is described as a by-product of ecstasy rather than a goal. Teresa of Avila wrote in her autobiography of raptures in which she felt her body being lifted, and said she asked God to stop such favors because they embarrassed her before others. The most famous case is the Franciscan friar Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663). After his ordination in 1628 he was said to rise into the air during Mass and prayer, sometimes in front of many people. Because flight was also associated with witchcraft, he was denounced to the Inquisition and moved from friary to friary under observation. He was canonized in 1767 and is popularly regarded as a patron of air travelers and students.
Historians note that most testimony about him was gathered for his canonization process, often years after the events, and that such sources tend to heighten the miraculous. The Church itself treats levitation as a phenomenon that does not by itself prove sanctity.
Spiritualist mediums
The rise of Spiritualism in the nineteenth century brought levitation into the seance room. Tables rose, trumpets floated in the dark and some mediums claimed to be lifted themselves. The best known was the Scottish-born medium Daniel Dunglas Home. In 1868, witnesses including Lord Adare reported that Home floated out of one window and in through another at a house in London. Admirers treated the episode as proof of spirit power, and the chemist William Crookes investigated Home and published favorable reports.
Critics have pointed out that the light was poor, the witnesses were friends, and their accounts differ in details. Later writers such as Joseph McCabe and Trevor H. Hall argued that Home could have crossed between the balconies by ordinary means. Other mediums were caught using simple methods: the magician Joseph Rinn described how Eusapia Palladino raised a table with her foot, and photographs of floating trumpets revealed rods and hidden supports.
Stage magic and modern claims
Levitation has long been a staple of stage magic, from Victorian illusions using hidden frames to the street-magic effect known as the Balducci levitation, in which a performer appears to rise a few inches when viewed from a carefully chosen angle. Such tricks show how easily observers can be convinced by angle, lighting and expectation. In the 1970s the Transcendental Meditation movement taught a technique it called yogic flying; in public demonstrations practitioners hopped while seated cross-legged, and no sustained hovering has been documented.
Physics does allow real levitation by known forces. Magnetic and acoustic levitation are used in laboratories and in maglev trains, and in 1997 researchers including Andre Geim levitated a live frog in a very strong magnetic field. These effects depend on measurable fields and equipment, not on mental or spiritual power.
The skeptical and scientific view
No case of human levitation has been demonstrated under controlled conditions. Investigators explain reports through a combination of fraud, conjuring techniques, poor observing conditions, hallucination, memory distortion and the social pressure of devout or enthusiastic groups. Because the classic cases rest on eyewitness testimony, often written down long afterward, they cannot now be tested. For many believers levitation remains a symbol rather than a physical question: an image of the soul raised toward the divine, closely linked to reports of bilocation, psychokinesis and other mystical experiences.
Related entries
Frequently asked questions
Has levitation ever been scientifically proven?
No. There is no scientific evidence that a person can float by mental or spiritual power. Famous cases rest on eyewitness reports made in poor conditions or long after the fact, and many mediums who claimed levitation were caught using tricks. Genuine levitation in physics uses magnetic, acoustic or other measurable forces.
Which saint is said to have levitated?
The best known is Joseph of Cupertino, a seventeenth-century Franciscan friar who was reported to rise into the air during prayer and Mass. Teresa of Avila also described raptures in which she felt lifted. The Catholic Church does not treat levitation alone as proof of holiness.
How do magicians perform levitation tricks?
Stage illusions use hidden supports, frames, wires, careful lighting and restricted viewing angles. The Balducci levitation, a common street effect, relies on the spectators standing where they cannot see that one foot stays on the ground. These methods show how easily perception can be guided by expectation.
Sources and further reading
This entry replaces an article from the original Mystica encyclopedia (online since 2001). It was rewritten from the sources above by The Mystica Editorial Team under our editorial standards. Last reviewed: September 30, 2026.