Clairolfaction – The Gift Of Psychic Smell
Updated: 4 days ago
Clairolfaction, also known as psychic smelling, is the perception of scents, odors or aromas without an identifiable physical source. This rare form of psychic perception preference has also acquired a rather extravagant collection of alternative names in modern esoteric and metaphysical usage, including clairalience, clairscent, clairessence, clairfragrance, clairaroma, clairosmia, clairolfactance, clairolfacience, and clairosmesis.
Psychic smell, or clairolfaction, is a lesser-known psychic impression preference or "clair sense" involving olfactory or smell perceptions. These unusual perceptions may include anything from pleasant fragrances and familiar or nostalgic scents to unpleasant smoke, chemicals, decay, or putrid odors.
In mediumship and trance channeling, these perceptions are most often associated with deceased individuals or spiritual presences. In channelled psychic readings, however, clairolfactory impressions are perceived as nonsensory psychic impressions that carry symbolic meaning or medical significance for the client or sitter.
In medical science, unexplained smell perceptions are known as phantosmia or cacosmia and are not considered spiritual or supernatural in origin. This differs from the experiences reported by many psychics and mediums through the ages.
The term olfaction means "the sense or faculty of smell," derived from Latin olfacere, meaning “to smell” or “to get the smell of.” The term clairolfaction therefore combines the traditional psychic prefix clair, French for “clear,” with olfaction, the established scientific term for the sense of smell. This is the term I use in my writing, research and psychic education work because it is the most precise and linguistically defensible.
Clairolfaction was used by author and scholar Isaac Bonewits as far back as 1970s as part of his broader system of “clair senses" that is now used by many modern-day psychics and mediums. Bonewits also coined the terms clairgustance and clairtangency, and introduced clairempathy to distinguish emotional psychic perception from the much broader catch-all term clairsentience.
However, despite the availability of this perfectly sensible term for one of the rarest forms of psychic perception, an extraordinary number of competing names and misconceptions inexplicably exist in contemporary folklore for essentially the same psychic phenomenon.
At last count, I have identified at least ten such skunked terms:
Clairalience seems to be the term that is most widely used these days, usually justified by the false claim that alience is French for “smelling.” It is not. No dictionary (French or English) has an entry for it, and my research over the past two decades has not once turned up a single etymological reference to support the idea that "alience" is a real, standalone word meaning smell or smelling. Actual French words for smelling are instead terms like sentir, flairer, or odorat...nothing resembling "alience."
I suspect the term clairalience may be a mash-up of 'clair-' with a misheard echo of 'olfaction', or simply as a word invented to sound French or Latin. At some point, it made sense to someone, or sounded cool, and it eventually caught on. I have also not been able to pinpoint when exactly this concoction was invented.
Clairscent derives from scent, which has roots in Old French sentir, meaning “to feel, smell, taste, or perceive,” and Latin sentire, “to perceive or sense.” It is maybe more easily understood as a an English word, but scent refers to a a smell or odor...not the faculty or process of smelling itself.
Clairfragrance falls into the same trap and is even more restrictive because fragrance implies a pleasant smell, whereas clairolfactory psychic perceptions can often be very nasty and unpleasant.
Clairaroma has the same limitation. An aroma is generally understood as a noticeable, often pleasant smell and therefore does not adequately describe the full range of psychic smell perceptions.
There is nothing automatically 'nice' about clairolfactory psychic impressions that we should confidently refer to them as clairscents, clairfragrances, or even clairaromas. In fact, quite the contrary! These perceptions can be really nasty and putrid.
Clairessence appears to draw on the perfume-related meaning of essence, particularly distilled oils and fragrances, but essence primarily refers to the intrinsic nature or character of an aroma, rather than the actual faculty of smell.
Clairosmia incorporates the Greek-derived osmia, relating to smell. It makes sense linguistically, but -osmia is also used extensively in medical terminology for neurological and psychiatric conditions associated with altered smell perception that are not representative of the psychic phenomenon. These medical terms include:
• Anosmia (no smell)
• Hyposmia (reduced smell)
• Hyperosmia (heightened smell)
• Parosmia (distorted smell)
• Phantosmia (phantom smell)
• Dysosmia (abnormal smell)
Clairosmesis is the lesser of evils. It derives from Greek osmesis and osmasthai, meaning to “smell” or “perceive by smell.” It is linguistically fine, but osmesis is an obscure term, far less familiar than olfaction, and it is also used in medical contexts. To modern English readers it is additionally easy to confuse with the word "osmosis." Clairolfaction is simply more established and more immediately understandable.
Clairolfactance and clairolfacience are no doubt the worst of the bunch. They are obviously Frankenstein hybrids of olfaction. The words "olfactance" and "olfacience" simply does not exist in English.
Psychics and mediums already face enough skepticism, scorn, and ridicule. We really do not need to add poor vocabulary to the mix by using silly words like 'olfactance' and 'olfacience', which you will not find in any reputable English dictionary.
After a lifetime of lived psychic experiences and more than two decades working professionally as a psychic mediumship practitioner, author and educator, I have become increasingly reluctant over the years to adopt nonsensical terminology simply because it is popular or frequently recycled by social media influencers. The words we use in our work should accurately describe our perceptual experiences. For this reason, I use clairolfaction as the preferred term for psychic smell.
When 'Psychic Smell' Is Medical, Not Metaphysical
In psychiatry and medicine, smelling an odor that is not physically present in the environment is considered to be an olfactory hallucination, medically known as phantosmia, or ‘phantom smell.’ Cacosmia, on the other hand, refers specifically to the perception of foul or unpleasant odors, typically experienced as smelling something burned, spoiled, rotten, or otherwise offensive. [1]
Clairolfaction is not frequently acknowledged or discussed in the psychic community, probably because it is not a common psychic preference. It is most often associated with unusual mediumship experiences and spirit phenomena. Whether it is purely a mediumship phenomenon, or simply misunderstood or underreported by psychics is unclear, but accounts of this phenomenon traditionally focus mostly on extreme paranormal phenomena, such as poltergeist activity and demonic possession.
The case files of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren include, for example, numerous accounts of foul ‘cacosmic’ odors and bizarre smell phenomena, such as those in the book In a Dark Place. [2]
Clairolfaction In Mediumship & Paranormal Research
Psi research data on clairolfaction further appears to be limited mostly to physical mediumship, for example the anecdotal accounts of physical mediums Indridi Indridason and Franek Kluski.
Indridason produced a fragrant smell when he was channeling, as well as other smells, such as seaweed. These smells would sometimes cling to other people after he touched them.[3]
Various odors also permeated Kluski’s body during séances, including the smells of fruit, leaves, flowers, incense, disinfectant, animal smells, rotting flesh, sweat, and dirty clothing. These smells reportedly clung to him for a long time and were emitted from different parts of his body.[4]
It is unfortunate that psychic smelling is generally overlooked in both psi research and the psychic community, as smell perceptions are some of the most psychologically and emotionally meaningful ‘qualia’ people experience. “Not only is it a chief component of taste,” writes Amelia Buckley, “but it holds the key to our emotions. It is a primary factor in memory and can manipulate our feelings in a way that sight or sound can’t quite do.”[5]
Memories, imagination, old sentiments, and associations are more readily reached through the sense of smell than through any other channel. ~ Oliver Wendell
Why 'Smell' Is Such a Powerful Psychic Perception
Ordinary smell is a powerful sense. We all experience smell associations that instantly take us back to moments of heightened emotion or special memories.
It is no accident, for example, that when we experience a negative intuition or gut feeling we say things like, ‘I smell a rat,’ or ‘it smells to high heaven,’ or ‘something smells fishy.’ Smells have the unique ability to immediately evoke emotions or trigger vivid memories.
No other sense can so instantly bring back a meaningful moment from the past, or invoke the memory of a special person or event.
This psychic perception phenomenon adds an exceptionally meaningful component in the channeled readings of those psychic or mediumship practitioners who experience these types of impressions.
Clairolfactory psychics and mediums tend to also perceive clairgustance or psychic taste impressions along with certain smell perceptions. It makes perfect sense that this mental partnership would exist in a metaphysical context, since our physical perception of taste and smell also go hand-in-hand.
Signs of Spirit Presence: Smoke, Perfume & Familiar Smells
The most commonly reported experiences of psychic smell involve the smell of a deceased loved one’s perfume, as well as smells associated with cigarette and cigar smoke.
I had a very striking personal experience of this while having lunch at a restaurant one day, when I began to smell the stench of second-hand tobacco smoke. I complained to the waiter, as it was supposed to be a non-smoking area, but both my companion and the waiter were perplexed, as neither of them smelled anything, and there was clearly nobody smoking inside the venue? Driving home, I soon realized the truth. Whoever had been ‘stinking up’ the restaurant was now also ‘chain-smoking’ inside my car.
Later that evening, the ‘culprit’ made himself known during a mediumship reading. The first thing I said to my client was, “whoever the person is you were hoping to connect with today, I can already tell you one thing for sure…he must have smoked like a chimney!” She confirmed that he indeed used to smoke two to three packs a day.
Smoke and perfume are however not the only smell perceptions clairolfactors perceive. In readings I have perceived the smell of flowers (especially roses), perfume or cologne, cigarette smoke, leather, incense, spices, fresh bread, fast food (hamburgers and pizza), animals (including dogs, cats, and horses), sea water, and even ‘wet sand.’
Sometimes these smell impressions can be very unpleasant, but fortunately for me that does not happen very often. Foul smells I have had to endure include urine, dirty laundry, and chemicals (alcohol, turpentine, and disinfectant). I have however heard of psychics and mediums who smell even worse things, like ‘burning rubber,’ ‘wet dog,’ and ‘rotting eggs.’
Paranormal investigators also report in books like Exposed, Uncovered & Declassified: Ghosts, Spirits, & Hauntings: Am I Being Haunted? the smell of sulphur as one of the classic signs of a haunting or demonic activity. [6][7]
My Unusual 'Ozone Orbs' Experiences
The most interesting aspect of my own ‘smelling ability’ is an unusual odor I began perceiving early on in my career. While I am channeling, spirit energy at times manifests clairvoyantly in the periphery of my ordinary vision as light orbs of ‘flickering, floating lights,’ comparable to ‘seeing stars,’ or the ‘flashers and floaters’ you see after looking into a bright light.
These orbs usually bring with them a distinctive smell. The best way I can describe it is that it smells like ‘electricity’ or ‘ozone.’ It is not unpleasant, simply unusual. For a long time, I had no way of describing it, until I bought a small air purifier many years ago. I soon discovered that the faint smell of ozone, generated in small quantities by the negative ions from the purifier, was quite similar.
I have since discovered I am not the only one to experience this phenomenon and that similar cases have been reported physical mediumship. A well-documented example is a report by psi researcher Gustave Geley of a séance conducted by physical medium Franek Kluski on March 17th, 1920, during which he produced ‘phosphorescent lights smelling of ozone.’
From these lights, floating in the air, came what looked like shining smoke, accompanied by a very strong smell of ozone, which the participants smelled until the end of the séance. Some of the participants were touched by what seemed like a shining, flowing stream which over a period continued to shine on the hands, hair, and faces which it touched. The little fires, which kept appearing in increasing numbers, started to travel through the medium and come out of him.[8]
In Other Realities?: The Enigma of Franek Kluski’s Mediumship author Zofia Weaver writes that according to Geley’s records ozone was the most frequent odor occurring around Kluski during his séances and was often associated with these ‘highly phosphorescent, moving lights.’[9]
Can Clairolfaction Be A Positive Omen?
I have been rather fortunate with clairolfaction, as I have in recent years begun to experience an unusual phenomenon of foreboding or portentous clairolfaction that is exceptionally positive, pleasant and uplifting. I suspect it may be something I have been experiencing all my life, but for some reason I only became aware of it more recently. I have also not been able to find any information on this phenomenon. I call it auspicious aroma.
Merriam-Webster defines auspicious as ‘having qualities which inspire hope’ and ‘pointing toward a happy outcome,’ while an aroma is ‘a sweet or pleasant smell,’ as well as a ‘special quality or impression associated with something.’
My ‘auspicious aromas’ are pleasant, happy, comforting ‘smells’ that are mostly indescribable, but always a good sign. One of the only significant associations I have been able to make thus far was a smell perception that somehow reminded me of the pantry in my maternal grandparents’ home (one of my favorite places when I was a child).
The feeling I have when I perceive these smells is vague excitement and a sense of joy. I have found that they are always a good omen or foreboding that something good, positive, reassuring, or fortunate is about to occur in my life. For me it is essentially the ‘phantom smell’ version of finding a four-leaf clover or seeing a shooting star.
Science writer Alexandra Michel argues that psychology textbooks have taught us for decades that there is a clear line of distinction between perception — how we see, hear, touch, taste, and smell — and higher-level cognitive processes that allow us to integrate and interpret our senses.
Yet, emerging interdisciplinary research is showing that the delineation between perception and cognition may be much blurrier than previously thought…New findings also show that our so-called low-level perceptual processes, such as smell, may actually be much smarter than previously thought. Discerning exactly what is top-down or bottom-up may be far more complicated than scientists once believed.[10]
Neuroscientist John McGann uses cutting-edge techniques to explore the neurobiology of sensory cognition in smell. He uses the olfactory system as a model to investigate neural processing of sensory stimuli. He argues that our nose knows more than we realize. He believes the myth that our ability to smell is ‘non-essential’ is a serious mistake that has caused science to neglect research in this critical and mysterious part of the human mind.[11]
In a recent series of experiments McGann discovered that “it was like the information coming into the brain from the nose already had the memory of bad things incorporated into it.”[12] In other words, we appear to be able to ‘know’ or ‘predict’ information from a smell, before the actual smell information even reaches our brain for sensory processing.
When Psychic & Mediums Smell Illness
Similar to other psychic preferences, clairolfactory psychics and mediums also develop personal symbolism or subjective associations with their psychic smell perceptions. For example, I can tell someone is terminally ill whenever I smell ‘rotting peaches.’ This association comes from an early childhood experience when I was about five years old.
While visiting my grandparents, they introduced me to a sickly little girl who lived across the street from them. The day we met she was playing outside with her older brother. He was gently pushing her in a makeshift swing attached to the overhanging branch of a large peach tree.
The instant I saw her, it seemed like the bright sunlight of a perfect summer’s day suddenly vanished. A dark, depressing shadow descended for me over everything, and I was overwhelmed by a sense of profound sadness, anxiety, despair. In that gloomy moment, the air was thick with the unpleasant odor of rotting peaches on the ground around us. I felt that she was extremely sick and dying, and so I came to associate the ‘peach smell’ with terminal illness. Years later, I was told that soon after we met, she had passed away from leukemia.
Clairolfaction is especially meaningful in the context of health and healing, as some medical psychics, mediums and energy healers report the ability to ‘smell disease,’ or detect the early symptoms of illness, or identify affected areas of the body through smell impressions.
Research in this field is limited, but there has been renewed interest recently due to Joy Milne who unknowingly smelled her husband had Parkinson's disease — over a decade before his symptoms became severe enough for him to seek help and be diagnosed. Despite a keen sense of smell since childhood, Milne never realized she had a ‘superpower,’ until the couple attended a support group for people with Parkinson's.
There were many people gathered in the room and as soon as she walked in, she realized they all had the same ‘greasy, musty smell’ she had begun smelling on her husband many years earlier, before he was diagnosed. Once she realized the connection, they approached a researcher in regenerative medicine, but he dismissed her claims, thinking it was impossible.
Several months later, he heard about research that showed dogs could smell cancer,[13] which reminded him of Milne. He then invited her to participate in an experiment in which she was asked to smell T-shirts worn overnight by two groups: people who had Parkinson's, and a control group. Not only was she incredibly accurate (she only made one mistake), but she was even able to tell if a person was in the early or late stages of the disease.[14][15]
Interestingly, there is another case of a man who happens to suffer from Parkinson’s hallucinations, during which he smells a ‘noxious skunk-onion excrement odor’ that would suddenly intensify two to three hours before a weather storm, and would last until it has passed. According to a 2013 study he is the first reported case of ‘weather-induced exacerbation of phantosmia.’[16]
Frequently Asked Questions About Psychic Smelling
Is clairalience the same as clairolfaction?
Yes. Clairalience and clairolfaction are both terms used to describe the same psychic perception phenomenon: perceiving smells without an identifiable physical source. I prefer to use the term clairolfaction because it is more precise and linguistically defensible. "Alience' is a made-up term that does not exist in English, French, or Latin.
What is psychic smelling?
Psychic smelling is the mental-metaphysical perception of scents, odors, or aromas as psychic impressions as opposed to ordinary physical smell. Normal smell is sensory. Psychic smell is nonsensory. These psychic impressions may include perfume, smoke, flowers, food, animals, chemicals, unpleasant odors, or other familiar smells.
Can only mediums smell spirit presence?
Yes. Some mediums do report smell perceptions during spirit communication or channeled readings. In evidential mediumistic readings, a familiar perfume, cologne, cigarette or cigar smoke, flowers, or other distinctive smells are perceived as evidence of a particular deceased person or spirit presence. This is however a rare psychic perception preference that is not common among mediums.
That said, these experiences are definitely not limited to mediums. Researchers have been documenting similar "smell" experiences among the general public for decades, usually under scientific terms such as after-death communication, sense of presence, or bereavement studies.
For example, a 2021 study found that smell was reported in 28% of cases, versus 44 - 48% for hearing and touch and 46% for vision. So, spirit smells are less common than sounds, voices, touch, or apparitions, but occur in more than a quarter of reported cases. Interestingly, although the researchers use the clinical term “hallucinations,” they explicitly state in their paper that they use it neutrally and do not mean to imply that these experiences are pathological or necessarily unreal. However, the study also does not attempt to determine whether the experiences are genuinely spiritual or metaphysical in origin.
Why do I smell perfume or cigarette smoke?
In mediumship and spiritual traditions, a sudden familiar smell with no obvious physical source are often interpreted as a sign of a deceased loved one’s presence. However, unexplained or recurring phantom smells can also have ordinary or medical causes and should not automatically be assumed to be supernatural or paranormal.
How common is it to smell a deceased loved one's presence?
It is more common than most people realize. Studies of bereaved people have found smell-related experiences in roughly 17% to 28% of reported encounters, depending on the study and research method. Familiar perfume, tobacco smoke, flowers, cooking smells, and other personally meaningful scents are among the examples people report.
Interestingly, while one large modern study found that smell-based encounters were less common than visual, auditory, or tactile experiences, olfactory experiences were among those most strongly associated with increased religious or spiritual significance afterward. In other words, smelling spirit is spiritually more impactful and meaningful than other forms of afterlife vaidation.
Is smelling a deceased loved one a sign of mental illness?
No, usually it is not. Studies have repeatedly found sensory experiences of deceased loved ones to be relatively common among otherwise healthy people, and researchers generally do not regard these experiences as automatically pathological or as a sign of mental disorder. In fact, they are often rather viewed as comforting, healing and meaningful.
Persistent or disturbing phantom smells, however, should be medically investigated because conditions such as phantosmia (olfactory hallucination) can have physical or neurological causes.
Also, if you experience these smells repeatedly and consistently in a way that is upsetting or disturbing, it is recommended to consult with both a registered healthcare professional and an appropriately qualified spiritual specialist, so that possible physical, neurological, and spiritual explanations can all be considered.
What is the difference between clairolfaction and phantosmia?
Clairolfaction is the esoteric definition of unexplained smell perceptions perceived as psychic or mediumistic information. Phantosmia is the medical term for perceiving an odor when no physical odor is present and can be associated with several neurological or physical conditions.
Can spirit smells be evil or demonic?
Yes, but this is very rare. Some paranormal traditions do associate these smell experiences with disturbing spirit activity. Renowned paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, documented a famous case that later inspired horror films such as The Conjuring. In theirwork they often encountered unpleasant and seemingly unexplained foul and sulfurous odors in locations where paranormal activity was reported.
However, it is not true that unexplained smells are automatically negative or demonic. Many spiritual and religious traditions actually describe the exact opposite. For example, according to Catholic beliefs, holiness has a smell that can be perceived around a holy person, either in life or especially at death. This smell is described as sweet, floral, or similar to incense, while Islamic traditions associate holy martyrs with the fragrance of musk. Various spiritual wisdom traditions describe pleasant floral, incense-like, or familiar fragrances as signs of divine, ancestral, or benevolent spirit presence.
Ancient Greek literature also describes the gods as having distinctive ambrosial fragrances, while Chinese ancestor-veneration traditions have used incense for thousands of years as part of ritual communication with deceased ancestors and deities.
In other words, the nature and context of the smell matters. Otherworldly smell experiences can be unpleasant, or neutral, or comforting, profoundly uplifting or even divine.
© 2022 Anthon St. Maarten
REFERENCES
[1] Leopold, D.A. (2002). Distortion Of Olfactory Perception: Diagnosis And Treatment. Chemical Senses.
[2] Warren, E & Warren, L. (2014). In A Dark Place. Graymalkin Media.
[3] Haraldsson, E. (2018). Indridi Indridason (Medium). Psi Encyclopedia. The Society for Psychical Research.
[4] Weaver, Z. (2018). Franek Kluski. Psi Encyclopedia. The Society for Psychical Research.
[5] Buckley, A. (2020). Stop And Smell The Roses! An Ode To The Most Beguiling Sense. OptimistDaily.com
[6] Pye, M. et. al. (2011). Exposed, Uncovered & Declassified: Ghosts, Spirits, & Hauntings: Am I Being Haunted? New Page Books.
[7] Wilson, C. (2015). Mysteries: An Investigation Into The Occult, The Paranormal, And The Supernatural. Diversion Books.
[8] Weaver, Z. (2015). Other Realities? The Enigma Of Franek Kluski’s Mediumship. White Crow Books.
[9] Weaver, Z. (2018). Franek Kluski. Psi Encyclopedia. The Society for Psychical Research.
[10] Michel, A. (2020). Cognition and Perception: Is There Really A Distinction? Association For Psychological Science. PsychologicalScience.org
[11] McGann, J.P. (2017). Poor Human Olfaction Is A 19th-Century Myth. Science.
[12] Science Podcast: 13 December Show. Listen To Stories On Fear-Enhanced Odor Detection. Science.org.
[13] Experimental Biology. (2019). Study Shows Dogs Can Accurately Sniff Out Cancer In Blood. ScienceDaily.com.
[14] An Unlikely Superpower. (2020). Invisibilia: Season 6, Episode 3. Npr.org.
[15] Trivedi, D.K. et. al. (2019). Discovery Of Volatile Biomarkers Of Parkinson’s Disease From Sebum. ACS Central Science.
[16] Aiello, S. R. & Hirsch, A. R. (2013). Phantosmia As A Meteorological Forecaster. International Journal Of Biometeorology.
[17] Bonewits, I. (2005). A Pagan Glossary Of Terms: Useful Words And Phrases For The Interdimensional Traveler. Neopagan.net
[18] Elsaesser, E., et. al. (2021). The Phenomenology And Impact Of Hallucinations Concerning The Deceased. BJPsych Open.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anthon St. Maarten is a hereditary psychic medium, researcher, author, and accredited adult educator with more than two decades of professional experience.
In full-time practice since 2004, he has conducted more than 12,000 psychic and mediumship readings for clients across thirty countries on five continents.
His personal search for making sense of his own psychic experiences since childhood, and ultimately mastering his perception process, has given him an in-depth knowlegde and understanding of psychic perception, mediumship, channeling, and the developmental challenges often encountered by both aspiring and experienced practitioners.
Anthon is the author of a research working paper titled A Unified Conceptual Triad of Psychic Perception: Nonlocal Mind-Soul Resonance, Sapient-Sentient Awareness, and Psychic Impression Preference. This paper outlines the original conceptual framework that underpins the Unlock Your Psychic Potential™ training program and his broader approach to psychic development training and education.
He is also the author of The Sensible Psychic and Divine Living, and the founding editor of PsychicBloggers.com.
Anthon holds a postgraduate degree in Liberal Arts with a major in Psychology and is a certified outcomes-based adult education facilitator, assessor, and moderator. His teaching combines professional practice, independent research, structured educational methodology, and lived experience as a hereditary psychic medium.
His psychic decelopment training program is science-informed, spiritually inclusive, and focused on conceptual clarity, authenticity and accurate terminology. He aims to help psychic and mediumship students to develop greater discernment and self-trust, and build their skills on a credible foundation rather than mythology, superstition, or pop-culture stereotypes.
