Jane Roberts was an American author, poet, psychic and spirit medium, who trance channeled an entity called "Seth" for more than 20 years. Seth referred to himself as “an energy personality essence, no longer focused in physical reality.”
Her publication of the Seth texts, known as the "Seth Material", established her as one of the preeminent figures in the world of paranormal phenomena. The books had an enormous influence on many in the emerging “New Age” community during the seventies and eighties, including Richard Bach, Louise Hay, Shakti Gawain, Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer and even scientists like physicist Fred Alan Wolf. Seth's effect upon New Age thinkers has been profound. His empowering messages are considered as those which launched the New Age movement.
Jane Roberts first began hearing messages from Seth in 1963, when she and her husband Robert Butts were living in Elmira, New York. They had begun experimenting with a Ouija board, a popular occult instrument where a weighted object moves around a board to indicate different letters.
After some time, they began to receive messages, first from a fellow named Frank Watts, and then, to their astonishment, from a “non-physical entity” who called himself Seth. Eventually the Ouija board was dispensed with when Jane discovered that she could “hear” Seth’s words before they were communicated through the board. Soon, Jane stepped aside and Seth began to speak “through” her consciousness as Rob listened and faithfully recorded every detail of the experiences.
From December 8th, 1963, up to the end of Jane’s life, in 1984, even as she lay on a hospital bed, the “Seth sessions” continued.
Seth dictated to Jane and Rob the thirteen volumes of the Seth material, beginning with Seth Speaks and ending with The Way to Health.
Roberts and Butts produced a series of books, including The Seth Material, Seth Speaks, The Nature of Personal Reality and many others.
The Yale University Library Manuscripts and Archives maintains a collection entitled Jane Roberts Papers (MS 1090), which documents the career and personal life of Jane Roberts, including journals, poetry, correspondence, audio and video recordings and other materials donated after her death by Roberts' husband and other individuals and organizations.