5 Things to Know Before You Get a Psychic Reading
Often folks don’t know what to expect the first time they get a psychic reading. They’ve seen psychics depicted in movies or on TV, but they have no true understanding of what the process involves or what they’re signing up for. Sometimes they’re even a little bit anxious or afraid—and that’s understandable!
Hollywood does a great job of painting intuitive healing practices as dark and spooky. When they’re not shown as a direct line to Satan, they’re often cast as phony or fraudulent. Look at the Wizard of Oz, where Professor Marvel accurately predicts Dorothy’s dilemma but is nonetheless shown (to the audience, at least) to be a complete charlatan.
Working as a tarot card reader for the better part of fifteen years, I’ve dealt with a lot of ‘first timers.’ One of the main questions I’m asked is “how do I know who is legit?” I live and work in New Orleans, a city with a rich cultural history of magic and spiritual practice. In the French Quarter, you can’t walk a block without stumbling over someone offering to read your cards - so I get why newcomers to the practice would feel overwhelmed! While I’m not here to point fingers or make judgement calls about who is ‘gifted’ and who is a fraud, I do think there are a number of ways you, the client, can prepare for a reading to ensure you have the best possible experience. So without further ado, here’s my list of five things you should know before you get a psychic reading.
HAVE A GOAL OR QUESTION
This might sound silly, but hear me out: people who go into a session with no clear goal, question, or objective in mind seem to be the folks who walk away most disappointed. Much in the same way as seeing a doctor without knowing what your symptoms are isn’t going to be very productive, getting your tarot cards read without a sense of what you want to know won’t yield a clear, specific answer.
Before I start a session with a client, I always ask them if they have a question. It doesn’t have to be specific - in fact, I let them know that I don’t need or want any more context than they’re willing to provide. But knowing what your question is—even if you don’t speak it out loud—really helps direct the energy. It might be as vague as “what does the universe need me to know right now?” But keeping yourself focused on that goal will make a big difference in the connection between you and the reader.
READERS ARE SPIRITUAL CONDUITS, NOT MIND READERS
Listen, I know we’re called ‘readers,’ so I understand the confusion. But most folks offering psychic readings are not capable of (or interested in) reading your mind. The fastest way to shut down a connection with the person you’re sitting with is to play ‘test the psychic.’ Asking the reader to tell you what you’re thinking about right now or what your uncle bobby’s ex-wife’s favorite song was isn’t going to convince you of our legitimacy - if you come into the session with that attitude, you’re not looking for a reading, you’re looking for a stage show.
There are plenty of people who can pull off such tricks. It’s called ‘mentalism,’ and many performers, such as Derren Brown, are extremely proficient at it. While some psychics may also employ cold reading techniques when conducting a session, the truly gifted don’t need to rely on smoke and mirrors to give you a transformative experience. So before you spend your money on a palm reading or intuitive healing session, ask yourself what you’re really looking for. Do you want a magic show, or do you want spiritual guidance?
TAROT CARDS AREN’T MAGIC, CURSED, OR HAUNTED
Perhaps the weirdest questions I have to field for new clients (and the hardest to answer) are about ‘how it works.’ If you’re getting a reading done with cards (tarot or oracle) there’s this perception that the cards themselves are somehow infused with their own magic. Some folks even go so far as to believe the cards are inherently evil, conflating them with ouija boards and other spiritual props that have, over the years, attracted a rather lurid reputation. (I’ll spare you my ouija board rant, but suffice to say there’s nothing inherently evil, haunted, or cursed about those, either.)
Tarot cards, particularly, have been mythologized to the point where their actual history is pretty much obscured. Historical records show that tarot as we know it today emerged in Italy in the 1400s, as a parlor game. It was not until the 18th century that they began their use as a divinatory tool. There are plenty of cool stories about tarot’s link to ancient Egypt and even some conspiracy theories linking tarot symbolism to Atlantis. But in truth, just as regular playing cards have been used for fortune telling, tarot is just an example of an everyday item coming to hold magical and spiritual significance.
This shift from the mundane to the spiritual is due in large part to the Rider-Waite Smith Deck, the most iconic tarot deck of all time, and one of the first to have individual artwork for each card in the minor arcana. Pixie Colman Smith’s artwork is incredibly detailed and symbolically rich, making it easy to build a narrative when looking at her cards in conversation with one another.
And that’s what tarot reading is, really: narrative building. Anyone can do it, but in the hands of a gifted intuitive or psychically sensitive individual, the cards become a tool to focus energy and receive guidance. So no, the cards aren’t magic! Your reader is using them to focus energy. Many readers could just as easily use your palm, or your coffee grounds, or the shape hot wax makes when it hits water. Some readers might not need any props at all to answer your questions! But tarot is iconic, and its archetypal language resonates with clients even if they don’t have a deep understanding of the cards themselves.
YES, IT (USUALLY) COSTS MONEY
There’s this persistent myth that psychic readings, as a form of spiritual work, should be offered for free - that taking money for the service is somehow unethical or immoral. On some level, I get this, because yes, there are charlatans out there trying to hustle you for every dime you have. If you see a reader who constantly tries to ‘up sell’ you services, who tells you you’re cursed (and that they can break the curse for you for $$$), RUN A MILE.
However, most readers aren’t like this. They’re talented, dedicated folks offering a service - a service that takes time, energy, and often money to provide. While not all readers are working full-time in the spiritual field, even those who are ‘part time’ often pay for their own advertising, marketing, and props (like tarot cards). If they’re offering in person readings, then they’re paying for transport to and from work. If they’re working out of a shop, they’re either paying rent or giving a percentage of their income away to the store owner.
I do know folks who offer readings for free, but those people are not full-time psychics. They have other careers and other callings, and have chosen to use their gifts sparingly. That’s fine, but it doesn’t make them ‘more legit’ than someone who asks for payment.
I’ve met readers who charge very little for their services and readers who charge upwards of $350 an hour. The cost of the reading is not always a reflection of the quality. And while your own budget will (and should!) dictate who you choose to see, don’t fall into the trap of thinking a cheap or free reading is somehow ‘more authentic.’ People who have chosen to dedicate their lives to a spiritual path need to eat and pay rent, too.
THE FUTURE IS NOT SET IN STONE
I’ve heard some horror stories from clients who were told by ‘readers’ that they would die young, or have no children, or suffer some huge cataclysmic loss. When these clients come to me, they have often been so badly traumatized by those readings that they’ve avoided spiritual workers of any kind for years. Sometimes, they’ve been turned off spirituality altogether.
Will a session occasionally yield ‘bad news’? Sure. Life isn’t all sunshine and roses, and sometimes the guidance we need comes in the form of uncomfortable truths. But the main thing to remember about any reading—tarot, palm, tea leaf, or aura—is that nobody on this planet can tell you what you are going to do. YOU have the final say in every decision you make, always. Free will is your god(dess) given right as a human being, and you can, and should, take full advantage of it.
This is why a true psychic reading isn’t really ‘fortune telling’ - that would imply a fixed, pre-determined future you can’t control. Instead, a good reader will give you a sense of where you are, where you’re headed, and what your potential outcomes look like. The goal is to give you a little bit of extra insight to help guide you down the best path. And it’s you who gets to decide what the best path looks like. There are no objectively right decisions or objectively wrong decisions. It all depends on what your goals are, what experiences you’re looking for, what you’re trying to learn.
I’ll give you an example: a common question I’m asked is whether a client should date Person A or Person B. Typically what I’ll do is draw cards for both suitors, and give the client a sense of what strengths and challenges they can expect in each relationship. Usually, neither option is objectively bad. It boils down to what the client wants and needs at this point in their life. Do they want a stable, slow-paced relationship - one where their partner will want to settle down, get married, have kids? Or do they want a dramatic, fiercely passionate fling that fuels them creatively but offers nothing of long-term substance? We look at the options and the possible outcomes. We look at the client’s energy and what they need to work on. And by analyzing the situation through this intuitive lens, the client leaves the session empowered to make the best possible decision for them.
So there you have it! If you’ve been hesitant to get a reading, I hope this list clears up some misconceptions and gives you a sense of how best to prepare for the process. Psychic readings are what you make them. They can absolutely just be silly fun if you go into the experience with a light-hearted, skeptical attitude. And that’s okay! Not everything has to be super serious, and many people get readings as a one-off novelty.
But if you show up for the process with an open mind, ready for the energetic exchange, a reading can be an incredibly healing—even transformative—experience. To some extent, you get out what you put in. So why not take the plunge? I’m ready when you are :)
xxx
Celeste