prediction addiction

Do you suffer from Prediction Addiction? Are you a Psychic Junky?

Despite the fact that tarot reading is my profession, and I certainly don’t want to scare away possible clients, I think addiction to getting psychic readings is an important issue to address.

If you’re a psychic junky, you probably already know. Do you spend hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars a month on readings – online, on the phone, in person? Are you afraid to make decisions without speaking to your spiritual advisor? Do you ignore advice from friends and loved ones in favour of direction from virtual strangers being paid $4.99 a minute to talk to you?

CBS Chicago recently reported on the dangers of Prediction Addiction, noting that being dependent on psychic readings is not unlike being addicted to drugs or gambling.

And as with all cases of obsession with one activity or another, there’s usually more than one place to lay the blame. I’ll start with my side – the psychic readers themselves.

Any metaphysical reader who intentionally fuels dependency is acting in an immoral, and perhaps illegal manner. It is always fraudulent to suggest to anyone that you are certain of his or her future and know what decisions they should be making in their lives. To maintain that you have spiritual authority to do so, either through contact with angels, guides or dead relatives is particularly despicable.

The CBS report mentions one especially disturbing practice of psychic scammers calling former clients without being asked. They tell them things like “negativity surrounds you”, or “I’ve had a terrible vision regarding your future”. This practice is unacceptable in every way. If any reader ever calls you with such supposed information, hang up on them. You might even think of reporting them.

At the same time, I have to ask people to start taking responsibility for their own lives. Too often in my own tarot reading practice, I find people willing to give away their decision making power.

Remember – psychic readings can provide insight, problem-solving tools and possible direction, but they cannot dissolve your troubles or make your choices for you. That is always and forever your obligation and freedom.

The former psychic junky described in the CBS report, Dona Murphy, took what I think is an excellent step regarding her former addiction. She realized she was spending too much money and getting too many readings, often for what she sees now were the wrong reasons.

What did she do? She hung up on so-called psychics who were fueling her dependency and learnt to read the cards herself. Now when she feels like getting some spiritual insight, she pulls out her own deck and answers her own questions.

Getting a reading from an experienced reader can be an empowering and validating experience. Being dependent on anyone else to solve your problems or to relinquish your own authority, all the while paying out the nose to do so, only destroys that potential.

mystic victory in dover

There’s been a small victory for the mystics in Dover, Delaware. boscov’s found wrong to deny tarot workshop

Earlier this year, Boscov’s Department Store in Dover booked a series of metaphysical workshops to be held in the meeting room of their store. Soon after running a newspaper ad announcing the event, they cancelled it. Apparently some Christian pastors, opposed on spiritual grounds, had approached the store threatening a boycott if the classes went forward.

Why, you might ask. Leslie Freeman, a woman firmly opposed to the event explained to reporters, “They have devil worshippers that give their life for the cause, but that’s not the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ, neither is it going to help our country.” battle over religious freedom heats up in dover

Given such attitudes, workshop organizers quite reasonably suspected they were dropped for religious reasons and took their case to the Delaware Human Relations Commission. Last week they won their case.

Boscov’s Department Store has been ordered to pay almost $21,000 to workshop organizer, Donna Jackson, and four other instructors. The money was awarded in recognition of loss of income and humiliation suffered through the cancellation of the event.

The issue here doesn’t seem to be so much about religious discrimination as it does religious ignorance. The Christian representatives opposed to the event seemed to feel that the workshops were religious in nature and intended to convert an unsuspecting public to pagan and devil worshipping beliefs.

Not only were they completely off base with the devil worshipping stuff (do I really need to go into that?), but their assumption that the various metaphysical arts like tarot, astrology and numerology, are religions of their own, or essential elements of particular religions, is also completely wrong.

No present day religion can claim ownership to tarot, astrology, numerology, or palmistry. These arts/techniques are used by people of varying faiths with equal usefulness. In fact, the woman who organized the workshop, Donna Jackson, is apparently a Christian herself, though some of the others are Pagan.

It’s too bad for Boscov’s that they got in the middle of this mess. They claimed they cancelled the workshops for business, rather than religious reasons. I believe them. They just made the wrong business choice.

It may have worked out better for them if, rather than simply cutting the event, they had brought their concerns to the workshop organizers after they were approached by the Pastors. I’m sure they could have easily cleared things up with some communication and education. Boscov’s has 30 days to appeal, we’ll see what happens.

There’s an important a lesson here for everyone involved in the legitimate practice of any of the metaphysical arts. Whenever possible, help people understand what it is you’re actually doing. And always stress to anyone who might be concerned - the devil is in no way involved.

free tarot readings on the web

Want a free tarot reading? Who doesn’t?

Though nothing is quite like getting a one-on-one reading with a live professional, there’s something to be said for a quick computer generated freebee. Here are just a few of the many sites out there for people who want a free tarot reading – no strings attached.

Facade - This is one of the original free tarot sites on the web. They also offer free rune and I-ching readings, biorhythms and numerology. The readings are computer generated but there are plenty of options in terms of spreads and decks. And if you want, they allow you to choose an identifier card. The card descriptions are a little stilted, but the multitude of options makes it one of the better free sites available.

Matrix Oracle – This is another of the original free tarot sites. It’s actually a demo of software for sale, but it’s pretty good. Among other fun computer generated divinatory options like Yes or No and Fortune Cookies, it also offers free rune and I-ching readings, bibliomancy and astrological write ups. The Tarot Oracle has thirteen spread options and six deck choices.

The Housewives Tarot – The Housewive’s Tarot is one of my favourite specialty tarot decks. It’s intelligent and irreverent, yet insightful as they come. There’s only a past/present/future spread option and the descriptions are really short but it’s a lot of fun and the deck is great. Not to mention, they've got recipes for Ice Box Fortune Cake and Mystical Martinis.

American Tarot Association - The ATA provides a tarot service to the general public through their website. They offer free one card readings at the Free Reading Network and three card readings at the Free Tarot Network. The readings are done by real live people, members of the American Tarot Association (I used to be a reader for them). As you might guess, the demand is enormous. More often than not, when you click on the “Free Reading Here” link you’ll get a message saying there are no readers presently available. Sometimes though, there’s a reader available. It’s worth dropping by just in case.

Aeclectic Tarot – Aeclectic Tarot is a fantastic meeting place for tarot lovers from all over the world. The site offers way more than I can begin to describe here, but among it’s many features, Aeclectic provides member readers the opportunity to swap readings amongst each other. Readers at all levels can learn a lot from thousands of discussions on this excellent site.

The Tarot Room - Dear Georgianna . . . – and last but not least, I might as well mention my own site - The Tarot Room - where once a week I choose a question from those submitted and publish what the cards have to say on my Dear Georgianna . . . page. Though your identity will be kept absolutely confidential, your question and my response will be public – sort of like a Dear Abby but with the cards. Please note that I’m really unlikely to answer yes/no type questions. If you want that sort of thing – flip a coin.

There are plenty more free tarot sites out there. Just type “free tarot readings” into your favourite search engine and you’ll see what I mean. If anyone asks for your credit card – it’s not free, so don’t get suckered. But there’s lots to choose from that won’t cost you a dime. Don’t expect them to solve your big life problems, but look around and have some fun.

psychic regulation in michigan

I came across an interesting article in The Macomb Daily out of Michigan, near Detroit. It describes a new law being considered in Eastpointe that would regulate psychic businesses like tarot and palm readers, astrologers and mediums. It’s meant to protect people from being ripped off by “so-called psychics”.

As a professional tarot reader, I’m especially sensitive to the need to keep the metaphysical arts/industry free of scammers. Obviously, any time someone from this field cheats someone, it reflects badly on all of us, but what’s up with the Eastpointe City Council?

First, they propose to make anyone opening an astrology or fortune telling business get a business license and a psychic’s license. As I see it, if all businesses need a business license, why wouldn’t a psychic business? That seems fair.

But what about this psychic’s license – what could they possibly mean by that? Given that an earlier draft of the law defines a psychic as someone who, “pretends to be able to reveal the future”, I can’t imagine that they’ve got a board of professional clairvoyants overseeing the regulation process.

As it turns out, getting a psychic’s license has nothing to do with proving your psychic abilities; it’s more about tracking your activities.

The law would require the names and residences of all employees who work at the psychic business. Even this doesn’t seem so unusual – except why bother? Don’t all legitimate businesses in Eastpointe already keep such records and submit them to government at tax time?

But let’s keep going – the psychic business applicant would also have to include information on his or her height, weight, hair colour and criminal history. As well, they would be required to submit a recent photograph and be fingerprinted. Wow they’re tough in Eastpointe. The psychics there must be out of control!

But there’s more. The psychic business operator would also have to undergo a police inspection and provide records on all customers identifying their names, ages, addresses and services requested. They haven’t yet determined what the fee for the permit would be. I’m eager to find out.

In response to why these new regulations are necessary, City Councilwoman, Veronica Klinefelt is quoted as saying, “We’ve read stories in the news about these psychics ripping off people of a large amount of money and we hope to avoid anything like that in Eastpointe.”

Am I to understand then that they’ve not actually had a problem of their own in Eastpointe – they’ve just heard that others have? What are they doing here? If they’re simply trying to protect their citizenry from potential liars and cheats, you’d think similar regulations would be necessary if one wanted to open a car lot, a weight-loss program or an advertising agency.

People committing psychic scams aren’t being psychics – they’re being frauds, con artists and thieves (see my blog entry from March 28th – You Don’t Have A Curse On You!). Doesn’t Eastpointe already have laws strong enough to deal with such cheap swindlers?

I can’t imagine what the psychics in Eastpointe, Michigan are up to that they require such surveillance. Why keep such close tabs on what I imagine is a rather small industry? But who knows, maybe things have gotten out of control with the psychics there and City Council’s simply nipping a problem in the bud. In any event, it’s clear that psychic businesses aren’t much trusted or welcome in Eastpointe.

Nearby Maycomb Township already bans any form of fortune telling, mind reading or card reading. The Township Clerk, Michael Koehs, is reported as saying “I don’t recall exactly why we put that one on the books, but obviously there must have been some concern over an individual’s integrity.” Obviously.