Exploring the appeal of psychic readings
Would you trust a total stranger to predict your future?
Skeptics may scrutinize psychics and mediums, but the supernatural continues to captivate audiences who are drawn to the appeal of all things mystical. The Guelph Psychic Expo took place from Feb. 7 to 9 at the Best Western Hotel, and I decided to delve into the world of smoke and mirrors, tarot cards, and crystal balls.
As my friend and I came in from the bright snowy winter day outside, it took a couple of minutes for our eyes to adjust to the dim, mellow light in the conference room. “I feel like I’m in a dream,” she commented, as we looked at the psychic booths set up around the room, each offering a mystical service: tarot card reading, palmistry, clairvoyance, auras, past lives, numerology, astrology, crystal readings, mediumship, or animal and spirit communication. The cost of these services ranged from $10 to $70 and upwards, depending on what kind of reading you chose.
Linda Fulcher, the “Electric Psychic” and organizer of the Psychic Expo (which has been held since 1988), explained that psychic practices are by definition mysterious, falling outside of the realm of science and logic. Many psychics get their ability from a connection with a higher power, and being in tune with this force gives them guidance and insight, Fulcher explained.
Fulcher ensures the psychics at the expos are credible, so participants seeking guidance are not misled: “They come for answers, and there’s a certain vulnerability in that.”
Due to the mysterious nature of the readings, often some time must pass before determining how certain predictions may unfold. Predictions that seem vague or obscure at the time can play out in unexpected ways, according to Fulcher.
I continued on through the fair, slowly walking past all of the booths while psychics eye me intently. When they’re not busy connecting with potential customers at their booths, they quietly observe the room as participants wander.
At one booth, a psychic offers a mini-reading of my personality and has my “type” figured out in a matter of seconds. However, my friend proves more of a challenge – the psychic is unable to categorize her, and (to my surprise) admits that in this case, he wouldn’t be able to offer her a reading.
After this brief encounter piqued my interest, I opted to sit down for a 20-minute reading with another psychic to see if my fate could be uncovered in a deck of cards.
For my first official psychic reading, Psychic Medium Jewelee draws on a deck of worn tarot cards and asks me questions about my life, focusing on work, friendships, and relationships. I get the impression that you get out of the experience what you put into it. You have to be willing to share information about your own life, and the psychic will intuit what’s in store for you. It’s an exercise that requires cooperation and an open mind.
The intense gaze of the psychic is unwavering; you get the sense that when they look at you, they are really seeing you and picking up on your idiosyncrasies. There is something unsettling about having a complete stranger observe you so closely, and some of the observations were uncanny.
“I have turned a few skeptics into believers,” said Jewelee. “One of the hardest things with skeptics is they try and put you on the spot, [saying] ‘Tell me something, anything.’ It doesn’t work like that.”
Jewelee explained, “With readings I have to tap into the person’s energy, and that is not easy if they have a wall or block up… Then I have to get past the wall… so that they can relax and then I can get a good reading for them.”
Though Jewelee is confident in her abilities, and has memories of having premonitions since the age of five, she is hesitant to use the word “prediction.”
“I don’t think anyone can really predict anything, as we all have choices and free will. Nothing is set in stone. What I see is the path you are on and what will happen based on that path; however, you can always change it and I can also see what will happen if you do,” said Jewelee.
Whether psychic powers are derived from a higher power, contact with the spirit realm, or extrasensory perception is, of course, impossible to prove – and might actually be beside the point. Events such as this expo offer a break from the mundane and an opportunity to experience alternative ways of viewing the world. You’ll walk away with much to reflect on.
What is known is that the future will remain uncertain, and people will always be fascinated with attempting to make sense of that inscrutable mystery.