Reactions

There is no way to predict how anybody will react when they meet a psychic or Tarot reader but one thing is certain—there will be a definite reaction, sometimes quite a strong one.

My friends and acquaintances are used to me now. Some of them think I'm fairly normal, some think I'm either a fraud or a fool, and occasionally somebody thinks I'm in league with the Devil. I've got thick skin so I don't really mind—I just do my own thing.

Many psychics won't talk about their abilities because of the number of people who immediately react by asking for an impromptu reading. It will surprise some viewers to know how wide a cross-section of the community accept Tarot as a valid counselling method. Among my clients I've had lawyers, factory workers, psychiatrists, shop assistants, doctors, criminals, engineers, prostitutes, academics and even a university professor.

Born-again Christians are apt to become obnoxious with New Age people. I once returned from lunch to find a colleague (he was from one of the charismatic churches) describing me with enthusiasm and angst. He had his back toward the door and didn't know I was there until alerted by the smirks on the faces of his mates. He became embarrassed and his voice faltered.
I said, "The thing I most like about you, Ken, is your fair-mindedness. If the world was full of people like you we'd have no problems in places like Ireland and Palestine. It'd be all peace and harmony."
He looked relieved and said something like, "That's very nice of you, Dave. Thanks very much."
Straight over the top!

Another born-again gave me a serve in the local shopping centre. We had been neighbours for almost forty years and she said, "I'm not going to tell you what I think about the things you do." She didn't realise she had just done so.
On another occasion the same woman was critical of Islam's high profile in Australia and wanted the government to stop admitting Muslim immigrants. "Their God is a god of war," she said. "Our God is a god of love. I hate them."
Honest!

A more interesting reaction was a phone call from a lawyer for whom I had done a Tarot reading at Sydney's Mind, Body, Spirit Festival. She said I had told her four things that couldn't possibly happen and she left my table thinking, "Poor little man, he doesn't have a clue." When all four things actually happened she called back and asked for another reading.

But the funniest reaction I ever had was from my section manager during a stint with the public service. Never the brightest person in a group, she knew what I did on the weekends and thought I could read her mind. I did nothing to encourage that idea but I did nothing to correct it, either. I just let her worry.

The reaction that concerned me most was that of true believers who hung on every word I said. I kept my readings as honest as I knew how, but prefaced every session with a warning that psychic readings can never be completely accurate and that it's necessary to use judgment in interpreting them. Even so, there were too many people who took my predictions as gospel—especially if I told them what they wanted to hear. For that reason, I pensioned off my Tarot deck and no longer do psychic readings.