I must admit being a little torn in writing about divination. While I’ve done some of it, I really prefer not to. It isn’t because of my startling accuracy or some other equally droll reason, it just usually gives me a headache to do anything of the sort. Instead let me tell you about one time I was fully convinced that there are indeed people who are quacks or charlatans, and the time I was utterly convinced that some people do have the gift for divination, which led me to pursue it for my own edification.
In 1999 I moved several thousand miles from home, and I saw it as a true opportunity to figure out who I was and all that other sort of stuff one does after such a move. One of the joys I discovered was living in a city with not just one, but several metaphysical shops. I was excited to live in an area where I didn’t have to travel by ferry for an hour just to get to a decent metaphysical shop. As it happened the day I first visited there were several tarot readers available, and I immediately booked a reading. I opted to pay the extra to have a tape recording of the thing, so that I could replay it when I wanted.
The questions and answers, and the layout or “spread” of the reader were all completely new to me. I’d never had a reading by someone outside my circle of Pagan friends before, but I’d never been asked more than two or three questions during the entire thing. This reader seemed to plug me for information after almost ever turn of the card. I was skeptical walking in, so I promised myself I’d “give away” as little information as possible. Detail after detail about what the cards supposedly said regarding the history and current state of affairs turned up completely wrong. After about ten minutes of it, I finally let the reader know just how horrible a job they were doing at it. They explained to me that it was my fault I wasn’t getting the answers I expected, even though we hadn’t yet gotten to anything regarding the future of the main issue. I’m still not sure how it was my fault, but that experience led to the conclusion that just about all divination was complete nonsense and any details “revealed” correctly were dumb luck.
Several years later, I’m now married to my best friend, we’re running our own business selling renaissance clothing and other period wares, and we’re guests of a vendor at the Colorado Renaissance Festival, one my favorite places to go in the summer when we lived there. We were there with friends, taking in all the sights, and came across a palm reader sitting on the back steps of her vardo wagon. Someone in our group asked us to wait while she got her palm read, and so we sat in the waiting area, out of ear shot and talked about various things to pass the time. When she came out she was awe-struck, and practically speechless about how accurate this lady had been in reading her palm and telling her what she saw. My wife, knowing my skepticism for readers and my previous experience, suggested that perhaps this reader was someone I could try, since I had not satisfactorily received an answer since that horrible reading experience.
The first reason I knew something was different was that she didn’t take my money right away. She specifically told me, “put your wallet away, and let me see your hands. I’ll tell you something I see, and if it is accurate, then you can pay me for the whole reading.” She already knew I was skeptical, although I honestly can’t recall giving any clues that would give her that impression. What she said wasn’t vague, or open to interpretation, she exhibited a clear and unmistakable gift for not only palm reading, but as far as I can tell, mind reading as well because not only did she know my middle name, but she listed several interesting facts about my birth and some of my life thus far. After gladly paying her she then proceeded to give me such a chill with the most incredible reading I’ve ever experienced.
While I admit that I’m still a skeptic about the claims many readers make in their abilities, I’m not nearly as skeptical about the existence of the ability for at least a few people to actually deliver as advertised.
