So, you want to get a reading?

If you have never gotten a psychic, clairvoyant or tarot reading before, you may be a bit nervous about it.

A lot of my friends and family are sceptical and fearful about getting a reading as the person may tell them a bunch of horrible things that will happen in their life. I have never had that experience in any of the readings I’ve had (whether I’ve thought they were good or bad reading) and I usually find it to be a positive, uplifting, and eye-opening experience. If you are a bit concerned about the reading, please know that usually a bit of scepticism and discernment is usually encouraged in readings as nothing spiritual is 100% accurate or factual. Sometimes going into a reading with a lot of fear can cause some negativity to arise as they may pick up on your fears or lack fo willingness to participate in the reading.

My mum is queen of living in the now. She gets upset and overly sentimental and nostalgic when she looks at the past, and looking at the future terrifies her. I’ve never been able to relate to that. I have always been nostalgic and sentimental about the past but have always been obsessed with the future. The now has never excited or satisfied me (although this year has been a little different). For her getting a reading would either make her sad or scared so she has never gotten one.

Many of my twenty-something friends have gotten readings and enjoyed the experience. Your twenties is a time where you can get really jaded and worried about the future, but getting readings where they give you hope and encouragement is a great experience to have at our age.

There are some people out there who are frauds – you can usually tell as they tell you something negative and then try to sell you a candle or something to help you fix whatever they said was wrong. Never believe those people. Real psychics, mediums, intuitives and readers will be primarily positive and want to uplift and encourage you. They do not want to scare you or freak you out at all. They are there to help shed light on situations and give advice when necessary. They are there to light you up and build you up, not make you terrified to leave the house ever again.

I hope this helps those of you who are contemplating getting a reading – it can be overwhelming choosing which kind of reading you want. I’ve had a lot of good readings from people I’ve been recommended (usually by hairdressers!) so ask around if you feel comfortable doing so and give your local intuitives a try.

Reading Style

Clairvoyant aka “clear seeing” – they can see your past, present and future like images in their mind. Don’t worry, they can’t see everything, just what spirit shows them which is almost always in your best interest. Clairvoyants usually do not ask you for much information and just start talking as soon as you sit down. They may ask for clarification or ask if what they are saying makes sense, but in my experience, the clairvoyant does 99% of the talking and they usually talk pretty fast so you get good value for money.

Mediumship – mediums communicate with spirit/the deceased. Each medium uses their different physical and psychic senses to communicate and interpret the information. A medium has to raise their vibration and spirit has to lower their vibration in order for the communication to take place – they need to meet in the middle hence the term “medium”. Famous mediums include Lisa Williams and John Edwards – I highly recommend checking out Lisa’s work and her tv show “Life Among The Dead” in particular. There are numerous clips from the readings she did on the show over on YouTube.

Psychic/Intuitive – these readings are the most varied type of reading as they can come in any form. Psychic readers, like mediums, also use their senses to perform the reading and usually have a sense of claircognizance (clear knowing), although again this varies greatly and is dependent on the psychic. Intuitive is a very loose term to describe clairsentience (clear feeling). Intuitive readers usually tune into your energy and then go with what feels true to them without any logic or reasoning involved.

Tarot – tarot readings are also extremely varied – different decks, spreads, questions, and the reader’s personal understanding of the cards mean that every single person on the planet would read the meaning of a card differently. Tarot is a structured system like a deck of playing cards and has four suits (14 cards per suit) as well as the major arcana (22 cards). Some readers are a big fan of intuitive reading rather than following the traditional card meanings, others like to look at the card and allow the imagery to tell the story – most of us combine all of these once we have basic knowledge of the tarot system. The intention behind a tarot reading is usually to provide understanding of a situation, and advice on how to proceed. Tarot is not primarily used for fortune telling although sometimes clear messages about the future will show up.

Oracle Cards – oracle cards are very similar to tarot cards, except it does not have an overall structure or system, meaning each and every oracle card deck plays by its own set of rules. These readings are typically done with the intention to help and heal the client, and provide direction if the client is feeling lost.

Astrological – there are a million ways to do an astrological reading. Natal chart readings are incredibly popular as they analyse everything about you and your soul based on the time, date and place of birth. I got a natal chart monograph reading from Benebell Wen which was a 440+ page book interpreting my natal chart.

Palm Reading – I’ve had a couple of different palm readings and they are very varied in style. Tony Legget does video palm readings where he reads your essence, your personality, gifts, current/past/future energies and potential for success. He doesn’t sugar-coat anything and told me in my second palm reading that he was “disappointed” which I understood perfectly at the time. His readings are very accurate and detailed and it feels like he is reading your soul or higher self. I also got an audio palm reading by Kat Anders where she looked at “facts”, timelines, talents, natural abilities, and guardian angel visits. Her reading is much more practical and is approached in a logical manner.

Elemental Realm – an elemental realm reading will identify if you belong to any of the following realms: Starseed, Fairies, Earth Angels, Wise One, Leprachaun, Cherub, etc.

Past Life Regression – a past life regression isn’t necessarily a reading like the ones listed above. I have not yet experienced a past life regression so it’s hard to give a view of what one is, but from my understanding a past life regression is done with the purpose or intention of gaining understanding and knowledge of a past life or lives, to help you to understand why you are the way you are, or why you may notice that you repeat the same patterns. Past Life Regressions are quite intense and can bring stuff to the surface that may be hard to comprehend.

There are many other kinds of readings, but these are just the ones I’ve experienced in the last couple of years or have heard about. If there is a type of reading that I forgot or you are curious about, please let me know in the comments below.

Tarot is a Mirror for Self-Reflection

Delivery Method

In Person

The face-to-face reading is my favourite. I’ve had around 15 in person readings over the last couple of years and they have all been relatively good (some better than others). Of course, this depends on the reader and how well you personally vibe with them. A lot of readers record the reading for you, or let you record it yourself with your phone. I had a really great reading once where I didn’t record it but later wished I had. It’s always best to ask before recording a reading. Some people opt to take a notebook and pen with them to a reading but I prefer to listen in the moment and give my full attention to the reading while it’s happening, then listen to the recording and make notes later.

Skype

Skype readings are a great option if you want a face-to-face reading with someone who lives across the world. You can also do Skype voice calls which I know people like Lisa Williams utilise a lot, especially with international clients. I have only experienced two skype sessions and they are not my favourite as they tend to have technical difficulties and I personally feel awkward during it as I don’t like people staring at me.

Video

Video readings are my second favourite – I tend to go for this option when choosing a reading from someone who lives far away from me. I like being able to rewatch the reading as needed and also see the cards being drawn (if it is a card reading).

Audio

This is the kind of reading I like to do myself as I feel like I channel when I speak and there’s nothing else to worry about.

Written

There are numerous ways that written readings get delivered. Some are sent as a PDF via email, others are just text sent via email, some are handwritten and posted to you (I do this; Get one here!) and some give you a book length reading.