Psychic Messages by George Ministeri          
Volume Number 1, Issue Number 3

The Truth about Psychic Readings

There are very few people who do not know what a psychic reading is. I know when I first started giving psychic readings over 30 years ago it was very different. It was a much more selective group of people who went for psychic readings. Over the past ten years that has all changed. With all the advertising for psychic reading services, this has brought the field more into the mainstream. This has come with a price, both figuratively, and literally. With the abundance of 900 numbers to call, including Miss Cleo's, Latoya Jackson's, Kenny Kingston's, and Dionne Warwick's groups, psychic phone lines became very successful thanks in part to our "quick fix" society. Newspapers and televisions were filled with advertisements to call your "psychic friend" to have all of your life's questions answered by their psychic readers. Because of the large amounts of money that could be made in this new industry, psychic phone lines began popping up everywhere. The average psychic phone reading costs $3.99 a minute or more, and still does. These psychic phone lines were usually backed by a larger company whose main objective was to make a lot of money. The psychics who were hired to staff these psychic phone lines are paid about 30 cents per minute of that $3.99. You might do some quick math and think that it means they are being paid about $18.00 per hour. In reality, they are paid far less than that since they are only paid for the amount of time they are actually on the phone with a client. Also the companies who hired these psychics demanded that they keep their clients on the phone for at least 20 minutes. If not, they were penalized by having 5 to 10 cents per minute deducted from their pay. So when you really think about it, you will realize that they are probably being paid about as well as most third world child laborers. As well as being forced to keep clients on the phone for as long as possible, their calls were monitored to make sure that they were selling the companies other products. As an incentive to their clients, most of these lines advertised that the first 5 minutes of your call was free, but even that was a red herring. You actually did get your free minutes, but since in the marketing world, names, addresses, emails, and other demographic information can provide valuable marketing information for a company to use or to sell to other companies, the psychics were required to get the client's name, address, and other demographic information which, while providing useful marketing information for the company, also quickly used up your free minutes. These lines were heavily advertised and generated large call volume so the need to staff these lines was critical. This result of this was that these companies were not very discriminating when it came to hiring. In fact, a lot of the psychics who staffed these lines weren't professional psychics, but mainly stay at home mothers who needed the extra cash. Of course there were always a few credible psychics that were given more money to work the lines, or a percentage of the profits, but they were few and far between. The result of all this was that a lot of people got very poor quality readings, and paid top quality prices to have readings from people who really didn't know what they were doing in the first place. At $3.99 a minute, a 30 minute psychic reading could cost up to $120.00, that's a very big price to pay for such poor service.

The overall impression of this is that the psychic filled is filled with people who are trying to make a quick buck. While this is an industry with more than its fair share of frauds, and charlatans, there are still a large number of genuine psychics who treat the industry, and their clients, with dignity, honesty, and respect. There are certain things a person should look out for, and should keep in mind when they visit a psychic, or call a psychic for a telephone reading, that will help them to make sure they are doing business with a legitimate, professional psychic.

1. Who are they? The psychic you have decided to see should be someone who has been recommended to you by another person you know, or has a reputation that can be verified. A psychic should have a first and a last name, and should be able to tell you where they are located.
2. How much do they cost? You should know the price list for the services being offered. In other words, you should know how long a reading will last, and how much it will cost before the reading even begins. The real danger that 900 lines represented to people is that they were essentially on a running clock. They had no idea how much their psychic reading really cost until they got their phone bills. If you decide to leave a tip that is your choice, you shouldn't be prompted to do so in any way.
3. Who's giving who the reading? During your psychic reading, the psychic should tell you information which sounds familiar to you. Also you do not want to interrupt the psychic by interjecting too much of your personal life into the reading. This can confuse most professional psychics with too much clutter. The psychic should be giving you information, and not the other way around. Save your questions until the end of the reading, it will only help you to receive more accurate information, and it will also make it easier on the psychic who is doing your reading.
4. You need me to guide you. No you don't. A psychic should be telling you about your life, not telling you how to live it. A reputable psychic will not tell you that you need to constantly return to them for a reading. I have clients who have psychic readings every couple of months, and I have clients who have called me out of the blue after 20 to 25 years. The decision to see a psychic should be your decision and not the psychics. Be careful of a psychic who makes you feel that your fate is dependant upon them. However, there are two sides to this. While the psychic should not make you feel that you are dependant on them, they should also not let you become dependant on them. You hold the keys to your fate.
5. Curses only exist in the movies. If someone tells you that you have a curse on you, or that you suffer from bad luck during your psychic reading that should raise a red flag. The revelation that you are cursed will be followed up with the promise to light candles for you, or to cast spells for you to remove the curse and believe me, it will cost a lot more money than the psychic reading. This is a classic scam to dupe you out of money. You can go to church and light your own candles. There is a book called Candle Magic for Beginners by Richard Webster, you can buy the book and it will tell you what candles to use for what purpose, and how to use them. Basically, you have the best magic in yourself. That's not to say that all psychics, or witches who offer to cast spells or light candles for you as part of their services are frauds. However, it should be listed as a reasonably priced and separate service, not just something that is sprung upon you.
6. You're going to die. Unfortunately you are going to die, someday. That is just a fact of our mortality. No reputable psychic would ever tell you this information, since that goes into an area that most psychics have learned to avoid. There are two things you just can't change, the day you are born, and the day you die, everything in between is up to you. Any psychic who tells you something like that is probably wrong, and just has serious problems. Any psychic who tells you something like this, and then tells you that they can prevent it from occurring, is a con artist.
7. Sometimes the truth hurts. Some people have a hard time hearing the truth about themselves, and their lives. During a psychic reading, you may not always get the answers you want. You are not always going to get that job you want, he's probably not going to leave his wife, and sometimes your current boyfriend isn't "the one". Just because the psychic has enough honesty, and integrity to tell you the truth, instead of just telling you what you want to hear, that's not justification to withhold payment.
8. Nobody can read me. If you don't want a psychic reading, DON'T GO. A psychic reading can be a very personal and insightful experience. You can learn things about yourself that you didn't even realize. However, some people approach the reading with the attitude that "nobody can read me". It doesn't do the psychic any good when someone sits there and says "nobody can read me". The psychic can tell this person their grandmother's maiden name, the name of their second grade teacher, or describe the person's spouse down to a mole on their cheek, and that person will still say "nobody can read me". Don't waste your money and the psychic's time when you have a problem dealing with your own ego, because there are probably other people who are having a problem dealing with it as well.
9. All my psychics are telling me the same thing. It always good to get a second opinion, and sometimes a third or forth. However, if you are seeing several different psychics on a regular basis then, in my honest opinion, I would say you may want to really consider seeking help through psychotherapy. If you are going from psychic to psychic looking for a different answer to the same question, then you may be having serious difficulty in dealing with your problems.
10. My psychic is going to change my life. Your psychic does not hold a magic wand. They can only give you guidelines to help you change you life for the better. As I said before, you can't change the day you are born, and you can't change the day you die, everything else is under your control. If your life is basically dull because you don't do anything to change it, that's probably not going to change. No matter how good your psychic is, there is no such thing as a quick fix. They can give you guidelines to look out for in bad times, and signs to indicate good times, but you need to act upon them. You can't always change your life by sitting on the couch and doing nothing.
11. Respect your psychic. Most professional psychics have dedicated their lives to their profession. While psychic gifts do come naturally, it takes time, and years of practice to refine those gifts. In a way it is like being a professional athlete, you are born with a talent, and it is a talent that must be practiced, and is continuously being refined. Your psychic is a professional who has spent a great deal of time perfecting their talents and should be treated that way. In other words, don't hound your psychic to death. Call them, leave them a message, and give them the time to return your call, even if it takes a few days. You're not their only client. If you have a problem that requires their psychic abilities, and that is the person's profession, they should be paid for their services. The only source of income for most professional psychics is from the services they offer. I am sure that you would not expect a psychic to call you and ask you to do your job for free.

Now that you have a good idea what to expect, and what to look out for when you get a psychic reading, I hope that you have a better understanding of what a psychic reading can do for you. Talking to your psychic should be like talking to an old friend. You shouldn't feel intimidated, uncomfortable, or pressured in any way. A psychic reading should be an experience which improves your life, confidence, and self esteem.

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ISSN: 1548-162X - Library of Congress, Washington D.C., USA