Seeing the future (maybe)

WEEK 19

I had my first-ever reading with a clairvoyant this week. Admittedly, this was not on my initial list of 52 new things to do, but it occurred to me that within a few blocks of my apartment are several psychics with street-level storefronts. As shocking as that sounds given Manhattan real estate prices (evidenced by the shuttering of our beloved Dean and Deluca at the corner of Prince and Broadway after more than 30 years), fortune tellers seem to be thriving. The first place I stopped for a reading even had a line of three people in front of me!

In researching spiritual mediums in NYC, I came across the fact that there is state law banning fortune telling, effectively prohibiting anyone from “claiming to tell fortunes or exorcise curses except as part of a show solely for the purpose of entertainment.” I wish my experience had been more entertaining…

I’ll start at the end. I did not have much fun. As I handed over $40 for my two-palm reading, despite this being entirely consensual, I felt a bit exposed and taken advantage of. Which I suppose I was.

I rang the buzzer at the storefront on Houston Street and out stepped a young woman in red glasses, her hair in a pony tail, wearing a white sundress with skinny straps. Yes, I was really hoping for an older woman with a weathered, exotic look dressed in flowy printed fabrics, a head scarf, heavy gold-coin necklace and lots of bangles. Wouldn’t you?

My psychic pointed to a list of her readings and fees. One palm focuses on personality. Two palms gives some past, present and future. A Tarot reading would draw in others in my life (my palm apparently is only about me). Amazingly there was a crystal ball option for $200. I made my selection.

We sat down. She said her first name, and I did the same. That was all the personal information I shared. She began by asking me to make a silent wish to get positive energy flowing between us. I then rested my palms on the arm of the chair. Never once did she touch them.

She barely glanced at my outstretched palms before telling me she would be completely honest then launched into a 5-minute monologue that was tough to follow. My lines are deep. I’m an old soul and wise beyond my years. (Not one person ever has called me an old soul.) I’m a positive person who others rely on, but I don’t often take time for myself. (Actually, I mostly do what I want.) I’m not sleeping well, perhaps having strange dreams and waking up tired. (Aside from two nights this past week with early wake-up calls, I am an indulgent sleeper. I must just look tired.) I’m disconnected from myself spiritually which is causing tension in my relationships and holding me back from living my best life. (This one we’ll call modern day self-help mantra 101.) Am I in a relationship, she asked? I answered a simple yes, with no other details. You’re in the right relationship she said (thank goodness), but the disconnect with my spiritual self is putting a lot of tension between us. I really hadn’t counted on the overall depressing tone. Perhaps that’s what people crave? A spotlight on would-be problems so they can take action and feel better about themselves?

Then it got weird. From a career standpoint, she said I am meant to have my name in print. About two and a half years ago, there was an opportunity in my work life that I didn’t pursue and that was a mistake. In November she sees a change of address for me. Also, I will travel overseas before the end of the calendar year and that will be very good for me to cross water. She sees a person with the initial M (a person I don’t yet know) coming into my life early in 2020 who will lead me to a career change. Also early in the new year, there will be a big transaction or purchase of some kind, and she sees me signing an important document, although that isn’t necessarily connected to the November change of address.

The predictions were sort of entertaining (I mean, why not go with it). I realized after I left that I could have asked “why” more often to keep the conversation going and see what details she’d pull out of her cold-read arsenal. But it was hard to process all of this in real-time, and I felt like a novice in how to “speak” with a psychic. Sort of like going to the doctor for a diagnosis and needing a second pair of ears to keep things on track in a non-linear conversation.

As we wrapped up, I asked how people use her services. She said some people stop by when they have a question, other clients she sees regularly for readings and other poor souls need full chakra rebalancing – which she said I did not. Finally, we end on truth.