Career As Psychic Needs Open Mind

PRACTITIONERS say their interest is in helping people, not making Lotto predictions.

"So what am I thinking?"

That's the most common question asked when a psychic reveals her occupation.

Psychics say it doesn't work that way, but for those who open themselves to the possibilities, being a psychic, astrologer or palm reader can be an interesting career move.

"I think all people are born psychic," said MeLeana, who provides readings to people in her Seattle office and over the phone. "But we get talked out of it. Some people can help us remember."

Of course, some people have religious objections to the practice and others simply believe that no one has psychic abilities.

Lorena Simon of Renton, however, believes she has always had some kind of psychic ability, but it was discouraged by her mother, "out of fear," she said.

But she says after sensing and helping remove a ghost from a friend's house, she decided to pursue psychic work as a profession.

Studying or training to become a psychic is an experience that varies. Some, having concluded that they have some psychic ability, simply read up on the subject. Others train with mentors. MeLeana, who goes by only the one name, trained with another psychic for 12 years.

"It's very helpful to have a mentor," MeLeana said. "But you can also just talk to other psychics, go to classes, and read books."

People go to psychics for a variety of reasons, although several psychics say by far the most common questions regard spousal infidelity.

"I get people coming to me saying `I didn't listen to you when you told me not to get married, now how do I get out of this marriage?' " said Simon.

"People looking for advice on love, career, finances," added MeLeana. "After all this time, nothing surprises me. Sometimes people want to know if they've had alien contact, or if they're being contacted by someone who died. I've had some people come back two or five years after I gave them a reading they said would never happen, and then it did. I love getting those."

Many psychics and astrologers take a counseling approach.

Ellen Finn of Seattle, who was a psychotherapist for 20 years before taking up astrology, uses both her disciplines. "Some astrologers tell you things like, `You're going to buy an oil painting next Thursday,' " she said. "I talk more about the process of getting along with people - communication skills. I do a lot of couples and family counseling."

Simon is pretty straightforward.

"Don't ask me anything you don't want to know or don't think you can handle," she said, adding, however, "I love making people feel good."

Simon still sees clients at her offices and over the phone (about 95 percent use the telephone).

"I really love it," she said. "People say it's a gift from God, and you shouldn't be making money from it, but if I'm supposed to use this gift to help people, how am I supposed to live?"

But live they do, and not by predicting Lotto numbers.

"I think it's a big cosmic joke," said MeLeana. "But winning Lotto is not what this is all about. It's about helping people."

Sessions (usually a half-hour) can cost anywhere from $35 to $100. Most psychics charge somewhere in the middle, and many say they end up giving breaks to low-income clients. Simon sometimes asks for donations to a local food bank.

But getting $100 an hour doesn't necessarily translate into $200,000 in annual income (Simon said she makes six figures). There are slow periods and busy periods.

"You can make a great living," said Finn. "We're going through a period of tremendous change right now, with eclipses and strange planet alignments, so even though it's usually slow in the summer, I've seen an escalation of business."

"Some days we don't have any clients," said MeLeana. "Some days the phone is ringing off the hook."

Psychics and astrologers struggle against an image problem. There are unscrupulous psychics out there. Simon said there is a psychic who pretends to be her to get business. MeLeana warns clients against being told they have a curse on them.

"People are told they have a curse on them and for $500 it can be lifted. It doesn't work, so they have to pay $800 more," she said. "That's not to say people don't have curses put on them, but it's way less common than some of these psychics would have you believe."

Another myth regarding psychics is that there's money to be made working for police departments. Both the King County Sheriff's Department and the Seattle Police Department say they do not use psychics to help solve cases.

Response from friends and family about the career can be unpredictable, too.

"Some people are really interested - the women more than the men," said Simon. "Some very religious people get along great with me until they find out what I do, then they're really standoffish."

"There have been times when I haven't told members of my family what I do," said Finn.

In the end, Finn said, the job is a good one.

"I have the best boss in the world," said Finn. "I have independence, flexible hours, and I get to meet great people."

Alex Goff is an Olympia free-lance writer.