Back in June, Newsweek published an article about Laura Day, a psychic consultant.
Needless to say, that piqued my interest. Partially because she was pulling in $10,000 a month per client, but mostly because it was reported straight, fair and prominently by Newsweek.
That kind of coverage doesn’t happen all that often in the metaphysical arena. Articles from mainstream media sources are usually tongue-in-cheek, snide, “fluffy” or downright discrediting. But here was an article that laid it all out pretty plainly: respectable businesses and psychic can and do work together.
Just the other day in USA Today, another article talks about how there’s a boom in patronage of psychics and intuitives. As is to be expected, it’s not the deepest or most informative bit of writing, but the cenral fact echoes sentiments that have been showing up in numerous places for months now. Wired had an article about psychic business back in November about it that put it like this:
The boom in superstition is a predicable response to troubling times, says Columbia Business School professor Gita Johar, who’s studied the phenomenon. “If the future is uncertain, people turn to psychics,” Johar says. Consumers tend to embrace the supernatural when confronted by stress, combined with uncertainty. “You have an illusion then that you can then control the outcome. People want the illusion of control.”
Even The New Scientist agrees that when times get tough, people take to things they would otherwise avoid… like psychics.
“Uncertain times” may be a bit of an understatement at this point. With the Wall Street numbers bouncing around like jumping beans on speed and numerous other social and political things going on around the nation (and world), there’s no telling what’s going to be important tomorrow morning. Our interconnected system is being laid bare by a shared global uncertainty the likes of which we haven’t seen.
And so, it’s no surprise that there’s an uptick in the schedules of pshycics and intuitives all around. This, of course, raises the question: Is now the time for those of us with an intutive, psychic and/or metaphysical bend to make a puch for more recognized legitimacy?
The time would seem to be ripe, with the current media coverage and businesses apparently finally willing to talk about their use of non-standard consultants. The market is there if already established practioners are being swamped, there’s space for new growth.
Perhaps more importantly, there may be a moral impertive for thow with talent and solid eithics to actively pursue exposure over the charlatans and cheats that will undoubtedly rush to fill the growing demand from a public who knows most of their psychic lore from popular TV shows and couldn’t spot a fake if their life depended on it.
I know I’ve held off for years on “going pro” with my ideas for becoming a professional Tarot reader and intuitive consultant. (Though I have floated them around a little before–like on this rough draft of a site.) Why? Because I remain concerned about credibility and acceptance. I worry that stepping fully into the role of “professional psychic” would get in the way of my other professional interests.
Now… I’m becoming less sure one would be a detriment to the other.
I’m interested in hearing what you out there think about that credibility line. Is “Intuitive Business” coming into its own now? Should the psychic community push for better recognition and more obvious standards for those who go into business? And, even if you don’t think there’s such a thing as a “real” psychic, does applying the intuitive process to an unpredictable situation really hurt anyone in the long run (especially since we seem to be wired for irrationality in some situations)?
Leave a Reply