How to Choose the Right Reader

The following rules are not hard and fast, nor written in stone, but are applicable to most situations:

1. "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true .

2. Whether a reader or counselor seems to be genuinely concerned with you and your problem(s) is probably inconsequential. Many unconcerned readers are charismatic by nature. Many concerned readers are abrasive by nature.

3. If your motives are truly selfish (be honest), some readers will play upon them, becoming masters of manipulation. Examine your motives before seeking advice.

4. Ask yourself, "Am I really avoiding doing this myself?" The old husband's tale that readers should not read for themselves is nonsense. If you haven't reached the point where you can back off and do it yourself, you are not a true reader, anyway. Some argue that we always read what we want when reading for ourselves. We pick up on our wants and desires. A reading can "verify" them for us, albeit erroneously. If you adhere to the popular belief in positive imagery and manifestation, are these readers who pick up on your desires really misrepresenting the truth?

5. There are probably a lot of hucksters out there. When you give up the authority as primary counselor for yourself (seeking another counselor's opinion) you also imbibe that individual with a token degree of trust. We have shifted responsibility - a form of escapism. We have placed our own fates in the hands of another. The best reader/counselor for you is yourself.

6. The finest rules for choosing a psychic counselor are:

a) First, discern the answer to your problem, yourself.

b) Use the session with the psychic to verify your own conclusions (or give you new ideas, insights, directions for answering your questions).

When doing a reading for yourself, you also have to be open to what answer does appear. For example, one person did a reading for himself and a girlfriend after the end of his first marriage. As much as he wanted the cards to say that they would be married, the answer was "no". That turned out to be the way it was. So we do need to be open to what the reading says, even if it is not something we want to hear.

Another factor to remember is this: the future is not fixed. It consists of a multitude of possibilities, all of which are reality in some way or another. For example, you may wonder if you should take a job offer far away from where you currently live. In the "future universes" there are existing possibilities where you did take the job, and where you didn't take the job. Sometimes a reader will pick up the wrong universe possibility. No reader is 100% accurate.

Also, you need to remember that you will ultimately determine what your future will be. If the reader says you will take the distant job, but you are really rebelling inwardly over taking it, then you may very well end up not taking it, despite the strong "universe possibility" that you did. Ultimately, your fate is in your hands, even though a lot of what happens to you can and probably will be determined by others.

7. Avoid the readers who have showy advertisements. You will find such ads on television and in various occult/New Age magazines, from scads of people who will do a reading for you. Probably some of these people who are honest, but there are also a lot of them who have already-prepared readings, and you get the first one off the stack.

If you do get a reading from an advertising reader, then you will need to examine the reading carefully to see if it really addresses your question. Ultimately, whether or not the reading "feels right" to you will be the most important question.

8. You don't have to be famous to be good. Some of the best readers around are those who are very humble, take their talents seriously but without a need for ego-building. If you find such a person you will be quite lucky.

9. You may wish to associate with people who do readings. For example, on the Genie telecommunications network, there are people in groups who do tarot readings. They are usually honest people trying to help each other out. Such a group can come up with remarkably accurate and complete readings.

Take all these into consideration when you go to a psychic fair or respond to an ad for a reading. Know that there are many possible universes, but the one that will ultimately happen will be dictated by your actions, not the reader's.