Long lines of people filled the Student Commons as they waited to speak with a fortune teller at a psychic fair held there on Oct. 16.
The Students’ Association holds the psychic fair once every term. The most recent fair had five fortune tellers offering services ranging from tarot card readings to Reiki, which is a type of energy healing.
“There’s a wide range of ways psychics and readers can help a student,” said Amanda Logan, the events programmer for the Students’ Association.
“For example, with exam season, a student may be a little stressed. Maybe they could consult someone here about the best way to approach exams.”
It’s one of the most popular events in the year the Students’ Association organizes, according to Logan.
After receiving a tarot card reading, Samantha Cronk, a biotechnology program student, reflected on her habits.
During Cronk’s readings, the reader found her to be quite stubborn. The reader advised her to let herself go a little bit more and allow herself to take power for what she wants.
“The reader was really great,” said Cronk. “He didn’t take much information about myself and worked off the cards I pulled.”
Steve Morrison, a corporate psychic, provided the tarot card reading to Cronk at the fair. Other methods Morrison practises include palmistry, face analysis and handwriting analysis.
“Tarot cards can tell what the person wants,” said Morrison. “They’re basically an empowerment tool.”
Despite the best intentions of tarot card reading and other services like it, many misconceptions about fortune telling exist.
“You’re a witch.”
“You’re evil.”
“You’re doing the devil’s work.”
“It’s just a bunch of balderdash.”
These are comments that come to Morrison’s mind when thinking about misconceptions about fortune telling.
Lynda Heyden-Carroll, a spiritual healer who provided Reiki at the psychic fair, encourages skeptics of her practice to give it a try.
“Why not try it, though?” said Heyden-Carroll. “You don’t have to swallow anything. I’m not injecting anything in you. It’s just a conversation about energy.”
“We can’t tell you exactly what’s going to happen or what to do … we’re facilitators to an easy life,” said Morrison. “What you do with your life and the advice we give is your business.”