It is a modern way to describe an ancient practice: divination.  Throughout history priests, shamen, soothsayers, advisors to Emperors have claimed to read the future by observing the present.  The “reading” process is performed a variety of natural processes, e.g. on animal entrails after sacrifice, the pattern of tea leaves in a cup, and the pattern of fragmentation of animal bones or tortoise shells under heat stress.

In modern parapsychological parlance psychics are people who have ESP or extra sensory perception, i.e. a sense that is being the 5 we understand well, namely sight, taste, smell, sound and touch.  Abilities of ESP are further subdivided into categories.  Clairvoyance is the ability to “see clearly”, and clairaudience is the ability to “hear clearly”, i.e. see or hear the future or events or phenomena otherwise inaccessible by normal senses.

Many modern psychics use tools like divination rods or tarot cards.  By observing the unique orientation of rods as they fall or combination of cards that are dealt, psychics purport to extract information about the future.  Most importantly is that the information is translatable and understandable to a subject around which the reading is performed.

Psychics face  criticism over their claims by mainstream science.  But even someone who doesn’t believe in psychic powers can partake in it for fun.  Getting a reading is almost like getting career or life advice from someone.  In this way it is used as a means to lubricate communication and interaction about difficult topics that are usually not discussed or taboo in regular discourse.  Are you interested?  Consider getting your own Spirits Connect psychic readings.  The great thing about Spirits Connect is that they also offer psychic text service for busy people who can’t talk.

(Photo Credit: Meg/Creative Commons)