...to think that clairvoyants/tarot readers etc are just a load of crap?!

[candyandyoga]

So, friend is having a tarot/clairvoyant night and asks if I want to come. When I was younger I used to really believe it all this but now, I am very cynical and think there are very very few genuine 'fortune tellers' out there - if any...

Aibu to think that this is all just a load of old shit or are there really people out there who can tell us our future?!

They are all 'preying' on people, vulnerable or not, by lying and pretending they are in touch with the dead or can tell the future.

I don't use them, but I know someone who was conned out of money by several psychics who told him they could get in contact with his murdered mother. He was a teenager at the time.

Ok I can only speak personally here.

My dd was involved in a fatal accident. She survived thank god.

She had counselling and REM, no help.

Saw a psychic and although we were sceptical this person has helped her immeasurably. Also unlike the councellor and REM she didn't charge a penny.

She is most definatly not a scumbag.

It's all a load of bollocks. I loved how Derren Brown showed how it was done. I feel sorry for all the people who get sucked in when they're low and vulnerable.

She was probably a very good listener. Nothing to do with being a "psychic"

psychics,tarot,clairvoyants all utter made up tosh at best staged humour at worst exploitative
they cleverly draw information,paraphrase and play on suggestion to dupe people
it's worst when they suggest they can communicate with deceased

My child died. Part of living on is accepting that dead people do not come back. Ever. Through mediums or trances or anything. Peddling otherwise to bereaved relatives is doing them a disservice.

If it makes people feel better then it works.

Posters have hair done, nails done, shop, drink wine all to feel better. None of this is free?

They provide a service which you can access or not.

Personal choice.

I have no evidence on which to base belief or otherwise in these things but I do think this - anyone who is prepared to state without fear of contradiction that such things are complete rubbish is as bad as anyone who states the opposite. Well, to my way of thinking anyway, since it is quite clear to me that either way, nobody knows for absolute sure.

oh can anyone link to derren brown doing that? I always assumed he was a twat but if he's explaining the con that's quite good.

No he's not a twat, he's fab
If you're in the UK have a look at this.

One psychic told him that his mother was thinking of him and his father, loved them and missed them and was watching over them. Which would be lovely, except for the fact that it was his dad who murdered his mother after years of domestic violence.

Tie that in with all the 'facts' she told him his mother was telling her and imagine how comforting that was for him to hear.

Malcolm I understand that, however I know in a lot of cases it is set up as a con, there are people on here who have had jobs working on 'psychic' telephone lines etc

True there may be an afterlife but I'm talking about those who seek to exploit.

Expat, I know from your other posts and am beyond imagining your pain.

This clairvoyant helped my dd when she needed it and we were at wits end are grateful but if course it's just our experience.

Again so very very sorry for your loss. I certainly never meant to sister we you in any way.

thanks Itsokay

I can't be certain that the sun will rise tomorrow morning either. Or that when I switch the kettle on the water will get hotter not colder. But I can be as sure as it is possible to be.

The same can be said of psychics. Or any claims of supernatural powers. The results have never, ever been reproduced when even the mildest of scientific investigation has been applied to them.

I agree expat.the deceased gone.they're not coming back
and frauds suggesting otherwise are cruel and opportunistic
IMO,The hardest part of grief is knowledge someone you love with is gone

It's immoral and an insult to the dead, IMO, thebody.

hear hear seeker

'Oh, I can lie contact the dead, disturb their rest, to help those on Earth feel better.' Pretty sick, when you think of it. If I hear of anyone trying seeking someone to 'channel' my sweet, innocent child to make themselves feel better about her death it will be all I can do not to punch them.

i saw one very good medium told me names , places, times,pictures,birthdays,loads of relevant stuff without me uttering a word he talked for 45min solid so to me he was great, but i have seen some very bad fortune tellers, stuff never happened and then they say oh you must of chose a different path, no sorry if you could see my future would it matter what path i chose .

Exactly, scottishmummy. It's insulting to the dead, and cruel to those bereaved.

It's obvious why cats don't have religion. Because it would involve worshipping someone other than themselves.

I think what's left when someone dies is your memory of them and how they influence your life. They are memories and live on through you in that way. But they are gone.

Interesting that we have 2 threads running, one about religion being taught in schools where the consensus is that religion is so important to some people that children should be educated about it so that they can respect the belief of others.

In this one however the consensus is that psychics are deceptive and what they say in made up and should be despised.

Religion is deceptive and was all invented by various randomers, and to those who believe in psychics this belief is often very important to them. Why the double standards?

"i saw one very good medium told me names , places, times,pictures,birthdays,loads of relevant stuff without me uttering a word he talked for 45min solid so to me he was great,"

Have you got a recording?

It is an entire industry based on insulting the dead and exploiting people's grief.

Far from wanting to burn witches I'd much rather they sought help with their apparent mental health difficulties.