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Original poster

to not understand how you can just ‘become’ a psychic

144 replies

acquiesce · 28/02/2018 23:03

OK so I went to school with a girl who I still have on FB. She has always been heavily into MLM, until her most recent one failed and she took herself off social media until yesterday when she posted this message

‘From tomorrow I will be offering psychic readings. I have been practicing on family and friends to gain more confidence and light. Going forward this will be part of my light work and so the price for this will be £10 per reading’

And so many commenters are lapping it up!

She’s so irritating but so fascinating. I don’t know how she makes money from this though, how are people this gullible? And wtf is light work???

I’m clearly doing something wrong working!

OP posts:
DeathStare · 01/03/2018 06:00

Watch the first episode of Psych. That will tell you all you need to know about setting up as a psychic. And it's rather funny.

steff13 · 01/03/2018 06:03

That is true. But to be fair, Shawn is unusually observant. You definitely have to work on your observation skills to be psychic.

Rosamund1 · 01/03/2018 06:20

James Randi had (has?) a longstanding prize of a million dollars for anyone who can prove they are psychic. Never been claimed...

PLFDiDi · 01/03/2018 06:38

Ah you are all miserable, psychic nights and card readings are loads of fun.

Those vulnerable people who get sucked in though, pretty appalling to take their savings.

bagelbaby · 01/03/2018 06:41

Derren Brown does scarily accurate readings in his shows and on tv. He states he's not a psychic. He states it's cold reading. Google cold reading
Imo psychics and mediums who charge money to desperately sad bereaved people are pondlife

TabbyMack · 01/03/2018 06:43

Yes, it's "loads of fun" right up until the moment a bereaved mother shows up desperate for contact with her lost child. Then it becomes exploitative, dishonest, immoral bullshit.

Anyone who claims they are psychic are either liars or deluded to the point of mental instability. And anyone who believes that anyone else is a psychic is as thick as shit.

Nomad86 · 01/03/2018 06:43

James Randi has a ted talks on the subject, it's fascinating.

UnmitigatedBollocks · 01/03/2018 08:56

“These people aren’t applying a skill. They’re either lying or mentally ill”

Tim Minchin.

I agree.

HuskyMcClusky · 01/03/2018 09:00

It’s not fun, it’s exploitative.

HRTpatch · 01/03/2018 09:03

Anyone who believes in this twaddle is an idiot.
It seems to be a "thing" for certain groups of women

QueenAravisOfArchenland · 01/03/2018 09:08

You can quite easily learn to be "psychic" because, as PPs have said, its basically cold reading with a smattering of straightforward scamming thrown in, depending on the psychic. Derren Brown taught himself to be able to give blindingly accurate "psychic" readings - except he's totally open that it's 100% cold reading, which is a skill anyone can acquire with practice.

It does seem to me that if you're gullible enough to believe in psychics, surely you should expect them to have always been psychic, but I think people who believe in psychics just really really WANT to believe and can overlook just about anything.

k2p2k2tog · 01/03/2018 09:10

It's not much of a leap from MLM into being a psychic though is it? They are both basically scamming people.

donquixotedelamancha · 01/03/2018 09:28

It’s just like deciding to be a thief I suppose? Quite easily done.

I'm not sure it isn't more evil than theft- I suppose it depends on how bad the theft is.

'Psychics' have to meet their victims, they have to gain the trust of someone vulnerable. In the worst cases where they steal the life savings of some fool, that person is left devastated when they realise what has happened to them. Even those who don't take much from each victim are still playing with the lives of those they manipulate.

donquixotedelamancha · 01/03/2018 09:34

I believe in them. Some but not all. Psycuc told me i was pregnant before i knew. Would only have been 2 weeks this was after 1yr of trying no sign of bfp. Same psycic told my mum i was trying but that it wasn't going as planned

Wow, your genuine psychic could easily be a multi millionaire just by subjecting themselves to some controlled tests. They could revolutionise our understanding of Physics. I wonder why they haven't done so?

It's OK to not understand how they do it. It's OK not to be good at critical thinking, but you have to understand that it IS possible to test and verify claims rigorously. You need to have a degree of scepticism and curiosity about how the world really works. It's not OK to put your own limited, subjective experience above everything else.

PatriarchyPersonified · 01/03/2018 09:37

I'm getting the word.....

Bullshit

to not understand how you can just ‘become’ a psychic
Original poster
acquiesce · 01/03/2018 09:45

I don’t believe in psychics in general, but at least if someone claims to always have been one there’s a shred of credibility
This person’s mum and dad are wedged, bought her a Range Rover, house and three holidays this year (best mates parents know hers) so she doesn’t HAVE to work and can legitimately spend her time scamming people through various means I suppose!
Just think it’s awful, like a PP said what if a bereaved parent was try and cling onto anything at all and ask to speak to their kid? How could anyone do that?
Card readings are just as bad IMO. I went along to a spiritualist church with my old boss once (he was heavily into this stuff) and they went through about 15 incorrect old lady names before naming my gran correctly (who had died the week before) everyone was gasping as though this ‘priest’ was amazing. Crock of shite.

OP posts:
k2p2k2tog · 01/03/2018 09:47

Mediums I'm more concerned about as there are a lot of people who find it hard to cope with the loss of loved ones

Totally agrew with this, I know someone who lost her mum in her early 20s when she was a new mum herself and was devastated by it. "Psychics" and "mediums" are very happy to take her cash and make trite statements about her her mum is up there looking over them all. Very exploitative and very wrong.

Risen · 01/03/2018 09:54

I would like to believe that there are people who possess these skills; think, 90 year-old woman in the Himalayas, surrounded by a cloud of mystery.

Not Tarot Card Tanya on your local Facebook Buy & Sell Grin

Original poster
acquiesce · 01/03/2018 09:56

Tarot card Tanya Grin

OP posts:
specialsubject · 01/03/2018 09:57

Should there be a law against fleecing the stupid? Difficult to enforce.

Amarriedcatlady · 01/03/2018 10:00

Wow, so much ignorance on this thread. Sure their are a lot of fakes and less skilled psychics and mediums. There are also genuine ones as well. I have been to a lot of crap readings but I have also had a lot of things come true and I have had proof they couldn’t guess plus accurate description of the loved one in spirit.

However, due to free will, readings are pointless because no matter what you are told, you can change the outcome anyway. So instead just actually know what you want.

Everyone has intuition, it’s not a special magic trick! It doesn’t necessarily mean that your friend is going to be the most competent reader out there, however it doesn’t mean she is a charlatan either!

MonsteraDeliciosa · 01/03/2018 10:03

Ridiculous, exploitative bollocks. These scamsters should be charged with fraud. I did originally write "a fool and his/her money are soon parted", but that's unfair, as some who seek mediums may be grief stricken and desperate.And these despicable vulture-like thieves gladly took their money. Cunts.

MonsteraDeliciosa · 01/03/2018 10:05

There are also genuine ones as well

No there aren't.

PatriarchyPersonified · 01/03/2018 10:05

Amarriedcatlady

To be clear, I don't think you are an idiot for thinking that mediums and psychics are real. I just feel sorry for you.

You have been the victim in an elaborate con that has led to you being more vulnerable in the future, because you now believe its 'real'.

Telling you things 'they couldn't possibly know' is the stock in trade of any halfway competent -fraudster- psychic.

If you want to know how they do it, Google really is your friend.

UnmitigatedBollocks · 01/03/2018 10:08

Marriedcatlady - the ignorance comes from the gullible, credulous fools who can’t grasp how cold reading techniques work.