By Moira Payne

Her fingers glided easily over the silk of the deep red sari that she wore. Her lipstick matched the dress and contrasted with her short, trendy black hair. She left her three children at home with their nanny, as she was joining her husband at a close friend’s house for a dinner party. She was looking forward to seeing her new friends that night, fellow spiritual seekers. She was in her early 20s and felt the entire world was within reach. They had lived in India for the past few years—a country that she fell deeply in love with. Unbeknownst to her social scientist husband, she had found meditation, vegetarianism, and had her first out-of-body experience.

At the party, her eyes settled on the old fortune teller. Although wrinkles covered her face, she was still beautiful. What captured her attention most was the fortune teller’s necklace, which dangled close to her cleavage and had a glass container as a pendant. Inside the pendant was a giant spider, alive and moving, legs scratching against the glass. As she sat watching, she decided to hear her fortune. The old woman smiled and began to tell her of a life far away…and how she would die when she was 64.

The young woman was my mother, and this was her first experience with a psychic. This story occurred in the mid-60s and I was not yet born. As my mother would later tell me, she was deeply distressed after her reading. Months later, she would return to the States and think about that woman with her spider necklace pendant. One day, years later, while walking down a street in Los Angeles, she saw a sign for a palm reader. As she was without her children, she had some time and stepped inside. The palm reader asked her if she had any specific questions, and my mother told her that she wanted to know at what age she would die. The palm reader stared at her palm for some time and finally replied that she would die at the age of 64.

I remember learning about death in my single digit years. My mother would laugh and tell me how I asked, “You mean you won’t always be here to hold my hand and take me for a walk?” When I asked her when she would die, she told me she was going to die at the age of 64. I remember thinking about it with despair, then deciding that when she was 64, I would be 35 and have my own family and maybe she would not mean the world to me.

For the next few decades, my three sisters and I would gather around our mother as she would tell us tales of living abroad, both before we were born and after. Vietnam, Switzerland, India. The tales of India, where she returned every year, would be the most animated and vivid. As we got older, her stories would become more focused on her spiritual awakenings there, and always, they would end with that psychic telling her she would die at the age of 64.

My sisters and I have followed life paths very different from our mother, and each other, yet each of us are, in our different ways, drawn to the world outside us— spiritually and culturally. Over the past two decades, I have explored many religious traditions. I quickly concluded that religions were too narrow and institutional for my comfort, but spirituality broadened my world. My mother was always there, sharing in our stories and challenging us to find our own truth. She was the healthiest person I knew, proudly saying that she had only ever been to the hospital to give birth. She wore no makeup, and she meditated every day for an hour—and had since she had left India decades before.

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Finally, my mother turned 64. No one spoke of the psychic that she had gone to so long ago, but we all wanted that year to be over and to know that our beloved matriarch would be alive and well. I knew this without ever speaking of it to my sisters. I was 35 and had children of my own. I laughed at my younger self, thinking that even at my age, my mother was still my everything.

One Sunday, my mother was not feeling well. She and my dad had gone out to dinner the night before, and my mother told me she had gotten food poisoning. She asked me to bring her some anti-acid medication, since her supply had expired a decade prior without ever being opened. I brought it to her and watched her, fearfully, as she lay in her bed. My sisters each called, as they did every day, and she told them she had food poisoning. We all insisted she go to the hospital right away, just in case it was more. Finally, that same morning, she agreed and went to the emergency room. They examined her and then sent her home, saying that it was probably a digestive issue that would be cured with time.

Days passed and my mother’s condition grew worse. I was still at her bedside the afternoon when one of my sisters called again, this time in tears. She begged my mother to go back to the emergency room. My mother scoffed at first, but then finally relented. At this second examination in the ER, they discovered that her appendix had ruptured and she was admitted for emergency surgery. Her ruptured appendix had released so many toxins into her system that it was difficult for them to keep her infection down. She was in the hospital for two full weeks but came home, thankful for all of us who had insisted that she go.

Some will listen to the story of my mother and the psychic and say that the psychic was wrong since she did not die at the age of 64. I think of the story and am grateful for that old woman with the spider in her pendant. Perhaps if she had not foretold my mother’s passing, so many years ago, we would not have been so insistent that she go to the hospital.

Throughout the years I have heard people discuss going to psychics and why they decided to go or not to go. Psychics can provide us a different perspective. Sometimes when we are too close to a situation, we are unable to see the entire picture. Psychics can provide some different structure to our thoughts and help us find a solution.

I have had readings over the phone, at psychic fairs, at the side tables at farmer’s markets, and even little metaphysical book stores. I am aware of the different forms that the messages take. I find psychics fun, helpful, informative, and affirming. Or not. I have had psychics tell me all about my deceased loved ones, including names, hair color, and favorite books or pets. Psychics can provide a snapshot of our lives. Like a snapshot you may take with a camera, things can drastically change after that picture is captured. There is nothing that is guaranteed to happen or not happen, as we all have free will to change things. I think this concept is the most important thing to remember. If we are prepared for something to happen, we can change the course of events.

Here are some tips that can help you get the best out of a psychic reading:

Do some research before deciding who to see. Many psychics work out of metaphysical stores that have already vetted them.
Establish how long of a reading you are getting. There are usually agreements for payments based on how long the reading takes. Find out if credit cards vs. cash works well for the reader.
Ask if you can record the session if they do not offer to record it as part of the reading. If allowed, put your cell phone on airplane mode, to stop any interruptions in the recording. When you are able to record, it frees you up from having to take notes yourself.
Be open in the reading, uncross your arms and legs. This allows your energy to flow in your body easier and connections to be made. If you have some time before the reading, try to meditate and clear your head. Get quiet on the outside and inside. Let your thoughts leave your head and breath slowly for a few minutes.
Remember that the messages are for you. Many times I will hear how wonderful a psychic is because she was able to tell someone her grandmother’s hair color, name, and favorite meal. That is great information to affirm that a connection has been made, but don’t dwell on the information you already know. If you are paying to find out if a person is really psychic, you may miss information that would be helpful for you to know. Most psychics will tell you how they read. Some will ask you if you have questions, while others may ask you not to ask any questions. Both of these are common in readings—but remember the focus is on you and not the reader.
Some psychics are better at connecting with one person than another. If you go to a psychic and their messages are all off, just know that they weren’t the right reader for you. I have had amazing readings with a psychic, but that same psychic gave a “poor” reading to a friend. Many times a reading will simply not make sense. That is okay, as it may make sense at a later date.
Be respectful. This reader is working some muscles that not a lot of people frequently use. They take it seriously, as should you. You are paying for a service, and the more serious you are, the more serious they will be. You may hear things that you do not want to hear. Most people assume that there will be talk of death, but many times it is talk of addiction that makes someone uncomfortable. If you can hear the message and not react, you may find truth in the end.
Timing of events can be difficult to tell. Most people will say that within six months is a good frame of reference, but timing is difficult because of the idea of change.
Lastly, enjoy your session. So many of us spend our lives taking care of others and are not comfortable focusing on ourselves, even for a short amount of time. If you cannot accept the messages as coming from beyond, accept them as another perspective of where you are now.
My mother is now 80. She does not recall the psychic that she saw over 50 years ago. That is okay; each day is a treasured gift that I still have my mother in my life. I am grateful, and that is enough.

Moira Payne was born and raised in Ann Arbor. She walks the path of the Witch, having respect for all things in this world and beyond. You may find her on the second Tuesdays of each month from 6-8 p.m. at Crazy Wisdom’s Witches’ Night Out. If you would like to email, please feel free to contact her at WitchesOfAnnArbor@umich.edu.