I do have a little bit of psychic talent as it happens whereby, I can observe someone for a limited period of time, and guess what their astrological sign is. I don’t like to brag but I’m nearly always right and it’s become something of a party piece. The odd thing about all of this is that I’m not even sure I believe in astrology. I mean the daily horoscope things never come true. The only time mine almost did was when I accidentally read Cancer by mistake because it was the one next to mine. I once had my own personal chart drawn up by a so-called renowned astrologer and it bore no relation to anything that was going on in my life.
The idea of common character traits also seems unlikely. I’m a Leo and am supposed to be a bossy, arrogant, ego-driven dictator. Quite aside from the fact that they don’t sound much like traits to me, more like personality disorders, I don’t think I am any more afflicted by them than anybody else. Why is it then that I can guess people’s star signs like falling off a log?
Another strange astrological titbit is that almost all of my closest friends are Virgo or Pisces. This becomes more significant when I tell you that my sister is a Virgo and my mother a Pisces so, am I somehow being drawn to women with the same characteristics as my sister and mum? If that’s the case then there must be some kernel of truth lurking beneath the surface. Even stranger is that all of my male friends are Capricorn. Still not impressed? Well over the years I have done some unofficial
research and I can categorically state that, if there is a naughty kid in the class, I am willing to bet a week’s salary he or she will be a Capricorn. Don’t ask me why because I don’t know but, there you go, my sum findings after twenty plus years of working in education.
Whether you believe any of that or not, here’s a fact that you can’t dispute; as the recession has tightened its grip on the world, people’s interest in all things mystical has increased. As the power of the pound or dollar has plummeted, it seems we are running to psychics, astrologists and spiritualists like never before. It’s all a bit ironic really because they cost a bloody fortune and I should know because I’ve been to them all.
It’s not hard to figure out why this is happening, clearly as peoples’ lives become more unstable, they crave some reassurances that better times are on their way. Nobody goes to a psychic wanting to be told they have three months to live and in those three months will become bankrupt, get divorced and be lucky to get a job up a chimney. Hell no, we all want to hear that great things are just around the corner and all we need to do is bide our time and ride out these stormy waters.
Are we all sitting ducks then for charlatans and rogues, who want to part us with what little money we have? Again I have no answers, I really don’t know. My own experience with a psychic was as inconclusive as it was bizarre. I had a reading with a group of friends; we were all given very detailed information which was recorded for us to keep. The readings were all amazingly accurate, even down to predicting that someone would have problems with their teeth a couple of months down the line. Everyone’s that is except for mine, not one single thing that the psychic predicted came true. So do I go on my own experience or the seemingly conclusive evidence of my friends’?
I had a similar experience when looking for connections with any life beyond death. I have been to spiritualists, ghost hunters, people who are supposed to have a direct link with angels and got nothing. The issue is complicated, however, by the fact that people who I know and trust claim to have seen indisputable proof. It is this that makes it impossible to simply dismiss the whole business as chicanery.
I once had a chat with a man, who made a living claiming to be psychic. He seemed completely plausible when he said that he first started hearing voices and seeing spirits whilst bedridden with polio as a child. He claimed that these spirits had never left him and it was they who empowered him with the gift of clairvoyance. I’ve got to say that at the time, and I admit drinking was involved, I totally believed him. Now though, even as I’m writing it down it sounds ludicrous.
The only thing I can say with certainty is that we are all driven by a need for security and hope which is what makes the idea of mysticism so appealing. As to whether there is anything in it, who knows? All I do know is if I ever clapped eyes on you, I could tell you your star sign within ten minutes.