Spooky Tale by Dan Featherstone.
I’ve always had a fascination with the supernatural. After spending many mornings of my childhood reading Mystic Meg’s column out at the breakfast table, I’ve always considered that I might have a natural flare for understanding the spiritual world.
The latest of my attempts at channelling Meg came a few weeks prior to my first ever visit to a clairvoyant, giving my brother a tarot reading that left him disturbed and arranging detailed funeral plans with me afterwards for the whole evening.
Suspiciously, my brother was whisked away in an ambulance to hospital the following day over a mysterious fever.
Despite my mother looking at me for the whole week as if I was the possessed child in The Exorcist, I was desperate to get my own tarot reading. I immediately decided to visit a clairvoyant.
Dee Browne, the owner of The Clinic of Well-being in Lincoln, is a fully qualified clinical hypnotherapist, Reiki master, spiritual teacher, healer and reader.
The rather mysterious looking building of the clinic is hidden with foliage- its charming natural beauty encapsulates the essence of the mystical fascination that one associates with the world of clairvoyance.
I took a final deep breath. I’ve watched the odd episode of Most Haunted but this was different, very personal and I was slightly nervous at what might be revealed.
I was warmly greeted, invited into the house and then shown into the therapy room.
The room had this warmth about itself- embellished with crystals and a rather relaxing track played in the background, I instantly felt comfortable.
Dee began the session with an introductory colour reading. No, this wasn’t a deconstruction of your outfit and telling you what clashed, but a ten minute analysis of your favourite and least favourite colours and what this indicates about you.
Her detailed description of my personality and interests was meticulous- how did she know all of these details? Did I forget to make my old Bebo, full of pictures of my notoriously bad haircuts and ‘deep’ quotes of Nickelback lyrics that I considered so relatable, private?
There was no possibility- her understanding of me was genuine, scarily accurate. With a clipboard in her hand it was a little like being on ‘This is Your Life’, albeit less intimidating and without an audience.
After the colour reading, the tarot cards appeared before me. I sat on the edge of my seat, waiting to see which cards would be first to be drawn from the deck.
Dee explained that she would draw cards on different areas of your life- love, work and family were the real foundations of the reading. What I was most impressed with was how well paced the session was- time was taken for questions of anything she might have not covered at the end.
The shuffling of the deck by myself reassured me that there was no pre-planning of this reading. Dee was professional throughout, with a very charismatic personality.
Now I know you are all desperate for me to reveal what the cards indicated about my future. I already imagined my life- a house full of cats, eating cold pizza and watching Friends re-runs anyway but what she said was far more interesting.
Unfortunately, there was no mention of a Miami townhouse or a physique that could challenge Brad Pitt, but I did walk away with knowledge that had a lot more worth.
Dee really made me realise through the cards the best qualities about myself and that I really do have the skills to achieve my future goals. That’s the reason why I suggest that anyone, even more so the sceptics, to go for a reading.
If you’re looking for something for you and your friend to do this Halloween, try a tarot reading to get in touch with your spiritual side.
It most likely won’t reveal what grade you’re getting for that essay, but keep your mind open. You might learn more about yourself and there’s a chance you might even be in for a real spooky surprise.