Beginners Guide to Getting a Psychic Reading

So it's your first time, and you'd really like to get a reading! But where do you start?

It can definitely feel intimidating and perhaps even daunting the first time you start looking for somebody to give you a psychic reading - where do you start? What about charlatans? What if they tell me something scary that I don't want to know?! Are tarot cards better than angel cards? How to I choose?!

All of these questions might be buzzing around in your head if you're thinking about getting your first reading, or perhaps you've had a bad experience in the past and want to be sure that isn't going to happen again. 

Don't worry! You're in good hands here at Angel Wings Holistics, and I'll do my best to give you some helpful pointers so you can have a positive and helpful experience.

How can I tell if the psychic is any good?

One of the best ways to find a good psychic is by personal recommendation. Ask around in your friendship circle or family, or even colleagues who are that way inclined and see if they are able to recommend somebody they have personally had a reading from. In this internet age, they don't need to be nearby or even in the same country as you!

Another good way is to look at their reviews and ratings. Some companies will have independent reviews through a company like Trustpilot or Google Business, and these can be a useful point of reference to get a feel for a psychic you want to know more about.

A strong web presence can also be an indicator of somebody who is very professional, although some of the older psychics may not be computer literate, so Yellow Pages is a good place to look too. If they have professional listings that is a good sign that they know what they're doing.

If they have a blog, take the time to read a few articles they've written as that can give you some indication of their personality and insight into the competence and their compatibility with you too. You don't have to agree on everything, but it can definitely give you a flavour of who they are if you're having trouble deciding.

If you're still not sure and would like a test run, see if they offer a lower budget option for you to get a taste of their work. I offer a £1.99 Angel Card of the Day reading, which is useful as a taster so people can 'try' my services before they commit any serious money.

How do I choose a Psychic to read for me?

Rule number one - and the most important one, is see who you feel drawn to. 

Your intuition will likely point you in the direction of somebody who will work well with your energy at that moment in time. Recommendations can be very useful to help you find somebody, but if you don't feel they are quite right for you, then listen to that instinct and keep looking.

If you can see a photo of the psychic, that can help you to know if you feel drawn to them or not. Do you feel good when you look at their name or picture? Do you feel excited? Or do you feel anxious, worried or uninterested? Those feelings will tell you a lot about whether you should pick that person for a reading or not. It's normal to feel a bit nervous, but they shouldn't terrify you!

There is no right or wrong answer here, but in my experience your intuition is your best guide.

There are other more practical elements to consider, since some psychics specialise with love readings, work & career or even business readings, so you may want to consider a specific psychic for a particular area of your life. A love specialist may not be the best person to help you find a lost object and vice versa, so check if you're not sure.

Tarot Cards, Angel Cards & Runes - Oh my!

Something that a lot of people get anxious about is the matter of the tools the psychic uses for their readings - are they using pure clairvoyance, tarot cards, runes, angel cards or something else entirely - and which to choose? Which is best?

It's important to be aware that all of these things are just tools. The results you get will actually depend more on the skill of the psychic than the "quality" of the tools themselves. Tarot cards may be viewed as something of an industry standard, and they are without a doubt excellent tools of the trade for us psychics, but there are certain cards and images that might make new clients feel uncomfortable (the death card springs to mind!) so I don't always choose traditional decks with that sort of imagery for client readings.

In my opinion, its far more important to feel drawn to the psychic you choose, and feel comfortable talking to them than to worry too much about the tools they use. All of the tools at our disposal work just fine in the right hands. 

If there are certain card decks or tools that make you uncomfortable, speak to your psychic beforehand and let them know so they can put your mind at rest, or find an alternative to use that you will be more comfortable with.

I will add a caveat here - if you are looking for somebody to communicate with spirit, with loved ones who have passed on, then you will need to look for a medium. Mediumship is a very specific skill and not something that all psychics do, although some of us have that ability & training. Tarot Cards etc are not normally used for this so if you want a mixture of both cards & mediumship, or just mediumship i.e. purely communication with loved ones on the other side, make sure you tell the psychic in advance and check they can cater for that!

Will they tell me something frightening or that I don't want to know?

NO!

Now obviously I can't speak for all psychics here, but any decent psychic is not out to give you a fright. Our work is to provide you with useful insights about your life and help you make good decisions not to scare the bejesus out of you!

It's usually considered unethical to predict deaths and many psychics will refuse if you ask them. Some may also not be comfortable with answering probing questions about health or pregnancy and rightly so. It would be unethical to even attempt to answer certain questions, so they may well politely refuse. 

We're also not able to give legal, financial or medical advice etc because we're not qualified to do so, so please remember that when asking about certain matters. We can only give you our personal opinion based on what we are picking up from our guides or seeing in the cards and whilst this may help, you should speak to a qualified professional if you need advice in any regulated area.

If there are certain topics that you are not happy to talk about or want to avoid, let your psychic know in advance or during the session. They should respect your privacy and focus on other areas instead.

What about charlatans?

Interestingly this is something I get asked about a lot - i.e. if there are lots of dishonest people posing as psychics. And in my personal opinion they're aren't many. I've never personally met a fake and they seem to be pretty uncommon. 

I'm sure the fakes do exist, but I've not come across any myself (and they would probably shy away from me anyway!) but chances are you would suss them out pretty quickly, and with the benefit of online consumer reviews, they probably wouldn't last very long at it!

A good psychic won't ask you many questions, and it should be apparent after just a few minutes if they are tuning into your energy correctly because they will be able to tell you things and answer questions you haven't asked yet!

Occasionally, you may encounter a psychic who has great reviews but doesn't give you the best reading, and there are a few reasons for that. Giving readings isn't an exact science and occasionally the client doesn't 'connect' very well to the psychic giving the reading because our energy just doesn't want to mesh with theirs for whatever reason. It's nobody's fault when that happens, and thankfully it's not common, but it can happen.

What should I expect from the reading?

Most psychics are pretty down to earth, and will usually signpost what will happen in your reading. They will let you know when you can ask questions, and normally tell you which areas of your life they will cover in the reading.

In my own readings, I will normally start out by picking up on the person's energy and giving an overview of what I sense before we delve into more detail. I encourage customers to interject at any point if they have questions. It's not a monologue, it's a two way conversation with the aim of providing the clarity or answers you are looking for.

Remember, you are the customer and you can ask them any questions you have about how it works beforehand, or during the reading if you need clarity on a particular point. Don't be shy! Our job is to help you.

A good psychic will be able to stop in mid-flow and answer you then return to the reading without any problem. 

Having said that, it's not compulsory to ask any questions, your psychic should be able to carry out a complete reading without any questions or much prompting from you at all. If they haven't answered something in particular that you want to know off the bat, do let them know so they can address that for you.

Readings tend to be far more straightforward and easy going than many people realise. It's not like the old cliche of the mysterious lady with a scarf around her head, gazing into a crystal ball and telling you you're going to meet a tall dark stranger (if that happens, you're probably watching a cartoon!) 

A reading is generally more like a business meeting or a chat with a trusted adviser. I think "psychic adviser" is a much better descriptive title for what we do than "fortune teller." After all, the future is not set in stone. 

We can give you an idea of potential outcomes and a likely future based on what we see on that day, a bit like a future "snapshot," but do remember that you have choices and decisions that you can make, and you always have the option to take a different path and make things better (or worse) for yourself!

We can help you to see the map, but you are the one that has to walk the road.

~

I hope that helps to give you an idea of what a psychic reading should look like in this day and age, and give you some helpful tips to help you choose who you would like to read for you.

If you'd like to browse the readings I can provide, please do take a look at my psychic readings page which will give you an idea of what we can talk about. A good energetic match with your psychic does make a difference, so if you don't feel drawn to me personally, there are no hard feelings - it's a very personal decision.

If you're still not quite ready to take a plunge, but fancy dipping a toe in the water, check out my Free Pick an Angel Card page and get yourself a lovely message from the angels right away...