Psychic - the "P" Word

There's a wonderful piece by Mary K. Greer on her tarot blog, about how tarot readers describe themselves. For example, some describe themselves as "psychic", some as "intuitive", and still others describe what they do as "therapeutic." The entire article, plus comments (including one of my own) bears reading in detail. But the following comment by Mary is particularly noteworthy:

Unfortunately, very few of us can be truly psychic “on demand.” It tends to be stronger at certain times than others. Psychic readers have to appear as if they’re “on” all the time, which leads to a lot of abuse of the credulity of the public - such as using suggestive generalities and other tricks in place of real insights - sometimes without even realizing what they are doing.

I do not claim to be psychic. Mostly, my readings deal with where a person is right now, and how that might have a bearing on the future. My aim is to empower people to be able to deal with what the future brings. Or as Mary so eloquently puts it: Tarot helps you meet whatever comes in the best possible way.

There's little doubt that "psychic" sells, and the fact that I steadfastly refuse to use the "P" word in my advertising, web site, and elsewhere probably harms my business. But if that's the price I pay for my "no B.S." approach, then so be it. I've seen how a tarot reading can benefit people, and I simply cannot allow myself not to help anyone who needs a reading. That's one reason I have my "pay what you will" policy. Also, I hope that even though I don’t claim to be able to predict the winning lottery numbers, I’ll still attract the occasional “average Joe (or Jane)” and be able to convince them that there is much to gain from my kind of reading.