Tarot Cards, Tea Leaves and other fortune telling thingies

25 Apr 2009

Just wondered what other people thought of tarot readings or other such fortune telling malarkey??
do any of you totally believe in it, do any of you possess the 'gift' and read cards, palms, runes, tea leaves or practise scrying?
Is it genuine, have you had a reading that was accurate or has come true, or have you always been disappointed.
is it all a load of stuff and nonsense that vulnerable people believe, or try and make fit their own circumstances?
Had my tarot cards read last night and wondered if anyone else did this, or partook in anything else like this and what their thoughts were.
will see how the thread goes before i divulge my 'secrets' lol

25 Apr 2009

The best book I've ever read on this type of thing is Derren Brown's "Tricks of the Mind" (Channel 4 Books).

25 Apr 2009

Quote by Riotandantony
The best book I've ever read on this type of thing is Derren Brown's "Tricks of the Mind" (Channel 4 Books).

great book....loved it....

25 Apr 2009

I've had a palm reading from a young guy who was so spot on with a lot of things in my past - things he couldn't have guessed.
I took my Mum to see Tony Stockwell thinking if he can get a message from my Dad ( the biggest sceptic in the world! ) there must be something in it. Fuck me, if he did too! He was so precise about how my Dad was, his mannerisms, his illness and how long he was in a coma before he died. Stockwell's parting words to my Mum were 'Stop eating so many sweets' My Mum is diabetic and only minutes before the show, I was scolding her for nicking my licquorice allsorts. I almost dropped the bag! :shock:

25 Apr 2009

Sorry, but I think it's the biggest heap-o-shite since Eldorado. lol

But then I guess you knew I'd say that... wink

25 Apr 2009

I do not believe in clairvoyance, but I do believe that some 'fortune tellers' are very astute and can interpret body language to the extent that they can work out which things you agree with.

25 Apr 2009

Quote by Sassy-Seren
I've had a palm reading from a young guy who was so spot on with a lot of things in my past - things he couldn't have guessed.
I took my Mum to see Tony Stockwell thinking if he can get a message from my Dad ( the biggest sceptic in the world! ) there must be something in it. Fuck me, if he did too! He was so precise about how my Dad was, his mannerisms, his illness and how long he was in a coma before he died. Stockwell's parting words to my Mum were 'Stop eating so many sweets' My Mum is diabetic and only minutes before the show, I was scolding her for nicking my licquorice allsorts. I almost dropped the bag! :shock:

Don't believe the hype !

25 Apr 2009

Quote by fluff_n_stuff
I do not believe in clairvoyance, but I do believe that some 'fortune tellers' are very astute and can interpret body language to the extent that they can work out which things you agree with.

I think that is the case.
Most of it is mind games and Psychobabble :thumbup:

25 Apr 2009

Went to see a famous telly clairvoyant last year, he was rubbish. Not only did nothing come through for him, he got really quite aggressive with the audience and practically bludgened someone into "realising" the message was for them.
On the other hand, my aunt went to see a psychic on Blackpool front, was told "you have two boys, but they're not your own" - she'd recently adopted two brothers :shock:
As a side note, I asked my 6 year old nephew if he knew what a psychic was, he said, "yes, like Batman and Robin" lol

26 Apr 2009

Personally ....I think its all a lot of twaddle
steve .

26 Apr 2009

two words.......
cold
reading
wink

26 Apr 2009

I generally take it with a pinch of salt really but the last time I went to see a spooky woman she told me stuff she couldn't possibly have known and apparently I have my dead relatives living in my flat! Long story, I may come back and tell it later.
Wish they'd do some cleaning now and again. :giggle:

26 Apr 2009

Im a bit of an old hippy and will try to believe most things. This I find quite unbelievable.

26 Apr 2009

Ohhhh Mrs B!!!!!
Derren Brown's book is indeed a fine read on this very old and somewhat outdated con trick.
It doesn't matter if you are a phrenologist (feeling the bumps on peoples head to tell the future) can divine the future by dowsing, reading tea leaves or flinging cow pats over your shoulder. It is all down to how easy a person is for the "clairvoyant" to read and how much information the subject then gives away.
For example, one trick is to have plants in the audience who join the queues at the start of a show and they talk excitedly about what they hope "Astrid the Seer" is going find out for them. Which then leads the person they are speaking to to divulge things to this other audience member. This then gets back to the "clairvoyant" ("There's a Sheila Edwards in the crowd who is hoping you can speak to her Dad, Frank who died of...) From this, the Clairvoyant can then get all the information they need by reading your responses and by what you say either verbally or through body language, gestures and movement. Don't forget, if you are already believing they have some mystic power, and then it is seemingly confirmed by them stating "Is a Sheila here... I have a message coming through from your Dad...Fr...Frank is it? Frank Edwards..." if you believe, by now he can tell you that your Dad was Genghis Khan in another life and also that you should give him your pin number and the contents of your lingerie draw and you would. Reading people is a very fine art, one with it's own intrinsic merits and uses, but to suggest that this is somehow contacting the dead is quite frankly, abject tosh of the highest kind and totally, I believe, manipulative.
It's the same as astrology. Saturn's in Uranus so you may feel a little unhappy. Get a grip for goodness sake. rolleyes

My personal favourite is aromatherapy and herbalism. "Smell yourself better." I am yet to see the day when someone collapses in the road with a heart attack and the emergency services are pushed to one side while "Elvira" says "Ooh I know, smell this Lavendar branch while I rub some Tumeric into the soles of your feet, you'll be right as rain in no time." Do you notice how there isn't a cure for heart attacks or cancer available in these? It's always "Colds" or "impotence" that can be cured by shoving twigs up your bottom or smearing garlic on your genitals.
As Dara O'Briain pointed out medicine such as this has been around for thousands of years which is fine and dandy, but then modern medicine came along and is markedly, measurably better in every concievable and measurable way. It's called evolution.
So I am afraid Mrs B, all your Derek Acorah, Doris Stokes, Russell Grant types for me deserve to be in the same group as TV preachers. They make money off peoples gullibility, misery and unhappiness by pandering to their sadness, misapprehension and fear of death by trying to portray that people they miss so dearly can be contacted. A wonderful notion, but sadly one entirely based on misinformation.
Do you know, I've seen a "pet claivoyant" advertised? For people who have lost a loved pet and want to know they are ok? For fecks sake! Get a grip! Also, when passing on to the other side, at what point does an animal suddenly develop the linguistic capabilities and emotional depth to convey these feelings to an intermediary? Since when does a dog think much more than "Oh, you're sad. Stroke me. Can I have some food? Oh! I need a shit!"
If I am wrong however, and I am blessed with having immortality to waste when I pop me clogs, then you can bet your arse I am not going to spend my days speaking to these idiots, or turning up on Most Haunted to throw a stone or make a chair creak. I would be tempted to possess somebody if only to make them say "This is all bollocks! Switch off and engage your brain!". So Feck that, I'll do it properly. There'll be a big smiling face appear over Liverpool most nights and I'll boom out from the sky "Oy! Feckers! Don't be a smug git like me! The afterlife... It does exist you know! Oh, but those clairvoyants are talking through their ARSES!"
I loathe people who make money from peoples unhappiness, fears and insecurities even if they believe what they do somehow helps. It doesn't, it is a form of trading in grief and hope. Non-tangible psychological manifestations that are easy to manipulate for the skilled and indubitably lucrative.
It'd be lovely to think that all my relatives who have died, are sat around a table somewhere saying "Look at him now, he thinks' he's so right... What an eejit!" If they are, I invite them to let me know. Just don't use a medium as a medium. An email will do. Or a phone call. Or even a text message. Knock on the door on Monday morning, I'll let you take the kids to school if you like.
It seems very odd to me to want to waste immortality by mysteriously throwing stones or making creaking noises on terrible tv programmes or appearing with some crankpot clairvoyant and making my feelings known that way. If there is an afterlife, then one would hope time could be spent a little more productively. Feck knows, we could do with some help. We've enough problems in the physical world as it is.
So, personally. I think it is all a rancid, fetid load of degenerate bats testicles. As almost everything to do with this kind of thing is.

26 Apr 2009

Quote by Bonedigger
Just wondered what other people thought of tarot readings or other such fortune telling malarkey??
do any of you totally believe in it, do any of you possess the 'gift' and read cards, palms, runes, tea leaves or practise scrying?
Is it genuine, have you had a reading that was accurate or has come true, or have you always been disappointed.
is it all a load of stuff and nonsense that vulnerable people believe, or try and make fit their own circumstances?
Had my tarot cards read last night and wondered if anyone else did this, or partook in anything else like this and what their thoughts were.
will see how the thread goes before i divulge my 'secrets'

My opinion is it is a load of old rubbish.
Funny how these people cannot predict the winning lottery numbers, or the Grand National winner.
It is a bit like religion.....you either believe it or not, but like religion belief is sometimes in the mind.
Clever how some people can be with this kind of thing, no different to an airline pilot.....clever what they do but only after a lot of training.

26 Apr 2009

I am a sceptic of most of these charlatans, just in the same way that Res described above. Some of these people should be prosecuted for decieving vulnerable people in my mind.
The only thing with labelling them all as hoaxers is that once in a while someone appears on the scene with a canny ability of saying something that can not be explained. I would love to now how they do it. Was it trickery, prior knowledge, reading the body language have plants in the crowd?
The one that has always intrigued me was (I think it was) a lady in the 30/40's. She had two high profile readings. One when she was supposed to have made contact with someone from the R1 (??? an airship in the UK that done a Hindenburg). This reading led to a re-opening of the inquiry and the evidence from the reader led to the finding of the cause of the crash. She also gave a reading to a lady who had gone to contact her husband. They actually contacted her son, who wasn't dead because he was on a ship and the admiralty said that it had not been sunk. Lo and behold, about a week later the Admiralty admitted the ship had sunk. They then stopped this lady from reading throughout World War 2 because she could release secret information.
I remember reading about her about 20 years ago and this spooked me out. How did she do it. If it wasn't trickery or bloody good guessing, how did it happen. I like to understand and this case had me scratching my head about it.
But apart from her, I have not heard of these type of people getting it right all the time.
Dave_Notts

26 Apr 2009

There's a very good old Yankee proverb that goes ;
There are two types of people in the world - those who want to believe, and those who want to know ...

26 Apr 2009

Quote by Dave__Notts
I am a sceptic of most of these charlatans, just in the same way that Res described above. Some of these people should be prosecuted for decieving vulnerable people in my mind.
The only thing with labelling them all as hoaxers is that once in a while someone appears on the scene with a canny ability of saying something that can not be explained. I would love to now how they do it. Was it trickery, prior knowledge, reading the body language have plants in the crowd?
The one that has always intrigued me was (I think it was) a lady in the 30/40's. She had two high profile readings. One when she was supposed to have made contact with someone from the R1 (??? an airship in the UK that done a Hindenburg). This reading led to a re-opening of the inquiry and the evidence from the reader led to the finding of the cause of the crash. She also gave a reading to a lady who had gone to contact her husband. They actually contacted her son, who wasn't dead because he was on a ship and the admiralty said that it had not been sunk. Lo and behold, about a week later the Admiralty admitted the ship had sunk. They then stopped this lady from reading throughout World War 2 because she could release secret information.
I remember reading about her about 20 years ago and this spooked me out. How did she do it. If it wasn't trickery or bloody good guessing, how did it happen. I like to understand and this case had me scratching my head about it.
But apart from her, I have not heard of these type of people getting it right all the time.
Dave_Notts

That's really intriguing Dave, have you got any links to her? I wouldn't mind a gander at them. I love stuff like this.
Pre-cognition is something very different to clairvoyancy however, I know many governments have secretly looked into this. It's quite an interesting topic.
Coincidence is great too. I remember a story of a very famous actor, his name escapes me at the moment, but he was looking for a book to research a specific part he was going to play in a play or film. He wandered around London from bookshop to bookshop and could not find a copy of the book he needed anywhere. (Cue : moment). Somewhat fed up and disappointed he bought a tube ticket and headed home. He got onto the platform and stood waiting for the train by a bin, something caught his eye on the binand there on top of the bin in perfect condition was the book he wanted.
I cannot remember the name of the actor, It was someone like Olivier or Gielgud I believe... but I am not certain who it was.

26 Apr 2009

You bugger Res. I read it in a book....................so now I am going to spend the next 2 hours surfing the net trying to find her. I am terrible at surfing..........this is one of the reasons I ended up on here, I just didn't leave tho wink

I'll be as quick as I can..............which isn't that fast
Dave_Notts

26 Apr 2009

Quote by Dave__Notts
You bugger Res. I read it in a book....................so now I am going to spend the next 2 hours surfing the net trying to find her. I am terrible at surfing..........this is one of the reasons I ended up on here, I just didn't leave tho
I'll be as quick as I can..............which isn't that fast
Dave_Notts

Don't worry Dave! It was only if you had it to hand! Don't be surfing around wasting your time! Thanks anyway...
I'm trying to find out the name of this actor now, it's bugging me!

26 Apr 2009

Phew.............luckily I bumped into this after a short look. This is just about the R101 (I was going off 20 years of memory so gave the wrong airship name). If I find anything on the ship then I will post it up as an edit
I have just read the article and it was the last thing that they said is what makes her a one in a million. She didn't fanfare anything.
Dave_Notts
In Edit: Done a quick seach on her and wikipedia said she was evacuated from Portugal to America in 1941............so which spiritualist did they stop because of the ship. It must have been the same book and in my mind I have creditted this lady with both accounts. But as usual I am wrong, so I will have to find who this second person was. :doh:

26 Apr 2009

Quote by Dave__Notts

Phew.............luckily I bumped into this after a short look. This is just about the R101 (I was going off 20 years of memory so gave the wrong airship name). If I find anything on the ship then I will post it up as an edit
I have just read the article and it was the last thing that they said is what makes her a one in a million. She didn't fanfare anything.
Dave_Notts

Thanks very much Dave. Much appreciated.
Res

26 Apr 2009

Come now Dave and Res, you both know full well that its more likely than not that some time or another one of these charlatans/gurus is gonna be bang on the money.
I want to know why Derek Akora meets ghosts who change the tone of his voice but they cant take away his scouse accent. The alternative, an afterlife mostly peopled by Liverpudlians doesnt bear thinking about.
Anybody ever heard of anti phrenology where you give people knowledge and skills by hitting them on the head with a small mallet at strategic points?

26 Apr 2009

99.9% of these people are tricksters in my mind so I agree there with you Ben.
But some people seem to have a gift. I would love to know how they have this gift..........and how it is used.
The rest of them are tricksters in my mind.......but not every single one are. I have never been to a tarot reading, never been to a spiritualist and never seen any of the TV personalities as it makes me reach for the off button fast, but it does intrigue me and not all of them can be explained as hoaxers.
Dave_Notts

26 Apr 2009

I know next weeks Lottery Numbers... Kind Arthur told me.
I never knew until today that he was from Liverpool
lp
ooops :edit: KinG Arthur
though Im sure he was a kind chap also

26 Apr 2009

Quote by Dave__Notts
99.9% of these people are tricksters in my mind so I agree there with you Ben.
But some people seem to have a gift. I would love to know how they have this gift..........and how it is used.
The rest of them are tricksters in my mind.......but not every single one are. I have never been to a tarot reading, never been to a spiritualist and never seen any of the TV personalities as it makes me reach for the off button fast, but it does intrigue me and not all of them can be explained as hoaxers.
Dave_Notts

I agree with this :thumbup:

26 Apr 2009

its true that those who want to believe do belive, i went to see Derek Acorah years a go with a friend of mine who really believes in him, and i have to say he was very good, no silly voices either, just strait readings.
As for horoscopes etc, i sort of do and dont, as i have very strong Scorpio traits, this does fascinate me as people can be like their star signs, but as for beliving what Mystic Meg writes for me everyday..... well i`m not so sure rolleyes

26 Apr 2009

a piece of film i thought id share...

it's only the first part.... but hugely other parts are linked into the page.

27 Apr 2009

I can make predictions.
If I don't get a good, uninterrupted nights sleep tonight, there will be bloodshed.

27 Apr 2009

Since I suffered sudden massive weight loss I have developed the ability to commune with the dead.
I think its because I used to be an extra large and now I am a medium.