The Shady Seven: Avoid These Unethical Intuitive Readers
In twenty years of working in metaphysics and the occult, I’ve seen all manner of shady ploys from so-called “spiritual” workers. It’s an unfortunate fact that not every intuitive reader has your best interests at heart. And after being the target of several of these in just the past month(!), I’m reminded that some things just don’t change, and they don’t change because these stunts are still working at least some of the time!
So, to hopefully save someone some heartache and disappointment, here is my list of some of the biggest red flags out there. If your prospective reader fits any of these descriptions, I can guarantee you that your best bet is to walk the other way…
- The Messenger: You’re browsing your local metaphysical shop, minding your own business, when the store reader approaches you and says they have a message for you from their guides. They won’t tell you what it’s about, but will insist the information is critically important, and ask you to buy a reading with them so that you can obtain this information “for your own good.” If you hesitate or decline, they intimate that you’re making a grave mistake. Most of the time, The Messenger has no information for you at all, and may very well make up whatever they tell you in the reading. Their main goal is to stir up business for themselves by lighting the fuse of customers’ insecurities.
Bonus tip: Being a reader does not make you an authority figure. It does not mean you “know what’s best” for everyone else. Every reader of substance and integrity I’ve ever known would either mind their own business in this case or, in truly pressing circumstances, provide the critical information to the person in question with no strings attached and no pitches. - The Catastrophist: This person tells you that you have a curse on you (a dark cloud hanging over you, a dark energy following you, etc.) that they can remove…for a fee. Whether that fee is $80 or $800, the intent is the same: to scare you into purchasing something from them. The Catastrophist confirms your worst anxieties about things you don’t understand or feel incapable of handling (like curses, demons, and ghosts), and just so happens to have the precise remedy at the ready. In many cases, there is no end to the work you’ll need performed on your behalf, and they will always have a new boogey man to scare you with, or a new twist in the saga of dealing with your problem, that–you guessed it–requires more money.
Bonus tip: “Curses” have more to do with your own thought patterns than what someone or something else has done to you. The most effective way to remove a “curse” is to change your mind, and only YOU can do that. - The Mediary: This one happened to me not long ago. An intuitive consultant that I declined to hire DM’d me a couple of days after I turned them down to tell me that MY particular deity came to THEM with a message specifically for ME. Conveniently, the message was that I should change my mind and hire them in order to follow my deity’s guidance and receive my deity’s blessings. Needless to say, that DM got promptly ignored. The Mediary specializes in making you believe that YOU are not connected enough (psychic enough, gifted enough, etc.) to receive messages directly from your own deity, but LUCKY FOR YOU, The Mediary IS plugged in and can pull down your messages for you! Isn’t that amazing?
Bonus tip: This is not the Catholic church, friends. You are a child of the Universe, a star—you don’t need anyone to mediate between you and the Divine, because you are part of the Divine. - The New Friend: I get this one all the time, and it truly makes my skin crawl. The New Friend reader will direct message you out of the blue (usually soon after connecting with you on social media), introduce themselves by telling you alllllllll about their unique qualifications and then offering to intercede on your behalf with deity, pray for you, work magick for you, etc. From the outside looking in, it seems like they’re just trying to build a friendship with a new connection. They may say something like, what can I help you with? Love? Money? Your job? I’m happy to help! But in reality, they’re waiting for the perfect opportunity to hit you with their price list.
Bonus tip: Readers want friends like everyone else, and they make friends the same way everyone else does—by giving of themselves, expressing interest in others, and looking for commonalities. A principled reader will never mix friendship building with sales pitches. - The Milker: You decided to purchase a reading from a reader you like. Yay! You’re most of the way through the appointment and approaching the end of your purchased time when suddenly The Milker tells you that… wait…wait… more information is coming through for you… they need to share it with you… but they can only do it if you pay for more time. Sometimes The Milker is more casual than dramatic, perhaps making an off-hand comment that there’s lots more to tell you, but shucks, we’re out of time. The Milker preys on the very real human need for the safety and control we get from having information, and they use that to extract more cash from your wallet.
Bonus tip: Any reader worth their salt will strive to give you a complete reading within the time that you purchase, and will not dangle temptation in front of you to get you to go beyond the time or money limits you set at the beginning of the appointment. However, if YOU continue to ask questions beyond the point at which your time is exhausted, you should absolutely expect to have to pay for your reader’s additional time. - The Vested Interest: This reader tries to pressure you into a particular course of action during your time together. Whether it’s immediately apparent why they are pushing you toward one path over another, or not, there is no reason that a stranger should be more invested in your life than you are. The Vested Interest poses as a reader who believes in you and wants to see you succeed, but in reality, they want you to choose a path that keeps them in the picture somehow. Whether it’s through creating a need for more services from them, or giving them a convenient excuse to refer you to their friend, relative, or business partner, you are a walking dollar sign to them.
Bonus tip: It’s fine for a reader to advise you on your options, but your decisions are yours alone, and if they respect you as a person, they’ll respect your autonomy. You can rest assured that anyone who pressures you to make any decision—in any direction—is doing so for their own interests, not yours. - The Secret Wielder: Perhaps the most heinously unethical reader of all, The Secret Wielder destroys the integrity of the reader-querent relationship by using confidential (often private, vulnerable, or embarrassing) information that comes up in the reading to push you into purchasing additional items or services from them. The Secret Wielder violates the trust of the relationship by preying on your hopes, dreams, and fears. They may even repeat back to you something very sensitive that you said in the reading as evidence that you should do something you don’t want to do, like purchase their most expensive package, or buy a certain crystal or talisman.
Bonus tip: A faithful intuitive reader will challenge your preconceived notions, push you on your bullshit patterns, and even call you out on the lies you’re telling yourself in order to stay in your comfort zone, but they’ll never hold out their products and services as the only way forward. Remember, real change comes from changing your mind, and there is ALWAYS more than one way to retrain your brain.
I truly hope you never experience any of these tactics, let alone get burned by any of them. And I hope that, armed with the information here, you only experience the best intuitive readings. But even if you’ve been burned in the past, I hope you won’t let that sour you on the benefits of having an ongoing partnership with a gifted reader. The search for the right intuitive reader is a lot like finding the right therapist—it’s trial and error until you find the person who ‘gets’ you, who empowers you, and who wants to see you succeed on your own terms. That’s what real support looks like, and everyone deserves to have that, without fear of manipulation or extortion.
If you’re curious to see if I’m the right fit for you, please feel free to check out my offerings on my Services page, where you can easily and quickly select the service that’s right for you, choose your preferred appointment time, book it, and pay—all in one easy, breezy step. I look forward to connecting with you soon!