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PSYCHIC FAIRS: YOUR EXPERIENCES

  • 19-01-2009 9:33pm
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 343 ✭✭


    Anyone been to any of the psychic fAIRS up and down the country over the years? if so,who have you seen and were the readings applicable to you at the time or after?


Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,247 ✭✭✭✭6th


    Despite having been to a number of readers I have never been to a fair - must look out for one.

    Off Topic: Hey karyn, welcome back! :D


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 343 ✭✭karynp


    thanks for the welcome back,was off havibg a baby!!am very interested to hear what folks have to say about the fairs,will explain afterwards..;)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 174 ✭✭kiwikid


    i have been to two and would never go again - ok probably would but i went to 3 readers and they were all rubbish. really rubbish. Any around Cork now?;)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 343 ✭✭karynp


    kiwikid, did you go to more than one reader at a fair,if so,why? can you remember who and where and how much they charged? also what made you choose thr readers you did?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 104 ✭✭Irishlawgirl


    karynp wrote: »
    kiwikid, did you go to more than one reader at a fair,if so,why? can you remember who and where and how much they charged? also what made you choose thr readers you did?

    Hey all, I've been to the last one that was out in Maynooth - that was a psychic fair of sorts - all top tarot readers. I went to three! Probably not a good idea. I always write things out straight after and looking at my "notes" I think one woman was no where near accurate. Another was I think. It's hit or miss to be honest. If I am ever trying to read my own tarot - I need silence - those places are quite busy (not noisey but it's certainly not quiet).

    Went to the Mind Body Spirit event last year in the RDS. The workshops were great - well only actually went to Heidi Sawyers as i'm a huge fan. The psychics there though to be honest - again hit or miss. It's pretty much worth waiting an hour or two for the one busy reader than go to one that is empty - there's generally a reason for this.

    All in all - I wouldn't recommend a fair if you are going there for the purposes of a reading as they are generally at leat 50 euros and last less than 20 minutes and it's a difficult environment for both reader and client. I would go though for the reason of the other stalls - unreal things you can find at these things. Decent selection of books for one!


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 120 ✭✭poster


    I am a medium and I will be attending some ofthe fairs around the country this year. However I wouldnt do a reading at them, I will just be promoting myself. A room or hall like that with so many different readers using so many different energies in my opinion is not good. IF I use a large room for a public dem, its only me doing the spirit communication, the atmosphere and setting have to be right.

    Even at the Mind Body Spirit you have people sitting getting different treatments, therapists dumping energies out into the walkways, I have stopped going to this to be honest it just doesnt sit right with me the way treatments and readings are done in the mix of energies that are going on. If I was to take a stand at such an event it would be just that or might use a private room to do public dem.


  • Subscribers Posts: 19,425 ✭✭✭✭Oryx


    Ive been to a few of those fairs, from the big one in the RDS, to the smaller hotel based ones. I havent had readings at any, I would prefer a private reading, just as a personal thing. Its just calmer. The fairs themselves can be interesting, but some of the items offered and shown there make me grate my teeth, as to me some of it is snake oil. Bit rich coming from a reader I know, but there you go. :)

    But I did take a table at a local fair last year, to see how it would go for me. All the other readers were charging at least €50, that seems to be the going rate. I thought it was high, but was told I had to charge a fee, or Id be extremely unpopular with the others.:p I needed to cover costs anyway. It was busy but the buzz in the room wasnt a bother until I got tired. I tended to shut it out and just work. I did 12 readings, most went good, I got good feedback after. I know two were not as successful, my first, and my last. The fee reflected that. But I was exhausted afterward, even the amount of talking you have to do is very tiring in itself.

    I wont be doing it again, the charging is something I wont do anymore, so I just do the readings that happen my way by word of mouth. I would happily go to one of those fairs, I havent lately because I go regularly to spiritualist meetings in the UK, and that gives me my 'fix'.:D


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2 mail4ter


    check out www.holisticfairsireland.ie
    these shows are well run.. holistic shows are happening all over the country ... usually €5 entrance... if you dont fancy a reading in such a busy atmosphere.. pick up there card ... and make a private reading


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 65 ✭✭Abhainn-Rivers


    Hey, I'm rather new to boards.ie but the comments on the cost of Fairs caught my attention. I have to say that €50 for a reading may be average for personal readings last maybe 45mins or an hour depending on the reader and the reading.

    I'm involved with a Holistic Fair in Swords, Dublin. This is one thats operated for charity. Its standard that people charge €25 for 20mins session with 10mins wind-up. Thats for the readings and same fee for the healing sessions. Both of these have the Readers/Healers presenting 10% of all sessions to charity. Fairs are really just a chance for people to promote themselves and their services. I'm not suggesting that all Fairs do as we do but certainly some recognition that charging the same for a session in a busy (although may well be ordered) venue.

    NB Sorry I didn't realise that this was advertising...bit ditzy today. If anyone wants a link to the Fair I mentioned above feel free to PM me.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 343 ✭✭karynp


    mail4ter wrote: »
    check out www.holisticfairsireland.ie
    these shows are well run.. holistic shows are happening all over the country ... usually €5 entrance... if you dont fancy a reading in such a busy atmosphere.. pick up there card ... and make a private reading


    do you have a connection to these fairs?


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 343 ✭✭karynp


    its interesting to see the views on fairs.i personally think they are like cattle markets,readers packed into them. Also expensive for a reader to take a table at,hence the €50 charge.
    I wouldnt see a reader as not good if they have a small q,rather,i think other readers are more heavily promoted.
    why there is a charge in at the door,i dunno,dont think there should be one if you then fork out for a reading,and also think folk going in should be advised against multiple readings.maybe organisers could sort that out.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 65 ✭✭Abhainn-Rivers


    Well I do know of some fairs down home that have a price on the table as €150 (I think for charity as well but I don't have any details on this one as its not related to the one I help run).

    Hotels tend to be pricey alright but as you note charging for admission should, if organisers budget correctly, cover this. Then the fee for readers would be their own.

    With our Fair we have a €5 admission that covers the room rental fee, any extras go towards the Charity in question. (We're working on making it a registered charity at the moment) Then with the 10% off the Therapists fee the Charity does very nicely while for their time and energy the therapists also make something themselves but not in a greedy way.

    I don't wish to dis any other Fairs since I've been to none of them. But until someone involved in them can shed some light on the situation no wonder people avoid the Fairs that are working like us on a Co-operative principle. I think the balance is the difficult thing to develop.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 170 ✭✭Wuggectumondo


    I went to a psychic fair earlier this year in the Regency hotel and made a mistake of going to someone with no queue called Kate. I'm not working and she told me that I'll DEFINITELY have a job within 2 weeks. That was in about 2 months ago. That has made me soooooo angry how someone could mess with someone's head like that!!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 343 ✭✭karynp


    ah thats not very good is it? i think putting a timeline in a reading can be a bit fatal for some, a good example of that is that you are unemployed and were glad to hear you would have work soon, then it doesnt happen and that can only make you feel worse.
    was the rest of the reading any use? did you tell the reader?

    hope the job front improves for you, maybe do a course?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 170 ✭✭Wuggectumondo


    Yeah it was pretty ****ty to say "DEFINITELY 2 weeks" and I kept on saying "Are you sure 2 weeks?" and she said definitely. I do think that a decent fortune teller would not give us "definites" as we do have free will not to take a particular path and I do think that there are a few paths available for us to take at one given time e.g. like the film Sliding Doors.

    I went to see Dave Viney in a holistic fair recently and he was lovely. Time will tell if what he said comes true :-)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,433 ✭✭✭MrMojoRisin


    ...those places are quite busy (not noisy but it's certainly not quiet).

    That’s true, although I was sat opposite some Australian bloke named Robert (of ‘Robert and Marlee’) for this numerology thing before and I could barely hear him because of the chatter and activity reverberating in the hall. He didn’t exactly speak like Fred Elliott from Coronation Street, so I had a tough job making him out, which was obviously exacerbated by the background noise. It can be bothersome when you’re trying to listen to someone talk and to process what they’re saying. Also, there was an overhead tannoy sounding off with announcements every feckin’ 5-10 minutes. :mad:
    Went to the Mind Body Spirit event last year in the RDS. The workshops were great - well only actually went to Heidi Sawyers as i'm a huge fan.

    Yeah, I headed along to one of her workshops before because I like that numerology stuff she does. She seems like a nice woman but she has a strongly business-oriented mind as well.
    At one point everyone had to calculate their 'life path/birth path number' and she was requesting a show of hands for those in the room who had each life path number (ranging from 1-9). When she got to number 1 and asked for a show of hands, I was the only one out of about 50 people. :pac: She said it was unusual for number 1 life path number bearers to be into anything spiritual or metaphysical. Apparently because they wouldn't be the types of practice any sort of introspection. Well, I showed her. :D And yes, I can count.
    But you have to look at the whole numerological chart, accounting for the number of numbers (say, two 3s in the birth date) and the numbers represented on the three arrows/planes of expression on the Chinese magic square/Lo Shu.
    The grid goes as follows...

    3 6 9 - intellectual/mental plane
    2 5 8 - emotional/soul plane
    1 4 7 - physical/material plane

    Hitler was born on April 20th 1889. 20-04-1889. His life path number was 5 (a soul plane number). He has one 2 and two 8s on the soul plane; one 4 and one 1 on the physical plane; and one 9 on the mental plane.
    - - 9
    2 - 88
    1 4 -
    If you look diagonally at the grid, there is a void running from where the 3 should be to where the 5 should be, to where the 7 should be. This is the arrow of scepticism/the enquirer. At best, it produces an enquiring, investigative mind with a philosophical bent. At worst, it can lead to being a bit of a nervous worrier, who's afraid of anything new or different that doesn't fit in with their established mental framework.
    Anyway, it's all far more complex than just a life path number, though that is an essential component...
    Sorry for rattling on.
    All in all - I wouldn't recommend a fair if you are going there for the purposes of a reading as they are generally at least 50 euros and last less than 20 minutes and it's a difficult environment for both reader and client.

    Yeah, I've seen they're all €50 at a minimum, going up to as much as €80. :eek: I remember strolling around one fair and I saw that there was an aura reader woman charging €50. That was pass remarkable to me until I walked down the hall and saw another aura reader woman charging €35 for the exact same service. :rolleyes:
    I suppose the amount of time a person spends with a reader is dependent on people queuing up behind them. I don't think all the readers want to stick to a 20-min reading limit and then shove people off, though I've witnessed some very obviously do that.
    I sat down for a reading with an elderly lady named Dorothy about two years ago at one of these fairs. I saw that there was no-one queuing to see her but that didn't put me off. She didn't seem like she was trying to get rid of me a.s.a.p. and she was chatting normally and cordially to me away from the reading itself near the end. At that point, there were a couple of people queued behind me. Very nice woman. She was on about a place called 'Findhorn' in Scotland, amongst other things...
    poster wrote: »
    Even at the Mind Body Spirit you have people sitting getting different treatments, therapists dumping energies out into the walkways, I have stopped going to this to be honest it just doesnt sit right with me the way treatments and readings are done in the mix of energies that are going on.


    I don't know much about energies but I imagine the practitioners of healing treatments have to 'dump' energy from their hands at various points throughout. There doesn't seem to be much of a partition or division between each treatment stall. Just a sheet of plywood or some curtains at most. It looks like a bit of a noxious melting pot with mismatched 'ingredients'/therapies, tbh.

    Oryx wrote: »
    ... I havent had readings at any, I would prefer a private reading, just as a personal thing. Its just calmer.

    I can see where you're coming from alright. A proper reading should be 'contained' physically.
    Oryx wrote: »
    The fairs themselves can be interesting, but some of the items offered and shown there make me grate my teeth, as to me some of it is snake oil.

    I've seen a fair amount of stuff that could be bought at a far reduced price elsewhere (maybe they jack up the product prices to recoup the cost of having their stands there?), and items that didn't look like having any practical use, IMO. There's usually an over-eager salesmonkey who appears when they see you cast one eyeball in the direction of whatever it is they're peddling. :rolleyes:
    Oryx wrote: »
    ... But I was exhausted afterward, even the amount of talking you have to do is very tiring in itself.

    I've always wondered about that. Constant talking to people alone is pretty knackering when it's mostly one-sided. I know a fella who used to be a healer and he sad he would 'draw up' energy from the ever-charged volcanic centre of the earth to keep himself going. That may sound tapped... It was like he visualised it replenishing his energy stores and he trusted it. He says he doesn't like saying 'to believe' in something because that leaves it privy to doubt...
    I'm involved with a Holistic Fair in Swords, Dublin. This is one thats operated for charity. Its standard that people charge €25 for 20mins session with 10mins wind-up. Thats for the readings and same fee for the healing sessions. Both of these have the Readers/Healers presenting 10% of all sessions to charity.

    That sounds very, very reasonable.
    Fairs are really just a chance for people to promote themselves and their services.

    Generally, that's probably what it all should amount to. I was talking to this medium named Alex Martell at her stand before and she seemed jaded from just sitting there and reading for people. She was hoping that she could just build up her private client list and she had some business cards for people to take away. I understand that most of the readers only do the fairs for promotional purposes.
    There was minor controversy at one of the Mind Body Spirit fairs last year when there was a 'Dianetics and Scientology' stand. There were anti-Scientology protesters outside the venue warning people to stay away from the stand. One of the protesters said she had a relative of a Limerick-hailing friend who was found in Australia by family. They took him off to be "de-programmed", only for the Scientologists to later kidnap him. Talk about weird. :rolleyes:
    karynp wrote: »
    its interesting to see the views on fairs.i personally think they are like cattle markets,readers packed into them. Also expensive for a reader to take a table at,hence the €50 charge.


    I agree with you. They aren't great places. At best, they're handy for people to find out about new treatments and readers for future reference in the outside world. I feel sort of sorry for the more elderly readers who do these fairs more-or-less full-time, from which they derive their incomes. People have freedom of choice, I know, but it's more difficult for the older readers to change course when they've been doing that sort of stuff for the majority of their adult years.

    karynp wrote: »
    I wouldnt see a reader as not good if they have a small q,rather,i think other readers are more heavily promoted.


    That's very true, IMO. There's a one named Betty Palko who gets a lot of promotion because she was once Princess Diana's personal psychic (Jesus, how many feckin' psychics did Diana have like??). Well, she did a flat-out, sterling job at that. Diana would clap her hands for her if she wasn't in a pine box underground.

    karynp wrote: »
    why there is a charge in at the door,i dunno,dont think there should be one if you then fork out for a reading,and also think folk going in should be advised against multiple readings.maybe organisers could sort that out.


    I agree. Fees for a reading only. Maybe the people at the door could forewarn the attendees of obtaining multiple readings? In a kind, well-meaning way like.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18 Aine TCD


    There's a one named Betty Palko who gets a lot of promotion because she was once Princess Diana's personal psychic (Jesus, how many feckin' psychics did Diana have like??). Well, she did a flat-out, sterling job at that. Diana would clap her hands for her if she wasn't in a pine box underground.

    Everyone dies, I don't think you can blame her for that! :P I went to Betty and her daughter last year - six months apart - both gave me excellent readings. I'm doing a PhD and right at the beginning of the reading Betty asked me "are you studying to be a doctor?"


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1 rivadulla


    I visited a physic fair in Talbot hotel Wexford last weekend, first time ever been to a physic. I paid €5 entrance fee and €50 to the reader for 20 minutes of her time and she didn't tell me anything outstanding, all just really general stuff. Her mobile on the table kept lighting up and she kept glancing at it and by the looks of things the organiser keeps them posted by text about how many more people are booking in with them which I found disconcerting. I think this has definitely cured my curiosity forever about physics and will not be visiting one again.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 98 ✭✭IrishPsychic


    rivadulla wrote: »
    I visited a physic fair in Talbot hotel Wexford last weekend, first time ever been to a physic. I paid €5 entrance fee and €50 to the reader for 20 minutes of her time and she didn't tell me anything outstanding, all just really general stuff. Her mobile on the table kept lighting up and she kept glancing at it and by the looks of things the organiser keeps them posted by text about how many more people are booking in with them which I found disconcerting. I think this has definitely cured my curiosity forever about physics and will not be visiting one again.

    Hi,

    I have done one Psychic Fair and being honest it was not a good experience, basically the fee of the table is anything from €150 to €200 and if people don't turn up you still pay so think if a hotel usually charges €150-€200 to hire a room in normal circumstances you would be better off hiring the room for yourself but they have 20-30 Psychics each paying €150 per table so you do the math...

    I like giving readings to people but the fact that everyone is sitting beside you is very off putting and very difficult in giving a reading without hearing other readers beside you which to me is very off putting.

    Also the fee I only charge €15 for a reading (website) but at that Psychic Fair or any fair Psychics charge so much as they need to cover the cost of the table but have I done another one the answer is no as I just didnt like the fact it was to try and rip people off charging such high prices and I am not here to think the €50 that someone seriously cannot afford is being handed over to me or another Psychic so my own conscience told me I don't need to go to these fairs in order to help people again I am personally speaking and I cannot speak for all but just wanted to let that lady know just because someone is charging so much does not mean they are good and at the end of the reading when that Psychic said to you is that ok any other questions you could of said I am sorry but you did not really connect with me and you shouldn't of paid €50 for something you were not happy with.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 96 ✭✭Melodi


    I've been doing a few fairs this Fall, mostly to get my name out there as a reader and building up a client base. I would tend to support a lot of what others have said, it is possible to get a good reading at a fair (I'm not the only reader doing my best, and I take note of others who seem to be doing so) but there also tend to be a huge difference in the time readers spend with clients, though the fee pretty much is, 50 Euros.

    With the larger fairs, that is pretty much because of the cost of getting a table; though that is starting to change with some of the smaller fairs (which also tend to be less well attended). As a reader, you have to pay for your table and it doesn't matter if you get one reading or twenty. When the table cost is lower, the Reader can risk charging less; there is also terrible pressure put on readers (by other readers) to not lower their prices.

    My guess is that this will have to change if the economy keeps going towards tilt, there will always be a few well-known readers that will do well, but for the new comers (those empty seats) it just proves to be too costly. I had the best day so far at a venue that charged the least per reading (by joint request of the venue and agreement by the readers) but the tables were also very low cost. I had to work a lot harder and the readings were shorter (maximum half an hour) but everyone did pretty well and both clients and readers seemed happy.

    This may be a model for the future, but sadly it is only in place for a few shows that I know of.

    What these fairs are fantastic for is getting to know psychics and vendors, and taking cards and doing follow-up on people. You can ask about mini-readings, some readers will do them (especially if it is slow) and others just won't. A paid mini-reading is a great way to see if you like someone and then decide if you want to visit them later.

    The only point I really disagree with is the "empty seat" comment, it may be true in some cases that those with empty seats are not any good; but it can also mean that the person with a lot of people waiting has just been around a long time and the empty seat booth is someone new. You can get good, bad or indifferent readings from any of them; watching and looking at the expressions on clients faces as they are leaving a reading (without staring at them or violating their privacy) is often a good marker of how people feel afterwards. Even that doesn't always work, as someone getting negative (but honest news) may not be happy and that's another reason why psychic fair readings can be difficult. Readers learn pretty quickly that "bad news does not sell" even when it is true, in an office/private setting you can take more time to show alternatives and choices but that isn't always as easy in public.

    Then there are the sound problems, some venues do very well with low-level music and good muffling and booth distribution; others you have to shout and then if the volume suddenly drops everyone can hear what your saying to your client (not good).

    I have also noticed a very low attendance level at recent fairs (and this is unusual according to folks who do the regular "circuit") but I don't see any improvement, if anything it seems to be getting worse. This was true even at the one "big" fair I did recently, and it was not an great sign in my book. My personal guess is that while a lot of people still want and enjoy readings, they are also reluctant to go somewhere where they know they are likely to spend a lot of money on a whim, as opposed to budgeting to see a reader privately.

    The only answer I can see to that one is to find a way to bring down table-costs for vendors and readers; along with the understanding that prices/readings will also come down in cost accordingly.

    The way most fairs are set up, officially readers all set their own prices but unofficially that is very difficult to do (except for quick mini-readings).

    Still they are a great place to meet vendors and the psychics themselves; I suspect a lot of Readers consider the fairs as part of their over-all advertising budget. I always hope to pay my costs and am delighted when I come out ahead; I also careful to target shows either near where I read and/or those that are inexpensive and I want to support.

    In general, although I enjoy them up to a point; getting a private reading is almost always going to get you better value for money. I hate to say that, but much of the time it is true; I always keep cards out and mention that to people when they take one at a show. I am happy to read for them where we are, but equally happy to do a reading in a quieter setting later.

    Hope that helps some and I want to thank people who commented on my original thread with questions about this. It helped me decide what direction to go on it.


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