View source for Unsolved:Psychic reading

{{Short description|Discerning information through heightened perceptive abilities}}
{{Paranormal}}
[[File:Psychic reading.jpg|thumb|260px|right|Psychic reader booth at a fair.]]
A '''psychic reading''' is a specific attempt to discern information through the use of heightened perceptive abilities; or natural extensions of the basic human senses of sight, sound, touch, taste and instinct. These natural extensions are claimed to be [[Unsolved:Clairvoyance|clairvoyance]] (vision), clairsentience (feeling), claircognisance (factual knowing) and [[Unsolved:Clairaudience|clairaudience]] (hearing) and the resulting statements made during such an attempt.<ref name=parasoc>[http://parapsych.org/glossary_l_r.html#r Reading] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100824232035/http://parapsych.org/glossary_l_r.html |date=2010-08-24 }} – Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Parapsychological Association (2010-04-14)</ref> The term is commonly associated with [[Unsolved:Paranormal|paranormal]]-based consultation given for a fee in such settings as over the phone, in a home, or at [[Unsolved:Psychic|psychic]] fairs.<ref name=Nobel>{{cite news|author=Nobel, Carmen |url=http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2008/04/10/vision_quest/?page=full |title=Vision Quest |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=April 10, 2008}}</ref> Though psychic readings are controversial and a focus of skeptical inquiry,<ref>{{cite news|author=Stollznow, Karen |url=http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/a_psychometry_reading|title=A Psychometry Reading The Naked Skeptic|publisher=csicop.org|date=2010-04-12|access-date=2012-07-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skepdic.com/psychic.html |title=psychic|publisher=The Skeptic's Dictionary – Skepdic.com |access-date=2012-07-13}}</ref> a popular interest in them persists.<ref name=Haskett>{{cite news|author=Haskett, Wendy |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1987-08-15/news/vw-44_1_psychic-fair |title=Psychic Fairs Aim for Aura of Fun in Mind Reading |newspaper={{wipe|Los Angeles Times}} |date=August 15, 1987 }}</ref> Extensive experimentation to replicate psychic results in laboratory conditions have failed to find any [[Precognition|precognitive]] phenomena in humans.<ref name=Ritchie>{{cite journal|author1=Ritchie, Stuart J. |author2=Wiseman, Richard |author-link2=Richard Wiseman|author3=French, Christopher C. |author-link3=Chris French|title=Failing the Future: Three Unsuccessful Attempts to Replicate Bem's 'Retroactive Facilitation of Recall' Effect |journal=PLOS ONE |date=March 14, 2012 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0033423 |pmid=22432019 |pmc=3303812 |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=e33423|bibcode=2012PLoSO...733423R |doi-access=free }}</ref> A [[Unsolved:Cold reading|cold reading]] technique allows psychics to produce seemingly specific information about an individual from social cues and broad statements.<ref name="Dutton1988">{{cite journal | last = Dutton | first = Denis | author-link=Denis Dutton |year = 1988 | title = The cold reading technique | journal = Experientia | volume = 44 | issue = 4 | pages = 326–332 | url = http://www.denisdutton.com/cold_reading.htm | access-date = June 30, 2009 | doi = 10.1007/BF01961271 | pmid = 3360083 | s2cid = 2382430 }}</ref>

==Types==
There are many types of psychic readings practiced. Although psychic readings might not incorporate the use of any tools, a professional psychic may have one or more specialized areas of expertise. Some of the more common readings include Tarot reading, email psychic reading, [[Unsolved:Palmistry|palm reading]], [[Unsolved:Psychometry (paranormal)|psychometry]], [[Philosophy:Aura (paranormal)|aura]] readings, or [[Unsolved:Astrology|astrological]] readings.

===Astrology===
{{Main|Unsolved:Astrology}}
'''Astrology''' is the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial objects as a means for divining information about human affairs and terrestrial events.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia| publisher = Oxford University Press| title = astrology| encyclopedia = Oxford Dictionary of English| access-date = 11 December 2015| url = https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/astrology| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120719044917/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/astrology| url-status = dead| archive-date = July 19, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia| publisher = Merriam-Webster Inc.| title = astrology| encyclopedia = Merriam-Webster Dictionary| access-date = 11 December 2015| url = http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astrology}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy |first1=Nicholas |last1=Bunnin |first2=Jiyuan |last2=Yu |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2008 |page=57 |isbn=978-0470997215 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LdbxabeToQYC&q=dictionary+philosophy+astrology&pg=PA57}}</ref> The position of the stars, planets, sun and moon when one is born are believed to have affect one's personality, shape how relationships work in one's life and predict future events such as one's economic success.

===Aura reading===
Aura readings involve the observation and interpretation of [[Philosophy:Aura (paranormal)|auras]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Whitworth, Belinda |title=New Age Encyclopedia: A Mind Body Spirit Reference Guide |publisher=New Page Books |year=2003 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newageencycloped00beli/page/34 34] |isbn=1-56414-640-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/newageencycloped00beli/page/34 |edition=Revised }}</ref> The aura is purported to be a field of subtle, luminous radiation surrounding a person.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jack, Alex |title=The New Age Dictionary Second Edition |orig-year=1976 |publisher=Japan Publications, Inc. |location=Tokyo and New York |year=1990 |page=14 }}</ref>
Psychics have offered aura readings for many years.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Grimaud |first=Emmanuel |date=2018 |title=La face obscure de la clairvoyance. Petite histoire des machines à mesurer l'aura |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02491295 |journal=Cahiers d'anthropologie sociale |language=French |location=Paris |publisher=l’Herne |volume= |issue=2 |pages=138–142 |doi=10.3917/cas.017.0152 |issn= |id=hal-02491295 |via=HAL open science}}</ref> They claim to have a unique ability to see or sense individual's auras, however no evidence has ever been provided to substantiate this claim.{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}}

===Cartomancy or playing card reading===
Cartomancy is fortune-telling or divination using a deck of cards.<ref>{{cite book|author=Huson, Paul|year=2004 |title=Mystical Origins of the Tarot: From Ancient Roots to Modern Usage|location=Vermont |publisher=Destiny Books |isbn=0-89281-190-0 }}</ref> See also Tarot reading below.

===Cleromancy===
Cleromantic readings usually involve casting small objects and reading them by their position, orientation, and mutual proximity. There are numerous variants used throughout the world.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}

===Distant readings===
A distant reading, "traveling clairvoyance", or "remote perception" can be conducted without the reader ever meeting the client.<ref>{{cite book
|last= Beloff
|first= John
|title= Parapsychology: A Concise History
|edition= reprint
|year= 1997
|orig-year= 1993
|publisher= Palgrave Macmillan
|isbn= 978-0-312-17376-0
|pages= 24–25
}}</ref> This includes letters, telephone, text messaging, email, chat, and webcam readings.

Correspondence readings are usually done via letters, later emails and filling in special forms on psychic websites.<ref>{{cite web|title=Online Psychic Readings|url=https://www.psychicworld.com/psychic-readings|website=Psychic World|access-date=January 28, 2019}}</ref>

Telephone readings are live readings where both psychic and client hear each other by connecting via premium rate telephone line. In the last years, with restrictions on premium rate numbers, more common are pre-paid callbacks, in which case client leaves his/her credit card details over the phone to an operator, after which gets a call on a specified phone number. Telephone readings became most popular with the growth of live advice TV shows as main means of advertising, and is commonly used by companies rather than individual psychics, due to high setup costs.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}

[[SMS]] and chat readings is a quick question-and-answer format of reading allowing exchange of basic information between psychic and client.

Webcams and online video communication may also be used for this type of reading.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}

===Lithomancy and crystallomancy===
Lithomancy readings usually involve especially suitable gems or stones that are immersed in water, or tossed as a set and read by mutual proximity.<ref>{{cite book|author=Besterman, Theodore |title=Crystal-Gazing |publisher=Cosimo Classics |year=2005 |orig-year=1924 |page=6 |isbn=1-59605-388-7}}</ref> Its origins are unknown, and there are numerous different methodologies used by various cultures throughout the world. A recently more common variant is crystallomancy also known as crystal gazing.<ref>Besterman, p. 3</ref> Using quartz as a crystal ball<ref>{{cite book|author1=Kole, Andre |author-link1=André Kole |author2=Holley, Terry |author3=Gomes, Alan W. |title=Astrology and Psychic Phenomenon |publisher=Zondervan |year=1998 |page=75 |isbn=0-310-48921-0}}</ref> it is stereotypically depicted as Romani fortune telling.

===Numerology===
{{Main|Unsolved:Numerology}}
Numerology is defined as the study of the occult meanings of numbers and their influence on human life. It is essentially a reading of an individual based specifically upon numerical values such as their date of birth, letters in their names, etc. Numerology can be used in psychic readings.

===Palm reading===
{{Main|Unsolved:Palmistry}}
Palmistry is another popular method of psychic readings, involving characterization and foretelling of one's future through the study of the lines, shapes, wrinkles and curves on the palm. Palmistry does not require psychic ability, as it generally uses cold reading abilities and previous knowledge of the subject.

===Psychometry===
{{Main|Unsolved:Psychometry (paranormal)}}
Psychometry is a form of psychic reading in which the reader claims to obtain details about another through physical contact with their possessions.<ref name="spence754">[[Biography:Lewis Spence|Spence, Lewis]] ''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, Part 2'', Kessinger Publishing, LLC (February 1, 2003), [https://books.google.com/books?id=gq1LhcH48GQC&pg=PA754 p. 754]. {{ISBN|0-7661-2817-2}}</ref> Psychometry readers often ask the subject for their favorite and most meaningful objects, such as wedding rings, glasses, car keys, etc., for the reading. The belief is that objects which are in close proximity to a person for extended periods of time hold some of that person's 'energy'. This method has been used in attempts to locate missing persons.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Kessler, Robert |author2=Schachtman, Tom |title=Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI |publisher=St. Martin's Paperbacks |year=1993 |page=[https://archive.org/details/whoeverfightsmo00ress/page/270 270] |isbn=0-312-95044-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/whoeverfightsmo00ress/page/270 }}</ref>

===Rune reading===
{{Main|Unsolved:Runic magic}}
[[Social:Runes|Runes]] are the letters of a set of related alphabets used to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet. There is evidence to suggest that they also had magical or divinatory uses. In modern settings, stones or tablets with runes inscribed on them are cast on a mat or cloth to discern future events or path a problem or issue will take.<ref name=Paranormality /> Runes are also used by some [[Religion:Wicca|witches]] and other practitioners of divination.<ref name="Paranormality">{{cite web|title=Runes and their meanings|url=http://www.paranormality.com/runes.shtml|website=Paranormality|access-date=29 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407030533/http://www.paranormality.com/runes.shtml|archive-date=7 April 2016}}</ref>

===Tarot reading===
Tarot cards have been greatly popularized, but can be often regarded solely as entertainment. Traditional decks are available in chain bookstores. New decks also frequently appear in New Age bookstores. Though not requiring psychic abilities, Tarot cards can be used as a psychic or cold reading tool and Tarot readings are common at psychic fairs.<ref name=Haskett /><ref>{{cite news|author=Dullea, Georgia |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/31/style/tarot-goes-po-mo.html?pagewanted=all |title=Tarot Goes 'Po Mo' |newspaper={{wipe|New York Times}} |date=October 31, 1993 }}</ref>

==Challenges==
Skeptics have challenged the veracity of the claims of psychic readings, largely through disclosure of the methods.  Psychologist [[Biography:Richard Wiseman|Richard Wiseman's]] 2011 book ''Paranormality: Why We See What Isn't There'' noted the tricks of the trade, and Wiseman noted in a podcast appearance that the disclosure generated negative feedback from the psychic community.<ref name=Skepicality160>{{cite web|author=Skepticality|url=http://www.skepticality.com/paranormality/|title=Paranormality|publisher=Skepticality.com|date=5 July 2011|access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref>

==See also== <!-- Please respect alphabetical order -->
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* Ann O'Delia Diss Debar ("One of the most extraordinary fake mediums... the world has ever known" – Houdini)
* Bob Nygaard (Psychic fraud investigator)
* [[Unsolved:Charlatan|Charlatan]]
* [[Unsolved:Cold reading|Cold reading]]
* Confidence trick
* Con artist
* ''[[Unsolved:Flim-Flam!|Flim-Flam! (Psychics, ESP, Unicorns and other Delusions)]]''
* Fortune telling fraud
* [[Biography:Harry Houdini#Debunking spiritualists|Houdini's debunking of psychics and mediums]]
* List of con artists
* List of confidence tricks
* List of parapsychology topics
* [[Philosophy:List of topics characterized as pseudoscience|List of topics characterized as pseudoscience]]
* [[Biography:Mark Edward|Mark Edward]]
* [[Unsolved:Mediumship|Mediumship]]
* [[Unsolved:Parapsychology|Parapsychology]]
* ''Psychic Blues: Confessions of a Conflicted Medium''
* [[Unsolved:Remote viewing|Remote viewing]]
* Rose Mackenberg (Historic fraudulent psychic medium investigator)
}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{Skeptoid | id= 4825| number= 825| title=How Psychic Readings Work| date=29 March  2022 | access-date=14 May 2022}}
<!--NOTE: this is an encyclopedia; please do not add SPAM; soliciting psychic readings is not appropriate for this list-->

{{Parapsychology}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Psychic Reading}}
[[Category:Psychic powers]]
[[Category:Paranormal terminology]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]

{{Sourceattribution|Psychic reading}}