Off to see the Wizard

Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re probably laughing, scorning, or shaking your head or doing something else judgmental and likely deserved. That’s what I would expect for admitting that I went to see a fortune teller.

It all started with the ghost tour of Edinburgh the other day. The tour guide had admitted to being a paranormal psychologist (I guess that’s somebody that studies ghost behavior?) during the tour. After the tour however as we were scouring my photos for orbs or other ‘wee ghosties’ he also divulged that he was a clairvoyant and psychic (they’re separate), and that he and his husband operated a specialist store in Edinburgh where they offered readings. Now, you may recall that one of my goals in Hungary was to search for somebody to tell my fortune, but apparently not all gypsies are skilled in the ways of the tarot – and instead now focus on trying to sell me a hug or steal my wallet. So I decided I would give it a go.

That evening I looked up the website – and much to my surprise I noticed that not only do they specialize in tarot and palmistry, but that they dabbled in fairie oracles, and were also master craftsmen of wands (stay with me). It would be normal to have second thoughts at this stage. But since this trip is as much about trying new things as it is about seeing the world, I decided that I would give it a go. I also made a conscious decision not to make any reference to Harry Potter, or to ask if Olivander was in.

As usual, I got on the wrong bus into town, and so arrived at The Black Mausoleum (the name of the place) just as they were closing up, due to a lack of customers over the bank holiday. Since I was a customer though, he let me in and locked the door behind me – which only mildly freaked me out. After explaining that I was after a tarot reading, he sat me down and put on a CD of some Irish lady that sounded like it should have been in an episode of Robin Hood, asked me a couple of questions (“what are you hoping to find out” etc), and asked me to shuffle the deck.

After revealing my cards, he explained the meaning of the different types. At the bottom of the deal were four animal cards (the stag, the hare, the dog, and the owl), which combine to show my personality and such. The other deck had quite a lot of cards including justice, the hermit, and many other cards that I know nothing about (though Death was noticeable in its absence).

The reading itself was supposed to go for about 30 minutes, but I guess he liked me (Silver Shadow – Davidoff) so it was probably closer to an hour. He outlined to me what the cards ‘revealed’ through the areas of the present (the next six months), the future (six months to a year), romance and finance. Apparently I should expect a promotion when I get back. He also mentioned that there was a lot of restructuring happening in the workplace at the moment – which to be fair isn’t much of an achievement given that most places are undergoing restructures thanks to the GFC.

In all this though, I felt as though I had been told a fair bit about myself; things that not many people knew or had articulated before. If I were to compare it to anything I’d done before I would say it was kind of like taking one of those psychometric personality tests like the Myers-Briggs, only instead of taking a test I tapped a deck of cards (not a metaphor).

To summarise what I was told:

1. Trust my instincts/listen to my gut

2. Pay more attention to my dreams

3. Be patient with things

He was a very lovely guy, and I believed that he believed in what he was doing. I’m not sure that I completely buy into his methods or that there’s anything to them, but the messages that I got were good ones, which I should probably exercise anyway. So I will trust my gut more, and be patient, and maybe pay more attention to my dreams. This last one will take some work – the other day I dreamt that I was running from a Zombie telepath in Oxford Circus. Perhaps there’s a meaning in that which I haven’t yet discovered.

I didn’t buy a wand.