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Tea
Leaves and Lifelines
Predicting
the Future in Virginia
While
mediums are solving murders on prime-time TV or
entertaining Oprah’s audiences, here in Virginia
they need a license to practice their profession. It
is spelled out in Section
58.1-3726 of the Virginia Code entitled
“Fortune-tellers, clairvoyants and practitioners
of palmistry” and reads in part: “For the
purpose of license taxation … any person who, for
compensation, shall pretend to tell fortunes, assume
to act as a clairvoyant, or to practice palmistry or
phrenology shall be deemed a fortune-teller. No
license tax on fortune-tellers imposed pursuant to
this chapter shall exceed $1,000 per year. …”
So,
for one grand or less, psychics can set up shop –
for entertainment purposes – to practice
astromancy, cartomancy, crystallomancy, cheiromancy
and other psychic arts. To the uninitiated, that’s
astrology, fortune-telling with cards, reading a
crystal globe, and reading palms. Throughout the
commonwealth, individuals have done just that. A
quick survey of a popular party
entertainment site yielded a number of
soothsayers advertising their services from Mama
Lisa Turkish Fortune in Virginia Beach to Readings
by Sable in Falls Church.
Once
considered a somewhat shady profession that was
susceptible to fraud, psychic readers have gained
more legitimacy with the popularity of New
Age philosophies. Regular psychic fairs are held
in Leesburg and Stephens City, as well as other
locations in the state. In November 2006 an
“Ultimate Psychic Fair” was held at Virginia
Tech in Blacksburg. “Imagine walking into a room
and getting a glimpse of your past, present and
future,” the publicity read.
In
an article reproduced on www.skepticfiles.org,
Ann Barry, a reporter for The Virginian-Pilot
and the now defunct Ledger-Star interviewed
local astrologers and their clients in the early
1990s. The astrologers all emphasized their
predictions were only guides, while clients all
professed to actually not believe in fortune-telling
-- even while patronizing the psychics. But, Barry
reported, astrology even seemed to rule municipal
affairs. In 1985, the Virginia Beach city manager
dismissed a prediction by a local astrologer that
March of that year was the worst time for a vote on
a $122.8 million bond referendum. Saturn was passing
Venus, he explained, and people would be more
conservative with their money and more disgruntled
in general. The referendum failed. But, one could
argue, it doesn’t take psychic powers to gauge
public opinion.
So,
why exactly is fortune-telling so popular and
considered accurate at times? Here are some possible
scientific
explanations:
1)
Because predictions are often vague, they can’t be
proved false;
2)
Individuals tend to be biased toward confirming
predictions, rather than discounting them;
3)
Those who visit psychics may not realize that
statements that reflect reality about them also
apply to many others;
4)
Fortune-tellers are often intuitive and can read
people well and tell them what they want to hear;
5)
Predictions can be a source of amusement;
6)
Predictions reduce anxiety;
7)
Fortune tellers can be an external source of
authority to support decisions;
8)
Predictions can cause an individual to alter
behavior, thus making the prediction valid;
9)
If fortune-telling is part of a person’s belief
system, the predictions are more likely to be
believed.
But,
for anyone who wishes to consult an oracle,
there’s no lack of resources in the commonwealth.
As a modeling agency owner in Virginia Beach said,
“I consider it advice with a difference.”
NEXT:
Checking Tailpipes: Car Inspections in Virginia
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February 20, 2007
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