Ethics of The Psychic Witch

Ethics of The Psychic Witch June 11, 2017

Psychic ability comes with great responsibility, as does magick. As such, it is important to meditate on what your ethical guidelines are. Where do you draw the line? For me, it boils down to respect. By doing so you are honoring the honesty, integrity and respect of your readings and your psychic abilities you allow them to stay open and flowing. It is crucial that we become clear psychics and understand the importance of this power in changing people’s lives.

Image Credit: Ryan Holloway | CC0 License
Image Credit: Ryan Holloway | CC0 License

For me, as a professional psychic, the responsibility of my ability didn’t sink in until I had a client return saying that everything I said turned out to be true and that she had left her husband and was taking the leaps of faith that the reading suggested. Ensuring that you are always in a state of accuracy is important whenever delivering any important messages.

Can you imagine if I was wrong and she made all those life decisions? I once had a client who had been receiving readings from a well-known psychic witch in the area for many years. She told me that the other reader was usually wrong, and had told her to rekindle her relationship with her ex, even though she was hesitant. Nonetheless, she followed the psychic’s advice, and the relationship ended quickly when her ex became abusive. After they broke up, her ex stalked, harassed and threatened her. I’m not relaying this to talk down about other psychics or to make myself sound better, but to illustrate the tremendous responsibility that comes with doing readings. Approach every reading with awareness of the ways in which your advice may affect your client. In every single reading that you give, you must always try to do your best.

Likewise, how we deliver the information is just as important as accuracy. We must understand that an accurate psychic reading can be a huge disservice unless it comes with guidance for how to remedy the situation and some tact. For example, in a reading I was giving one of my clients, I saw her father, who seemed to be in good health, passing away within the year. My client had a somewhat estranged relationship with him. Keeping in mind the importance of using tact, I delivered the information in the most beneficial way possible. Instead of saying, “I see your father getting an illness within this year and a strong possibility of him passing,” I took a moment to reflect on how to best word what I saw and deliver empowering advice. I told her that her father was coming to mind, and that a difficult time was approaching. I suggested that it would be extremely beneficial for her – and for him – if she were to reach out to him and try to re-establish that relationship and mend what damage could be mended. I stressed the importance of doing it this year.

I never told her that her father was going to die. If I had done so, she may have had a breakdown, obsessed over it or dismissed it and thus ignore everything else in the reading. Even worse, she could have blamed me for his passing. Never underestimate the ability of people to blame the witch; especially if you’re an openly practicing witch and even more so if they are grieving a death. In the case of my client, taking the time to carefully phrase my reading proved beneficial. A few months later, she sent me an email telling me that her father had passed and that she had understood my reading. She thanked me for helping her to mend things with her father before his passing and told me that without my psychic insight, she would have been totally blindsided by his illness and eventual passing.

Image Credit: RootPort | CC0 License
Image Credit: RootPort | CC0 License

Honesty and integrity are extremely important with psychic readings. Dishonesty disrespects our psychic abilities, others, and ourselves. Being completely honest with the information that we receive preserves our integrity and keeps our psychic ability open. Remember that psychic ability depends on our quality of communication as a channel of the energetic information. We should never tell someone what they want to hear just because they want to hear it – however, we can help by focusing on the most beneficial paths to take to achieve a desired result.

It is important to keep in mind as well, that we are not here to prove psychic ability or convert anyone to our spirituality. Respecting a client also means respecting where they are on their spiritual path. It is helpful to have knowledge of other religions and spiritual paths, so that you can use their vocabulary and communicate spiritual concepts in terms they can relate to. This allows for a clearer communication, where they understand what you’re relaying while also helping them to feel comfortable – especially if they come from a religion or spirituality that demonizes psychic ability or witchcraft.

This doesn’t mean that you have to pretend to be something you’re not or believe something that you don’t. What this means is that an understanding of your clients’ cosmology and beliefs establishes common ground for communicating information about what you’re receiving. There is no point in arguing the differences between an angel and a spirit guide to someone who only believes in angels. They both play the role of messengers on one level, so there’s the common ground. Neither angels nor spirit guides will be upset that they were “wrongly identified”, especially if the message they bear has been delivered.

Once the message has been delivered, be mindful how you offer extra services. Only offer extra services that you feel will be beneficial, and respect the client’s’ free will to decline them. You may offer healing, crystals, candles, spells or meditations only if you believe that it is truly what they need and is for their highest good. You must also keep in mind -and remind your clients- that psychic readings and other magickal services are never a substitute for legal advice, medical advice, psychiatric advice or financial advice, but rather complementary.

Hold your tongue and don’t speak ill of other psychics, especially to clients. No one will think more of you because you talked poorly of others in your field. It takes you out of your heart and out of alignment with your Higher Self, which will negatively affect your readings. Also, don’t let yourself get caught up in what others may say about you. Your work and accuracy will speak for itself. Those who talk badly about the psychic ability of others are not confident or secure within their own psychic ability.

While you shouldn’t speak poorly of other psychics, you shouldn’t speak about your clients at all. Silence is golden. Confidentiality should be upheld at all times. Psychic readings can be extremely intimate. A friend of mine likens giving readings to a mix of a confessional booth, a psychiatry office and life coach office all in one. The only times confidentiality should be broken is if the person has given you permission to do so, or they are going to be or already are hurting themselves or others. If you do talk about readings for the purposes of illustrating educational information on psychic ability, as I am doing, it is important that crucial information that would identify the client is completely stripped and changed and only the relevant parts of the reading are discussed.

Respecting the privacy of others is important. You may be tempted to spy on others, read others without their consent, or you may have a client who asks you to spy on other people. Sometimes this can’t be avoided in certain circumstances and it is up to you to discern if you should relay the information or not. I recommend always checking in with your Higher Self for clarity on how to proceed. With this type of information you should always double- and triple-check with your Higher Self to make sure that you’re receiving the information clearly. Then remember to take a moment to consider your words and offer empowering advice.

Here’s a specific example of an instance where giving the information would be in violation of your integrity. A client asked me if her child was going to grow up gay. I had to tell her that there was absolutely no way I would reveal that information- because it wasn’t my information to give or share, and doing so would have violated the privacy of the child.

Another principle that I try to live by when it comes to psychic ability is to always come from a place of loving service and non-judgment. Having compassion for the human condition is monumental when providing psychic services. We all make mistakes, we all have our demons and we all have hard times. Staying humble and remembering that keeps us from causing harm by projecting our own biases upon our clients and their situations.

Image Credit: Public Domain Pictures | CC0 License
Image Credit: Public Domain Pictures | CC0 License

It’s also helpful to remember that there are always at least two sides to a story, and usually you’re getting only your client’s side. I’ve had a client come tome for a reading to help with relationship problems, and then a few days later their partner came in for a reading. In the middle of the reading for the partner, I realized that they’re in the same relationship. It’s important to treat every person who comes to you with the same integrity and non-judgment despite whatever someone else has told you.

I also never read for more than one person at a time and do not allow others to sit in on readings, even if the client gives permission. You never know what is going to come up in a reading. For example, I often encounter readings that uncover infidelity issues, and on rare occasions, I have had readings reveal instances of emotional abuse – and none of that could be explored and healed with the client’s partners in the room. This doesn’t mean every relationship reading will be like this, but I always keep my readings private as a safety precaution and a confidentiality measure.

One more thing I’d like to consider, a problem most psychics don’t often discuss- is the fact that not everyone connects. There have been a few instances where someone has sat in front of me for a reading and absolutely nothing comes through. I then turn to my tarot cards and the cards look like a deck playing cards, without any of the psychic information flowing from them, like normally. It’s extremely rare but happens to almost every psychic at some time.

It’s important to be upfront and honest with your client, explain that you aren’t feeling a connection and give them a refund and, if possible, guide them to another reader that you think might be able to help them. Remember that your biggest motive should always be to genuinely help the client, and sometimes you need to recognize that you aren’t the best fit to give them the help or guidance that they seek. If your psychic services don’t come from a place of genuine service there’s a high chance they will shut down.

[A condensed version of this article appeared in Magick Magazine‘s June 2017 Edition. As the writer I own this submission and have full permission to reprint or use it wherever or in whatever manner I choose.]

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