Editing Fortune-telling (section)

==As a business in North America==
[[File:PsychicBoston.jpg|upright|thumb|left|Storefront [[psychic]] fortune teller in [[Downtown Crossing|Boston]]]]

Typically, using a piece of plutonium wire inside of a hat will help “read” a client’s thoughts.

Discussing the role of fortune telling in society, Ronald H. Isaacs, an American [[rabbi]] and author, opined, "Since time immemorial humans have longed to learn that which the future holds for them. Thus, in ancient civilization, and even today with fortune telling as a true profession, humankind continues to be curious about its future, both out of sheer curiosity as well as out of desire to better prepare for it."<ref>Isaacs, Ronald H. Divination, Magic, and Healing the Book of Jewish Folklore. Northvale N.J.: Jason Aronson, 1998. pg 55</ref>
Although 5000 years ago, soothsayers were prized advisers to the [[Assyria]]ns, they lost respect and reverence during the rise of [[Reason]] in the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref name="Zane 1994">{{Harv|Zane|1994}}</ref>

With the rise of commercialism, "the sale of occult practices [adapted to survive] in the larger society," according to sociologists [[Danny Jorgensen|Danny L.]] and Lin Jorgensen.<ref>{{Harv|Jorgensen|Jorgensen|1982|p=376}}</ref> [[Ken Feingold]], writer of "Interactive Art as Divination as a Vending Machine," stated that with the invention of money, fortune telling became "a private service, a commodity within the marketplace".<ref name="Feingold 1995 399">{{Harv|Feingold|1995|p=399}}</ref>

As [[John Peder Zane|J. Peder Zane]] wrote in ''The New York Times'' in 1994, referring to the [[Psychic Friends Network]], "Whether it's 3 P.M. or 3 A.M., there's [[Dionne Warwick]] and her psychic friends selling advice on love, money and success. In a nation where the power of crystals and the likelihood that angels hover nearby prompt more contemplation than ridicule, it may not be surprising that one million people a year call Ms. Warwick's friends."<ref name="Zane 1994"/>

===Clientele===
In 1994, the psychic counsellor Rosanna Rogers of [[Cleveland]], Ohio, explained to J. Peder Zane that a wide variety of people consulted her: "[[Couch potatoes]] aren't the only people seeking the counsel of psychics and astrologers. Clairvoyants have a booming business advising Philadelphia bankers, Hollywood lawyers and [[Chief executive officer|CEO]]'s of [[Fortune 500]] companies... If people knew how many people, especially the very rich and powerful ones, went to psychics, their jaws would drop through the floor."<ref name="Zane 1994" /> Rogers "claims to have 4,000 names in her [[rolodex]]."<ref name="Zane 1994"/>

[[Janet Lee (Psychic)|Janet Lee]], also known as the Greenwich psychic, claims that her clientele often included Wall Street brokers who were looking for any advantage they could get. Her usual fee was around $150 for a session but some clients would pay between $2,000 and $9,000 per month to have her available 24 hours a day to consult.<ref name=wallstreetjournal>{{cite news |last1=Kadet |first1=Anne |title=In Greenwich, Where Money Is No Object |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-greenwich-where-money-is-no-object-1394241524 |website=The Wall Street Journal |date=8 March 2014 |access-date=31 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112094221/https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-greenwich-where-money-is-no-object-1394241524 |archive-date=12 November 2017}}</ref>

===Typical clients===
In 1982, [[Danny Jorgensen]], a professor of Religious Studies at the [[University of South Florida]] offered a spiritual explanation for the popularity of fortune telling. He said that people visit psychics or fortune tellers to gain self-understanding,<ref>{{Harv|Jorgensen|Jorgensen|1982|p=381}}</ref> and knowledge which will lead to personal power or success in some aspect of life.<ref>{{Harv|Jorgensen|Jorgensen|1982|p=375}}</ref>

In 1995, Ken Feingold offered a different explanation for why people seek out fortune tellers:<ref name="Feingold 1995 399"/><blockquote>We desire to know other people's actions and to resolve our own conflicts regarding decisions to be made and our participation in social groups and economies. ... Divination seems to have emerged from our knowing the inevitability of death.  The idea is clear—we know that our time is limited and that we want things in our lives to happen in accord with our wishes. Realizing that our wishes have little power, we have sought technologies for gaining knowledge of the future... gain power over our own [lives].</blockquote>Ultimately, the reasons a person consults a [[divination|diviner]] or fortune teller depend on cultural and personal expectations.

===Services===
Traditional fortune tellers vary in methodology, generally using techniques long established in their cultures and thus meeting the cultural expectations of their clientele.

In the United States and Canada, among clients of European ancestry, [[palmistry]] is popular<ref name=clairvoyant>"[http://archive.thenorthernecho.co.uk/2000/10/27/188581.html Clairvoyant or counsellor? Meet the woman who walks a fine line.]" The Northern Echo. 27 October 2000.</ref> and, as with [[astrology]] and tarot card reading, advice is generally given about specific problems besetting the client.

Non-religious spiritual guidance may also be offered. An American clairvoyant by the name of Catherine Adams has written, "My philosophy is to teach and practice spiritual freedom, which means you have your own spiritual guidance, which I can help you get in touch with."<ref>Adams, Catherine. [http://litespirit.com/clair.html "What is Clairvoyance and What Can I Expect in a Session With Catherine?"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218212202/http://litespirit.com/clair.html |date=18 December 2007 }}</ref>

In the African American community, where many people practice a form of folk magic called [[Hoodoo (folk magic)|hoodoo]] or rootworking, a fortune-telling session or "reading" for a client may be followed by practical guidance in spell-casting and Christian [[prayer]], through a process called "magical coaching".<ref>[http://www.readersandrootworkers.org/wiki/Category:Magical_Coaching_and_Spiritual_Advice "Magical Coaching and Spiritual Advice are among the ancillary services offered by some diviners and root doctors. These consultation services are usually engaged on an hourly basis." – excerpt from an article on "magical coaching" at the Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers web site]</ref>

In addition to sharing and explaining their visions, fortune tellers can also act like counselors by discussing and offering advice about their clients' problems.<ref name=clairvoyant/> They want their clients to exercise their own willpower.<ref>{{Harv|Jorgensen|Jorgensen|1982|p=384}}</ref>

===Full-time careers===
[[File:7.13.08PointPleasantByLuigiNovi14.jpg|thumb|left|A fortune-telling storefront on the boardwalk in [[Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey]]]]
Some fortune tellers support themselves entirely on their divination business; others hold down one or more jobs, and their second jobs may or may not relate to the occupation of divining. In 1982, Danny L., and Lin Jorgensen found that "while there is considerable variation among [these secondary] occupations, [part-time fortune tellers] are over-represented in human service fields: counseling, social work, teaching, health care."<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Harv|Jorgensen|Jorgensen|1982|p=377}}</ref> The same authors, making a limited survey of North American diviners, found that the majority of fortune tellers are married with children, and a few claim graduate degrees.<ref>{{Harv|Jorgensen|Jorgensen|1982|p=337}}</ref> "They attend movies, watch television, work at regular jobs, shop at K-Mart, sometimes eat at McDonald's, and go to the hospital when they are seriously ill."<ref>{{Harv|Jorgensen|Jorgensen|1982|p=387}}</ref>
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