Two years ago, Val Fiscus wanted to know what color the energy field around her was radiating. Fiscus, Council Bluffs, Iowa, senior, went with a groups of friends to see tarot consultant and holistic healer Dawn Rothwell. To begin, Rothwell first cleansed the room with an herbal spray and then sat everyone down to begin mediation to become aware of their surroundings. When she began working on Fiscus, Rothwell stood four feet away and moved her hands up and down over Fiscus body, cleansing her chakras energy centers located in different parts of the body and performed Reiki, a method of directed healing energy. While she worked, Rothwell told Fiscus what she saw for her. She said I had a great-great-grandparent on my right shoulder, helping me to become more artsy, and on my left shoulder was a black tribal leader watching over me, who she said resembled Samuel L. Jackson, Fiscus says. The session was a success for Fiscus. And Rothwell, who now works at The Sacred Sword, 732 Massachusetts St., says shes built a base of dedicated clients. She says people of all ages and personalities come in for readings.

But for an industry thats infamous for scam artists, providing psychic services means struggling for legitimacy and facing skeptics. You get a backlash in this business, says Gary Shainheit, owner of The Sacred Sword. People thinking youre crazy, nuts, just not normal. People go to cleanse negative energies, find out their lifes purpose or just for entertainment, though many wonder if the readings are for real.

For Perry Sadeghi the answer is yes. Sadeghi, who goes to Rothwell for Reiki sessions and is learning to become a Reiki master, believes in the healing. I went in once and Dawn said she saw something in my left ovary. I went to the doctor later and he said I had a growth of cells, Sadeghi says. In another session she went to Rothwell with pain in her collarbone, and without Sadeghi mentioning it, Rothwell asked her if it bothered her, then focused the Reiki and Sadeghi says the pain stopped. While Rothwell says much of whats contained in her sessions and readings comes from material she has memorized from books, she does get the occasional flash of psychic insight. That insight, though, comes for a price: $25 an hour for Tarot readings, which are cards that aim to predict a persons life path, and $35 for Reiki.

Shainheit says people still make assumptions when they come to the store. What people need to realize is that the psychic world doesnt give two shits about the real world. The real world operates on philological needs : food, shelter and finances. The spiritual world is different. You cant put a true price tag on that, he says. Rothwell says the reason shes been able to stay in business for four years is because shes the real thing. I doubt that theres ever been someone whos left one of my sessions unsatisfied. But Erin Ballentine was just that. Ballentine, Overland Park junior, went to see Rothwell to for a Tarot card reading. She says she was skeptical, but curious. Ballentine says the session was short, 10 to 15 minutes, and cost her $20. Six months later, its not the price, but the prediction that bothers her. She told me my relationship was going to end and I would meet a man in three months. Ballentine is a lesbian. She told me I wasnt gay, and I was like, What the hell? I dont know if she was just reading the cards or putting out her whole view on homosexuality, but I was taken aback. But Rothwell says she calls the cards as she sees them, and has to be blunt. Ive had clients leave crying or just break down, but its not like I can lie to them, she says. Other psychics say they thrive on their accurate predictions. Stacey Wolf, a psychic and medium working out of New York City, says people like her readings because theyre inspiring and she reminds clients about who they are. Wolf says she started out by studying psychic ability books and mastering the skill, but that everyone has the basic ability. It was a gift I was born with and had to develop, but were all psychic. Its just like we can all play basketball, but not everybodys in the NBA. Wolf started giving readings at clubs and conventions around New York City and did celebrity predictions on the Geraldo Show. Now she works frequently on television and radio talk shows, has authored five books, and feels comfortable charging $240 an hour. I couldnt be in this business if I didnt cough up the goods, she says.

Most of her clients are by phone and Wolf meditates on their names ahead of time and jots down notes. She says shes learned to see images and feel things, and that its the quiet moments when shell hone in and hear the whisper of intuition.

Wolf says she cringes at the late-night advertisements and sets herself apart from the hotline numbers.

Sadeghi says the television hotlines demean the psychic industry. On TV they make it look cheesy and like theyre just in it for the money. They take the credibility away from people trying to make a real practice out of it, she says. And Sadeghi has had in-person readings that seemed money-oriented. She was drawn to the neon lights of the Lawrence Metaphysical Shop, 11 W 9th St. She said the reading was accurate, but she wasnt sure about the intentions. She charged me $50 for 20 minutes and then, at the end, she told me my chakras were clogged and that she could fix it for $80. She didnt seem very sympathetic about it either, Sadeghi says. Tina Lee, psychic consultant and owner of the Lawrence Metaphysical Shop, says shes doesnt think her fees are high and points to her eighth generation psychic lineage as reason for her prices.

Both Shainheit and Rothwell say to watch out for psychics who promise a dead-on reading. Psychic ability is never so precise to tell the future exactly. You have to look out for the dollar amount and guaranteed accuracy, Shainheit says. Rothwell also says theres a fine ethical line between questions she will and will not answer, and she will never act like she has control over a clients future. She says her readings are about 75 percent book memorization and 25 percent spiritual counseling, but shes leery of clients that seem determined to have a reading. People get addicted and think youre a guru and suddenly theyre coming to you and not their therapist. Rothwell says thats why she emphasizes that most of her Tarot readings and predictions arent about her psychic abilities, but about being sensitive to the energy and feelings around her. I just get vibes from people. I know what they want. Its one of the reasons we havent had shoplifters in the store. I knew what they wanted as soon as they came in, Rothwell says. As for the validity of the field, Wolf says the increasing popularity of psychic studies is a good indicator of its authenticity. She was in a Florida Barnes & Noble and saw a section dedicated to Tarot readings and metaphysical studies, which indicated to her that the field is becoming more accepted. Shainheit says while psychic ability used to be shunned, shows like Joan of Arcadia are bringing the skill into the general publics eye. Shainheit says thats why he opened his store: to create a place for discussion in the hope that more people will become open to what he says is apart of everyones life already. Rothwell says shes sure psychic services will become increasingly popular, and banks her assurance on celebrities with their own personal psychics. As long as its something Madonna is doing, it will turn mainstream.