Psychic fair offers insights for skeptics, believers alike
Sep. 4—CHESTERFIELD — A recent visitor to a psychic fair at Camp Chesterfield hesitantly sat down for a 10-minute session with a reader and was told she would soon become pregnant.
"She doubted it — a lot," recalled Mary Ann Armstrong, a volunteer who helps run the weekly psychic fairs in the camp's cafeteria. "She came back today, though, and guess what? She's pregnant. We don't know. It's all in God's hands, the spirit's hands, and that's what we do."
Connections like those are a big part of why Armstrong and other spiritually minded people organize the sessions, which happen weekly throughout most of the year with the exception of a winter hiatus. She said those who sign up for psychic readings range from the skeptical to those eager to discuss a range of spiritual topics.
"People who are new, they come in and we explain to them that everybody here ... is clairvoyant, which means they speak or touch in with spirit in one way or another," Armstrong said. "By coming here and getting a reading, you can get a healing from that. You might be missing someone, and that person can come through and give you a message."
Armstrong and others are far from alone in their beliefs. According to a recent Gallup survey, more than one-quarter of Americans believe people possess psychic abilities — including the capacity to see into the future. Others also believe in extrasensory perception, mind reading and the ability to communicate with the dead.
"Some people understand; some people don't understand," said Becky Bruns, one of the psychic fair's organizers. "Some believe; some don't believe. It's a spiritual thing."
Depending on how many readers are available — Saturday, about 10 were on hand, and Armstrong said some weeks as many as 12 sign up for consultations — the fairs can run as long as three or four hours.
With political controversy swirling and many concerned with uncertainty about world events and economic turmoil, some of the readers at Saturday's fair said it's logical for people to seek out spiritual guidance through psychic readings.
"There are people that are at a point in their life, things don't seem to be going well," said Rev. Terry Ryan, a member of the Indiana Association of Spiritualists. "They're wanting to know what might be coming up next in their lives, or they're looking for some guidance, really, about where they are now and what comes next."
Following each 10-minute interval, Armstrong rang a bell, signaling those in attendance that it was time to change readers. Depending on how many readings each person was paying for, those in attendance could meet with multiple readers.
"They can see as many people as they like," Armstrong said. "That's the whole idea, so they can go from person to person and get to know them, and then they can come back throughout the week or even later that day and see them at the camp."
Follow Andy Knight on Twitter @Andrew_J_Knight, or call 765-640-4809.
