FAME & FORTUNES

From Tik Tok tarot readings to ChatGPT predictions, the future is trending. Amy Molloy asks, why are psychics so hot right now?

- Amy Molloy

Melbourne-based PR consultant Sarah Katsavos was 30 years old when she visited a psychic for the first time. She didn’t plan to have a tarot card reading that day; she spotted a sign – a real one, not a mystical one – and made the spontaneous decision to walk in.

“I had been through a significant breakup and I was at a very low point in my life,” she recalls. “Without me giving her any information, she told me I had just done something that felt like taking off a very heavy coat and that, although it was difficult, it was right, and that’s all I needed to hear as it really helped me to move forward.”

Today, Katsavos is one of many women who includes a psychic in her emotional toolkit. Her go-to is Teymara Antonio-Wright, who describes herself as a “transformation coach”. She offers “intuitive/soul readings” where numerology and astrology are used to “provide key life insights for the future, including what aspects of your life you should focus on”. One of her most famous clients was Michael Jackson.

“The first session, I was in tears within the first 10 minutes,” says Katsavos. “The thing that really got to me was when she calculated my ‘personality number’ and she just froze and looked at me and said, ‘The person sitting in front of me is not the person reflected in these numbers – you are not who you are meant to be.’ It resonated with me so strongly.”

Now, Katsavos has an annual reading to understand what the year ahead may bring, along with check-ins when necessary. “Sometimes she will also call me out of the blue with a seemingly random message,” says Katsavos. The week before our interview, the message was workrelated. “She said [the client] will ask me to submit a proposal for less money,” says Katsavos. “And on this occasion it will be worthwhile doing because it will lead to something else.”