I love to teach tarot, astrology and numerology. I lecture for free to non-profit organizations such as churches or libraries, I teach in adult education classes in night school and also hold individual and group classes in my Northern New Jersey home.

I have been doing readings for more years than I would like to count, (over three decades), but it still amazes me that from time to time I still get a client or student who has lost thousands of dollars to a single psychic reader. Thousands! My experience has been from a law student who had spent $7,000 to remove a curse to a distraught woman who gave up her last $20,000 to have curses removed because her life was going badly.

First of all, personally I do not believe in curses. I know many people do, and that is fine if that's what you would like to believe. However, for one to spend their life savings or be terrified that if a particular reader would not remove this curse that their life would be worse by the day and eventually they would not be able to help themselves anymore. Did you hear that key phrase? Help themselves.

I purposely dissuade people to continually keep coming back to me for advice. Why? It is wonderful to get a glimpse of the future and of all the possibilities ahead of you, but when you do nothing to change the unpleasant things that await you or you make no preparation for a time when money might be scarce, what makes you think that someone can remove this curse and make everything much better?

I have heard people say for $500 a particular reader was going to light candles for them and pray that the curse is removed. People, wouldn't it be better to go to church to light a candle on your own behalf (and I think they still only cost a dollar). How about buying your own candles so you can light them and pray whenever you wanted. Who prays better for themselves than you? Do you really think that someone else after getting your money "in cash" is actually doing anything for you? How would you know? Then when the bad luck spell continues, you will usually hear that the curse is much worse than they had thought. It reaches back to your parents and grandparents and goes back all the way to the old country. It seems to me that if all these curses came from the old country, why didn't they just stay there? Would they follow generation after generation of causing harm and despair? If that is the case, I would suggest burning white sage to purify yourself and environment and say some of the prayers or affirmations you feel comfortable in saying and get on with your life.

These two examples that I had mentioned were very close to my heart. One mother kept my business card after doing a free workshop down in Brick Township at its Barnes and Noble store. That mid-sized store surprised me because the moment I got there I felt that they needed some of my expertise and it was actually the largest book store audience I had ever had, probably over 80 people showed up for this lecture.

A woman who had attended one of my lectures kept my magnetic business card on her refrigerator. The mother said she knew she would need my expertise some day. Then one day, that day seemed to have arrived.

She was frantic that her young law school college boy spent $7,000 in her area on a curse removal. I had always heard of this type of deception used on the elderly, not someone of intelligence and learning to become a lawyer! To make a long story short, his girlfriend was leaving him for another young man, his money situation was drastic and he was very depressed and not doing well in school. I asked the mom to hand the phone over to me. I got Scott on the phone and chatted with him for about an hour. I found out his sun sign, Taurus, and told him what was going on around him in this time period of his life. He asked how did I know that particular information and I told him any student of Astrology 101 could make the same predictions by using the sun sign and the transiting planets are a predictive tool. He started to listen. I suggested he try praying for himself. I also recommended that he light candles for himself if that would make him feel better.

I told him about other instances where people have lost money and nothing was ever done for them. I told him how it is the lack of belief in himself and his goals that were making him depressed and not allowing him to progress in a proper direction. I shared the story of the elderly woman who lost $20,000 to a similar type of person and he was mortified. He asked what he could do and I suggested that he contact the District Attorney since he was a law student so he could see how the system worked.

I received a call back from Scott approximately a month later. He contacted the District Attorney and got $6500 back. He was more than happy with the result. When things started to lift and make his life easier to handle (as I had told him), he started to believe that it was all in our minds and attitudes about what we can and cannot do. He was determined to tell others about these "charlatans" that prey on vulnerable or desperate people.

The other story I would like to share is of a woman who was on in years. She was shy and reserved and was afraid to make waves. Her life was a mess. Let's call her Jane. Jane was a negative sign, Pisces, I believe. She had been going through some rough times and the least of which was having her family move to the west coast since her son-in-law was being transferred to California. Jane was a newly widowed woman, was going through bankruptcy and her house was being foreclosed. That would certainly be enough for anyone to think that a curse was upon them, wouldn't it?

Poor Jane made about $20,000 on the sale of her house before foreclosure. She needed a car desperately. However, instead she sought out a professional reader and wanted to know what the problem was in her life. Why did she have so much bad luck? Guess what the reader said. you guessed it. "There is a curse on you." Jane couldn't believe her ears, "A curse?" and the woman continued, "and I feel it is a family curse than was given in the last generation and has carried over to your life and will spread to your children." Well, of course, the woman was more distraught and wanted to know what she could do. Apparently, there is not much one can do when you have a family curse, but she did suggest that Jane give her $20,000 in cash so she could start working on her problem for her and free her from all this negativity.

The basic candles were said to have been lit and prayed over and after 6 sessions for that money, the woman also suggested that the good jewelry her husband gave her also had negativity on it. So the next time Jane comes for a visit, she brings all of her good jewelry to have the curse removed. Did Jane ever see her jewelry again? Of course not, well, I take that back. She did see it one time when the reader was wearing it during a session. I asked if she said, "Are all the negative vibrations off of my jewelry now?" Instead she was embarrassed to say anything and went home without her jewelry and never saw it again."

I did a reading for her and of course in the near future, everything was going to be fine. She was relieved and happy with the outcome of our reading. When she asked how much the reading was, I said, "$20,000." She laughed. I looked at her and asked, "What's so funny?" She replied that, "20,000 is a ridiculous amount of money to pay anyone for a reading." I agreed. "Then why did you pay that psychic reader $20,000 in cash if it's so laughable?" "She scared me," Jane answered, "and you didn't." Believe it or not, I have still never charged this woman for a reading until today since her finances were minimal but at least her faith in humanity and psychics abilities were restored.

Use common sense when getting a reading. Most readings can be done every six months or in a year. Anything more than that is beating a dead horse since it does take time to make decisions and take action in the right direction to change an uncertain future.

Be a wise consumer just as you are when you enter a food or clothes store. As soon as you hear the word "curse," run, run as fast as you can because these people are just after your money. They are not interested in helping you deal with your issues, concerns and challenges and will usually say anything to make you feel better about the situation as you have your hand in your pocket giving them cash.

Learn about your reader. Find out from word of mouth from friends or family if they know of someone who is reliable and honest. Check with a local metaphysical shop that may know of a reputable reader and indeed many times have readers in their stores. Go to a lecture on psychic readings, tarot or astrology and talk to the presenter about having a private reading done if you liked what you heard.

Know that you have total control of your spiritual, physical and mental health, You are the only one who can change your future. Use your God given powers to manifest anything you want into in this world and make the best you can out of any situation God has given you to handle.

Things may not always go your way, but with determination and persistence you can get through anything so you can enjoy your life and you may even have some of that hard earned money in the bank by not giving it to unethical readers whose only purpose in life is to scare the public and get rich quick.