Confessions of a psychic

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What's it like to be on the other side of the crystal ball? Psychic reader Lisa Barretta opens up about what she really thinks about her clients, and shares three pieces of travel advice that everyone should consider before booking a trip.

Whether you believe in psychic readings, tarot cards, and astrological signs or not, you won't want to miss what Lisa Barretta has to say about what the future holds...and about the people who want to know what's in the cards. Even if you don't believe yourself, her travel advice will shed insight into why those around you are nervous--or strangely calm--during emergencies. Plus she lets us know why she thinks you should blame the alignment of the planets or the phase of the moon instead of the airline next time your luggage is lost or your flight is cancelled.

A Reading Is Only As Good As The People Involved

Sometimes you get people who are quasi-believers. They're not too sure, and they'll sit there and say, okay, tell me about my day. That's not what this is about. When someone comes to me, I actually am going into their energy field picking up irregularities. Like something seems a little amiss here, something emotional here. I feel dips in their energy, and I go in and start to get my information that way. So when somebody starts playing games like "guess my middle name," that's frustrating because it makes us look like nothing more than a human 8-ball. I've personally been doing this for a long time and I take it seriously. If you're not serious with your client and you don't have the right approach, you can do somebody as much harm as a doctor who is prescribing the wrong medicine. You're filling them with a lot of false information or false hope.

The Subject That 90 Percent Of People Ask About

Ninety percent of the questions have to do with relationships, and they already kind of have a sense of what's going to happen. I find a lot of people often are looking for some type of confirmation of yes, you're on the right track. I like to read their energy first, and then I fill in a lot of the blanks with the tarot cards and astrology. I can pull three cards and get all the information I need. I tell them all after the reading, ultimately whatever decision you make is up to you. You always have your free will. I've been telling you what's best for you in your charts and in your cards, how to get from here to there with the least amount of aggravation.

Everbody's Curious About Something

People love this stuff. I'm not kidding you. Chapter three of my book, The Streetsmart Psychic's Guide to Getting a Good Reading, talks about the type of clients that psychics encounter. The delusional damsel, that's a big one, where they're going to ask the same question until they get the answer that they want. You always get the person who I call the psychic reading virgin: it's their first time and they just keep saying "you're not going to tell me about death or an accident, right?" And God forbid you should ever pull the death card. That freaks them out and you have to spend 20 minutes explaining that card just means change. Transformation. I have done politicians and celebrities, and you know what I've found? They have the same problems as the regular people. I've had everything, I've read everything, I've heard of everything. Nothing shocks me anymore.

The Biggest Question...When?

One of the biggest questions I get when I'm doing a reading is when? You tell somebody they're going to meet somebody--and they want to know what day, what hour? They want to know when because they're so stuck on time, and time does not exist in the fourth dimension. But when I have the astrological chart, I can more or less pinpoint a better time frame for them because I've looked at the transits of the planets and what's going on in their personal charts. I see a shift or change for relationships somewhere and give them a better range of timing. Because we're all impatient, myself included.

Always Be Prepared For The Unexpected

I've had quite a few strange things happen to me, things that are extremely paranormal that there would not be any scientific explanation for. I recall one time I was giving a woman a reading and all of a sudden I'm getting this urge to tell her that the woman with the sewing machine and all the material on the floor wants her to know that everything's going to be okay. And I'm thinking, that seems like such a strange thing to tell someone. I told her, I am compelled to tell you this, and I don't know where I'm getting it from. It's not in your chart, it's not in the cards, I just have this urge to get it out. And she just started to cry and said, "My grandmother was a seamstress and she died a long time ago. I know exactly what that means."

Avoid Making Travel Plans While Mercury Is In Retrograde

Three times a year, the planet Mercury, which rules travel, goes retrograde and there are all types of snafus. I read people who work for the airlines and travel for business, and they all want to know, when's the next Mercury retrograde? Rule of thumb, if you make any plans that are during the Mercury retrograde, chances are something's going to come along and change them. You want to make sure your luggage is well tagged and confirm your tickets before you go. There will be more delays with trains, planes, and weather then. You have to make sure you book the right dates, and always give yourself enough time during the retrograde. The next time we're going to have one is November 6, 2012, and that should last until about November 26, 2012.

And Avoid Travel Around A Full Or Void Moon

I have a lot of people who don't like to fly right before or during a full moon, because they just feel that more things could possibly go wrong then. Not that there's going to be an accident, but there's a good possibility you'll be seated next to somebody who's just really unnerving. People are stranger at that time, and usually when you're traveling, you're put into groups that you have no control over. I always tell people to make sure the moon is not void when they make their travel plans. A void moon means the moon is not in any one sign. The moon changes signs every 2.5 days but in between changing signs, the moon is considered void, and that means nothing will ever come of this matter. If you book a trip on a void moon, chances are you will have to rebook it, or something will make you change the dates.

But Feel Free To Fly On Friday The 13th

I haven't personally run across anybody who wouldn't stay on the 13th floor or travel on Friday the 13th. I think that's probably more of a superstition than anything.

Would You Tell If You Thought The Plane Was Going To Crash?

I guess because I'm so energy sensitive, if I walk into a place, I can just feel the energy of it. I won't go up to anyone and say, hey, I think you need a reading. You never want to infringe upon anyone's privacy. If I was sitting next to someone and I was strongly picking up on something that I felt was information they really needed, I would find a way to kind of work it into a conversation. Say, if I'm picking up something like, watch your handbag as you walk through the airport because somebody's going to snatch it, I might put it such a way like, "You have to be careful, I know somebody who had their handbag snatched, so I always make sure I tuck it under my arm." Kind of hint around to them to take extra caution, but I wouldn't just come out and frighten anyone. If I thought that there was going to be a mechanical problem with the plane, or something, I wouldn't scare everybody else. There's always that chance that you're not exactly picking up 100 percent of what's right. So rather than have everybody abort the plane ride and get off, maybe I would just say, hey, I'm not getting on. I'm very aware, and I think the more you live in awareness, the more you develop your sixth sense. That's what my second book, The Book of Transformation, is about. The first book is how to get a good reading, and then the second one is basically how we're all really psychic.

Sometimes It's Better To Be Oblivious

Years ago my kids were really into Anime and Japan, and asked if they'd ever get a chance to go to Japan. I looked at their charts; I was just curious. I wasn't going to tell them this, but from something I noticed in their charts I could see there could possibly be some kind of accident or catastrophe if they ever were in Japan at the same time. I put that out of my head for years. In March 2011, my youngest son was studying in Japan for his last year of college. My daughter decided to visit him, so of course that thought shot right through my head. I kept saying, be careful over there, don't do anything crazy. Don't rent mopeds or do anything nuts. Just stick to the normal touristy types of things, and she's like, we know, we know. So about two days before the big earthquake, I tell them, be careful, they have earthquakes, and they're like, "Mom, you've got to stop! They have earthquakes here all the time." The very next day, they called me at three o'clock in the morning, and said, "Mom, we just want to let you know we're all right; there really was a little earthquake here a little while ago, and you might see it on TV because they're making a big deal out of it." I'm like, hold on. I reached over and got the remote and I see these big black waves coming at me. Luckily, they had decided to go south and look at temples, so they were really far from where the real devastation was.

When In Doubt, Look To Your Palms

One time I was on a plane coming back from Puerto Rico, and it had mechanical difficulties and we went back to the airport a few times. Finally they said it was safe and everything had been fixed. We were up there maybe about 15 minutes and suddenly the engine is on fire! People were freaking out. But ever since I was a little girl, any palm reader I went to said "You're going to live a long life. You're going to live to be 84, 85." So I looked at my palm and I figured, you know what, this plane is going to make it back. I'm going to live to be 84 or 85, so I think we're going to be okay. I was the only one on the plane that was calm.

The Energy Of A Place Matters

With Halloween coming up, people look for little trips to Salem and Lillydale in New York, which is a big psychic center. In Philadelphia people go for a ghost walk at the Eastern State Penitentiary--I was told people actually come from as far away as Sweden to go there around Halloween. And for December 21st, 2012, so many people have told me they're going to go to Sedona, they want to go to Peru, they want to go someplace where they consider where the energy will be really strong for the opening of the galactic center, the end date of the Mayan calendar. Personally, I really love the energy of the Caribbean, especially St. Thomas and Puerto Rico. I must have had a past life down in Atlantis.