Monday, February 14, 2011

Horoscope Review: "Norah" with a New Face is Still a Fake

Bogus "Norah" Ages Forty Years In Six Weeks

Click on those little text ads saying "Scary Accurate Horoscope" or "Shocking Online Horoscope," and you may well be linked to premiumastrology.com. In 2010 its homepage featured a young brunette as "Norah," but as of Feb. 2011, the model who represents "Norah" has suddenly become AN OLD GRAY-HAIRED LADY. Don't be fooled. "Norah" is not an astrologer or psychic, nor even a person. She is a front for a large corporation advertising several bogus online psychics, including the notorious Gabriella. The new "Norah" is still offering a free "reading" which her site even admits is not real or accurate. Click on "Terms of Service" on the bottom of the homepage and you will find in the long 15-part legal disclaimer:

ALL READINGS ARE FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY AND NO GUARANTEE CAN BE GIVEN AS TO ACCURACY.

THE EDITOR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR HOW YOU INTERPRET OR APPLY ASTROLOGICAL OR DIVINATORY INFORMATION AND ALL THE CONTENT PROVIDED. ALL READINGS ARE FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY AND NO GUARANTEE CAN BE GIVEN AS TO ACCURACY.

This disclaimer and other changes in the site were made in response to hundreds of online complaints about "Norah." Horoscope Review first outed her as a fake in August 2010.

Still believe Norah has the answers? If you're game, here's how to play: Enter your name, email, birthday, your "star sign" (correctly called your "Sun sign"), and choose a "wish" from a drop-down menu. You will soon receive an email from "Norah" that requires your confirmation. You have now "opted in" to receive her emails. Her long, long messages are entirely computerized, and everyone gets the same messages, with only a change of name and birth date.

The message may try to persuade you that "Norah" is not a slick business entity but a born psychic; gives you a computerized "mini-reading" that could apply to anyone ("Love plays an important role in your life"), and declares that good luck is coming your way, but you of course need to pay $79 for Norah's services to help you make the most of it. She'll also send you extras such as ebooks. But it's smarter not to give her any money in the first place, because there is no "Norah." There is only a corporation that knows how to extract money from anxious or ignorant people.

Real psychics don't need to advertise; word-of-mouth suffices. Some people use telephone psychics or online psychics as counselors or sounding boards. That's fine. I just want the world to know Premiumastrology.com does not deliver what people pay her for.

(This review was updated on 14 February 2011.)

(Note: Norah keeps changing herself and her website. Sylvia's original review of Norah's site was posted here back in August 2010.)

Sylvia Sky, experienced astrologer, reviews online horoscopes for quality and accuracy. Look for more of her reviews of online psychics and horoscope sites on hubpages.com. Copyright 2010 by Sylvia Sky.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Horoscope Review: East Indian Horoscopes and Karma Reports Free at Cyberastro.com

Today's fashionable concepts such as "slow living" and "simplifying life" and the benefits of meditation are based on Eastern spiritual principles, and so is a horoscope site I've visited for many years now, both to get my daily or weekly 'scope and relax a few minutes in its very cool "online meditation room." The site is cyberastro.com, based in India. I once emailed its resident astrologer/swami a question and $10. In a few days I got a truthful and reasonable email answer by a real human being based on real planetary aspects, although, naturally, for that cheap price it didn't go into a lot of depth. (Want to try it? You can do that from here. Price per question is now $15.)

There are no psychics or posers at Cyberastro.com. These are mature and knowledgeable Hindu astrologers. The site offers traditional Western sun-sign astrology in a tan-colored grid on the right side of the homepage; click on your Sun sign for daily, weekly, or monthly 'scopes. But if you are willing to sign up for a free membership, giving your birth information so you don't have to enter it every time you want a report or service, there are a lot of free reports and services.

Free online services include a Hindu-style birth chart very different from the one you are used to, Romantic Compatibility, Numerology (I'm a 5), Your Monthly Karma Index Report, advice on herbal healing, and the online meditation room (a video) with its hypnotic flickering candle and chanting. Or see what your day, week or month will look like according to Hindu (also called Vedic) astrology. These free services are computerized but their point of view is fresh and interesting, a nice change from the usual Internet astrology which increasingly is corporate-run, with many daily horoscopes starting to sound alike.

Of course on Cyberastro.com you can become a premium member, or purchase other more in-depth kinds of reports such as business and financial predictions for the year ($40 to $95 U.S.) or the $50 "Vedic Astrology based Report, which will indicate you about the ups & downs prevailing in your life path during next one year, so that you can avoid the slumps & take advantage of the favourable times." Who wouldn't want that? (Smile.) The one thing I recommend against is buying the site's prescription gems. If you try CyberAstro's paid services, do email me and let me know whether you were satisfied.

Sylvia Sky, experienced astrologer, monitors 70-plus online horoscope and psychic sites for quality and accuracy. Copyright 2011 by Sylvia Sky.