Horoscope Review: Life-Answers.com Numerology by Jill St. James

Numerology is the new big thing in the commercial psychic world. It's simple; it can be totally computerized; the meanings of the numbers are fixed, not like planets, so if those are correct you can't call 'em fake; and businesses can pretend they're run by a master numerologist like "Jill Saint James," whose face used to appear on the Life-Answers.com website for several years, but is now replaced with photos of models ecstatic and "OMG" over their "shocking" computerized numerology readings -- which I discovered are identical to those given by Horoscope-Authority.com. Here's my review and a suggestion of a better choice for free online numerology readings if you aren't worried about giving over your private info.

Which Psychics Aren't Real?

I have been asked how I can tell which online psychics are fake.

I write horoscope reviews. If an online ad offers a free horoscope, I request one. I'm an astrologer, so if the 'scope makes no sense, I try again, giving a different name, email, and birthday. If I get the same reading, I got my "free horoscope" -- it's just fake, that's all.

Maybe along with or instead of a fake horoscope, they promise or send a card reading, or long emails selling "clairvoyant" or "psychic" services, or a "second reading." By now I sense that I'm being misled. So far I've found misleading ads by:

1. Norah
2. Jenna
3. Gabriella
4. Tara
   

These are misleading ones. When I investigated their individual claims of being "a fourth-generation clairvoyant" or "winning a Psychic of the Year Award," finding no proofs of these claims I checked for Internet complaints. (So should you.) If there are many bitter complaints, all the evidence, starting with the fake horoscope, points to fakery overall.

"Tara" told me I'd won the lottery -- that's amazing, considering I didn't even play!

The names and faces of these "psychics" are fronts for businesses that rake in millions by misleading people. They do not give customized, individualized psychic readings. Their products are "canned." This is tragic for desperate people who want online psychics to tell them winning lottery numbers or explain a child's death.

About Real Psychics

Real psychics are extremely rare and do not need to advertise. They build a regular local or regional clientele through word of mouth.Maybe they could advertise through Yahoo and invite the entire Internet to come get a reading from them, but that would be a terrible overload for one person, don't you think?

Real psychics do not need to "do" astrology or Tarot readings, and so are unlikely to offer those. Astrology and Tarot are two totally different arts and require extensive education and training. By contrast, real psychics have a gift. They do not need to be trained or mentored. They probably have unlisted phone numbers. They may very well be miserable with their gift and wish they did not have it.

It works the other way, too: Real, trustworthy astrologers do not claim to be psychics. Astrologers and psychics have nothing in common. Misleading ads for "free horoscopes" bet that most people don't know this.

Still think you need a psychic reading?

First, Google the name of the psychic or company and see what other clients have said. Do NOT pay money or call a number if you find complaints. Fake psychics are big business. Needy, suffering people are their bread and butter.

My opinion about psychic readings done "remotely" by phone or email is that electronic energy fields and the pressure on both the reader and the caller greatly interfere with the clarity of a psychic transaction.

Local psychics have websites so people can find them or book a reading, so you can try that, but I have been to two local psychics and was disappointed. One struggled along, getting everything wrong, and then declared me "hard to read." So it was my fault!

The other did a move that is classic fake! Very often, a fake psychic will tell you that someone important in your life has the initial "R." Every one of us has that, whether it's Robert our boss or Rover our dog, or a neighbor or lawyer with that initial.

A friend I'll call Sarah went to a psychic, although it was 70 miles outside of the city and its price was very high. The psychic was a plain-faced, working-class woman who lived with her parents in a small house and met clients in the living room. When Sarah came in, the psychic said she saw an orange aura and said, "You're anticipating something," and asked, "Who's George?" Sarah had just had a first date with a man named George. That was probably much like the experience you will have if you find a real psychic.

But if you don't find one, in my opinion your best bet for quick customized information and guidance is a local Tarot card reader with a good reputation, one you meet in person. Ask around at salons, coffeehouses, spas, and hotels. A real Tarot reader is a combination counselor and diviner, and an ethical one will be glad to give you references. The price will be reasonable.

Sylvia Sky, experienced astrologer, monitors 70-plus online horoscope sites for quality and accuracy. Copyright 2010 by Sylvia Sky. See other horoscope reviews.

Tara the Medium Dreamt I Won the Lottery

I let Tara the Visionary Medium speak for herself here, through samples from the e-mails and messages received after I requested a free reading. You judge whether you want to pay $79 (usually $139, she says) for her "Dated Astral Reading of Luck and Money." Tara offers refunds, but it is probably smarter not to pay her in the first place.

Oct. 11: Dear Sylvia, you can count on my help...

Oct. 14: I have selected you to be included in a book I plan to write. If all goes well, I will be able to send you A CHECK FOR $300, MADE OUT TO YOUR NAME. . . . OVER 97% OF PEOPLE who had never won anything (or only very small amounts) STARTED WINNING ALL AT ONCE, THANKS TO AN ASTRAL READING . . .

Oct. 16: Your free reading is ready. . . I spent more than 13 hours performing an in-depth study of your case. . . . Your dominant planet is: Uranus. [That, remarkably, is true, but it's true of all Aquarians.]

Oct. 20: A VERY LARGE JACKPOT WILL SOON BE YOURS, Sylvia! I have a visionary gift that few mediums possess. A secret power allows me to see into the future and DETECT THE SPECIFIC DATES AND WINNING NUMBERS you have to use to ensure that luck is on your side. I’ll tell you when the right time is. But for now. . . there is an evil influence at work which wants to attract bad luck into your life, and prevent large sums of money from reaching you. . .

Oct. 22: Dear Sylvia, it's certain! Great good fortune should enter your life in the next 30 days. . . . In my dream I saw you feverishly waving a game receipt, jumping for joy as the winning numbers were announced. . .

Oct. 28: Sylvia, an urgent and personal message: . . . there is an exceptional configuration of a number of particularly influential astral planets [sic] that affect your luck, your happiness and your success. This rare conjunction only happens every 9 years. . . . ATTENTION: THIS EXCEPTIONAL MOMENT MAY NEVER COME AGAIN [but, Tara, you just said it happens every 9 years!]. . . I AM GOING TO MAKE AN EXCEPTION AND DO SOMETHING VERY UNUSUAL FOR YOU. . . perform A MAGIC ASTRAL CEREMONY OF PROTECTION on your behalf. . . .

Oct. 29: Sylvia, read this quickly, there is no time to waste . . .

Zero stars out of five for nailing only one astrological fact, and exploiting the hopes and worries of the saddest and most desperate people.

Sylvia Sky, experienced astrologer, monitors 70-plus horoscope sites for quality and accuracy. Copyright 2010 by Sylvia Sky.

Horoscope Review: Gabriella, as Psychic as a Toilet Seat

After you click on a line ad saying “Free Horoscope Reading” and send your information, Gabriella Psychic and Spiritual Medium sends an email with a confirmation link. It says, in part, “our meeting is no accident. . . .The proof of this is that I’ve just now had a vision: United States, that’s where happened [sic]. That’s why I’ve decided to let you benefit from a special priority Reading. Please, note that I can only do that for people for which I feel a deep and special connection.”

Then in an hour or two Gabriella emails: “Yes, Sylvia, in you I have discovered someone of high morals and ethics who is also extremely sensitive.” This email links to my “reading,” not of a horoscope, but of three Tarot cards. Later, using a different name and email address, I requested another “reading" and got one that was identical. Both times Gabriella recommended a “Grand Indepth Astral Reading.” But her "inner voice" told her I couldn’t pay $200, her usual fee, so she will charge me only $49. She furnished a convenient link for my credit card or PayPal payment. A bit later I get an email saying slyly, “I know you have read my email.” She knows because I gave her that confirmation link that let her track me. The next email begins, “Sylvia, I don’t want to panic you, but…” and further emails pestered me every few hours until I unsubscribed.

Gabriella’s testimonials include nameless people photographed with supersized checks from Vegas and lotteries. Her bio says she studied astrology alongside a 33rd degree Grand Master and is the only Westerner taught "the secrets of" celestial magic by “the great Indian Master Shri Maliki.” Then there’s a quote from Clairvoyance Mag : “Several foreign magazines have already voted Gabriella ‘Best Psychic of the Year’…”

Needless to say, there is no Clairvoyance magazine or “Best Psychic of the Year” award. Her Indian Master is not referenced anywhere else on the Net; “Maliki” is in fact a form of Sunni Islam canon law; nothing celestial about it. The title “Grand Master” is given to every top officer in local freemason chapters, and their “33rd degree” designation, although it sounds dramatic, is meaningless, like the honorary degrees that colleges give their wealthy donors. Even if Masons were astrologers, which they aren’t, their men-only club wouldn’t be training women. Maybe Gabriella did study astrology “alongside” her freemason grandpa, but she gave no indication that she knows or practices astrology at all. I foresee that it’s best if you avoid Gabriella. She's about as psychic as a toilet seat. Rating: zero stars out of five.

Sylvia Sky, experienced astrologer, monitors 70-plus online horoscope sites for quality and accuracy. Read more horoscope reviews clicking here. Copyright 2010 by Sylvia Sky.

Horoscope Review: Da Juana Byrd's Texas Blandscopes at Dailyhoroscopes.com

Texan Da Juana Byrd, Professional Psychic and Medium, claims that a near-death experience in 1980 let her see and hear ghosts and angels. If that's true, there would seem to be no need for her websites to offer also a dozen game-like oracles, including the "click here" I Ching, runes, numerology, and advice on choosing puppy names. There's astrology, too; the direct link is dailyhoroscopes.com. A tab for "Grandchildren" on Byrd's blog hints to me that her site appeals to older readers who used to take questions and worries to their pastors. Today such readers want a choice of answers, all of them nice and safe, and Byrd's sites let them shop for a whole buffet of answers, mostly for free and well worth their price.

Regarding dailyhoroscopes.com, one must first sincerely admire Byrd for having bought and held that URL at least since 1993. Registering on the site's homepage and then confirming the link gets you a free natal horoscope chart and a basic personality reading. Not perfect, this is still one of the Net's better "instant horoscope" offers, computerized but not fake. For accurate results enter your birth time as Greenwich Mean Time. If you don't know what that is, good luck. Furthermore you are now on Byrd's email list. Like most horoscope providers, C & D Byrd Enterprises -- phone psychics, astrology and all -- is a business: Here's its corporate homepage.

But on to Byrd's daily scopes. They are awfully nice and lavender-scented. Excerpt from the daily Leo scope, Sept. 27: "Later this afternoon, you enjoy a little work in the yard; it may be time to plant or prepare for a fall garden." From the Cancer scope, Sept. 20: "Perhaps you and your friends can enjoy a little bicycle trip through the park or around the neighborhood." From Virgo, Sept. 3: "You enjoy the sunset, or an evening walk with a loved one." Please note, however, that Byrd's site allows access to past forecasts, a useful feature if you want to see how wrong they were.

I was once a fan of Byrd's daily horoscopes. As I recall, Byrd and the site were more astrology-centered, and navigation was simpler. Finding the current day's forecast at dailyhoroscopes.com is easy, but tomorrow's requires a click, scrolling through a long list of links, and another click. This interface cries out for redesign. Accuracy? The homepage says the forecasts are composed using charts plus numerology. Real astrologers don't need numerology to supplement real charts. On the corporate website, Byrd's astrologers are called "psychic astrologers." That too is unpromising as an indicator of accuracy. One star out of five for entertainment value.

Sylvia Sky, experienced astrologer, monitors 70-plus online horoscope sites for authenticity and accuracy. Click here to see more horoscope reviews. Copyright 2010 by Sylvia Sky.

Horoscope Review: "Shocking Online Horoscope" at Premiumastrology.com

Click on those little text ads saying "Scary Accurate Horoscope" or "Shocking Online Horoscope," and you may well be linked to premiumastrology.com where "Norah" is offering a FREE HOROSCOPE. Enter your name, your sign, and then choose a "wish" from a drop-down menu. Enter also your birthdate and e-mail address. You will soon receive in your email box a letter from Norah saying how special you are--so special that Norah got back to you much sooner than the stated 48-hour wait, so she could let you know about yourself and your exciting future.

The email links to a long message, the same, regardless of Sun sign -- on a webpage belonging to premiumastrology.com. This message reiterates that major planetary aspects will make the next 103 days, or 23 days, or whatever, very important, but to benefit from the aspects one must take action. This message contains links to the "premium" part of "Premiumastrology": Purchase her "product," a full reading, for $80.

Now, while it is true that currently the sky holds major planetary aspects, that is always true. It is always true that the next 103 or 23 days of your life will be very important. And it is always true that to benefit most from favorable astrological conditions, you must take action. Now that you know that, you needn't give Norah your information or money.

I clicked on the "Who is Norah?" link and find she is not called an astrologer but a "psychic" and "medium" with an "international reputation." Some ads call her a "fourth generation clairvoyant," but the website doesn't, and there is no documentation or proof regarding these claims. This type of "psychic" has her audience, but it shouldn't include anyone seeking customized and genuine astrological advice. She's a "bot" or robot e-mail computer. Everyone receives the same vaguely worded messages.

Real psychics exist, but 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; good luck to them all. I just want the world to know it will not get astrology from Premiumastrology.com. For that reason I rate Premiumastrology.com zero stars out of five.