Love is nigh, the cards told me so

WARWICK SMITH/Manawatu Standard

YOUR LIFE: Astrologer Jillian Whyte.

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Horoscopes, fortune cookies, wishing on shooting stars ... all concepts I heap in the total-utter-rubbish pile.

Being a journalist comes hand-in-hand with wanting cold hard facts, not guesses or speculation.

So when the editor said we had to give something new a go this year, with the idea to get us out of our comfort zone, I decided to put my eternal cynicism to the test and visit a clairvoyant to see what she could tell me about the year ahead.

The first job was to find the right one. A scan through the Yellow Pages had a number of mediums and psychics to call, at a cost of only $4.99 a minute, but there were only a few you could visit in person.

The first number I called explained the reading would be done with tarot cards, and depending on how in-depth the session went, crystals may be needed as well.

There was also the chance spirits from my past might appear in the room beside me, and while I wouldn't be able to see them, the clairvoyant would pass any messages on.

I was told to bring along $40, with the address to be disclosed when I confirmed the appointment.

Oh, and I wasn't even to bother asking if they could tell me when I would die because they didn't like to let people know that.

I instead decided on visiting Jillian Whyte, Astrological Aretologist, who works out of a room at the Square Edge. Despite being a sceptic, my heart was beating faster and I felt a little anxious as I waited outside the consultation room for my reading.

The sign on the door read, "Institute of Mystical Realism."

Inside she asked for my date, time and place of birth, which she entered into her computer to bring up my "natal chart".

"This tells you what was happening in the universe the moment you drew your first breath," she said.

According to the chart, the moon sign had been busy in my life, and I was undergoing spiritual change.

From here she could see I could expect to find love in two and half years. Despite trying to stay a non-believer, my heart sank at the prospect of waiting so long.

We then moved to a table where she rolled out a cloth with a circle on it that had lines going out from the centre. She placed a pile of shiny, coloured stones in my hands, told me to rub them together and think positively about myself.

I dropped them on the cloth and they scattered into a pattern.

A-huh. Things were looking up.

According to one of the pink crystal stones, love could be as little as seven months away, and a pay rise was likely within the next two months.

From there it was time for the tarot cards. I picked three at random and put them face-down in the middle of the table. There was a moment of confusion when Jillian picked up the three cards and then couldn't remember what order she picked them up in, but when the first card was turned over to reveal the moon symbol it was clear things were on track.

It was the same symbol that was present on my natal chart.

"The cards are never drawn on coincidence," she said.

However, what the connection with the moon meant in regards to my future wasn't too clear.

"What you see in moonlight is never very clear, you're not quite sure what is in front of you until you get close to it.

"You have to work through the vagueness, don't rush in for the answers, sit still knowing all will be revealed."

On that note I headed back to work humming Love is in the air.

Though still not convinced, I now feel positive about 2010.

- © Fairfax NZ News