Hi, Mystikka...Great to be interviewing you for T.A.M.! I met you through the wonderful magazine you published: MetaCreative Magazine (issues are still available for download at http://metacreativemagazine.com/). But even before that, I loved hearing your interviews and indie music play lists on MetaCreative Radio.

However, you're probably best known for being a professional psychic since 1993, when you were just 18 years old. Amazing! What personal events led up to this?

Thanks, GL! You did some great work for MetaCreative Magazine as a regular contributor and I really appreciate that.

I grew up as an eccentric, misunderstood kid. Having psychic experiences was a natural part of my life, yet I almost never discussed those experiences, and didn’t put the ‘psychic’ label on them until I was about 15. My best friend at the time really insisted that I was psychic, every time I “knew” something without having been told. I realized she was probably right.

When I was 18, I was going from job to job, doing retail or telemarketing. I was on my own living paycheck to paycheck and struggling. I was also attending various metaphysical and spiritual events and was reading tarot as a hobby. I was passionate about psychic arts, and I did free readings for anyone who wanted one. Word was getting out, and a lot of people wanted readings; friends, co-workers, friends and family of friends, friends and family of co-workers… I spent a lot of my available time doing countless free readings at a coffee shop and other random places. I look back on that time now and see those days as the way I paid my dues and gained the experience that earned me a privilege to work in this industry. A lot of the people I read for came back for follow ups and some offered a love donation, usually just five dollars or so, but five dollars went a long way for me back in those days. With the demand as it was, I started to believe that I could make a living as a psychic.

The following year I was able to quit my day jobs when I was hired on a psychic 900 line, a position I landed by pure synchronicity. Within a few months, I was also doing readings at several metaphysical bookstores in San Diego, and working psychic fairs and parties. That same year I also started teaching metaphysical classes and I wrote some metaphysically themed articles for local publications.

It is great to look back on that time, because it really was magical to see something in my life take off like that, and it all happened so quickly. I was following my gut instincts and intuition, yet I never actually expected the unobstructed path of opportunities, of one leading into the next. Nothing else in my life has been that easy.

I really got a lot out of the interview you did with legendary psychic medium Sylvia Browne in MetaCreative Magazine (Spring 2009 Issue) due to the down-to-earth tone of the interview, etc. Along the same lines, I believe you had an interview with international psychic Cyndall on MetaCreative Radio where you discussed the importance of "demystifying psychics." I, probably along with lots of others, appreciate the approachability you offer. Would you elaborate more on your demystification style?

Thank you! When Cyndall and I recorded that episode, we were talking about a lot of the common misconceptions that clients have in regard to the purpose a psychic is here to serve. People have a lot of preconceived notions about psychics, perhaps partially due to the fact that we have been misrepresented so often on television and in the movies. We wanted to help people understand what our work is really about.

One aspect of my views on demystification is that I like to keep it real. Readings should be relatable to the client, and I believe a good empath knows how to tap into a person’s frame of reference to meet them where they are at. My readings are spiritually focused on the real world concerns of the present. If someone has never explored metaphysics, I certainly am not going to be overly esoteric with them and use a bunch of metaphysical buzz words that they don’t understand. But if a client calls me wanting to discuss complex metaphysical theories, I can get into that, too. I do what I can to address what is important to the client.

What tools (like tarot decks or numerology), if any, do you use when giving readings?

Studying and using tools was a really important part of my psychic development. In the 90’s I was using tarot as the primary tool for giving readings, yet I also used runes and astrology.

I strongly recommend learning tarot to psychics who are interested in reading clients in person. When doing in person readings, the tarot is a really effective conversation piece to map out a story and spring a reading off of; I used the imagery on the cards to communicate messages to the clients.

In ’98 I moved to Vegas and took a break from readings due to psychic burn out and other factors. When I started taking clients again in the year 2000, the tools suddenly felt more like an encumbrance than anything else, and my readings were better and faster without them. Over the phone, people tend to generally want the information quickly, anyway. Many of my clients do not want to wait for a reader to shuffle and lay out cards or take the time to do astrological math.

I know that your true mastery lies with your psychic/metaphysical path with so many years devoted to it, etc.; however, I also learned a lot from you as an author with your book titled THE LOVE CRISIS SURVIVAL GUIDE. What prompted you to write it? Do you see yourself writing more books in the future?

Ask any psychic what the majority of their readings are about, and I’m pretty sure you will hear ‘relationships.’ Many of my clients are in the middle of a love crisis when they call. Relationship issues really get people’s emotions triggered like nothing else, and when we are extremely emotional, intuition and reason can get a bit lost in the shuffle. That resulting confusion is the reason why so many people seek out psychic guidance. I usually find myself helping people navigate their emotions, so they can get grounded and more fully understand the situation they are working with.

You know that cliché, ‘write what you know?’ I’ve heard that from many different sources. Getting people through a love crisis is what I do on a daily basis. The Love Crisis Survival Guide contains a no nonsense formula of solutions I put together, as a result seeing people’s relationship patterns and dynamics play out over a period of years. I have worked with many long term clients and have seen which approaches harm their relationship situation and which ones heal it. I wanted to take what I have seen validated again and again, and make that information available to others.

Writing a book takes a lot of creative focus, dedication and determination. I really admire you, and other authors who are able to churn out multiple books. So much of my creative focus and ‘teaching energy’ goes into working one on one with clients doing readings. So, although I have started other book projects, my focus is elsewhere; I’m creating other things.

How would you define a Life Coach? Do you think it's important to be a certified one? Do you see yourself branching off more along this path in the future?

I don’t see myself becoming a Life Coach per se, even though what I do has a lot of similarities to coaching. I do encourage people to take responsibility for what they want to create in their lives. I identify obstacles in the way of one’s goals and introduce tools to overcome them, as a Life Coach generally does. However, I also see things that the client doesn’t tell me, and I couldn’t imagine cutting my psychic abilities out of the equation of my work. I enjoy doing ‘stream of consciousness’ readings and do not like to censor out the psychic impressions I pick up on.

I think there are both skilled and professional coaches who are both certified and not certified, and there are also unskilled, unprofessional ones who are both certified and not certified. Who works best for you is often about chemistry and personal preference. Most people require structured training, yet a few can learn from alternative sources, solitary and group studies, and personal adversity and end up with a level of understanding that surpasses what one can achieve through traditionally structured academic systems alone.

I have seen many people start to work in the psychic industry, only to give up on it as a career path after a few months or a year. Doing readings is a very intense, high pressure job that requires extreme concentration. If it’s not a calling on a person’s life, I seriously doubt that someone would last very long in the industry. I assume that the same would hold true for those attempting a career as Life Coach. If someone is great at what they do, they will be able to deal with the challenges presented to them and succeed with long term, repeat clients and referrals. Word of mouth is a very powerful marketing tool.

I believe it is very important for people who are going into the psychic industry OR coaching, to really study not just your craft, but other areas that relate to it. One can study psychology, quantum physics, NLP, shamanism and many other subjects that will give them as much insight into people as studying tarot or astrology will. I’m not suggesting that we might master all of these subjects; just that it’s beneficial to continue to explore new ideas that inspire us in regard to our profession; especially because staying inspired in any profession can be a challenge.

I'm glad that you brought up NLP, which is something I've been super curious about---especially since I've also heard it referred to as the "NLP Secret." I know that NLP stands for Neuro-linguistic programming, but exactly how can it be useful?

NLP is very useful in psychic arts, actually. It’s pretty likely that many psychics are using NLP already without even knowing what it is.

In any profession where you are working with people, the ability to establish rapport is obviously extremely important, and psychics need to be able to do so as quickly as possible with a client. If someone has psychic gifts and wants to give readings, but has a hard time establishing a fast rapport with some people, NLP can really give them tools to do that. NLP is actually full of communication and self-empowerment tools and a lot of life coaches use it as a foundation for their sessions with clients. I’ve gained some insight from NLP techniques; yet my readings are not based in NLP. One tool I’ve benefitted from on a personal level is called Time Lining, it’s great for putting past traumas into perspective.

I could easily spend the entire interview asking you questions on astrology alone, but I'll try and keep my questions about it relatively short. I realize that you don't always have time to go into astrology readings with clients who desire quick answers, but when you used to do lots of astrology readings and for clients who want to take the time now to get that kind of reading, which type of astrology (like Vedic Astrology, Chinese Astrology, Aztec Astrology, etc.) do you generally use and why?

I do not market myself as an astrologer. In this day and age, I focus primarily on my natural psychic gifts to give readings; empathy first and foremost as well as clairvoyance, clairaudience and claircognizance. Although I am grateful to have the astrological studies in my background, and I still gain insight from the activity of the planets, and natal chart analysis, there is a lot of magic in pure intuition. Much of astrology is left-brained. I am a very right-brained person, and over the years I’ve found that my readings flow a lot better when I work with that quality, rather than against it.

Back in the early to mid 90’s, I trained in tropical astrology with an incredible teacher. We used to trade – I’d give him tarot readings in exchange for one on one astrology lessons. From the get go, I was blown away by the accuracy of the Tropical/Western approach, and never had the inclination to change direction.

I have friends who use Vedic astrology, and I’ve been the recipient of some accurate readings from them, also. And I’ve dabbled in Chinese astrology, but not extensively.

I, probably like lots of others, am pretty confused about what's been called the "13th sign of the Western Astrological Zodiac": Ophiuchus. For starters, is Ophiuchus a sign or a constellation? And, do you factor Ophiuchus into your own readings?

From what I understand, Ophiuchus is a constellation, and its discovery changes nothing as far as Western Astrology is concerned.

I really appreciate the compliment. Making art has always been one of my favorite ways to relax. The whole creative process of working with color especially, is very therapeutic for me.

Some of the series I’ve created include mandalas, pop art, patterns, abstracts and mail art. It’s hard to pick favorites because there is some emotion or thought process behind each piece that has been significant to me. I do have some that are my least favorites, most of which were created while learning a new technique. When I look at those now I can see my progress, so at least that part is cool.

My art is for sale on deviantArt and RedBubble, and my book is available on Amazon and other outlets. Links to all of the above are listed on my official website, http://mystikka.com

You can purchase a psychic reading on my website, too. Please feel free to email me first if you have any questions about a reading with me. I generally like to exchange email with a potential client before setting up an appointment. My email address is mystikka@mystikka.com

Interview by G.L. Giles