John Oliver is very wrong about psychics and mediums

By now you've probably all seen John Oliver's segment on psychics on Last Week Tonight - if you haven't, you can watch it here. In short, it was appallingly offensive. He took some really broad strokes about psychics, and instead of just focusing on the problematic frauds, he decided that all psychics and mediums are fakers and con-artists.

How about no? Where do I start with how awful this segment was?
1) Although he lumps them together, psychics and mediums are two different things: psychics predict the future, mediums communicate with the dead. Some people have both gifts, but not always.
2) How DARE he pick on Tyler (the "Hollywood Medium"). He's a KID for godsakes. Shame on John. Pick on adults all you want, but Tyler is still a teenager and that was really low. It's also important to note that the show claims Tyler researches his clients ahead of time, but this is wrong. If anyone working at Last Week Tonight had even bothered to watch an episode or two of Hollywood Medium, they would know that Tyler knows nothing (not even a name) about the people he reads for beforehand, to help prevent bias.
3) So many people love to hate on psychics and mediums, but the minute they want to know whether their boyfriend is cheating on them or whether their deceased grandma is happy, they come running to us for a reading. But if thy get a reading they don't like, they start screaming about frauds. It's so hypocritical it's stunning.
4) Psychics and mediums are not omniscient. We are not a god, we don't see all or know all, and to imply otherwise is naive and petulant as all hell. Like everybody else on this planet, we cannot know everything and be right about everything 100% of the time. We only see/hear/understand what Spirit allows us to see/hear/understand (this is what I believe; others may feel differently about receiving information). And then we do our best to comprehend what has been conveyed to us and pass along the information to the querent.

5) Did he even talk to a psychic or medium before writing this segment? Obviously not, because it really shows.

Since he and his staff are clearly incapable of writing a balanced segment on something they don't understand and don't want to understand, John should stick to political and economic commentary.

Delving into the Morrigan's realm

Today is day 3 of the Sacred Space Conference!  I missed all of day 1 due to a severe migraine mythe Assembly and my job is clearly going nowhere.  He said some things I needed to hear, including reminders that it's useless to beat myself up for not being able to juggle so many things in my life.  Some of the advice was not so helpful, but gave me ideas.  He told me I should make a list of all of the good things about me, which... I am not so comfortable doing, but will think about.

Yesterday was day 2 of the conference.  I arrived for the afternoon classes, and took an interesting class on occult themes in pop culture, and participated in a ritual for the Morrigan.  The latter left me a bit torn apart, as we had to journey to the underworld, dig deep and face our inner demons, and speak their names aloud.  The Morrigan has been whispering to me these last few weeks to help me process my anger, so I knew I needed to go to this before I even arrived at the conference, and even wore my new raven earrings.  I suppose I was rewarded for my bravery because in a vision at her altar, the Morrigan gave me a tool for dealing with my anger - she told me to give it to her ravens, and they would take it where it needed to be.

Afterward I had a tarot reading with my friend Eri.  We looked at the question of "where do I go from here/how do I get unstuck?" now that my spiritual path is diverging from the Assembly and my job is clearly going nowhere.  He said some things I needed to hear, including reminders that it's useless to beat myself up for not being able to juggle so many things in my life.  Some of the advice was not so helpful, but gave me ideas.  He told me I should make a list of all of the good things about me, which... I am not so comfortable doing, but will think about. 

Also, there was lots of imagery of portals in the cards.  So many portals!  Obviously, I have choices to make - which portals do I enter?  When do I enter them?  Who will I enter them with?

The evening consisted of the New Orleans Voodoo Conjure Dance, which I need to mull over a bit more before posting about it.  Suffice to say, it was one of the most fulfilling spiritual experiences I've ever had.  Oh ecstatic dance, where have you been all my life?

Would you light my candle?

It's been a very rainy weekend here in Maryland. It's been downpouring on and off all morning. We certainly need it, though, because it's been a pretty dry summer. I'm sure the earth and its flora are rejoicing at the much-needed moisture. I don't mind the rain much, though. Something about the sound of rain falling lends itself to a quiet, reflective morning spent with a cuppa tea. Or two.

 

Last night was a full moon. I wasn't able to return to Philly for my coven's full moon ritual, so I used elements from the ritual to do something for myself for the full moon. I lit the candle dedicated to light goddess I work with, and read the Charge of the Goddess aloud to myself. I chose Starhawk's version because I tend to jibe with her way of wording things, and also for its use of vernacular English (no thee's and thou's). Then I pulled a card from the Goddess Tarot, which was a gift from one of my coven-mates. The card I pulled was the 7 of cups. I reflected on the image and got the impression that whatever progress I make in my personal work right now, there will also be darkness or sacrifices of some kind.

I left the candle burning until I went to sleep, and I decided to light it again this morning.

Candles have become really important to me in dealing with depression. Candles represent a light in the dark, the spark of the god's love and light that resides within us all. Even in my darkest times I've felt that spark within me, and held onto it with all my might, even when I was unable to breathe any more life into that spark. I burn candles to remind me of that spark. I also burn candles as a form of magick, to create more light within me. I usually like to light my Yule candle or my light goddess candle for this purpose, especially when I'm feeling particularly down.

 

Image by David NiBlack / Creative Commons Attribution License

Ah look - it seems the storm has passed, and the sunlight is returning to my little patch of the world. But first, maybe I'll have one more cuppa...