Psychics are seeing a boom in demand, thanks to coronavirus and election anxieties
In early August, the New York Post reported that business was way up for psychic and astrologies, due in large part to the fact that fucking everyone is on edge right now for any number of frighteningly legitimate reasons.
Even medical professionals are getting in on it, according to Manhattan psychic Marion Hedger, whose business has been "absolutely nuts" amid the outbreak.
"I've seen quite a few medical people, doctors, people like that, at my office space," said Hedger, who charges $85 for a half-hour reading and $165 for an hour and said her weekly earnings grew from $1,000 pre-pandemic to $2,000.
[...]
But COVID-19 isn't the only thing on customers' minds. Brooklyn astrologer and psychic Kim Allen said she's been giving more relationship advice than usual these days.
"People have been panicked - not so much for career, but for love," said Allen, who estimates a 35 percent increase in clients since the pandemic, often from lovers in new relationships separated by quarantine.
"Love is really important, I think people were really feeling the sting of isolation."
NY Magazine has now taken this novelty discovery one step further, and surveyed 100 astrologers, clairvoyants, and other scrying professionals about the recent changes they've seen in their clientele, and the industry. Here's a sample of those results:
What are your clients most curious about?
The self: 34%
Relationships: 33%
Career: 20%
Money: 6%
Health: 5%
Politics: 2%And what are they most worried about?
Their families: 57%
The economy: 27%
COVID-19: 8%
The 2020 election: 7%[...]
Do you think your powers have grown during this period of introspection?
Yes: 58%
There's more polling data at the link, though it's worth noting that only 40 percent of the polled psychics can diagnose if you have COVID-19.
Business is booming for NYC psychics amid COVID-19 pandemic [Julie Coleman / New York Post]
100 Psychics on What Their Clients Want to Know About 2020 [Brock Colyar and Charlotte Klein / NY Mag]
Image: Ed Schipul / Flickr (CC 2.0)