I'll try my hand at woo woo. I know my Big 3 (Aries Sun, Scorpio Moon, and Pisces Rising). I've had a tarot deck since I was 15 years old. A friend and I bought the deck from a self-proclaimed witch with long white hair in a shop in Launceston. I frequently delete the Co-Star app and redownload it every time I want to be disowned by my phone or Co-Star's copywriter. I lather up the sparkly stones. And I watch “Practical Magic” over and over again every year.
So when I heard there was going to be a psychic expo at the Table Tennis Center (I know) in Ballarat (I know), I had to take my always patient partner with me. I had no idea table tennis was so popular that Ballarat had its own stadium. I always thought table tennis was a Brisbane thing.
Video by VICE
Me outside the Expo Welcome to the Wellbeing and Psychic Expo… where two oceans meet
I wanted to talk to vendors and patrons to find out what was going on. Has social media changed the woo-woo scene? Is that scene despicable? And most importantly, what color aura was I? I wish it had been purple because purple is my favorite color.
Michelle and Tobi are a mother-daughter duo from Ballarat.
The first people I spoke to were Michelle, mother and daughter (left), and Tobi.
Vice: What brought you both to the psychic fair today?
Michelle: I'm trying to find guidance on where I should go and where I should be.
Tobi: Oh, mom said we were going to read a book soon.
What do you like most about visiting haunted places?
Michelle: I don't like surprises. I'm a little nervous about life and life is a mess. So if I can get something that points me in the right direction, I'll be happy.
How often do you take measurements?
Michelle: Every few years, whenever I feel it's necessary.
Tobi: I hadn't had a drink since I was 16 and everything was wrong. (Laughs) I got pregnant as a teenager and was planning on traveling the world as a journalist. It was by a Beaufort woman. When I was a child, I heard voices, and my mother said, “I'll take you to a psychologist.” And Dad said, “No, I'm going to be a clairvoyant.”
Michelle: So it ended up being terrible, right?
Toni: Well, she never really told me anything, but that was good because I never heard her voice again.
exposition
Tula, Black Ruby Tarot Teller and Street Vendor
Tula and her tarot cards
Vice: Hi Tula, please tell us about yourself, what do you do?
Tula: I have been reading cards for the past 25 years. I do intuitive readings and interpret cards. It's more about guidance and giving you hope. I always want people to feel like there is light at the end of the tunnel, especially when they are going through dark times. I say this. “Bigger and better things are coming. You have to push through the difficult times and move forward. And if you get stuck in a situation and can't move forward, it's not good for you, so you have to move forward.” There is.”
I just want people to feel good about themselves. Problems always have solutions. And I do numerology. I love numerology.
oh yeah. That's a number, right?
Numbers! So when were you born?
Tula then, without being told, looked me up in numerology, did some calculations in her head, and used those calculations to come up with some ideas. She said I'm data-driven and the next few years will be about money and power, and I'm smart so money will flow in. Thank you Tula!
Do you feel like TikTok and the readers on TikTok and Instagram have changed what people expect from reading?
Do you know anything? I just started doing readings on my phone instead of on TikTok. I was wondering, but decided to give it a try. I'll be honest with you because I want to be comfortable with them, but I don't want anyone on board. Bad karma, right?
Flyers and cards collected at the expo
I saw one stall doing aura photography. The chance has finally come! I wish it was purple! I didn't care what it meant to have a purple aura, but I wanted a beautiful photo of myself wearing a purplish-pinkish hunk. I had my aura photo taken and a reading done, and I chatted with the woman who gave the reading.
Michelle Pope, Aura photographer. Vendor
Hello Michelle [first name only]
VICE: How long have you been doing this?
Michelle: Since I was 4 years old. I was born into it. It goes back many generations, all the way back to my great-great-grandmother. My grandmother didn't care about that, she chose not to be a part of it. I have six children and they are all psychic in one way or another, and some choose not to be. I'm 53 years old now, and I've been doing this all my life. And every time you try to get out of this situation, you're dragged back in. I started coffee reading at the age of four.
Coffee reading? what's that? Do you like reading tea leaves?
Turkish coffee, short black. When you get to the bottom, there will be mud at the bottom. Of course, don't drink the mud. Then turn it, put it upside down, wait 5 minutes and it will show you all these patterns, animals, paths, letters, past, present and future from the handle. And from there I started card reading. I use a gypsy card. It's something I grew up reading since I was a kid. People say, “Oh, that's so much fun.” But I say this. It's actually very draining. ”
michelle's card
Why is it drained?
Lots of energy work. This is very tiring both mentally and physically, just like doing physical labor and feeling tired at the end of the day. Just like any other job, there's no difference. and sometimes [the spirits] don't leave you alone.
I work as a real estate agent during weekdays, and then I work as a psychic.
my aura photo
A photo of my aura showed me going from green to yellow and then the edges of my aura became “muddy”. Michelle, High Priestess and Aura Photographer, says the best way to cleanse my aura is to go outside later in the day, soak up the sunlight, and stand barefoot on the grass for about 5 minutes. He told me. In short, she told me to go touch the grass.
Jordan, 29, lives in Ballarat and Laura, 29, lives in Jan Juk. Regular customer.
Jordan (left) and Laura (right)
Vice: Why are you both here today?
Jordan: I went there maybe four years ago. And we love this really cool meditation. It was like an out-of-body experience. It was really amazing, I think about it all the time.
Laura: When I meditate, I also use what I learned that day.
Did you come here and want to get something today?
Laura: I think I'll give it a read. I read it a while ago. And I want another one, but I don't know where to go. Let's walk around a bit and see who feels better.
Do you take measurements frequently?
Laura: I do oracle readings at home and sometimes tarot readings. I sometimes go to the store, but I save money by reading by myself at home. But this is a special event, so let's read about it here.
How do you choose people?
Laura: That's who I connect with. No matter who looks into my eyes, no matter who drags me down.
They seem to make good eye contact. Do you follow any readers or anything online?
Jordan: I follow a few people on Instagram and stuff. Psychics, etc. I think there is some basis for this kind of thing, but I have never read anything about it.
Do you think you can get it today?
Jordan: I don't know. It depends on whether you want to spend the money or not. Both Jordan and Laura laugh.
Laura: It might be a little expensive.
Jordan: But sometimes you don't want to know, you know? I feel like I know myself and I want to keep it that way.
Reflexology All in Eye…
Jessie High Priestess of the Sacerdos family. A stall owner.
VICE: What is a shrine maiden?
Jesse: Priestess is a community nurturing person. I make my own herbs, oils, and salts. And I help others through rituals because I help the community in the process. A lot of what I do is teach the community and help you be the best version of yourself.
Do you come here every year?
Jesse: That's right. I try to attend as many exhibitions and markets as possible. It's great networking and I love it.
So everyone here goes to the same expo.
Jesse: That's right! We are a large expo family.
How long have you been doing this?
Jesse: I think it's been over 25 years. It's only been about 3 years since I started my business. But it's been many years. I channel and am also an empath. I work with your energy. Encrypt it, modify it, and then project it. And I don't force any beliefs or spiritual practices. It's just a ritual, it's basic.
psychic exposition
Have tarot readers and influencers on TikTok brought any changes to the scene?
Jesse: Well, I feel like doing a group tarot reading for 30 seconds is not what you would call a tarot reading. That means you can create a channel in 10 minutes as long as you are connected there. But I think collective readings work when you break them down by zodiac signs and so on, but like on TikTok, anyone can buy a tarot deck and jump on TikTok.
Once the expo started, my partner was hooked on the whole event and went to read a book. He had never done it before. After his reading, as we were walking around looking at the crystals, a short, pointy woman wearing a large turtleneck and a large cream-colored sleeveless jumper with a belt around her waist approached me. He came to us. She had just appeared, standing too close to my partner, her eyes staring into his skull.
“I couldn’t help but eavesdrop – I was in the stall next to the store you went to – I think your reading is bad.”
“Oh, I see,” he said.
“Well, I don't usually do things like this, but frankly, I think I was fooled.”
The woman made wild gestures with her left hand, which was loosely wrapped in a bandage from a side job. She was just completely badmouthing this other woman.
fun signboard
Throughout the morning, readers, psychics, and crystal people told me how amazing this community is and how everyone supports each other. And here this woman is telling us that the other psychic is shit. She told my partner that she should take a small business course, and finished her pitch after she went to the bathroom by implying that I should go get her to read a book. We left the expo soon after.
A few days later, I had dinner with a friend who told me that her shared house was haunted. I told them I knew some psychics who could probably help.
