Voters turn to psychics for answers about the election

11/02/04

It hasn't taken a psychic to know controversy surrounds this presidential election. But just as some people look to their faith for an answer in this campaign, others turn to their psychics.

"We get a lot of people in here hoping to find who they should vote for, or maybe how the election will turn out," says Aish, a resident psychic at The Tremont Tearoom in Boston. "More than looking for someone to tell them what to do, they're hoping we can help channel their inner beliefs."

Aish, 24, has been working at the Tearoom for three months, but says business has picked up somewhat as the election has grown closer. The range of people who come seeking answers at this place is large, he says. All are welcome (for a price) and all are accepted as members of the psychic community.

Although he believes the election results are already set in stone, Aish looks to tarot cards for facts about the outcome.

"I predict Kerry by a nose," says Aish. "It will come down to the youth vote, but I definitely smell a scandal."

After laying down a few more cards Aish explains that Bush will somehow remain in the spotlight. This war and this president are not going to simply disappear. He says if and when Kerry gets elected, he will attempt to take the focus off of Iraq.

" There is more going on than the candidates and the election itself," he says. "Alignments, energy, aura...These things are all part of a movement of a country and its people." There is no separating the voting citizen from the psychic in this man. He says he sees the candidates through clairvoyant eyes. He looks to read the energies of both Bush and Kerry, and those others on the ballot this Nov. 2. Still, when it comes down to it, Aish the psychic may see Kerry winning, but Aish the voter casts his vote for another. He won't say who.

"There is a difference between psychically figuring out who's going to win and psychically finding who is the right candidate for you," said Aish.
Aura, energies and alignments aside, Aish says he doesn't know much about either candidate. Yes he did make it to the polls today. And yes he is confident that he chose the man who was right for him, though he knows he has little control over his, or the country's future.

While Aish gathered his tarot cards, the incense began to smell like regular plain old air. The air is a bit thicker in The Tremont Tearoom tucked away in the back of the third floor in a Winter Street building.

At least eight other psychics operate out of this establishment. Who knows. Perhaps they will prove more prescient than pundits and pollsters. Or, perhaps, not.