For 17 years Linda Lancashire has been writing the astrology column in Nottinghamshire Today.
If, like me, you look forward to reading your stars in the magazine, you probably won’t be at all surprised that Linda Lancashire is a busy lady.
As well as writing magazine columns, she has regular radio slots and is in demand for private readings for a wide range of people who include international celebrities and royalty. Her work takes her around the world and there are already a few showbiz events scheduled in her diary for 2005.
I caught up with her at her home on the Nottinghamshire border to find out more about her work and what the future held for me. There were a few surprises in store.
The first was that Linda didn’t use an astrological chart. Rather, she asked me to shuffle and cut tarot cards. The second surprise was the accuracy of what she said as she laid out the cards. “You live alone at present” (I do)…”You’re self employed” (I took the plunge this year) and later: “It’s been a time of change.” She even correctly identified the profession of my parents.
Linda predicted that more change was around the corner, forecasting that I’d write a book, buy a new car, move home and get married. “You’ll be going to weddings - including your own”, she said, and told me I needed to see the dentist, which was uncanny as I was about to arrange an appointment.
Linda, by her own admission, isn’t one to mince her words. “I’m very direct with people and give them the truth – not what they want to hear. I’m a down to earth psychic who’s also realist. I see life as it is, and I tell it like it is.”
So I wasn’t shocked when she told me firmly that I needed to get more exercise and at another juncture she pointed out: “you’ve kissed a lot of frogs in your time, and some princes who have turned out to be frogs.”
This honesty and humour made for a refreshing, uplifting experience. It’s easy to see why some people view psychic readings as a buffer against the uncertainties and anxieties of life. “Better than therapy” is how I’ve heard it described. Especially if there’s some good news on offer.
“A lot of the time, people want to know the same things. I’m often asked: “Will I meet Mr or Mrs Right?” Linda said. “We’re all looking for love. All seeking happiness. It doesn’t matter who we are we all have our crosses to bear – some people have more splinters than others.
“People may come because they’ve lost someone or are in low spirits. Some people are just interested. Clients tell me they enjoy their readings. They wouldn’t keep coming back if they didn’t. I like my clients and I want to help them”
Linda knew she had the gift at an early age and always wanted to use it. “I must have done hundreds of jobs, she says, “but I never stayed with an employer because it just wasn’t for me.
“I used to read palms in my lunch breaks, and when I heard people’s reactions, I knew that it was the one thing that I had to do for a living, even though it was an unusual career at the time. It just took over. No job ever gave me as much fulfilment as I get from this kind of work. I’ve been doing it for 35 years and I love it. I can’t see myself retiring.”
“My daughter Katie was brought up with it, and now she’s a clairvoyant and astrologer herself. She does readings for me, and I do them for her. You can’t do it for yourself.”
Linda explained that she often uses tarot cards for private readings. Linda’s website says that astrology is a Greek word that translates to the science of the stars. Clairvoyancy, however, isn’t a science. It’s a gift.
“You can become skilled in reading astrological charts”, she said, “but you can’t learn psychic ability - you either have it or you don’t. The tarot cards are like a kaleidoscope. I don’t “read” them as such. They give me something to focus on and they help build up a picture.”
Linda believes that there’s a greater interest in psychic services because people are becoming increasingly aware that there’s more to heaven and earth than meets the eye. “We’re in the age of Aquarius which is about new beginnings and enlightenment. People want to know more, and some are realising that they are more intuitive than they ever were allowed to be in the past.”
No wonder so many of us are interested in astrology (which is said to date back to the beginning of recorded history). But how come so many people born under the same zodiac sign are so different? Linda’s reply is that a star chart is an individual map of who you are based on using the date, time and place of your birth. “The odds of someone else having the same star chart as you are astronomically small!, she says.
For that reason, Linda states that no-one is 100% typical of their sign, but there are certain characteristics that many people born under the same sign tend to share. Apparently, designers and musicians are often Librans; Virgos are likely to favour the caring professions and people born under my own sign – Cancer – make good counsellors or therapists.
“This year has been an incredible year for Cancer because a lot has happened. Many people have had tight schedules – it’s as if several years has been concentrated into one. I know people who have emigrated, started their own business or came out of relationships only to go straight into another. Capricorns, on the other hand, have had a quiet time.”
And what does Linda say to people who are sceptical about astrology and clairvoyancy. “Nothing. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. People have come to see me who are sceptic. They don’t tell me they are, but I know. I say to them: “Why are you here? You don’t believe.” But many of them come back to me and tell me that a lot of what I said to them actually happened – and that they aren’t sceptic any more!”
Linda Lancashire offers horoscopes, palmistry, tarot readings and handwriting readings.
Contact her on 0707 933 4988 (after 3pm) or email broomsticks@lindalancashire.co.uk