If you had told me a month ago that I would have a life-altering, perspective shifting, spiritual awakening at a football club, there is no way I would have believed you.
Although I do believe a good pub feed can do wonders for the soul, it was my visit to the Canberra Psychic Fair at the Ainslie Football Club that struck me on this occasion.
Over a magical weekend on April 5 and 6, the club’s function space was transformed into a divine portal of healing and transformation.
When I arrived at the Fair on the Saturday, the energy in the room immediately washed over me. A palpable sense of warmth and levity permeated through the space and no amount of scepticism could deter any patron from wanting to soak up that feeling.
The Fair’s organiser, Fiona Vanderhook, had assembled a superhuman squad of vendors dedicated to healing and guiding people on their spiritual journeys.
From spirit artists, aura, oracle and tarot readers, and psychic mediums to crystal merchants, soap artisans, and potion wielding witches – I felt like a fairy encountering a woodland market as I wandered through this mystic maze.
Fiona, a psychic medium herself, has been running these fairs on and off for almost twenty years.
“There’s a lot of support [for the event] which is great. We’re always busy which is great and people are just so happy to be here,” she said.
“We’ve got such a huge, different assortment of stall holders and readers that there’s always something for everybody.”
Mark Teivonen from Man Cave Crystals has been running his business for almost 9 years and loves being a vendor at the Canberra Psychic Fairs.
“All the stall holders are here for a really good reason to bring that healing to people and allow people to have a really fun day in a safe space and explore themselves,” he said.
I spent almost four hours at the Fair and in-between speaking with numerous vendors, I had four different kinds of spiritual readings.
Oracle Card reading
My first reading was an oracle card reading with psychic witch, Louise Cooper, from The Conjurer’s Cup. During our session, Louise asked me to shuffle and choose cards from her deck at random. As I picked cards one by one, she used them to guide her intuition to pass on messages meant just for me.
Louise’s reading gave me clarity and hope on a range of issues that had been sitting heavy on my heart for some time. Her warmth and compassion matched with her incredible skill made for an unforgettable experience for my first ever reading.
Akashic record consult and reiki session
My next session was with Helen Daly from Intuitive Life Support. Helen is a qualified Reiki Healer, certified Akashic Record Consultant, medium, psychic, life coach and certified hypnotherapist.
During our session, Helen accessed my Akashic records – the energetic archive of my soul that tells the story of its journey from the past, present and future. She shared some exciting insight into future career opportunities and reminded me not to let my perfectionism stop me from asking for help when these opportunities eventuate.
She followed this reading up with a short reiki session to clear and balance my chakras. As I laid down with my eyes closed, listening intently to Helen’s soothing voice, rippling sensations of heat pulsated through my body. I instantly felt a sense of calm and relief that stayed with me all afternoon.
Psychic medium reading
My third reading was with third-generation clairvoyant psychic medium, Aileen Hope. At the start of our reading, Aileen asked for an object of mine to hold to help her connect to my spirit guides. I gave her a ring that I wear almost every day and from there the reading took off at lightning speed.
She immediately picked up on various aches and pains of mine, as she could feel them in her own body. Interestingly, Aileen explained that if she doesn’t communicate the sensations she experiences while with her client, she gets stuck with them.
She then went on to make some exciting predictions about my future before all four of my deceased grandparents came forward to speak with me. Aileen passed on deeply personal messages from my grandparents with unbelievably detailed accuracy. She told me one of my grandmothers was particularly proud of me and that she could see her reaching out to pinch my cheeks and squeeze my shoulder.
Aura and chakra photo + analysis
My final reading was an aura and chakra photo analysis with Jo Thompson from Awakening Lotus. Jo uses Kirlian photography technology which, according to her website, “measures the electra-dermal activity and electric conductivity of the skin of your hand and its temperature in real time. The equipment measures, analyses and processes the data and correlates with information to specific emotional and energetic states.”
I’d seen this technology online before but it was fun to have a play with it myself and learn more about it from Jo. My session with her revealed my aura is projecting at 80% capacity and when summoning feelings of confidence, it gives off yellow-green energy.
Though I’m not a sceptic when it comes to all things “woo-woo”, I’m certainly a novice. While I have a collection of crystals I forget to charge and I try to meditate to specific frequencies depending on the chakra I’m trying to unblock, I still have a lot to learn.
Luckily, attending the Canberra Psychic Fair was like taking a Spirituality 101 crash course. There was so much knowledge and skill in the room, it was impossible not to be motivated by it to take my own spiritual journey more seriously.
After my first reading with Louise, it became clear to me that attending the Fair was about more than simply being there to cover it for a story. I truly feel some cosmic shift put this event in my path and I was destined to be there to receive the messages and healing I didn’t know I needed.
You can learn more about the Canberra Psychic Fair and get updates about upcoming events on their website and Facebook page.
Photos by Rebecca Zivkovic
The journalist received access to the event and one reading free of charge from the event organiser