All the information below is upheld by Shanon of Seraphim’s Keep .  For other practitioners, these beliefs may not hold true.

Readings, whether psychic, tarot, astrology etc., are to give you insight

and perceptions of situations in your life that you may not be able to see

or may not know how to apply by yourself. Any reading should empower

you, not make you feel powerless. It should give you information that you

can then take and use or at least mull over and from there, come to a

decision that is best for you. Readings are never meant to replace good

old common sense or you own internal gut instincts. No reader “knows

more than you do” we just see and access information differently and

often our job is to communicate it to you in a way that you can at least

hear it if not fully integrate.

Neither one is better than the other. It really comes down to the person

giving the advice and how skilled they are at their craft and what you

are personally comfortable with.

Some people are not comfortable with tarot cards; others like to see

the cards because it helps them feel involved. Others don’t like psychics

because it can seem too vague.

The tarot has more structure than a psychic reading. There are

layouts and meanings and archetypes to the cards that give the advisor

a clear path to follow while delivering information. Sort of like an irrigation

system directing the water to a field. Different cards and spreads are like

one of those channels directing the water only they direct the information

towards the answer of your question. A skilled tarot reader often will also

has intuitive and psychic abilities, but chooses to use

the information she derives from the cards to formulate this information

in to a clear picture for the client. Tarot readers will often have a favorite

deck because as you spend time with the cards it becomes a working

relationship and you will see that one reader will read the same cards

differently from the next. That is because though the cards technically

mean the same thing, the human experience of that meaning differs with

each of us and as the reader develops their relationship with their deck

they also develop their own language and understanding of the cards

that strongly enhances their ability to interpret the cards. Almost like

a secret language between the reader and the cards themselves.

Psychic, clairvoyant, intuitive and empathic readers work more with

unseen as far as mainstream reality. They are able to read energy

fields and have fine tuned their ability to interpret their gut instincts to

where they can also see or sense different levels of information that are

held in the mass consciousness. Shanon of “the Keep” uses an oracle to

read along with using her psychic abilities in order to not only involve the

client in the reading but to also fine tune the information she is downloading

from spirit. If you saw the first Matrix movie, there was a scene where

the female lead is on a roof top and faced with having to fly a helicopter.

She has never done it before so she says to her team who are up in the

space ship, “download the files. “ She closes her eyes and waits. Her team downloads the energetic program on how to fly the chopper into her

consciousness: she opens her eyes, gets in the chopper and flies it.

Shanon expresses the way she downloads information with

her psychic abilities it is very much like that. You open yourself to spirit and

the “knowing” of the higher consciousness, download the information, and then formulate it, as it often comes in pictures, sounds, etc, and then deliver the information to the client.

HOW DO YOU SPOT A FAKE?
Good question. In the opinion of “the Keep” a fake will speak in generalities.

They will be dependent on you giving them information before saying anything.

Shanon will ask questions, but those questions are often

triggered by information they have received that they want to

verify or clarify.

If you are getting a reading and nothing feels right, then you are best to

leave. It doesn’t mean the reader was a fake, but it does mean they are

not able to read you, so your time is probably wasted to stay. In the

case of “the Keep,” if you sign up for a reading with either Leah or

Shanon, and within the first couple of minutes you don’t feel the reading

is true, you are welcome to leave with no charge. After 5 minutes

the reading is valid.

Anyone that asks for large amounts of money to do anything outside of the reading, often they will use fear tactics; "you wife won't get well unless I do this for her," or create the illusion that only they can do this for you and that will be necessary to pay extra: e.g. to pray for you, burn a candle, do a spell, etc in our

opinion, is a shyster, get out of there.  

This is not to say,  there are not those out there that do burn candles, and do pray with a special focus to amplify a situation and can have a positive effect,  but the cost should not be outrageous and you should still be very careful of who you trust to do this sort of thing.  Karma is an interesting thing, and in my opinion, anything that is done with the intent of forcing someone else to do what you want them to do, will come back on you in some way. 

The easiest way to tell a fake is your gut instincts: it won’t feel right, the

information will seem like it is for someone else and the reader will speak

mainly fluff, not facts.

Be open. Have a sense going in on what you would like to gain information

on or a sense of what you would like for yourself and your life. Share

that information with the advisor. Often clients will sit down and say

“you’re the psychic/reader, you tell me.” We understand that is their way

of weeding out the fakes, but it actually doesn’t weed out the fakes, instead

it creates a situation of confrontation between the client and the reader and

for the next 5 minutes of the reading the advisor has to spend proving

themselves instead of really bringing information through that will help the

client. Let them know what you need from the reading and if the information

they give doesn’t ring true, then you know to leave or challenge it and

ask for more clarity. 

Readings are a co creation between the advisor and the client. Both parties

have pieces of the puzzle and both parties work together to make those

pieces come together to gain the best insight and results.

As a client your part is to be honest as possible, to ask questions

at any time in the reading, it is your reading so direct it where you want

it to go while at the same time open to different perceptions or variances

of the information. Be open to possibilities of things playing out differently

than what you expected. Don’t go into a reading with a fixed view or a need

for something to be a certain way. You will be wasting your time and the readers.

A good reader will be sensitive to your feelings. They will speak your

“language” so to speak, so you can understand them. A great reader

will be comfortable saying, “I don’t’ know, “or “I can’t see that,” because

often, that is the case. Not everything is for us to know and often things

are with held from the reader because for whatever reason, it is not

for them to see or you to know at that point in time.

Coming up with a question that seems viable is often the hardest part and

you are not alone so don’t worry about it. Whether with Leah or Shanon,

ask them to do a general reading first, for you to see what the cards/spirit

has to say and then once you have some information you can build

your questions from there.

Often people want to know about their health or diet during the course of

a reading. Leah and Shanon are willing to “look” into these matters for you

but please know that any information given is needed to be verified

by yourself and before taking action, speak with a medical professional.

For more exacting information, there are medical intuitives that specialize in health.

Over the years, we’ve been told the main reason people don’t get readings

or ask for psychic guidance is because they are afraid to know

anything “BAD.’

Here at “the Keep,” we are committed to not terrifying or traumatizing

our clients who have invested their trust in us.

If this is a concern for you, we ask when you come to the reading please

clarify first, what is “bad” for you. For most people we perceive it is death,

but for some it has been something as seemingly everyday as not getting to

take a vacation. Once we know where your fears lie we can most

certainly respect them.

You bet! No matter how the reading is occurring, I am still pulling the information from the same place. As a psychic I work with energy, the non-physical, and that is how my information first comes in, then I translate it into words or images so I can share it with you.  Often, someone not being present, can actually produce a more "pure" reading.  Either way,  in person or by other means,  you will get the answers you need if you are reading with an experienced practitioner.

Of course I am always delighted

to share the magical energy of The Keep, and it might be said that

experiencing that space greatly enhances the experience of a reading,

but if time, distance, or schedules make it more convenient to meet

with me by phone, skype or chat room, the quality of the information

you will receive, will be the same.

If you have other questions please feel free to email me

and I would be more than glad to answer them for you.