A finger in the sky: how fortune-tellers tell fortunes
Russians have begun to seek advice from fortune-tellers more often. Since the nineties, old-timers do not remember such a sharp surge in the market of services for predicting the future and removing spoilage. "Izvestia" found out the mechanism of manipulation of people's consciousness, with the help of which con artists lure gullible customers to repeat visits.
Hello from Kashpirovsky
According to VTsIOM, 60% of Russians in 2024 sought the services of fortune-tellers and tarologists. Some of our compatriots spend on occult rites amounts comparable to the cost of food. This unhealthy interest is concerned and in the higher echelons of power. The bill on prohibition of advertising of tarotologists' services, predicting the future with the help of special cards, was introduced in the State Duma on January 23. It is assumed that this measure will help to protect Russians from unscrupulous manipulators negatively affecting the mental and physical health of gullible citizens.
Meanwhile, Darya Serebryakova, a clinical psychologist and deputy head of the rehabilitation program at Dr. Isaev's Clinic, considers the growing number of various charlatans and the population's demand for their services to be an excellent barometer of the situation in the country.
- I would like to remember the 90s, which are considered the peak of this absurdity - with financial pyramids, with Kashpirovsky, with Grabov, who raised the dead and gathered stadiums, - says Daria Serebryakova.
From the point of view of a clinical psychologist, today's difficult economic and political situation also contributes to the fact that people's anxiety increases. There is a need to calm themselves down somehow. Tarologists have begun to be called even to corporate parties, and this, according to Serebryakova, indicates the poor mental health of the population. The expert correlates the demand for magical services with the record growth in the consumption of antidepressants and other medications to maintain mental health. Thus, the demand for antidepressants in Russia has increased by almost a third.
In addition, people more often seek professional help from psychiatrists and psychologists. Consequently, we are talking about the need for psychological support in general, the expert emphasizes.
- Another important point is that many people like some kind of group activities related to magical practices. This is, in particular, a request to overcome loneliness, the search for like-minded people. In short, what is called "to be afraid together", as afraid of children who are in children's hospitals for a long time,- comments Daria Serebryakova.
Remove spoilage or get rid of anxiety
According to practicing psychologist Anna Guseva, sometimes clients turn to fortune-tellers simply out of curiosity. But most often in the services of fortune-tellers people are attracted by the opportunity to get a quick and simple answer to complex life questions.
- If the psychologist usually says that the situation must be worked with, the fortune-teller treats an adult as a child - listens, praises, encourages compliments. This option is more appealing to people who are insecure," says Anna Guseva.
According to the psychologist, the desire to consult and look into the future arises if a person has low self-esteem and no internal support. In this case, any changes in personal life and in the country cause severe anxiety, there is a desire to predict the development of events. Fortune-tellers easily relieve stress, encouraging something positive.
- But people do not take into account that any prediction is also an entry into anxiety. If we make predictions, it is as if we are not in today's time, but live in anxious expectation of something," comments Anna Guseva.
Such people should think hard about internal support and responsibility for their actions. The expert does not exclude that in some situations, if a person is uncomfortable and bad, it would not hurt to talk to anyone - psychologists, astrologers, neighbors, fortune-tellers. When the nervous system suffers, staying in a state of nervousness is much worse than spilling out problems to the interlocutor.
- More conscientious "specialists" can even send the client to a psychologist, - says Daria Serebryakova. - Or at least in a simplified form they will say something similar to what a psychologist might say, but in a language more accessible to some people - with esoteric terms, which includes magical thinking.
It is also possible that when there is a lack of strength and the inner resource is exhausted, soothsayers will help to think about finding answers to specific questions, to push to some action. According to Serebryakova, in parallel, people can go to a psychologist and a psychiatrist, use psychologically corrective methods aimed at self-regulation: planning their actions, seeking support from friends and relatives, visiting yoga, practicing breathing, meditative practices.
- Sometimes people do not even seek to look into the future, and just complain to the fortune-teller about life, - says Anna Guseva. - But when pouring out your soul, you should think about who is sitting in front of you. Any fortune-teller uses methods that help to lure a person to numerous repeat visits.
A practicing psychologist notes that if a person is immersed in a deep inner experience, it is better to refrain from visiting fortune-tellers.
How people are deceived
If a person does not learn to manage himself, he can be managed by dishonest people for money. According to Anna Guseva, fortune-tellers use methods of hypnosis and neurolinguistic programming (NLP), many of them have a psychological education. Clients enter a light trance, relaxed states and easily succumb to various tricks. Despite the modern name, NLP skills have been passed down from generation to generation for centuries - it's about the ability to analyze a person's behavior and mannerisms, instantly assess their words, read reactions and activate the gift of persuasion.
- Any fortune teller immediately dismisses the responsibility, for example, emphasizes that only cards predict fate. When a person is included in the process, the interlocutor begins to probe him, finding out some details and peculiarities of life. This is a rather banal working technique. Information can be obtained by appearance, clothing, plays a role physiognomy of the face, hand movements, temperament, character,- says Anna Guseva.
Then the so-called Barnum effect comes into play, when people are offered vague, vague characteristics that fit almost everyone.
- In this case, the simplest qualities are thrown on. For example, a fortune teller says that you are quite self-critical, you may have mood swings. In principle, this can be said to everyone and clarify - is it true? The person will say: "Yes, it's exactly about me, " the psychologist continues.
Anna Guseva emphasizes that fortune-tellers try to build questions so that the client more often answered in the affirmative. When a person says the word "Yes" several times, involuntarily strengthens favor with the interlocutor. For a more trusting effect, the fortune-teller often calls the client by name, using certain tones of voice. And the question: "What were you called as a child?" is a win-win - the touched victim completely loses vigilance.
Further the effect of clever Hans is used - this method is named after the nickname of the trained horse. With this technique a person influences his interlocutor with the help of facial expressions and gestures, and also reads his reaction by body language and facial expressions.
- For example, any excitement increases heart rate, changes in movement, which will not escape the attentive eyes of a fortune teller. Smart Hans effect is also used in sales techniques, when you need to recognize the characteristics of a person, prompt him some need, and then he will give you what he has - warns the psychologist.
When the "casting of fishing rods" begins, questions can be constructed in such a way that they are devoid of statements, but the person himself picks them up as a ready answer. At this stage, depending on the client's temperament, intimidation is also used.
- A very effective technique of manipulators is "shotgun shooting". Its meaning is that some "pellets" - assumptions will hit the target. The fortune-teller says, "Oh, I see..." And begins to list common situations, watching how you react when it seems to you that she hit the target, - says the expert.
If the fortune teller realized that she hit the mark, then another stage begins - the client is gifted with a huge number of compliments.
- A very effective method is to tell a person that he is the chosen one, that he has great potential, valuable qualities, but he does not realize them, but the time has finally come and so on, - says the expert.
At this stage, the person can say, "Yes, I will succeed," and he or she leaves the game and begins to act without the fortune-teller's "help".
Daria Serebryakova considers the level of education and critical thinking of potential clients to be a key point in the demand for occult services. It is good if such thinking helps people to understand that they go to a tarotologist in order to overcome tension and realize that this is a temporary measure. In such a case, the need for dubious entertainment disappears when the situation is equalized.
- Unfortunately, we have to state that with a low level of education and inability to think critically, it is difficult to refrain from magical services," Serebryakova comments.
Thus, not everyone is able to stop in time, getting bogged down in the swamp of further manipulations.
Clientele of fortune-tellers
According to Anna Guseva, the clients of fortune-tellers and fortune-tellers are most often those who take everything to heart.
- These are hypersensitive, empathic people: children, the elderly, stressed men and women. They just need a support - an adult, psychologically mature person. In order not to be influenced by others, a person must become such a strong person for himself," emphasizes Anna Guseva.
The psychologist recommends that hypersensitive people learn to build boundaries with others, to define their life goals. When a person is focused on something and goes to a specific goal, he finds support in himself, is not afraid of curses and spoilage and does not look for fortune tellers.
Anna Guseva advises to surround yourself with mentally healthy and mature people, because other people's experience is passed on to us - that's how the mirror neuron connection works. And if you fill your day with creativity, sports, intellectual development, there will be no need and no time to turn to fortune-tellers and sorcerers.
- When people do not realize their talents for the benefit of themselves, family and society, do not have close emotional ties with others, they have fears of change. The easiest thing to do is to shift this fear to divination or ritual in the hope that everything will be solved and told for you now. Fill the void with actions," Anna Guseva urges.
Daria Serebryakova believes that the same gullible people can fall under the charm of fortune-tellers and become victims of fraudsters.
- In fact, fortune-tellers and various energy practitioners are fraudsters, because they offer services that cannot be realized - to improve life, to restore relationships, to cure some diseases through remote magical practices," says the clinical psychologist.
People with so-called magical (or mystical) thinking are also at risk of becoming clients of fortune-tellers. It is considered normal for children under 9 years old. But if magical thinking occurs in adults, then, according to the psychologist, you can already suspect some problems, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder. Such people are characterized by illusions and a deep belief that if they mentally focus on something, it will affect reality.
- They are quite easily convinced that they will become billionaires, for example, if they perform a certain ritual in the morning. And, of course, there are people who use other people's delusions, capitalizing on them," says Anna Guseva.
The expert advises to realize that if magical thinking continues into adulthood, it can lead to extremes. Sometimes it ends in a delusional disorder.
