Grounds for thought: Using coffee for a psychic reading

Before Razavi does a session with someone, she has a 15-to-20-minute consultation with them (free of charge) to determine what they want to achieve or focus on. “It’s not often, but a couple of times I have told people that I can’t help them,” she says. “I tell them openly, and they’re happy to hear it, because they know I’m being truthful. I don’t want to take their money and sit with them for an hour when I cannot help them.”

The coffee grounds function as a form of concentration for her, Razavi says. “I think every spiritual consultant works with a form of concentration; this is mine because I grew up with it. Sometimes before I even touch the coffee or pick it up, I start telling people things.”

Tasseographer Roya Razavi. (photo by Dion Ogust)

Clients come to her in her home in Rock Hill, or they meet in a restaurant – particularly if there is one where they can meet that serves Turkish coffee. Often Razavi travels to her clients to do readings in the privacy of their homes (she’ll bring the coffee with her). “I prefer to do it privately instead of in a crowd,” she says.

Many clients also do a session with Razavi over the phone, and in fact, she says that readings over the phone are some of her best. “There’s no distractions that way. I tap into their own energy and the answers that they need to find out. I want them to concentrate on themselves and to really be with me, and in that way it can work better over the phone. Think of how you feel when you’re out in a crowd: Yes, you’re friendly and open, but only to a certain extent; think how differently you feel when you’re in your own home; your energy is more open.”

[As I interviewed Roya over the phone from my home for this article, she picked up on something in my life that was actually of utmost concern to me that day, despite my efforts to stay removed as a reporter. Our conversation ended with an impromptu reading that I found satisfying and revealing, giving me much to ponder.]

Razavi says that a lot of what she intuits is where a person’s blockage is. “I notice where they cannot progress and move further in life. It’s never what I want to tell them or what they want exactly to hear, but whatever they’re supposed to hear.”

She tells them not to focus so much on what they want to know, but instead “to sit with themselves for a minute and take a deep breath, and focus on what their energy is supposed to tell them.” Razavi also encourages questions. “They’re very active and participate in their reading,” she says. “They don’t just sit there and listen to me.” If people have questions later, she’ll follow up with them afterward to address those concerns.

“It’s wonderful to be able to help,” says Razavi. “I feel like people get a sense of clarity afterward, on how to conduct themselves in their lives and what they need to focus on. I’ve never had anyone that didn’t feel like they received enough. Never. Many times people start crying when I talk with them, and I know already that I have reached somewhere where they’re going to be listening to me. They leave feeling very content with their reading, and they leave looking light; they look like the baggage they were carrying is gone.”

Roya Razavi, intuitive Turkish coffee readings; (845) 598-3909, www.turkishcoffeereading.com.