SALEM - For $25 and proof of a clean criminal past, you, too, can become a psychic.
Or at least, you can receive a city-issued license to open up a fortuneteller's shop - whether your predictions of the future are spotty or spot-on.
In a city known for its paranormal side, nearly a half-dozen psychics own shops, while others tell fortunes without a license. City councilors are mulling over the idea of letting more psychics do business in Salem and cracking down on those who are unlicensed.
At the same time, police say they've consistently fielded fraud complaints accusing greedy soothsayers of charging hundreds of dollars to lift mysterious curses and guarantee prosperous futures.
So how do you find a good psychic? And, assuming it's even possible, what does it take to catch a clear glimpse into the future?
"Everybody's psychic," said Diana McKanas, the owner of Salem's Psychic Center and a licensed fortuneteller. "It's no special gift."
McKanas said that by developing the right hemisphere of the brain - the side that handles spirituality - anyone can sharpen their psychic instincts. But it takes prayer, meditation and years of studying, she said.
"This isn't something that you learn in a year," McKanas said. "I've toned my craft."
But with no psychic equivalent to the bar exam or CPA exam, where passage usually indicates a thorough understanding of the trade, there's no credible, universally accepted way to guarantee someone is, in fact, clairvoyant.
And that has led to trouble in the psychic world. Police constantly receive complaints from customers claiming they've been ripped off, Salem Lt. Andre Ouellette told city councilors last week. In several cases, fortunetellers promise to remove dark clouds or lift imaginary curses at a cost of hundreds of dollars, police said.
Salem is hardly the only city in America taking on swindling psychics.
San Francisco, which licenses between 30 and 40 fortunetellers, has incorporated seven pages of guidelines into its police code that specifically regulate fortunetelling.
Before doing business in that city, all psychics must obtain a permit - a process that includes being fingerprinted, photographed, subjected to a criminal background check and paying a licensing fee.
After each reading, fortunetellers must issue a written receipt that clearly states the owner's name, service provided and payment amount and keep all copies on file for five years. Rates must be posted clearly and visibly in the shop and include the cost of all available services.
And all psychics must post identification cards with their names, photos and permit numbers.
Violating the law can result in fines of $100 and $800 and up to six months in jail.
The ordinance was set up to protect consumers and has even withstood a legal challenge before the 9th Circuit Court, according to San Francisco Police Inspector Greg Ovanessian.
Still, government regulations can't stop fraud altogether.
Last year, a victim in San Francisco was swindled out of $5,000 by an opportunistic fortuneteller, according to police. After responding to a flier advertising a $10 consultation with a psychic, the victim was told to hand over $5,000 cash, which the psychic promised to return after performing a "purification" ritual on it to "overcome bad luck."
When the victim returned for his money, the psychic had disappeared.
'Desire to help'
"A good psychic is not into the drama of things," said Sylvia Martinez, a licensed psychic and the owner of the Goddess' Treasure Chest, whose Web site contains advice on avoiding hack fortunetellers. "A good psychic has the desire to help the person with their issues whether it's something about love or work - the two big topics - or something much more complicated."
On her Web site, Martinez tells customers they - not their psychics - have control over their futures. And no psychic is 100 percent accurate.
Martinez said she's seen tourists come into her shop sobbing because they've been told by other Salem psychics that they're cursed.
And because their customers often turn to psychics as a last resort, the scenarios can sometimes become grave.
"We do get suicidal people," Martinez said.
One time, a man called her to say he was about to kill someone, she said.
The Rev. Barbara Szafranski, a licensed psychic and owner of Angelica of the Angels, said she believes the majority of psychics in Salem are in it just for the money. At her shop, she only hires psychics whom she trains personally and requires each one to perform a reading on her first.
"This is my life's work," Szafranski said. "I'm here to help and guide people. That's the difference. ... I'll give you evidence that what I'm saying to you is true."
Szafranski said her business is serious and that customers come to her for advice, not for fun.
"I'm a person that works with healing," she said. "I have a way of life called love."
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