Sandy Anastasi was a mentor of the best-selling author famous for his 'Crossing Over' and 'Cross Country' shows
BY PATRINA A. BOSTIC
CHARLOTTE COUNTY -- Sandy Anastasi sat behind her desk and cupped her astrology book like a crystal ball.
It is, sort of.
She cracked it open and read from it as she told her version of the future and the past.
"Who's the tall, handsome guy with broad shoulders?" she asked her client.
Hmmm, her client wondered: "Could it be that gorgeous guy I met at Club Fly in Sarasota last weekend?"
No matter whether her client believes what she says or not, Anastasi's business and others like it have grown as TV shows on the paranormal have multiplied over the past few years. Each week, 15 or more shows involving psychic phenomenon are scheduled on major networks and cable stations.
Anastasi, 54, expects to give her career another jolt when she appears in September on John Edward's nationally televised show "Cross Country." The exact date for the show to air has not been set.
Edward, a New York Times best-selling author promoted as a psychic medium who can communicate with the dead, traveled to Port Charlotte in June to tape a show with Anastasi, the woman he credits as his first teacher.
"I began studying tarot and other metaphysical philosophies with a woman name Sandi Anastasi, who ran a little 'psychic institute' on the south shore of Long Island. She convinced me to try working at psychic fairs," Edward wrote in his book, "Crossing Over: The Stories Behind the Stories," published in 1988.
As demand for psychic information has grown, prices have kept pace.
Tickets to one of Edward's sold-out seminars in late July in Toronto cost $155 each. The price to attend a smaller "gallery" group with Edward was $175 in New York.
Marie Dixon, 56, of Bradenton, charges $50 for what she calls a "life reading," which includes palm and tarot card readings.
Jay Higgins, 46, of Conscious Beginnings in North Port, who practices tarot card, numerology and astrology, charges $45 for a 30-minute reading and $90 per hour. At the Elysian Fields Books and Gifts Store in Sarasota, Marlene Hauck, 64, charges $25 for 15 minutes, $45 for 30 minutes and $75 for an hour.
But Anastasi's rate matches those of psychologists and psychiatrists at $200 an hour, up from $150 about a year ago. Her client base has grown in recent years, said her personal assistant, Lisa Freeman.
"Business has increased, and it continues to increase, which is phenomenal," Freeman said.
Anastasi previously appeared with Edward on his former sci-fi television show "Crossing Over," which earned him a TV following and led to his newest show on the WE network.
Her business consultant, Patrick Crissy, predicts her September guest appearance will increase her popularity.
"She is going to have a lot of options as to what she wants to do -- anything from Hollywood calling to different publishers calling her to publish her books, old and new," Crissy said.
Higgins, who sometimes work with Anastasi, made a similar prediction.
"Of course, being on a show of that dimension is going to increase her popularity and ability for reading," said Higgins, who handles tarot card, numerology and astrology readings. "People who trust John Edward are going to trust the people on his show."
Without giving away too many details of the taped show, Anastasi said Edward traveled to her bookstore with a couple whose son had died. She said she read astrology charts for the mother, father and deceased child, and related details that were correct about the boy's death.
"I knew absolutely nothing about them," Anastasi said. "It shocked me that I knew nothing about them, (and) some of the things surrounding his death were accurate."
Anastasi, a New York native, has been giving readings for 27 years. But she didn't set out to be a psychic. She set out to become a scientist, and she did.
A framed college degree shows she earned a bachelor of arts and sciences from Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., and later worked for 11 years as a safety engineer. She also taught biology, chemistry, health and physical education before setting up business as a clairvoyant.
"I set out to look at the world from a practical point of view," she said. "And I still do."
People call her for readings because she's known for giving practical advice, she said.
At Starchild, students travel from as far away as Holland, Puerto Rico and Canada to take Anastasi's psychic classes or seek advice for their daily lives.
Higgins said that people want something more than they've been taught growing up.
"They want to break the boundaries," he said.
And, they want to know what a person who claims to be able to see into the future will tell them.
"People are always curious about the unknown. People are searching for other answers," said Hauck. "People are more interested today in healing, in healing themselves and their relationships, and I think they are searching how best to do that."
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