One day in February 2018, Villanova senior Yvonne Nguyen was in Derby, CT with her best friend. It was there, in a small hole-in-the-wall shop, that she opted to get a professional psychic reading. It was to be the first of many. Her initial curiosity was replaced by the realization that much of the reading had been completely accurate. “There was something unique and perhaps extraordinary to the process,” Nguyen said. Pushing her own misconceptions aside, Nguyen began a new chapter of her life narrated by Tarot cards and the energies of the universe. Nguyen became a psychic.

Since then, she claims to have done some 300 readings using her own methods, at first for herself before eventually offering her services to other people. Although she has developed her own method over time, Nguyen is insistent that every person can — in theory — be a psychic. It is not a matter of witchcraft or the paranormal. According to Nguyen, being a psychic is essentially a matter of consciously reading the unique energies emitted by one’s surroundings and other people. Over time, she has found that just like any other hobby, being a proficient psychic requires practice.

“I don’t feel as though I have a gift or that I am special. Anyone can do these sorts of things, such as heal or read other people. It’s just a matter of knowing how to unlock other people’s energies, and I have the practice to do that. I channel God’s energy, and I heal people and help them to see what they already know.” 

Nguyen prefers to conduct her readings through Tarot cards, which she describes as “an esoteric tool to connect with Spirit and different parts of life.”  The cards have their own energy, just like everything else in the world, and through that, Nguyen is able to read them for answers about whoever is getting a reading. Nguyen likened her Tarot deck to a radio, with each card corresponding to a different frequency. She feels that she has the intuition to find the correct frequency to — hopefully — find answers through her readings. 

Throughout my own reading, Nguyen continually called on my ‘guardian angels,’ who, as she explained, showed her the cards I needed to see. Between the shuffling of the cards and Nguyen’s commentary on the process, I could not help but find connections between what was drawn from the large deck and my own life. She never feigned omnipotence or assumed the truth. Yet, there were no contradictions — she somehow seemed very confident that the cards drawn pertained to me somehow. My time with Nguyen, spent in the Villanovan editors’ office, changed the trajectory of my week. It was an insightful experience, and I have consequently shed whatever misconceptions I once had about psychics and the extraordinary.

Despite the results of my own reading, Nguyen does not claim to know all the answers. Although in some acknowledgement of her ability to read people with a sort of heightened clarity, she insists it is not the result of superpowers or magic. Nguyen drew the line at the notion of being a fortune-teller or a witch. Her reading methods do not involve Ouija boards or dark magic or anything of the sort. Rather, Nguyen is more focused on looking for insight in the person she is reading.

“I want people to know that there is nothing to be afraid of,” Nguyen said. “Everyone is skeptical at first, but no matter what faith you are, I really feel that this experience helps you to get closer to your soul. I only want the person I am involved with during a reading to be surrounded by positive energy and light. What I say with people resonates with them because they are true.”