By Cat Gina Cole
Last week, I did an intuitive reading for my elderly cousin via video call and as always, such readings are unique, but this one was more usual. Typically, people I do readings for I am not overly connected with but that was the main reason this reading was so different. My cousin and I share issues, history, and ancestors. In standard reading, this is not the case and it is trying enough to keep your personal stuff out of their reading. With this, there was no keeping my stuff out of this reading, adding empathic skills to it that made it more impactful. I cried more than she did.
Fall and winter are my time to do my shadow work and get to know my shadow well. In this work, I am facing the grief and loss of quite a few family members since 2010 that I never really processed. And it was some of these very ancestors that she too needed to speak with or talk about.
Mediumship is usually the first of my skills to present in such a reading. I could see her mom and brother right behind her, so I started there and gave her the messages they had for her. Then my mom arrived in spirit. My mom and cousin were very close, and mom had a lot to say to her. I think in the end she spoke to my mom more than she did to me.
At the end of the session, I was beginning to feel anxious and slightly uncomfortable. I think this was purely my issue of being so vulnerable through a session.
Yet after I closed with her, I felt incredible sadness and seemed upset. I did my usual self-care and got out of the house for a bit to get re-grounded. As I was driving, my mom told me that I had given her peace and closure and to forget the session. This was easier said than done as this sadness in my belly stuck around. A couple of hours later, I was still trying to figure out where this sadness came from and who it belonged to. Was it mine or hers? This is when my mom told me it was her empathy for me and my life that I was feeling.
The interesting thing about empathic input is that as soon as you correctly identify who and what it is, they mostly go away and the connection completely severs. Days later, my cousin did say I had provided clarity and closure.
These kinds of intense events are why I say there is no one-size-fits-all type of shielding and protection for psychics of any type and yes being an empath is also being a psychic. Yet had I shielded before or during the reading, I would not have been able to give her what she needed and yes, I got much in return from her too.
Cat Gina Cole is a Herditary Witch and author of Psychic Skills for Magic and Witchcraft (Llewellyn, 2022). She is the founder of The Coven of the Rising Phoenix and Staff Coordinator for “Green Egg Magazine.” You can reach her at www.catginacole.com.