Psychic
Derived from the Greek psychikos ('of the mind, mental'), a psychic is a person who professes an ability, or is said by others to have such ability, to perceive or acquire information hidden from the normal senses by using ESP (extrasensory perception), or by using PK (psychokinesis) to affect objects; some psychics also claim to have healing abilities.
Generally, this psychic ability is either present from birth, or triggered later in life by some traumatic physical or emotional experience.
Psychic ability is a controversial subject that many people promote as truth or discredit all together. Reports of people with psychic powers can be traced back thousands of years within many societies and civilizations.
These psychic people were known as seers or prophets in the ancient past, and in later times as clairvoyants and psychics. Notable psychics of old include Nostradamus, Mother Shipton, Daniel Dunglas Home, and Edgar Cayce. Some famous contemporary psychics include Miss Cleo, John Edward, Danielle Egnew, Jose Ortiz El Buen Samaritano, and Sylvia Browne.
See Ghost, Altered State of Consciousness, ESP, Seance, Materialization, Asport, Automatic Writing, Findhorn, Glastonbury Scripts, Theosophy, Poltergeist, Psychic Archaeology, Spiritualism, British Society for Psychical Research, Parapsychology, Casting Black Magic Spells, Commanding Spirits, The Tarot Store, Divination & Scrying Tools and Supplies, and The Pyramid Collection.
Sources: (1) Dictionary of the Occult, Caxton Publishing; (2) Spence, Lewis, An Encyclopedia of Occultism, Carol Publishing Group; (3) Shepard, Leslie A and Melton, J. Gordon (Editors), Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, Gale Group.
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