When you are beginning a new spiritual path, it is quite common to want to seek out help from others who are further along in their spiritual journey. Finding a teacher, guru or coach can be extremely beneficial, and I have worked with others along my own spiritual path.
Unfortunately though, there are those who will prey on innocents just starting out on the spiritual journey. When this happens and you have a bad experience, it can end up causing you to turn away from the spiritual path, and thinking it is all just fraught with fraud and lies.
You can see large scale examples of this in the news media when you hear about doomsday cults like the Manson Family, Heaven's Gate and many others. Typically, these are organized around a charismatic leader, who will often ask their followers to do increasingly more dangerous things.
There are other dangerous people on the fringes of the spiritual community too, though, that will prey on people who are just getting started with spirituality and looking for answers. I have seen two common types of these (though there may be others - let me know in the comments!):
People who will claim to be your soulmate in order to manipulate you
People who claim to have psychic information to share with you
In either case, please be careful, and use your best judgement about who you allow into your life. Make sure that if you decide to trust someone, that the trust is well-founded and backed up by actions that match someone's words.
Soulmate Connections
With the first category, you may meet someone attractive at a spiritual meet up, in an online chat group, or even in your day to day life. You start dating briefly, and they tell you that they feel like the two of you are soulmates. Usually, this will happen within a very short amount of time. They will then try to advance the relationship quite quickly, such as moving in together, getting married, or having children.
This type of dark quasi-spiritual person may be trying to manipulate you if they are a narcissist or a similar type of personality. Or, they may just be a very deluded person looking for emotional validation through a relationship. Some people want to meet a soulmate so desperately that they see possible soulmates everywhere.
Meeting a soulmate is something that most of us do desire, so if someone tells you that they think the two of you are soulmates, you may be excited about the proposition and want to believe what they are telling you. However, always take caution, especially if you don't intuitively feel the same way about the connection.
Although there are many authentic, spiritual people out there who will be able to help you on your path, not everyone is genuine. People who present themselves as your soulmate when you are just starting on a spiritual path may be trying to take advantage of you and can derail you from your spiritual path.
As with any relationship, take these relationships slowly, and build trust in someone over time. Relationships that are meant to be in your life will take shape whether you jump right in, or if you move more slowly. Also be aware of any synchronicities that you may experience to show you if you are indeed on the right path.
I have been taken in by someone like this in the past and ended up heartbroken, as have friends of mine. I advise caution especially if someone is asking you to change anything about yourself that they don't like. Anyone who is right for you will encourage you to be your authentic self, and not to dim your shine.
Psychic Readers Reaching Out
Especially with many popular online psychic readers available these days, you may find psychics reaching out to you on social media, especially if you are following hashtags relating to spirituality, or browsing a lot of spiritual content.
While there are many genuine readers out there with helpful information to offer, there are also fakes out there too. Personally, I have people messaging me daily to offer me psychic readings because they 'sense something about my energy.'
The first couple of times I got this type of messages, I chatted with them briefly. Then, eventually I stopped because typically people will tell you that they have a warning for you about bad energies surrounding you. Then, they will offer to clear your energy if you pay them for a spell or ritual.
Another tactic I have seen is people with clones of genuine accounts reaching out. Many of the readers on TikTok especially will put a disclaimer on their videos saying that they only have one account, and will never message you about a reading.
Typically, if someone is genuine, they aren't going to contact you first. Also, anyone who is trying to sell you spells or rituals to get rid of bad energy is probably a scam. This is especially true because you can cleanse your aura on your own, and don't need someone to do it for you. (Let me know if you want me to post about how to cleanse your aura in a further article!)
Beware of scams, and people pretending to be psychic readers. If they are offering a paid reading, check out their profile, if it is verified or not, and what kind of free content they offer and if it resonates with you.
It is shady for people to cold message, no matter what they are offering. Think about if you would accept a message from someone selling you another type of service, and respond the same way when it comes to psychic readings. Someone who is genuine should typically at least have references or a good amount of free content available as well.
Don't Get Scammed
When you get scammed by someone, it can leave a really bad feeling afterwards. A scam can feel even more personal when it comes in the form of a potential love interest, or from someone claiming to have spiritual knowledge.
If someone contacts you online, make sure to respond in a way that is consistent with what you know about internet safety in general. The spiritual community has people who flock there with negative intent, just like in the general population.
There are many genuine psychic readers and spiritual teachers out there. You can likely find one in your local area if you want to consult with someone. This will allow you to vet them more closely. You can find genuine people online too. However, I would recommend following someone for at least a little while to be sure the bulk of their free content resonates with you before seeking out a reading.
It is unfortunate that people will go to any lengths to scam other people. Some just pretend to be spiritual because they think it is an easy way to find targets for their scams, since what is said in a psychic or tarot reading isn't regulated by any laws or government, and you have little recourse against a fake psychic.
Making genuine connections in the spiritual community is a beautiful thing, and you can meet lovely people along your journey. Just make sure you use the same amount of judgement and discernment that you would apply in any other aspect of your life.
