Fake Psychics
From Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers
Don't Be Fooled By Fake Psychic Sites!
Because the Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers is a well-known group with a large website and a good reputation for ethical practices, our logo has been used by unscrupulous con artists who pose as members of AIRR to pick up clients whom they can rip off, shake down, and defraud of money. Please be aware of how this scam works, and how you can easily test for yourself the authenticity of any reader's claim to be a member of AIRR.
2011: Fake Psychic Anaya Dia
In October 2011, the pseudonymous lying scum Anaya Dia ("An Idea") -- who claimed to "guarantee results" because she is a self-proclaimed "Certified master 3rd generation Born Psychic & African High Priestess Spell Caster" -- displayed the AIRR logo on her web site. IT WAS A SCAM.
Take the Link-Back Test
When you click on the AIRR logo on a REAL AIRR Associate's page, you get taken to the main AIRR page and at the left you can find the names of our affiliates, among whom you will see the psychic reader or conjure doctor whose web site you were just visiting. This is your PROOF that the person is really an associate of AIRR.
If you see the AIRR logo at a spell-caster's or psychic reader's web site, CLICK ON IT. That click will link you back to this site, and you will see the reader's name in the AIRR Associates list at left. You can consult that reader or conjure doctor with confidence because he or she is truly affiliated with the Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers and has agreed to abide by the AIRR Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct.
The fake psychic Anaya Dia posted the AIRR logo, but there is no link-back to the AIRR site. When you click on the AIRR logo at her site -- nothing happens. She is NOT an Associate of AIRR.
Fake Psychics Are Thieves!
We found out about the rip-off scam psychic Anaya Dia when a client called who wanted to know why Anaya Dia had taken all of her money and done nothing for her. We couldn't help the client, but we CAN tell you that the scam psychic Anaya Dia's web site no longer has an AIRR logo on it, and the bogus Anaya Dia phone number is no longer working, either.
Fake psychics like Anaya Dia are no better than parasites or purse snatchers -- BEWARE.
Remember: Click On It!
All you have to remember is this: If you see the AIRR logo at any psychic reader's web site, all you have to do is click on it. The logo will link you back to the AIRR site and you will see the reader, spell caster, psychic, medium, spiritual practitioner, root worker, or conjure doctor listed in the roster of the AIRR Directory. You can then hit your browser's back button and return to the reader or rootworker's site knowing that you have contacted an authentic and ethical participant in AIRR.
Watch Out for Fake Rootworkers Selling Imaginary Spells!
Just as there are fake psychics who try to scam clients by unauthorized usage of the AIRR logo, there are also fake rootworkers who try to take money off of vulnerable clients by selling them what amounts to nothing more than PHOTOGRAPHS of spells -- spells which they themselves did not cast, because the images were stolen from the AIRR web site!
2013: Fake Rootworker Emily Amelia Westbrook Halifax HoodooSpellCasting at Etsy and Craigslist
In August, 2013, a pseudonymous person calling herself "Amelia" (Emily Westbrook of Tulsa, Oklahoma) created an Etsy shop called "HoodooSpellcasting" and promptly uploaded a vast swath of imaginary spells for sale. We call them "imaginary spells" since ALL OF THE PICTURES CAME FROM AIRR -- which means that "Amelia" has never cast those spells on her own altars!
If she were an actual root worker, she would have been able to post photos of her own altar work. But she couldn't. She has never done any work.
When several of us from AIRR complained to "Amelia" she sent us back an email that tells a lot about her. She wrote: "I am a graduate student (she's studying biology at Fordham University) and I work this shoppe with another woman - a long time friend, in fact. She was the one who put together the actual listings (including the photos). I was NOT aware that they were taken from a copyrighted site. I never would have agreed to that. I asked her to find generic, neutral photos only."
"Generic, neutral photos only." Wrap your mind around that concept for a moment.
Can you trust your spiritual situation in life to someone who intentionally provides "generic, neutral photos only" as evidence of her altar work?
Let's compare spell-casting to other forms of customized and personalized work:
You wouldn't hire an auto body shop that knowingly sent you pictures of custom auto body work by another shop and claimed they did it, would you?
You wouldn't hire a tattoo artist who knowingly sent you pictures of work by another tattoo artist and claimed they did it, would you?
Simple fraud. That's all it is. Simple fraud.
We, the members of the Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers -- 30 legitimate practitioners of hoodoo -- reported her Etsy shop for false impersonation and for her two dozen or more copyright violations. We sent a DMCA takedown notice to Etsy for the immediate removal of our photos, as well. However, merely forcing her to take down our images is not going to stop her fraud.
She has done the same thing before at Etsy under the name of "MagickalEmily" and she has been posting AIRR photos on Craigslist in Tulsa, Oklahoma under the business name "Hoodoo Herb and Root Magick," the title of a well-known book by a founding member of AIRR. She has another web site as well, under the business name "Ultimate Magick," where she sells spells consisting of nothing more than photos of altar work by AIRR members which she has falsely claimed as her own.
Her working pseudonyms, 2006 to present:
PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL NAMES
- Emily West
- Emily L. West
- Emily Westbrook
- Emily Amelia Westbrook
- Emily Halifax
- Emely Ledterman
- Amelia West
- Psychic Emily
- Psychic Emily West
- Psychic Emily Halifax
- Intuitive Emily Halifax
- Magickal Emily
- Sweet Emily Amelia
COMPANY NAMES (DOMAIN NAMES, SOCIAL MEDIA NAMES)
- EmilyHalifax
- Emily's Hoodoo Emporium
- Emily's Esoteric Emporium
- EmilyTheVet [Note: This account dates to 2008 and has been resurfacesd as UltimateSpellCaster]
- Emily.Westbrook.129 [Note: This account has been resurfacesd as EmilyHalifax]
- Psychic Emily's Metaphysical Shop
- PsychicEmilyHalifax
- TheRealPsychicEmily
- PschicEmil
- Ultimate Magick
- UltimateSpellCaster
- Hoodoo Herb and Root Magick
- HoodooSpellcasting
- Hoodoo Emporium
- MysticalCoven
- Mystical CovenFastLoveSpellsPsychic
- FastLoveSpells
- HealingWoods
- House Of Magic Vlog
2014: Fake Rootworker Roy McDowell GreyMageSpellShop at Etsy
In September 2014, we were alerted that a pseudonymous person going by the name Grey Mage (Roy Eugene McDowell of Tulsa, Oklahoma) was selling imaginary spells at Etsy by using photographs of spell work performed by AIRR members Professor Charles Porterfield and catherine yronwode. This scammer was found to have four fake Facebook accounts (greymage.3, greymage.5, greynmage.7, greymage.9), one real Facebook account (roymcdowell9), and three Etsy shops (GreyMageSpellShop, GreyMageEmporium, and GreyMageSpiritHallow) where he is selling completely fictional spells, using images stolen from folks all over the internet.
Roy McDowell was born in 1969 and in one of his several biographies he says he first became a card reader during the 1990s, working at local psychic fairs. Since 2003, he has operated online as Grey Mage. He never stays in one place long. His psychic services have been available for a year or two at a time at a variety of hosting sites like Tripod, Keen, Facebook, and Etsy, as well as through a sequence of short-term sole-proprietorship web sites that stay online for about one year each (Grey-Mage.com, GreyMagePsychic.com, Greys-Elecronics.us, etc.). The domain registrations for his web sites show that he is also prone to moving from house to house within the city of Tulsa every couple of years.
We don't know if Grey Mage is a good reader or not. We don't even have much to say about the fact that at Etsy he claims to sell people "Nympho spirits" trapped in "bespelled jewelry" and advertises the captive sex-slave spirits with raunchy soft-core pictures. We do care that he is stealing our photos to sell magical spell work. He did this once and was caught in early 2014, and he took the picture down. We thought the problem was solved and let it ride. In September 2014 he came back with more of our pictures. Well, obviously we did not get through to him, so now it is time to speak up.
Roy Eugene McDowell, whose professional name is Grey Mage, sells people copies of other people's PHOTOS, not actual hoodoo rootwork. He is selling imaginary spells.
2014: Fake Rootworker Holy Priestess Holypriestess at Etsy
In September 2014, a report came in about a magic scammer going by the name Holy Priestess at Etsy who was selling imaginary spell-casting by using a photograph of actual spell-casting performed on behalf of a client by AIRR member catherine yronwode. This faker was operating a shop at Etsy called Holypriestess but was only selling PHOTOS of rootwork, not actual spiritual work. She is selling imaginary spells.
2015: Fake Rootworker Von Nelon at Facebook
In July 2015, a person with the Facebook handle Von Nelon posted to the Facebook group "Hoodoo, Brujeria, Santeria & Conjure" as follows: "I'm blessed to cast powerful Spells with the help of my powerful spiritual powers, my spells are done unique ways to fulfil my clients goals. If you are new or you have been disappointed by other spell casters and healers who have failed to provide you with the results they promised you and you're stuck with no option of achieving or solving your problem, its time you contact me, the most powerful and spiritually gifted spell caster.. My services will not give you bad karma or any other unwanted side- effects. I can help you make the difficulties that you know now nothing more than a distant memory. My spells are customized for each client's particular needs for that reason you need to contact me first to let you know if i can help you and how. All my work is guaranteed to be effective, powerful, private and confidential. Holy water is also available. All Problems are solved 3 to 4 days! With the most effective spells! All spells are 100% safe More than 25 years of experience Privacy and confidentiality. Add me now on Facebook and I will tell you more about this."
Accompanying this advertisement was a photo of reconciliation altar work by Khi Armand, a long time member of AIRR and the proprietor of Conjure in the City.
Khi responded as follows: "This photo is the property of Conjure in the City, taken by me. I would strongly suggest that you never, ever use it again as it is proof that you are a liar and a thief. If your services are excellent, why can't you use photos of your own work? It is because you are a thief and a liar. Begone. You are rebuked. Take this pathetic post down and don't you EVER use photos of my spellwork to advertise your charlatan antics again!"
In his or her Facebook account, the scammer Von Nelon claims to have been born on November 2, 1980 and to live in Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania. However, there is no evidence to support this. The account appears to be simply a quickly-erected bogus facade, for in the two week period from July 22 to August 2, 2015, the Von Nelon persona joined Facebook, became a member of 39 Facebook groups devoted to magical spellcraft and dating, and spammed this advertisement to the world.
Von Nelon sells people copies of other people's PHOTOS, not actual hoodoo rootwork. He or she is selling imaginary spells.
2015: Fake Obi Shell Reader Jennifer Thorp at Etsy
It isn't just spells which draw the attention of scam artists. They will stoop so low as to misrepresent their divination results with stolen images also. It isn't as if they couldn't snap a photograph of their own supposed readings to demonstrate their style of working, but, as Jennifer Thorp's Etsy example shows us, she employs pilfered images of divination, such as this one from AIRR member Lukianos that shows a casting that he made with the cowrie shells according to a West African fortune telling system called Obi.
Jennifer Thorp of Open Roads Apothecary at Etsy sought to give the impression that she is a genuine Obi reader by using a photo taken by an AIRR member, even though she makes it plain at the same time that she she is an outsider to the tradition she is claiming to work in.
She writes: "I am NOT initiated into the ATRS (African Traditional Religions). If you ask someone in the ATRs they will tell you that the shells are not authentic. Don't listen to them. They still work."
Huh? How would she know? All she has a photo of Lukianos' shells!
Obviously Jennifer Thorp's lack of integrity is reflected in the stolen image she uses to advertise her divinations, while her confusion about what she is doing is expressed in her arguing against herself about whether or not cowrie shell readings are "authentic." The result may be a warning that any money spent to secure a reading from her will be lost; she is not actually reading Obi, after all, she is scamming. If she were a reader, she would show her own Obi shells, but as it is, she is giving "invisible readings" using a photo of someone else's cowrie shells.
Oh, and not only did Jennifer Thorp make false use of a divination image by a real reader at AIRR to promote her invisible divination service, she also used the image of a proprietary candle label designed by catherine yronwode to advertise an imaginary spell.
Jennifer Thorp of Open Roads Apothecary was reported to Etsy and both of those images were taken down, but we are pretty sure that she will offer similar invisible divinations and imaginary spells again, with photos stolen from the altars and reading tables of people who really do the work.
2016: Fake Candle Setters All Over the Internet
There are so many fake rootworkers in the world that we will never be able to list them all here, of course. We have mostly been ringing the bells of those who have stolen our photos -- that is, the photographs of spell work performed by members of AIRR. There is another kind of scam going on, however, that needs to be discussed, if only briefly and in generic terms. This is the "Intangible Candle Service Scam."
Intangible Candle scammers offer to set lights for clients, but they never do the work. They purchase perhaps a dozen candles and photograph them, then post those photos as ads for their service. Some are so boldly deceitful that they will post generic or stolen photos of burning candles! In either case, when you order a candle setting, you get a "virtual" or non-existent service. They tell you that they have lit a candle, send you an email saying that it burned, and -- Hey-Presto! -- you have paid good money for absolutely nothing!
A real candle service, such as those offered by our AIRR members, will feature a physical place were the candles are set. Candles emit traces of smoke, and over time, these traces will build up to the extent that the ceiling will accumulate a layer of grey or black soot. Those who tell you that they are setting lights for you in their living room are either very new and inexperienced at this work, and haven't yet ruined their first ceiling -- or they are fibbing. If they claim that really do set lights inside their house, ask to get a cell-phone photo of the ceiling!
There is a lot of work that goes into the setting of lights. It is a full-time task for those who offer it, and they may hire assistants to help with the work. Each AIRR member has his or her own way of performing this essential spiritual service, but if you would like an insider's look at how one of our AISC-associated churches, Missionary Independent Spiritual Church conducts daily candle services, we have constructed a web page that demystifies the process, step by step. It is titled "Candle Services Are Tangible Goods". Read it before you select a cheap candle service from an unknown online site. Then you can ask any AIRR member how he or she conducts candle services and you will know why our directory of ethical practitioners will serve you with honesty and dedication.
Don't Get Scammed By Scary Emails!
Once you connect with a fake psychic or scam artist posing as a healer or spell-caster, your name will be passed from one crook to another. Yes, they sell the names of people whom they have victimized, on the chance that you may be foolish enough to buy into their scams again ... and again ... and again.
One of the favourite methods used by these scammers is to send you an email in which they claim that they have had a personal "vision" of you -- and it is never a good vision. Basically, they tell you that you will lose your lover, or your job, or your health, or your happiness if you don't hire this psychic (whom you have never even heard of before) to cast a spell for you ... a very expensive spell.
"But," you say, "the details are correct -- my lover DOES have an ex who could cast a terrible spell on us and break us up! She saw this! It must be true!"
Sorry to disillusion you. You got that email because you had been to ANOTHER scam-artist psychic and had mentioned your love troubles. "Ronnie" didn't have a "vision." She had "Letter A - The Other Woman Curse." If you had told your previous scam psychic about money troubles, you would have been sent "Letter B -- The Money Curse."
The scammers send out hundreds of these letters -- identical letters! -- every day, and if even only 2% of the people they contact respond and buy a cure for the fake "curse," they will have made enough money to more than repay their effort.
And, of course, the "spells" these fakers cast are invisible. There is no photo of the work being done. It's all just words. Spell-casting scammers leave you broke -- and spiritually worse off than when you first trusted them to help you.
Don't fall for these scam psychics and their scary stories. Ask questions before you send money to a spiritual counsellor, especially one who uses fear-mongering tactics to scare you into paying for spell-casting services. Learn about your reader's or rootworker's ethical standards and code of conduct. Make a simple contract for any extended or expensive work. Be safe.
Finding a Reputable Reader or Root Doctor
Now you know how some of the frauds and fakers work. But how can you avoid the fake psychics and get help from an honest one?
Well, we have assembled a list of suggestions to help you select, contact, and work with an honest psychic reader or root doctor. You don't have to choose one of us at AIRR, but reading about the services we offer and how we relate to our clients may help you choose your own advisor more wisely, either locally or online.
If you are looking locally for psychic services, go by the worker's office or parlour and check the place out. Does it look welcoming, clean, and safe? Are the services offered the kinds of services you wish to purchase? Finally, don't be afraid to ask about the reader's reputation with your friends and family -- many well-established readers serve their community for decades and are well-regarded by their clients.
If you are looking online for psychics or spell-casting services, please read through our list of simple questions to ask your potential psychic reader, hoodoo rootworker, or conjure doctor. Spiritual consultants who will not answer these simple questions may not be worth your time. If the work will cost more than you feel comfortable losing on a scam (and for most people, this is around $100.00), ask your prospective root doctor if he or she will make a simple contract covering various aspects of the work.
Scammers can be found anywhere, not just in divination professions. We don't think there are any more scam psychics than there are scam auto mechanics or scam roofing contractors or scam ebay sellers of electronics. The thing is, you deserve to be safe in all your online and in-person transactions -- so please, take the time to shop wisely before you pay for spiritual services.
See Also
Public Education About Client Services
These pages contain general information for the public about dealing with psychic readers, engaging the services of root doctors and spell-casters, and how to keep yourself safe from spiritual and magical scams and frauds:
- Don't Get Ripped Off by Fake Psychics or Phony Spell Casters
Client Outreach Services
These pages contain general information for the public about services that our members offer in addition to psychic reading, spell-casting, and candle services:
- Magical and Spiritual Coaches in AIRR
- Metaphysical Authors in AIRR
- Teachers and Workshop Presenters in AIRR
- Radio Podcasters in AIRR
- Video Webcasters in AIRR
- Occult Shopkeepers and Spiritual Suppliers in AIRR
- Church Pastors and Deacons in AIRR
- Hoodoo Heritage Festival Presenters in AIRR
- Streaming Video Classes with PDFs from AIRR
- The Churches of the AISC
- The Crystal Silence League
- The AIRR Pro Bono Fund
- The AIRR Ombudsman Team
- The AIRR Tech Team
- Internet Forum and Group Facilitators in AIRR
- AISC Board of Bishops
- The Church Fan Fund
About AIRR
These pages tell you all about how things work at the Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers, AIRR:
