If you've never been to a medium before, figuring out who to book with can feel a little weird.
Because what exactly are you supposed to Google?
And once you do, how do you know who's reputable, who's a good fit for you, and who's just really good at marketing themselves?
I'm Shannon Faye. I'm an evidential psychic medium in Metro Detroit, and a lot of the people who sit down with me have never been to a medium before.
So here's what I would tell you to look for.
And yes, that applies whether you book with me or somebody else.
First, know what kind of reading you're looking for
Psychic readings and mediumship readings aren't exactly the same thing.
Generally, psychic information is about you. Your life, relationships, patterns, decisions or things you're currently navigating.
Mediumship is communication with people who have died.
Some practitioners do one. Some do both. I do both, but my work primarily centers around evidential mediumship.
If your reason for booking is that you're hoping to connect with someone who has died, you're probably looking for a mediumship reading.
Psychic vs Medium: What's the Difference?
Look for someone who explains what they actually do
“I'm intuitive” doesn't really tell you much.
Neither does a website full of mystical language that somehow never explains what happens when you sit down for the reading.
A reputable medium should be able to tell you, in plain English, how they work.
In my readings, I usually begin with evidence.
That can be personality, memories, relationships, names, objects, habits, physical characteristics, circumstances surrounding a death or some completely random detail that means absolutely nothing to me and everything to the person sitting across from me.
The point is to establish:
Who is here?
Then we can get into:
What do they want you to know?
For me, that's where mediumship becomes much more interesting.
Evidence → Connection → Message → Meaning.
Nobody should be promising you exactly who will show up
This is a big one for me.
I don't control Spirit.
I can't guarantee that Mom, Dad, Grandma or Uncle Bob is going to come through because you booked Tuesday at 2:00.
I can show up, do my job and create the space for communication. But mediumship is communication with another consciousness. I don't get to order from a menu.
Be cautious of anyone making guarantees they can't reasonably make.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't have hopes about who you'd like to hear from. Of course you do.
It just means a medium should be honest about the limits of the work.
You shouldn't be scared into coming back
This might be my biggest red flag.
You should not leave a reading believing you're cursed, surrounded by evil energy, destined for something terrible or required to pay someone another $700 to fix whatever they just told you is wrong with you.
No.
Fear should never be a sales strategy.
I also don't believe a medium should make you dependent on them.
You don't need me to be connected.
You have your own intuition. You have your own relationship with the people you love. Mediumship can offer another experience of that connection, but I don't have some exclusive VIP access to Spirit that you don't.
Look at how they handle being wrong
Mediums are human.
We interpret information through our own minds, language, experiences and filters.
Sometimes I get something wrong.
Sometimes I interpret something incorrectly.
Sometimes something makes absolutely no sense during the reading and the person emails me three days later because they suddenly figured it out.
A medium who needs every single thing they say to be right can end up forcing information to fit.
I'd rather say:
“Nope? Okay. Leave it.”
And move on.
The goal isn't for me to look impressive.
The goal is communication.
Reviews matter, but read what people actually say
Don't just look at the number of stars.
Read the reviews.
Do people describe specific evidence?
Do they talk about feeling comfortable?
Do they say the medium listened when something didn't make sense rather than trying to force it?
Do first-time clients say they understood what was happening?
Those details can tell you much more about what sitting with that person actually feels like.
Training matters. So does continuing to learn.
There isn't one universally required license that makes someone a legitimate medium.
That's part of what makes choosing one confusing.
I personally believe training and continued development matter.
I've studied with teachers including Lori Lipten, Mavis Pittilla, Andy Byng and Suzanne Giesemann, attended classes through the Arthur Findlay College, and continued studying through programs including James Van Praagh's School of Mystical Arts.
And I'm still learning.
I don't think you reach some magical point where you're finished understanding consciousness, intuition or mediumship.
If anything, the more I learn, the more questions I have.
Pay attention to how you feel about the person
This part isn't very technical, but I think it matters.
You should feel comfortable.
You don't need to think the medium is magical.
You don't need to believe everything they believe.
You don't even have to know exactly what you believe yet.
But you should feel like you can sit across from this person and be yourself.
Mediumship can be vulnerable. Grief is vulnerable. Talking about someone you love who died is vulnerable.
The person doing that work with you should respect that.
If you're brand new to mediumship, you belong here too
A huge percentage of the people I read for are first-timers.
You don't need to know mediumship terminology.
You don't need to meditate before you arrive.
You don't need to bring an object from your loved one, but you absolutely can if you want to.
You don't feed me information. In fact, you should never feel like you need to feed a medium information.
And you definitely don't need to pretend you're less nervous than you are.
Come curious.
That's enough.
Looking for an evidential medium in Metro Detroit?
I'm Shannon Faye, an evidential psychic medium based in Huntington Woods, Michigan.
I offer private mediumship readings in person for people throughout Metro Detroit, including Royal Oak, Berkley, Ferndale, Birmingham and the surrounding area, as well as online readings via Zoom.
My approach is evidence first.
Who is here?
Then we explore the connection, the message and, ultimately, what any of it might mean for the person who's still here living their life.
I don't guarantee who will come through. I don't use fear. I don't predict a fixed future.
And I'm not here to convince you that mediumship is real.
Just come curious.
