Psychic Rena. For Real.
I probably would never have ever gone of my own volition, even though I’m not particularly opposed to the idea of psychics I am utterly opposed to getting ripped off and wasting money (generally) so I was more than a little skeptical. My friend Kelly insisted though, because she had been to this psychic before, you see, and she had foretold something that while Kelly was in no way able to avoid, did actually come to pass and that seemed like a ringing endorsement.
We took the A train from the West 4th street stop up to gross and awful Times Square and headed west. On 10th Avenue, in the doorway of some walk up apartment building sat psychic Rena, behind a glass-topped table covered with a soiled pink tablecloth. My skepticism skyrocketed at the sight of the tablecloth.
“I’m not doing this,” I said to Kelly. “You go.”
She shrugged and went inside. Fifteen minutes later she came out, beaming.
I shook my head.
Next was Jessica, far more skeptical than I. I told myself that I would only go in if she said it was worth it.
Fifteen minutes later Jessica came out looking visibly shaken. I marched inside.
Rena offers services at a steadily inclining price. For $5 she’ll read your palm. For $15 she does your tarot card reading. For $25 she does some thing where you hold a bunch of charms in your hand and toss them on to a table and then depending on where they land and everything, she reads your fortune.
Rena could tell right off the bat that I wasn’t buying any of her bullshit. I said “palm only” and rolled my eyes visibly when she lit the candles on the table. She took my palm in her two hands, pressed it a little with her thumbs and looked at me.
“How’s your younger sister?”
It could have been just a coincidence but I do have a younger sister!! She also knew that I had a long term relationship with a man that sometimes made me anxious, that I was about to start a “school term” in the fall that I would be dissatisfied with (grad school, I was!) and a bunch of other fucking weird crazy shit. I then agreed to let her do the tarot reading which was so much fun. It actually didn’t warn me about anything specific happening, it was more like quickie mystical therapy. She explained patterns to me that repeated themselves throughout my life and how they were manifest in current situations. I left Rena’s table a convert.
So far I have recommended her to countless people. The catch is that I can’t remember exactly where she is. I know it’s on 10th avenue between 43rd and 44th streets, I know it’s on the west side of the street and I know that she has one of those outdoor signs that list her rates but the building number escapes me and it’s not the kind of thing you can find on yelp.
If you are so inclined though, seek her out. It’s absolutely worth $20.
Psychic Rena
Somewhere on 10th Avenue
between 43rd and 44th Streets