DB Interview

Last fall 2010, I was contacted by David Bolton, who is writing a book about psychics, and he asked to interview me for his book. Below is the interview which will give you more background on who I am, what and why I do this type of work, and some of my philosophies. ENJOY!

Interview with Elaine Lockard
October 21, 2010

David Bolton: How did you get into this area, if I may ask? How did it all start? What attracted you to the area of laying the cards?

Elaine Lockard: I’ve always been interested in metaphysics, paranormal things. I thought at one time that I wanted to go into ghost hunting and things like that. I even considered going to Duke University and studying paranormal science. They have a department there. One of the earliest things I did was get one of those little pocket books on numerology. I worked on that for a while. I just did different things like that. I met my husband, actually, through a reading. We were high school sweethearts. We were in an algebra class together in 10th grade. We weren’t friends we were just acquaintances across the classroom. There was a daytime soap opera at that time called “Dark Shadows”

DB: Oh, yeah, I remember that!

EL: You know it then. I was a big “Dark Shadows” fan. I bought my first tarot deck. Algebra class was right after lunch, so a whole bunch of us would get together right in the classroom to play cards during lunch. So I took the tarot deck in one day, and asked if anyone wanted a reading. So he said “Okay”. I got the book out, and I would look at the book to see what things meant. I did a reading for him, told him what I saw in the reading. Now, my husband’s an introvert. He’s very private. He doesn’t say anything personal. He pulled me aside after class, and told me something very deeply personal about himself, and confirmed to me how accurate I had been in what I had said. That was my first getting to know him, and then we just kind of saw each other around the school, and we started dating in senior year, and got married a few years later. So we’ve been together since 1973 – thirty-seven years.

DB: Wow…

EL: Yeah, that’s how things started. And then, in 1985, there was an article in the paper about different classes and lectures that a community college was offering at night, and one of the lectures was an evening with a psychic. My husband and I thought that that sounded interesting, so we said “Let’s go do that!”. We went to it – it was February, 1985. There was a lady there named Laura, and she did palm readings, and things of that sort. She wasn’t one of those “woo woo” type of psychics, who dresses really far out. She was very ordinary. We were impressed with her. She had a weekly meditation class at her home, and we started going to that, and that’s how my serious spiritual development started. Since then, I have done all kinds of classes and multiple trainings. The most recent was earlier this century, from late 1999 till 2003. I went through a whole series of classes and seminars with a lady here in Virginia Beach, and through her school, which is called the “Free Spirit School”. I was certified as a metaphysician through her school.

DB: What common questions do your clients ask? You say you don’t predict the future, but don’t you get such questions from your clients?

EL: The clients I have mostly dealt with have been business people, because I’m also a coach. I’ve gotten most of my clients so far that way. Now, I did do readings through a local metaphysical church for a while. Yes, they do ask about the future. But what I have learned from everyone is that most of what they ask is something that they already know or have an inkling about. They just need to get clear on what it is, and work through the confusion of what they’re going through and get to their own answers. The cards, and the way I work, really help them to develop a discussion, to talk about possibilities and guide them to their answer. That’s why I like the angels so much, and why I decided to work with the angels. Because the angels are there for guidance, and they’re there to really support you, and help you through all of the positive energies that are out there, and I just really love that. If a person in a reading asks me specifically about when something will happen, I will tell them that I don’t predict the future. I can tell them at that particular moment what I feel might occur, or when it might occur, but I let them know they have free will. I firmly believe in free will – and that they can make a decision at that minute that can change that information. So just to use it as a possibility of what could happen, but not to rely on it as a certainty.

DB: That’s fascinating. I feel the same way, and I think that because of free will, some things that even good psychics say don’t come true. After being told, people might react one way or the other, and depending on the decisions they make, things can go in another direction…

EL: Correct.

DB: From one probable reality into another, so to speak. So then, what areas do your clients mostly ask about?

EL: It can be a variety of things, actually. Mostly it has to do with personal things, I guess you could say. If a person is coming to me for a personal reading, it’s usually personal things, a direction in their life, or a concern that they have. But in business, it’s the same thing, too. They have concerns, they’re not sure of directions either, so it does kind of blend together. It’s just a different angle on the same general topic.

DB: So for instance, somebody in business might ask why there’s a lot of tension with a business partner, or some such thing?

EL: Yes, they could do that. That would be a relationship issue, which is also the type of question you might get from someone who isn’t in a business.

DB: So then your using the angel cards is connected to the coaching as well. You do both…

EL: I can’t separate the two. One of the reasons that I got into coaching is that I had been looking for years to find the healing profession because I had always known that I was supposed to be a healer. And I was trying to find the healing profession that fit my talents and fit my particular circumstances, and coaching fell into my lap one day out of the clear blue. I found it was something that I had always done. I have always been a coach, and a mentor, all my life. I’ve always been a “go to” person that someone could come and talk to, or if they had a problem, to come and try to figure it out. It’s always been there. It just was a matter of putting a title to it and getting my certification, which is something I really wanted to do. I didn’t want to hang up a coaching shingle without proper certification. But yeah, it’s something I’ve always done.
And so I can’t separate the two. The intuition always come up in the coaching, and the coaching always come up in the readings. They’re part and parcel of one another.

DB: So in other words, you might be coaching somebody, giving them advice, helping them see something more clearly, and then suddenly you think, “Hey, this is a question for the cards”, and then you pick up the cards.

EL: I don’t necessarily need the cards for that. I have varying degrees of different abilities. I do have some clairvoyance. I’m clairaudient, and clairsentient, claircognizant. Thoughts will pop into my head. Sometimes, I’ll see things. So whenever something comes up, whether I have the cards or not, I relay that. Now, cards help more in the questioning, to get the direction. And if someone is stuck, or I’m stuck, and I’m not picking up on the energy real well, the cards are a good way to break through that “stuckness” for both of us, and connect the energy more, and as a guide. But I don’t rely solely on the cards.

DB: Okay. Now, are there questions that your clients might ask, that you would refuse to answer? Besides questions about the future, because you said that that’s not your specialty. Are there other questions where you would say “No, I’m not even going to consider that question”?

EL: Well, if it gets into the area of a medical professional, you know, diagnosing something, I don’t go there. I firmly believe that the medical profession, and licensed professionals, should take care of situations like that, and I will immediately direct people that way, because I do not want them to rely on information that’s not coming from a professional source. If it’s something like that that they need, I certainly would refer them out. And of course, I don’t do predictions. They’re just possibilities, not predictions. I’d say they are the main ones. I’m sure that there are others that might come up. I also would refuse to answer something if I’m not connected to a person, or if I’m not getting an answer. I won’t force an answer. If I don’t know something, I’ll tell them I don’t know it.

DB: That’s related to my next question, actually. Do you have differing degrees of intuition, depending on the client?

EL: Oh yeah, always. Everybody’s energies are different. And it’s quite common to have different connections with people. It’s just like meeting a person on the street. Some people you immediately click with, and some people you don’t. Sometimes, you can immediately get into a reading, and be in that person’s energy, and things just chug right along very quickly, and other times you have to talk a little bit, to get to know them a few minutes before you really get centered into that energy. So yeah, varying digress of energy just kind of comes with anything.

DB: Have you ever been totally blocked with somebody, so that for some reason, you just couldn’t say anything?

EL: No, not really. I have had people that I had to talk to for a while, and not a whole lot came out, because of whatever kind of wall they had up, or whatever the energy problem was. But I’ve never been totally blocked, where I couldn’t come up with anything.

DB: Okay. Now, how does it feel when you get an intuition? Does it usually come with a picture, or hearing something, or feelings? What does it feel like?

EL: It could be a combination thereof, or singular. It’s hard to say what it feels like. I call it “knowing”. And you don’t know what a “knowing” feels like until you’ve experienced one.

DB: That’s very well put. Because what I’m trying to get at here is that our minds are always active. Now, imagine somebody who doesn’t have any clairvoyance whatsoever, but they meet a person, and just for fun, they think, “Well, maybe I am clairvoyant”, and so they start to think about different things, and because their mind is active, maybe different pictures come into their mind, though these probably aren’t true at all. But what is the difference between such a person who is simply imagining things, and somebody who has psychic ability? Is it what you just said, the feeling of having a “knowing”, and thinking, “yes, this is it”? How do you distinguish the real, the authentic, from any wild thoughts that are going through your mind?

EL: The word on that is experience, and practice. I remember one of the best pieces of advice I was ever given from one of my teachers. I lacked a lot of self-confidence in the information I was getting. I didn’t want to do readings. I was very concerned about that, because I just didn’t have confidence in the information I was getting. I would see things from time to time. I don’t get huge visuals in terms of like a movie-screen visual. It’s more of a perception: I sense and see the picture inside my mind, so I call it a perception instead of an actual true visual. I cannot create something in my mind, like an artist, and render it; I don’t do that. But she said, “Think of it as a day dream. If you are just sitting around and daydreaming, you have these thought-pictures and words coming into your mind, and that very well may be the information you’re getting from the universe. It’s a matter of trusting it, and practicing it so that you can learn what the difference is between how it feels.” And that totally opened up my world, because then I was able to start trusting all this information I had been getting that I had been pushing to one side. So I’ll see things sometimes; other times, it’s a feeling. Sometimes I’ll have thoughts pop into my head. It’s a whole combination thereof.

DB: Does this happen more now than, say, ten years ago? Is it something that’s progressing?

EL: Oh yes, especially over the last couple of years, it’s really expanded tremendously.

DB: So once you have an opening there, it just kind of grows?

EL: Yes, but also, everybody goes through stages of transformation, depending on where they are in their lives, and what they’re doing. I had a huge transformational opening a couple of years ago, and another one at the beginning of this year (2010). This whole year for me has been a very transformational year. In numerology, you go through a cycle of nine personal years. I am in my ninth year this year, 2010, and this is a year of ending, and transformation, and creating new beginnings. And ever since January, it’s been a roller coaster ride. It was the same the first part of last year, in another way, but still very transformational, so things have just blossomed, I would say ten-fold, in the last couple of years.

DB: When you were a small child, did you have any visions, or things like that? Or was it just something that started with the tarot cards that you mentioned earlier?

EL: Well, I’ve had things happen throughout my life. The one that I remember the most was when I was a teenager. I woke up one night, and I knew something wasn’t right. I didn’t know what had woke me up. I was restless, and I just wasn’t sure what was going on. Then, all of a sudden, I heard the phone ring. It was in my parents’ bedroom. And as soon as I heard the phone ring, it was like tapping someone with a reflex hammer: the first “ding” of that phone, I shot out of bed, and had my clothes on in about a minute’s time before my father even got to my door, and knocked on it, and said that my grandfather had had a stroke. Then he and I were out the door to the hospital. So I’ve had things like that throughout my life, but that’s the most memorable one in my earlier years.

DB: How old were you then?

EL: Oh, around sixteen or seventeen. I’ve had a number of experiences like that. When I was doing readings through the Metaphysical Chapel, where I was more one-on-one with people, I did a lot of psychometry, and I’d be able to pick up different things, what was going on. Most recently, a friend was at my house. This was more of a recent friend. And we were talking about my readings, and I said, “Here, let me give you an example. May I borrow a piece of your jewelry?” She gave me a piece of her jewelry, and I immediately got this vision in my head of a particular place, and so I was describing it to her, and she acknowledged that I was describing perfectly an area that she used to frequent when she was a child. It was a place that left a special memory in her heart, from her childhood. We didn’t go any further with it, but a few days later, my friend called me, and she said that she had received a call from a family member, and it seems that just around the time that I had seen that, another family member that was associated with that point in her life, and with that location, had died. And that was rather interesting.

DB: It sure is.

EL: And you were talking about earlier experiences that I’ve had. One thing that I have always done, and I don’t know how I do it, I just know that I do it – I call myself an information gatherer, in that all my life, I would run across a piece of information, or a person, and within sometimes hours, or even an hour, but at the most a few days, I would find someone else, or something else, that either they were looking for, or that were looking for them. Case in point: when I was working, about twenty years ago, a girl in my office mentioned that she had been looking for a particular type of Christmas scarf. She had never been able to find one, and lo and behold, a few days later, I was in the mall, and I turned around, and there was the exact scarf she had described to me. She had been looking for a few years for this particular type of scarf. And there it was! So I bought it, and gave it to her for a Christmas present. That was wonderful seeing her open the package, and her jaw drop to the floor! (laughs).
But it’s always happened. I don’t know how I do it, but I’ve been able to be a networker, and connect people that way. It’s also an informational type of thing. It could be a piece of information. A girlfriend of mine one time was looking for one of these services where you can have a star named after a person. I forget what they call it. She mentioned that to me, and a couple of hours later, I was doing something, and an ad for it came up, and I sent it to her. It just happens. That’s kind of uncanny. I’m always in the right place, at the right time, to give them the information that they need.

DB: On to the next question: Do you ever have intuitions about your clients after you talk to them? One of the reasons I ask is because some psychics say that after they’ve done a session, they do some kind of little ritual to block out anything else, because they don’t want their mind flooded with images of all kinds of people, but that probably depends on the psychic. Do you ever have that – that maybe a few hours after a session, you suddenly start getting ideas about that person?

EL: Sure. It happens from time to time.

DB: Do you then get in touch with them, to tell them more?

EL: It depends on what it is. If it is something that I feel is really urgent that they know, yes, but most of the time, it’s just little stuff. I’ve never really had anything that’s been hugely important, because I do try to disconnect afterwards, as you said. But sometimes things will come through, yeah.

DB: How do you think your readings can most benefit your clients, in a really ideal case, on a really good day?

El: On a really good day, my ideal reading is with someone who is really wanting to search. Like a person who’s doing self-development, they are ready for it. They are really wanting to do the research, they’re really wanting to get their answers, and they’re willing to do the work necessary to get there. And they fully participate in the session, and we get in deep, and really do find those answers and solutions for them. I really enjoy sessions like that. We get a lot done, and it helps everything that is going on with them. I know there’s a lot of skepticism out there about what psychics do, and there again, I don’t call myself a psychic, since I don’t predict the future. That “prediction” connotation comes with the word “psychic”, so I don’t call myself a psychic.

DB: But you are a psychic, the way I see it. A psychic doesn’t necessarily have to predict the future. The same with astrologers. Many people think that astrologers predict the future, but this isn’t necessarily so. We predict certain tendencies and probabilities, but we don’t predict specific events.

EL: Well, it’s just all the connotations that have come to be associated with the word “psychic” over the years, so I don’t advertise it that way. I just say “professional intuitive”, because I want the people to come to the table with a more open mind. But if someone is really looking, and really wants to find the answers, I do enjoy working with them, and really digging in deep.

DB: So a session isn’t necessarily work for you; it can be a lot of fun.

EL: Oh yes, it can be a lot of fun, and the people that block themselves off through their skepticism, or whatever – it’s more difficult to help them, because they’re afraid that they’re giving you the information, rather than you giving it to them. And when you’re talking about possibilities, and searching for answers, you know, no one knows everything. It is a give and take situation, so I like someone where we can get in there, and really give and take, and explore, and give them direction.
I’ve helped some of my business clients come up with names for their businesses. Another client had totally put up road blocks as to what they could accomplish. There was one particular goal they wanted to accomplish, and they just totally didn’t understand, and through the reading, and the interaction, they really understood the cause of what was holding them back, and it was just amazing to watch the breakthrough, and then continue working with them as they found their footing and really got going. It was just great, I love things like that. I love being able to help people when it just explodes and everything just goes very, very well for them. I’ve had some wonderful experiences that way.
So I really want someone who wants to know the information, and who finds it valuable. Everybody should be skeptical, and should take everything with a grain of salt. But don’t bring negativity to the session. You have to have an open mind, and you have to be willing to explore.

DB: Well, they must be a little open-minded, or they wouldn’t visit you in the first place.

EL: Well, you’d be surprised sometimes. The skeptics think they’re open-minded, but they’re not.

DB: But then, why would they visit an intuitive?

EL: Well, a lot of times they don’t realize they’re skeptical.

DB: You said you work with the angel cards. I don’t know the angel cards. Do you ask a question of the cards? Or do you just lay the cards, and see what they say, or…

EL: You ask a direct question. Are you comfortable if I use you for an example? Before our call started today, I asked a question. I have three different decks here. I have an archangel oracle card deck – all these are by Doreen Virtue – I also have her Rafael healing deck, and I have her archangel Michael deck. I asked the decks, what was a card that would be representative of you today. Then I asked for an advisory type of card for you. The card that’s representative of you today comes from the Michael deck. It says “Be gentle with yourself”, and it reads “Please guide me in treating myself with gentle, nurturing love, and in everything I speak, think and do. Help me know that I deserve this compassion. I release any feelings of guilt to you, so that I may experience lasting inner peace.

DB: That’s about today, right?

EL: Yes, that’s your representative card for today.

DB: I can identify with that. Not that anything bad happened today, but it was a day of frustration. I felt that things weren’t moving fast enough, and was asking myself when things would finally happen, and I felt very critical of myself. I can certainly relate to the message of that card.

EL: So that is representative for you today. That’s why I like these angel cards. Since they have these messages on them like that, it’s a good catalyst for opening a discussion and really digging in more, than, say, a tarot. I have a tarot deck also, but when I use the tarot, I don’t necessarily go by the meaning that’s in the book. I go by what I see on the card, and by what jumps out at me. And so tarots are much more subjectively interpreted. These allow you to bring up issues like what today has been for you. If we had a full reading, I could go ahead and could draw another card, and maybe ask about some of the things that happened for you today, things you may have some questions about. So it opens up a discussion, and I really like that.
Now, the advisory card for you came from the archangel oracle deck, and is a card of transition. It’s the archangel Chamuel, and it says your life purpose is triggering a blessed career change.

DB: Does this refer to a specific time period?

EL: Something that you are in right now. It’s an advisory card, so it’s more of a confirmation, letting you know that you are in the process of a career change.

DB: That’s very true!

EL: It’s true?

DB: Yes it is. You see, since I came to Japan, I just haven’t found my place here. I was living in Spain. There, I had a lot of pupils; I also gave some concerts, since I’m a musician as well. Here in Japan, I do some acting for TV, but that’s just occasional work. Besides that, it’s very difficult to find students here. So I’ve started to write, and may go more in that direction, above all, because that would make us independent of place. But yeah, this whole year and a half has been a time of change. And I know that this is only a transition, to get back to that term you mentioned before.

EL: Career transition is the name of this card. I want to point out one thing in this card that keeps jumping out at me. It says your life purpose is triggering. Do you know what your life purpose is?

DB: No, I could not put it in a concise sentence. I have some inklings, though I’m not sure they’re correct.

EL: So, the career changes you’re going through, I would suggest keeping a close eye on all the developments, and the process of you getting where you’re going, and that will give you more information as to what your actual life purpose is since it is your life purpose that is triggering these changes. There is something about you, your wants, your needs, your internal desires, that are causing these career changes to happen, and are leading you in the direction you’re going.

DB: It all kind of fits, I’ll say that! Thank you so much for the interview today, Elaine.