Char Margolis

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 14 Dec 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

wavebreaker	14 Dec 2002
Has anyone heard of the psychic Char Margolis? What do you think of her? I'm asking because there is currently a tv series about her on Dutch tv (for the Dutchies: it's on Tuesdays at 20.30 on RTL4). I missed the first two episodes, but I've set my VCR to tape the next one, so hopefully I finally get to see it... ;) PS You can find out more about her on her website.

pozt	15 Dec 2002
never heard of her, but saw the homepage... $500 for a reading?!!! Seems a bit too much... Dunno...with ppl like "miss cleo" busted, it has really shook my confidence in ppl who claim to have "higher powers"...although I am not saying these ppl do not exist...

Damien X	15 Dec 2002
Sylvia Browne (www.sylvia.org) takes $700 for a reading, which makes Chars services a true bargain. ;o) I would need some real heavy duty revelations for that kinda' money - or am I wrong? No wonder there are so many sceptics out there...

wavebreaker	15 Dec 2002
I think this is rather funny: the tv show presents her as "a very famous psychic in the US", but nobody seems to have heard of her... :laugh: I'm a bit sceptic myself. Because of the channel the tv show is on (not exactly known for its serious documentaries...) and the guests they've invited to the show to talk with Char (Dutch celebrities who would do anything to get their face on tv...). But again: I haven't seen it yet.

truthsayer	15 Dec 2002
i have seen char in action on larry king live. she appeared with sylvia brown and james van pragh. i was less than not impressed with her. i thought she was rude, obnoxious and abusive to callers with questions. she would start naming off alphabet letters and ask if this person knew someone with a name starting with b, c, d or e. if the person said no then char would get nasty and accuse the person of not cooperating w/ her. when sylvia or james van pragh tried to answer a question she would drown them out. i don't know what her claim to fame is but it could be that the only place she could get a job as a psychic is outside of the usa b/c ppl here are on to her. miss cleo was a fraud but least she seemed to have some manners in the infomercials. i like sylvia browne, john edwards, and james van pragh. i don't know if i believe everything they come up with but they give every appearance of being caring mannerly human beings. they will stand up assertively for what they say but i've never seen those 3 get aggressive like char. their fees support large staffs and other expenses so i can see it. i wouldn't recommend getting a reading by char. my experiences seeing her on tv could be why no one in the usa know of her and she's gone to overseas for an audience.

pozt	16 Dec 2002
I also think that those who are genuinely that good don't need the publicity... on her homepage, she's practically begging people to write good things about her... smells fishy.

Damien X	16 Dec 2002
Agressive self-promotion sucks... The problem I find with these famous mediums at large is that they like to portrait themselves rather as deities than humans. They're always like 100% right and correct, which makes mistakes just obsolete in their worlds. Isn't that strange? I mean come on... Their books are, on the other hand, enjoyable, but I read them more like fiction than facts because of the heavily retouching of the truth. In the end, it's all about entertainment and showbiz. Not spirituality.

raeanne	16 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Damien X Agressive self-promotion sucks... The problem I find with these famous mediums at large is that they like to portrait themselves rather as deities than humans. They're always like 100% right and correct, which makes mistakes just obsolete in their worlds. Isn't that strange? I mean come on... Their books are, on the other hand, enjoyable, but I read them more like fiction than facts because of the heavily retouching of the truth. In the end, it's all about entertainment and showbiz. Not spirituality. Damien X, Who are the famous mediums you are talking about? I have read John Edwards’s books and watched several of his TV shows. He readily admits that he doesn’t always get it right. I don’t know much about James Van Pragh but I don’t think he claims to be right all the time. As for Sylvia Browne, I have only seen her on the Montel Williams show. To the best of my knowledge, she doesn’t claim to be infallible either. I don't think any of these three try to portray themselves as deities at all. If there are there some others that do, I haven't seen them.

Damien X	16 Dec 2002
I'm sorry, roseanne, for stepping on some sensitive toes, didn't mean to offend you in any way. My intention was merely to comment my point of view. Then to explain my post: I have for quite some time studied the works of 'famous' psychics or/and mediums in two different, but in a way similar, countries: USA - f e van Praagh, Sylvia Browne, John Edwards, and former Yugoslavia - f e Kleo Patra, Vidovita Zorka. The similarity lies in the acceptance of and the commercial industries created around these persons. By taking part of their public performances and reading their books and columns, just devouring everything about'em, I have built my own opinions regarding their works. And they all have the same way of doing things; here are some points: *crazy aggressive self-promotion: commercials running all the time announcing their services. In former YU, before the new legislations, they used to have their own tv-shows, like that of John Edward. Don' forget that tv-shows are heavily edited, and they sure don't transmit any non-flattering image of themselves. *self-glorification and worshipping: the same as above... Everything, from books to shows, are modified and corrected to put them in a flattering light. You'll never see them say: 'I don't know' or 'I can't recieve anything', they'll just keep on trying until they push a button. That's what I meant by deitiesm by the way. *cold readings: are so usual in this profession. Did anyone see The Larry King Show this last saturday, where Rosemary Altea was the guest? If not: see a re-run or read the transcript. I rest my case... *lack of patience: these so called 'highly spiritual' individuals tend to be overly aggressive towards those who question their abilities. Which I can get in some sense. But I cannot comprehend why they treat 'clients' in the same manner. Why the rabid attitude? Can't they just calm down a bit and discuss various questions in a civilized manner, like intelligent people? And why did Sylvia Browne accept the 'one-million-dollar-challenge' by James Randi (www.randi.org) when she didn't intend to complete it? Why, unnecessarily (?), make an a** of herself? It brings shame on the whole psychic community, thus making the rest of us look stupid... And after the disaster called 'madame Cleo' - or what's-her-name, why do people still get dazzled by the glossy surface of those individuals? After all, it's more showbiz than spirituality, and there's really nothing wrong with it. If you lack any serious demand of a higher truth, that is. Once again, no offence. :o)

Laurel	16 Dec 2002
I found this web page that contains an interesting article on "Psychic Char" and labels her as a transparent cold reader using a sample of her television work to illustrate. http://www.randi.org/jr/121401.html and its about half way down the page. I too was not familar with Char Margolis and didn't find anything on her web site this morning http://www.psychicchar.com/ which was unique or personalized- her message and ideas are far from her own, imo. She also disclaimes herself as an "entertainer" and not a psychic. I'll take her at her word. :P Laurel

wavebreaker	16 Dec 2002
Thanks for that link, Laurel, that was very helpful... ;)

raeanne	16 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Damien X I'm sorry, roseanne, for stepping on some sensitive toes, didn't mean to offend you in any way. My intention was merely to comment my point of view. Damien X, I just ask for the names of the mediums that you thought were claiming to be deities. Where I live mediums don't advertise. I have never seen a single commercial for any of them. So, your claim that they do this "all the time" was surprising to me. Any sensitive toes certainly don't belong to me.

allibee	17 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by tarotlady I think this is rather funny: the tv show presents her as "a very famous psychic in the US", but nobody seems to have heard of her... :laugh: That's just it, isn't it? I could say that I have really good feedback for my readings from three people in three different countries. Technically therefore I could introduce myself as an "INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED" reader. It's a joke. The woman is obviously a legend in her own lunchtime, IMHO. allibee a legend in my own toilet ;)

Laurel	17 Dec 2002
Psychic Char is clearly doing the "talk show" circuit and probably a lot of bored American housewives/househusbands who don't have any overwhelming interest in the occult or tarot are way more familiar with her than the average Aeclectic forum member :) This isn't to say that there aren't people here who like day time talk shows. I mean, I have a soft spot in my heart for Doctor Phil because I think he genuinely cares and and back in the day, Oprah and Phil Donahue. But Char Margolis is "working the Geraldo cirquit" and that's not particularly impressive to me. Laurel

wavebreaker	17 Dec 2002
Well, I finally got to see the tv show tonight, and it was exactly like the transcript on the website Laurel posted... One example: a woman said she wanted to contact her deceased sister. Before her sister died, she had promised her to contact her from "the other side", but the woman hadn't received any signs. Char started with the name-guessing. She mentioned two letters, and one of them was indeed the first letter of the sister's name. She guessed Jesse or Jessica, but it was José. She asked whether the woman had brought something that had belonged to her sister and you could clearly see the woman holding something in her hand and already offering it to Char, after which Char quickly said: yes, your sister says you have brought something. Then she went on to guess the name of the woman's deceased father. She asked whether it was G or J. Yes, it's J, said the woman, so Char continued guessing. Then the woman realised she had confused G and J in English, and said it should be G... Looking at the whole reading: she hardly said anything, all she did was the guess work, and some general remarks such as: your sister is doing well and she loves you. Afterwards, the woman was interviewed. She said she was very much impressed because Char guessed her sister's name right away (she didn't), that she knew she had brought something from her sister (which she had already indicated before Char mentioned this) and that she guessed her father's name right away (she didn't). After having seen this, to me, Char is definitely not a psychic. All she "reads" is people's reactions, body language, etc. As for the name guessing: she probably has some "system" to guess names. She made the mistake with the woman's sister of starting to guess English names, instead of Dutch ones. With the father, she corrected this: apparently she had informed herself about most common Dutch male names starting with G... ;)

allibee	17 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by tarotlady As for the name guessing: she probably has some "system" to guess names. Yes, it's called applicant filling out a long form before the show giving all her details, who she would like to be contacted by and if she is bringing anything to the show with her that Char woman can do telekinesis on......maybe! allibee

wavebreaker	17 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by allibee Yes, it's called applicant filling out a long form before the show giving all her details, who she would like to be contacted by and if she is bringing anything to the show with her that Char woman can do telekinesis on......maybe! No need to fill in the latter, even I could see the woman had brought something... Wait, does this mean I'm psychic?? Maybe I should start a tv show!! :D Interesting: on the tv show's website there's a poll, asking people whether they believe in Char. 4227 people have voted: 79% have voted for "yes, I believe in the supernatural" (which, in my opinion, is not an answer to the question asked...), 16% have voted for "not sure yet" and 5% have voted for "no, she's a fraud"...

Damien X	18 Dec 2002
Once again, a 'famous' psychic/medium - not sure if they can be called that, gives a performance of the technique called cold-reading. And the poor audience is, by different reasons, letting itself getting duped by these con-artists. It's really tragic when you think about it...

The Char Margolis thread was originally posted on 14 Dec 2002 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.