Saturday afternoon, despite a string of rainstorms, a crowd of spiritual enthusiasts in Uxbridge braved the weather to attend the first day of the weekend-long Summer Psychic Faire at the metaphysical supply shop A Touch of Magick.
Outside, vendors sold jewelry, food and magic supplies, and musicians serenaded fairgoers with pop songs and jazz standards. Inside, psychic readers welcomed those curious about their futures and their deceased loved ones, pulling cards from decks and interpreting their significance.
A Touch of Magick owner Debi Kennedy stood beneath a tent, explaining the psychic reading process to a family who had just arrived.
According to Kennedy, A Touch of Magick held its first Psychic Faire five years ago. It was a much smaller affair, only lasting one day instead of two, but it drew a larger-than-expected crowd.
“We had five vendors, it was just me and one person working, and we had a handful of readers. We had a line in the store from morning to close,” Kennedy said.
Now, A Touch of Magick holds four psychic fairs every year, one for each season. The main draw is the shop’s handful of psychics and mediums, each of whom reads cards for dozens of people over the course of a weekend, but many attendees come to shop and hear live music as well.
“When we first started off, we had a regular witchy crowd of people who are either practicing witches or pagans. Then, we had local people who were curious what we were all about,” Kennedy said. “Now, local people have become customers, customers have become friends and some friends have become staff. There are a lot more people into this type of thing than you would even know.”
Saturday, 25 local businesses and food trucks set up shop in the field behind A Touch of Magick, and Kennedy said eight more vendors had decided to stay home during the rain and come in for the fair’s second day Sunday instead.
Gina Forleo, one of A Touch of Magick’s psychic readers, stood beside Kennedy, penciling in the names of clients as they signed up for psychic readings later in the afternoon.
Forleo said many of her clients come in asking her to connect with deceased loved ones as a psychic medium, and in her experience, readings “bring people a lot of comfort and peace of mind.
“People come in to get a little bit of clarity on where they're meant to be and how things are going to go, and it puts their mind at ease and lets them know they're not alone and they have people that are out there for them,” Forleo said. “A lot of messages are people letting you know that they crossed over safely and that they are closer than you think, always watching over you.”
Forleo said some of the shop’s regular psychic reading clients come in as often as every six weeks.
“There are oracle cards and tarot cards, but no matter what type of card they're using, the message that you're getting, that they're relaying, is the same,” Kennedy said. “People that are skeptics generally leave really freaked out because they know details, and people who believe in it are like, 'She's fantastic. My grandfather came through.'”
In addition to the psychic readings, A Touch of Magick also offers a wide range of metaphysical items, as well as vintage-inspired clothing and more mainstream gifts like candles, incense, coffee mugs and witch-themed greeting cards.
During the fair, the shop’s five rooms were bustling with customers who looked through the crystals and jewelry on sale, and a fluffy white cat took a nap beneath the cash register.
Upstairs, customers browsed Retro Records, a vinyl record shop owned by 22-year-old singer (and Kennedy’s daughter) Alyssa Lincoln , and ventured into a photography studio.
A Touch of Magick is located in the historic Bazaleel Taft Jr. House and Law Office, a large Georgian house built in 1806 which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places .
The house’s original occupants were the Taft family, who were closely involved with the founding of Uxbridge. Some of their relatives included Lydia Taft, the first woman to legally vote in Massachusetts, and President William Howard Taft, who served one term in the White House from 1909 to 1913.
Kennedy said several generations of Tafts lived in the house, and one particular Taft still haunts the shop and regularly makes his presence known.
“He tells us all the time that it's still his house and we're just using it. He is still there, as well as about a dozen other spirits that are attached to the house or the land itself,” Kennedy said. “We had a customer a few months ago who came running up to the register and said, 'There's a man sitting in that dragon throne in the room with the incense.' We said, 'Is it a tall skinny man?' She said, 'Yes, how did you know?'”
This article originally appeared on Worcester Magazine: Spiritual enthusiasts in Uxbridge attend weekend Summer Psychic Faire at A Touch of Magick
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