GATHERING OF MYSTICS BENEFITS CANCER RESEARCH.Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer As they looked at their choices before making appointments with one of several mystics Saturday at the Westlake Hyatt, Susan Barnett Susan Barnett (born October 24, 1972) is a news reporter and former beauty queen from Levittown, Pennsylvania who has competed at Miss Teen USA and Miss USA Pageantry and Doritt Diamond considered their options carefully. ``I've had past lives done; that was interesting,'' Diamond told her companion as they perused the booklet of names. Ultimately, the women decided on a meeting with a psychic who would read their tarot tarot Sets of cards used in fortune-telling and in certain card games. The origins of tarot cards are obscure; cards approximating their present form first appeared in Italy and France in the late 14th century. cards, look into their future and find out who they were in the past. ``It seems like fun,'' Barnett said. ``You don't run into psychics all the time, so this is was one way to have a little fun and support the center at the same time.'' The 15th annual Mystics Day Luncheon and Fashion Show, sponsored by the center's Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both Southeastern Ventura County and Northwest Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It was discovered in 1542 by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, and eventually became part of the Rancho El Conejo land grant by Guild, was set up to benefit the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. , Jonsson Cancer Research Center, a leading cancer research hospital. The event was expected to draw people, primarily women, from all over the Conejo Valley, as well as areas of West Hills to Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. to Oxnard. Organizers hoped to raise between $13,000 and $15,000 to provide seed grants to scientists and doctors working on theories and ideas for cancer treatments and diagnostics. ``In order to get a full grant you have to prove your theories first,'' said Sheila Balter, president of the guild. ``Many doctors don't have the funding to do that, to put in long hours to work on their projects. The seed grants enable them to take that time.'' Last year, the guild was able to provide three seed grants at $30,000 each, from its various fund-raisers. The mystics luncheon is the largest of the fund-raisers, with vendors and mystics sharing half of the money they get with the organization. Diamond said she was interested in having a past life reading to compare it with the one she'd had a while back when she was told that her lifelong aversion to violent films stemmed from her life as a soldier killed in a battle hundreds of years ago. ``I compliment this group for doing something really innovative and different,'' Diamond said. ``Everybody around this time has a holiday boutique; this is really different.'' Organizers said that while it may seem incongruent in·con·gru·ent adj. 1. Not congruent. 2. Incongruous. in·con  gru·ence n. to raise money for scientific research with an event that touts the paranormal paranormal,adj 1. outside the realm of normal experience or scientific explanation. n 2. collective term for anomalous phenomena. , spiritual and mystical, it is meant to be a lark. ``It seems almost like the two don't mix, and they don't mix other than it brings people in,'' Balter said. ``It's not something for everybody. It's all in fun. But it's not something to live your life by.'' The psychics themselves said they enjoy coming to the event not only to have a large audience for their practice, but also to help with cancer research. ``Cancer runs in my family,'' said Clara Thompson Clara Thompson (* Providence, October 3, 1893 - † December 20, 1958) was an US-American doctor and psychoanalyst. She is regarded as a representative of the Neo-Freudian psychologists and was co-funder of the William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis and , a psychic specializing in tarot card readings. ``I will eventually have it. I do this because it raises money for them, and there's a lot of spiritualism spiritualism: see spiritism. spiritualism Belief that the souls of the dead can make contact with the living, usually through a medium or during abnormal mental states such as trances. around it.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1--Color) Psychic Clara Thompson uses tarot cards to guide a client at the Mystic Day fund-raiser for cancer research Saturday in Westlake. (2) Tarot cards, 10-sided dice and beads help a mystic see into the other realms. Phil McCarten/Daily News |
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