Psychic hire in Australia: the complete guide

Booking a psychic for an event is a scheduling problem more than anything else. Guests go in one or two at a time, each sitting takes a set number of minutes, and the queue that forms is either a feature of the party or the reason half your guests never get a turn. The performers who do this regularly think in exactly those terms.

The live prices from the psychics listed here are below, and this is one category where the spread is wide and the listings with a price are fewer than usual. Treat the figures as a starting point and enquire, because the shape of the booking varies a lot from one performer to the next.

The live city by city figures follow underneath. Most bookings are priced by the hour with a minimum block, which makes the real question how many hours you need rather than what the hourly figure is. Fewer performers in this category publish a starting price than in most others, so the enquiry does more of the work here.

Travel is a bigger factor than usual because the listings are spread thinly outside the capitals. If you are outside a major city, ask about travel before anything else, and ask whether a longer block makes the trip worthwhile for them.

This is the sum that decides whether the booking succeeds. Divide your block by the length of one sitting and you have the number of guests who get a reading. Anything beyond that number is a queue, and a queue that has no chance of moving is worse than not having the act at all.

Two ways to handle it. Shorten the sittings, which most performers will do for an event and which changes the experience into something lighter and faster. Or book a second reader and run two chairs. For a large guest list, the second reader is usually the better answer.

The format is normally a private one-on-one sitting at a table, often with cards or palms depending on what the performer offers. Each guest goes in, has a conversation, and comes out. It fills time at a hens night, a milestone birthday or a themed corporate function, and it gives guests something to do that is not standing near the food.

Some performers work a room instead, doing short readings for small groups in the open. That covers more people in the same hours and suits a noisier party, but it removes the privacy, so pick the format that matches what your guests are expecting.

A private sitting needs a corner where a conversation cannot be overheard. A side room, a quiet corridor or a screened area works. A table in the middle of a function room does not, because guests will not talk and the readings become stilted. Ask what the performer needs and set it up before doors open.

Think about the tone you want as well. Some events want this played as a fun curiosity alongside the rest of the entertainment, others want it taken seriously. Say which in your enquiry, and mention if anybody in your group has asked not to be approached.

What does one sitting run to, and how many guests fit in an hour? Do you offer shorter event readings? Will you work with a second reader if we need two chairs? What space do you need, and do you bring your own table and cover? And how do you handle a guest who becomes upset, because a warm and practical answer to that question matters.

Ask about the booking window too. The good performers in this category book out early for the busy party months, and a date that looks far away is not as far away as you think.