Atlantica - 01.11.2001, Síða 46

44 A T L A N T I C A
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GET YOUR CARDS READ
Blessed with a beautiful smile, blue eyes and strawberry
blonde hair, Pálína exudes inner peace and wisdom. I walk
into her little shop, Blái Geislinn, and sit next to some giant
amethysts. “These stones are my buddies,“ she says, “They
give off exactly the same frequency as we humans do when
meditating.“ And so the tone is set to our conversation. “It is
a fact that 85 percent of this nation have an inclination
towards the spiritual, whether it’s believing in former lives,
seeing ghosts and elves, healing, spiritism or magic.“
Blái Geislinn, which translates as the blue ray of light, offers
a multitude of holistic products including food supplements,
crystals, books and a wide variety of stones. The shop also
offers courses in tarot reading, aura reading and crystals. The
tarot readings enjoy high popularity. “I don’t predict the
future,“ says Pálína, “I just guide people through the prob-
lems they are having or are likely to encounter.“ Any hint of
scepticism on my part vanishes when Pálína does a short tarot
reading for me. “Think of a problem and pick six cards,” she
says. The cards immediately indicate what I was thinking
about and offer a peaceful solution. Next, Pálína says she is
going to read my energy and tells me which energy centres I
use. She tells me to wear a lot of green (my favourite colour)
and tells me of a couple of stones I should use to create posi-
tive energy for myself. Personally, I think Pálína herself is a
source of positive energy. Whatever you may believe in, you
walk out of her door with a lighter step and a broader mind.
Blái Geislinn, Laugavegur 86, 101 Reykjavík, tel: (+354) 552-
4433. Readings (available in English) by appointment.
SEE A PSYCHIC MEDIUM
People come from all over the world for a seance with
renowned medium Thórunn Maggý Gudmundsdóttir. I man-
age to get lost trying to find her apartment and a door is sud-
denly thrown wide open ahead. “I knew you were here, your
grandmother just popped in to tell me.“ My grandmother
passed away nine years ago, but this is the sort of comment
you should expect from Thórunn. Her abilities were clear to
her even as a child when she would speak of past lives and
deceased people to her parents. “I think that Iceland’s isola-
tion from the outside world, the primitive lives of the people
here who lived for so long without communications and elec-
tricity, made them more perceptive to their environment. The
silence, the closeness to nature, gave them a sixth sense.“
Thórunn is a pretty, well-dressed lady in her late sixties. She
does not go into a trance, but sees the people “gone over to
the other side” by concentrating. This probably raises a few
sceptical eyebrows, but Thórunn’s accuracy is uncanny. In ten
minutes she has described my grandparents, with details of
their childhood homes, my French husband’s grandfather and
other personal things that no one in this world could know
about. And why do people see Thórunn? “Often I see people
who have lost someone in their lives and want to be reas-
sured. Many people are simply curious as to what happens to
us when we die, and what waits for us out there.“
Thórunn Maggý sees people by appointment, or at group
seances. She can be contacted through
Sálarransóknarfélagid (The Society for Psychic Research)
and is a fluent English speaker.
Anna Margrét Björnsson explored the realm of the unknown.
The Twilight Zone
Singer Björk is fond of telling the world that Icelanders are firm believers in elves and trolls. Tourists visiting the country are
told of roads built around rocks so as not to disturb their inhabitants. This spiritual reputation extends to the Snæfellsjökull
glacier, which is regarded in some circles to be one of the world’s energy centres, and it is common for people to see medi-
ums, fortune tellers, healers and even exorcists and witches. Here are a couple of alternative things to do in the dark of an
Icelandic winter.
PHOTO PÁLL STEFÁNSSON
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