After three decades of reading tarot cards for clients worldwide and pursuing her own psychic development, Kerry King has concluded that psychic experiences are far more subtle and fragmented than popular culture suggests. Instead of dramatic ghost sightings or prophetic visions, psychic ability typically manifests as sudden mental images, unexpected name recall, relevant dreams, or gut feelings that alter your path. King, who has been reading, teaching, and creating tarot for 30 years, believes everyone possesses this ability, though it often fades from childhood into adulthood.
Sign 1: You just know things before you know how you know them
The most common psychic sign, according to King, is claircognizance—the sudden, unexplained knowing of information. You might instantly form an impression of someone upon meeting them, walk into a room and sense something has occurred without being told, spot a fake smile from across the room, or have an inkling about whether an idea is good before hearing any details. King cautions against dismissing these feelings, but also warns that not every random thought is psychic.
To test this ability, King advises keeping a record. For one week, carry a notebook or use your phone. Whenever you get a strong, unexplained impression, write it down before you know whether it's right. Be specific. Then leave it alone. At the end of the week, review your notes to see what, if anything, matched reality. This paper trail is crucial because memory is slippery—once we know the outcome, our brains convince us we 'knew all along'.
Sign 2: Your dreams are ridiculously vivid and occasionally come true
Dreams bypass much of our usual mental chatter, and occasionally they feel different. You might dream about someone who contacts you later that day, see a place you've never visited and then encounter it months later, or have a dream that seems to describe a situation before it happens. King suggests starting a dream diary if this resonates with you.
Keep a notebook beside your bed. The moment you wake up, write down whatever you remember—even if it's only a colour, a person, a sentence, or a feeling. Don't analyse it immediately; just record what you can remember. After a few weeks, retrieve your notes and start joining the dots. Look for recurring people, places, symbols, or themes. Check if any details correspond with subsequent events. The conscious mind is a natural pattern-seeker, so you will likely form a perception or narrative. Don't berate yourself for 'making it up'—your interpretation often is the missing link that transforms something random into something meaningful.
Sign 3: Strange coincidences pursue you
Have you ever thought about someone from your past and then seen their name that afternoon? Or encountered a particular song, word, or number pattern repeatedly? Or experienced déjà vu frequently in a short period? These are called synchronicities—meaningful coincidences that seem to connect events in ways difficult to explain. The most common example in contemporary spiritual pop culture is angel numbers, or seeing repeat numbers with attributed meanings in everyday life.
To explore this, King recommends an exercise: pick a day with free time and visit a place with history—an old building, garden, woodland, church, theatre, museum, or historic street. Take a notebook. Before you proceed, ask: 'what do I need to notice today?' Then walk around without trying to find anything. Notice where you're drawn to linger, ask why. Pay attention to sudden thoughts, names, images, physical sensations, or emotions that strike your full attention. Write them down. Take photographs, particularly of reflections in windows, mirrors, and glass. Go home and don't analyse everything immediately. Look at your notes and photographs later to see what stands out. The experiment isn't about manufacturing a paranormal experience—it's about becoming more receptive. King says she does this activity at least once a week and something always crops up, even just a highly intuitive, creative idea.
How to test your psychic potential
King emphasizes that most psychic experience isn't about seeing ghosts or the future; it's about receiving information in ways you don't always understand. What matters is learning to recognise your own signals and then testing them. Keep a record, look for patterns, and notice what repeats. Be careful not to give every passing thought a mystical meaning—sometimes a coincidence is just a coincidence, and sometimes a dream is just your brain emptying the spam folder. But occasionally, something happens that makes you stop, and that's the moment to pay attention to.
King's new book, This Book Will Make You Psychic, is a practical, playful guide to developing intuition and exploring psychic potential, packed with experiments, exercises, and psychic adventures. It's out on September 10, and pre-orders are available now. For those interested in further exploration, King also offers an exclusive Tarot Club on Patreon, with one month free for Metro readers.
