It is one of the most surprising news in recent months in Hollywood: Andrew Garfield, the actor known for films like
The Social Network
or
The Amazing Spider-man
, has a new girlfriend. A priori there is nothing particularly surprising in the fact that the 40-year-old Briton has rebuilt his life after breaking up with Emma Stone or the model Alyssa Miller. What has grabbed the attention of the headlines is the profession of the woman with whom she has been seen sharing walks through the streets of Los Angeles: that of “professional witch.” This is how Kate Thomas calls herself, a philosopher and spiritual mentor with a doctorate in Philosophical Theology from the University of Oxford. Thomas has her own brand of talismans, a published book called
Chakra Crystals
, recognizes herself as a “counselor to global leaders” and promises her clients the possibility of building a life of “liberation and meaning” through the reconciliation of different rituals and practices. In addition, she also has her own TikTok account in which she offers practical advice on topics as diverse as beauty standards, society's internalized misogyny, or how to make a cup of tea
British
style . “Andrew really appreciates the fact that Kate is very different from other women he has dated,” a source tells
US Weekly
.
The romance between Andrew Garfield and Kate Thomas is the most recent episode to thicken the very long and prolific relationship between the world of public figures and the spiritual and esoteric universe, so close at times that the second has come to condition the development of the first. . Because beyond the fact that pop icons like Taylor Swift or Katy Perry have explicitly mentioned the influence of Mercury retrograde in their glittering professional agendas or that Madonna ruled out David Guetta himself as the producer of her album after learning his zodiac sign – Scorpio, By the way, there are several psychics, tarot readers or numerologists who have managed to shine like true stars in the Hollywood Olympus.
“I think tarot is more popular now than ever.” This is how forceful
tarot reader Angie Banicki, one of the best-known among the icons of the seventh art,
appears to
S Moda
. The American, who counts among her contacts clients such as Emma Roberts, Ellen Pompeo and the singer Usher – “I prefer not to share more names,” she says – left her job as a publicist for top actors and rock legends to dedicate herself to his great hobby, reading cards. Almost fifteen years later, she is one of the most in-demand and respected professionals. Why is the esoteric so important for stars? Banicki is clear: “Anyone who is in a position to influence others feels how important it is to be connected and make the right decisions as leaders.”
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Another of the most recognized on the other side of the pond is the medium Carissa Schumacher, who claims to have the power to channel Yeshua – the Hebrew name of Jesus of Nazareth – and receive messages from the deceased. Their sessions, which cost more than a thousand dollars an hour, have been attended by a list of celebrities worthy of any renowned red carpet: Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Rooney Mara, Uma Thurman, Andie McDowell and Rob Lowe are just some of the faces that They have publicly acknowledged having required their services.
Rita Rogers also managed to get her services as a tarot reader featured in the general press. For four years she became the confessor of Diana of Wales to the point that she gave her a gold necklace with intertwined hearts to thank her for the services she had provided. Although Rita was not the only professional the princess saw, her influence was so important in Diana's life that the series
The Crown
decided to dramatize one of her visits in one of the episodes of its sixth season. In the same Netflix fiction, Helena Bonham-Carter stated that she had contacted Princess Margaret in a seance to ask for her approval before giving her life in the series. “Apparently, she said that she was delighted that I was the actress who was going to play her,” she alleged. To further unite the celebrity-esoteric marriage, the highest-paid model in the world during the last five years, the well-known Kendall Jenner, confirmed that she has such a supernatural intuition that “up to seven different professionals had certified that she is a clairvoyant.”
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“Among actors and celebrities in our country, there is also more and more interest in receiving advice and using holistic tools such as tarot, oracles and of course astrology,” confirms to
S Moda
the work coach and astrologer Ana Lorente (known in networks as @muyciela). Despite the reluctance and prejudices that Spanish society continues to have when it comes to recognizing the search for answers in the spiritual, the expert claims to have attended in her consultation “prestigious influencers, journalists, actresses and artists of all kinds” who They were looking for tools to achieve their most ambitious objectives, a map to reach their different goals. "In addition, once they achieve the desired fame and exposure, they have to deal with other types of frustrations and that is when the mystic can give them answers and, in the best of cases, help them ask themselves the best questions so that their life can truly be full.” However, their doubts or desires are identical to those of the rest of us: “You would be surprised to know that in reality all of us are worried about the same things and have the same concerns on a greater or lesser scale, with more or less fame. .. We are all the same stardust.” Banicki agrees: “It's very similar. “We all deeply desire to know each other, understand more and ensure we are on the right path to success.”
This chronic jealousy among celebrities has been declining in recent years. Already in 2020, the actress and singer Kimberley Tell recognized in
S Moda
that “all Spanish actors go to the numerologist” and recently Candela Peña made an intervention on the program
La Resistencia
viral by telling David Broncano: “Go to a numerologist!” The winner of three Goya awards is not the only national
celebrity
who has acknowledged having practiced numerology, classified as pseudotherapy by the Ministry of Health: Sandra Barneda, Dani Martín, Elena Furiase – interviewed by this magazine – and the Cholo Simeone, who assured that before signing a player for Atlético de Madrid he checks the suitability of his horoscope.
Mela Pabón,
S Moda
cartoonist and Instagram star astrologer, has figures like Ricky Martin or J Balvin among her followers and even made a personalized horoscope for Bad Bunny. Asked about this publication regarding the skepticism that these spiritual or esoteric practices arouse in a large part of the population, the Puerto Rican living in Madrid is committed to using them to release the existential anguish that overwhelms our days: “If you are going through something bad and you read that It's mercury, I don't know where, you kind of surrender, you kind of say 'I don't have control of everything'. Astrology has helped me see that good and bad things are temporary. A horoscope is a moment, a day, a month, and it creates that peace of mind that things can change. Now you're in the shit, yes, but tomorrow Mars comes in and there's a twist. Placebo or not, that gives you a special energy.” For Ana Lorente, the reason for the increase in clients in consultations of this type of practices is in the current turbulent social, political and economic environment. “We come from years in which the tension of events and uncertainty make us look for answers where before we would not have even considered it. The most profound moments of personal growth come from frequently challenging events and as a society it is undeniable that we have a good string of events like that,” she concludes.
But not only the world of entertainment feels this attraction to the occult. In Spain, the political and business class and even the monarchy have also placed their trust in clairvoyants. The famous Octavio Aceves earned the nickname 'court seer' after meeting Queen Sofia in parapsychology and ancient magic courses at the Complutense University of Madrid. The Argentine, who died in 2021, has the honor of being the only psychic to have been officially received in Zarzuela and important officials from the González and Aznar executives came to his home. If Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan believed that destiny could be written in the stars, Jordi Pujol also thought that purification rituals could help him in his management of the Generalitat of Catalonia. That is why he resorted to the services of Adelina, a witch of Galician origin – who also worked for Manuel Fraga – whom he made move to Barcelona so that she could also receive other Catalan politicians and businessmen recommended by him. For these professionals there are no sanitary cordons: the famous Rappel assures that both the dictator Francisco Franco and Dolores Ibárruri, la Pasionaria, passed through his consultation.
The writer and astrologer Octavio Aceves.Luis Davilla (Cover/Getty Images)