by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Catharine Allan

Age: 34

Occupation: Creative visualization instructor

Bio: This sensuous and thoroughly delectable Plateau broad first arrived in Montreal via the wilds of Cambridge, Ontario, 13 years ago. A dedicated and noble psychic/astrologer more than happy to fill you in on all the good things yet to come in your miserable life, Catharine also conducts workshops in creative visualization at Mélange Magique. She shares her digs with two elderly cats, Chantale and Jen, and says her first job in the fortune-telling biz was for a psychic line which, incredibly, "only hired legitimate clairvoyants." Should you be interested in attending one of her workshops, call 529-0345.

Is creative visualization essentially just self-hypnosis or is there a spiritual element involved as well? "Self-hypnosis is more about bringing oneself to a deeper state and repeating affirmations. With visualization you don't get into as deep a state and it's more about visualizing the details of what you want to achieve. Like, if you want to write a novel, you would visualize the book itself. How thick is it? How does the paper feel? What does the typeset look like, can you see the title on it? That sort of thing. It's really about creating something visually so it feels real, and the more we focus on that image and keep it with us, the more it is said that on a spiritual level, it will be brought to us."

Does it follow logically that if one were to visualize themselves as the Queen of England often enough, convincingly enough and passionately enough, that one might eventually find themselves residing in Buckingham Palace living the high life ordering oafs around? "Obviously there are limits. This isn't magic, you know."

Has she ever been a goth? "No, but I like the clothes."

Do ghoulies ever come visit her? Yes, both good spooks and bad.

With respect to her work as a medium, has she ever questioned whether her psychic experiences might possibly be the result of a few mega-wacky chemicals swimming around in her brain? "Well, I've accurately read hundreds and hundreds of people, and when this happens enough and people come back and say that everything you said has indeed happened, you go ‘okay' and know [that what you are interpreting] is real."

One building which she feels possesses some way bad energy: The art deco building currently being renovated on the southwest corner of Sherbrooke and St-Laurent. "There is something very painful in there."

Another thing she's done: Headed up a support group for incest and rape survivors.

Was the image of severed testicles being fed to the seagulls at Lafontaine Park a popular visualization with her support group? No, it wasn't.

Last book read: Goddesses in Every Woman, by Jean Shinoda Bolen.

Musical preferences: Norah Jones.

Words of wisdom: "Abilities are just that, abilities. They don't say who the person is inside. Who we are is much more than our particular set of skills or our bodies or our families. It's much deeper than that."

Comments? dimwit@openface.ca