Photo by Wyron A on UnsplashBJ asks: "Are all psychics the same or do they have different kinds of powers?"
This is an excellent question! There is an assortment of psychic-related "abilities" that are being peddled these days, but let's start with the most common.
A clairvoyant is someone who claims to be able to discern facts about a person by "seeing" them much like watching a motion picture. A clairaudient, on the other hand, does so by being able to "hear" things that are otherwise inaudible. A clairsentient makes his/her predictions via insights or a sudden influx of knowledge.
Then we have channelers, or mediums, who allow themselves to be used by a spiritual entity (i.e., demon) in order to communicate so-called messages from beyond. Automatic writers do essentially the same thing but write down the messages instead.
Another increasingly popular type of psychic these days is the medical medium, such as Anthony William, who claims to have been born “with the unique ability to converse with a high-level spirit who provides him with extraordinarily accurate health information that’s often far ahead of its time.”
Medical intuitives are similar. They are alternative medical practitioners who claim to be able to use psychic powers to discover the cause of a person's medical condition. Other terms for this practice include medical clairvoyant, medical psychic or intuitive counselor. Believe it or not, some of these occultists have actually been hired by hospitals, clinics and other medical offices even though (thankfully) the majority of the medical profession regards them as complete quacks.
Pet psychics are also becoming a "thing" and feature people who claim to be able to communicate with animals.
Aura readers claim to be able to see energy fields emanating from people (auras are known to science and have nothing to do with energy fields).
Precognition is the alleged ability to know the future. A variety of divination practices are also employed for this same purpose, such as the use of tarot cards, palm reading, dowsing, etc.
Then there is psychometry, also known as "object reading" which is the ability to glean psychic impressions (usually called vibrations) left on an object by someone.
All of these practices are condemned in both Scripture and the catechism.
"All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone" (Catechism No. 2116)
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