As a culmination to what turned into Paranormal Awareness Month as opposed to the original one-week period, PIRO held their annual Divination Faire on Thursday, Nov. 15, in the Alumni Lounge.

This event took place from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. and featured a variety of psychic readings done by PIRO’s own members.

Types of divination included tarot cards read by Ashley Castorena, Allesandra Coronel, McKinley Dorrico and Kirstie Nicholson, numerology by Josh Low, and aura readings by Jennifer Mazza.

In regards to tarot cards, PIRO member Catherine Gentile said, “I think they’re cool and interesting, surprisingly very accurate!”

Tarot cards are one of the more common types of reading, and differ based on the deck of cards that is being used. The cards show a possible outcome based on interpreting the forces at hand; the best way to use them is to feel what they are trying to say.

The cards go from showing your past, to your current situation, near future, distant future and overall outcome. A deck has 72 cards; the first 22 are known as the “Minor Arcana,” which have symbolic meanings relating to the material world and the mind.

The next 56 are known as the “Minor Arcana,” and are subdivided into four suits: swords, pentacles, wands and cups, each having a theme. The swords represent conflict, the pentacles signify money, the wands represent jobs and ambition, and cups reflect matters of emotion.

Though if a card is found reversed, its meaning might be the complete opposite of the original. This is where it gets tricky, as cards are open to the interpretation of the one doing the reading.

Another type of divination is known as numerology, which is based on the idea that everything can be reduced down to one number. It predicts personality traits using a birthdate or name, for instance finding the meaning of 1212 meaning. More advanced types of numerology can be used for determining relationships or past lives.

A birthdate of Sept. 2, 1994, would add up to 34, which would further add to seven. There are specific traits of each number that describe personality. Seven, for example, is a very scholarly number; a person who has this number would be characterized by seeking solitude, knowledge and peace.

Aura readings were a pretty popular kind of divination. They were different from the rest because no cards or props were used. The aura reader Jennifer Mazza bases the readings off of what energy she feels around the person. Aura readings are either based off of emotions or personality.

Yellow means that a person is joyous, red symbolizes anger, and purple means headstrong.

“I normally see red, blue, grey, yellow, pink, purple, and sometimes white. I rarely see black,” describes Mazza. “It is like a mist that surrounds you, and there are usually no more than two colors per person.” Mazza started realizing that she was different at a fairly young age, but it was during freshman year of college that she began to develop a sense of people’s auras.

PIRO’s Divination Faire was considerably popular among hopeful kids looking to get a glimpse of their future in regards to friendships, love life, college classes and future careers.

There are conflicting views as to whether divination is real or just in people’s heads, as Shannon Allard said: “A lot of people don’t trust it, but I believe in it.”