Forget about love.

As the Dow has declined, so has amorous interest among patrons of area psychics. What has replaced it? A dogged focus on cash.

"They want to know if they should take their money out of the stock market or if they should get out of a business or stay with a business," said Rachel Johnson of the Psychic Studio in Raleigh. "People are coming asking if I can do a spell to help their finances."

Johnson says she can read the future in the palm of a patron's hand or with the flip of a tarot card.

She does not cast spells.

Such confusion about her abilities may stem from another recent development – a wave of newcomers seeking out her services.

Business had been up for a few years but hit a fever pitch late last year, said Johnson, who has told fortunes for 18 years, following in the footsteps of her mother. Their business includes another mother-daughter psychic team in Smithfield who are their relatives.

The stock market is a major point of patron concern, though many also ask when they'll find jobs. Romance has been the big loser, she and other psychics said.

"People don't ask about their relationships so much anymore," said Sophia Todd, a fourth-generation psychic who has seen a modest bump in business at her two Durham locations.

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