Spiritual Counselor Fights Chesterfield County

for Her Right to Operate a Business

I looked forward to getting away from the increasing crowds and smog of Los Angeles, where I am from, and setting up a new life and business in Virginia. Major life changes are difficult under normal circumstances, and being persecuted, unwelcomed, and disallowed from earning a livelihood is tantamount to destroying one’s spirit and all sense of hope.

I am a psychic and spiritual counselor, who has helped a great many ease through very difficult and often heart-wrenching periods in their lives, and for this, Chesterfield County, VA deems me an undesirable human being. As a result, I need to re-think the idea of becoming a tax-paying citizen, contributor to the local economy, or business owner in Virginia.

Forbes Magazine has consistently rated Virginia as the best state for business. Apparently, they have no idea of what goes on in Chesterfield County, Henrico County, and even the capital of Virginia itself, Richmond.

Somewhere along the line, government officials of these counties and the city of Richmond have chosen to manipulate the Constitution where “certain” individuals are concerned; particularly The First Amendment, which guarantees the very fundamental human right to freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. Moreover, an individual’s civil liberties, which in theory protect us from governmental abuse of power or its ability to interfere unduly with the lives of its citizens.

Being psychic isn’t a crime; we are ALL psychic. Based on the popularity of television shows such as Medium, Eli Stone, Heroes, Ghost Whisperer, The Listener, and others that highlight using psychic and/or spiritual abilities to benefit humanity, it would appear that most of the country agrees―with the exception of government officials of the aforementioned Virginia counties and Richmond, who view psychics and/or spiritual counselors in an entirely different light.

Imagine my surprise when TWICE, I was refused the ability to obtain a business license so I may lawfully operate my business as a spiritual counselor in Chesterfield County, VA, which is also where I currently reside.

I had successfully registered my fictitious business name of Psychic Sophie Spiritual Community Counsel with the clerk of Chesterfield County Court, and the next step was to submit my business license application to County of Chesterfield, Commissioner of the Revenue.

Once there, the clerk observed my full business name, and the word “psychic” raised a red flag. Immediately, she asked me if I was a fortuneteller, to which I responded, no, I am a spiritual counselor. She excused herself to speak to a supervisor, and on her return, stated that because I am a fortuneteller, I needed to apply for a police permit first; otherwise, I could not obtain a business license. I insisted that I am what I said, a spiritual counselor, not a fortuneteller, but she ordered me to take that up with Chesterfield County Police dept. The clerk said if they deemed I was not a fortuneteller, I could obtain a business license. I have this in writing.

I was then shuffled between Chesterfield County Police dept and Commissioner of the Revenue offices, in their joint attempts to pass-the-buck of whose department had full responsibility and/or authority to issue a business license for my particular business, as both claimed it was the other.

The bottom line, no one would allow me a business license without a police permit, and I continuously asserted my refusal to apply for a police permit, as I was not what they insisted—a fortuneteller.

The police department handed me two sheets of paper; one entitled “Fortune Teller, Defined” and a copy of the county ordinance, “Article XI. Fortune-Tellers, Sec. 15-246.” Both of these documents are what the police dept and commissioner of revenue assert is the basis for their assessment as to what a fortuneteller is, and further, how they are “legally” entitled to enforce that any businesses engaging  in fortunetelling must first obtain a police permit, before the issuance of a business license.

This might appear innocuous on the surface; after all, these documents were drafted by the Chesterfield County attorney’s office, and meant to indicate what is “lawfully” upheld in this county. However, the demand for a police permit is far from innocuous, and is, in fact, not only devious, but a complete violation of one’s Constitutional Rights and Civil Liberties.

I reiterate, I am not a fortuneteller, but both governmental agencies have asserted otherwise, and demand that I obtain a police permit. What they don’t tell you is once you complete the application for a police permit in order to operate as a “by force and labeled” fortuneteller, your business is immediately classified as a Zone C-5 business. Based on my research, there are NO business locations in all of Chesterfield County limits; including working from home, which are zoned to allow or accept a C-5 business operation.

What that means is that while Chesterfield County officials are trying to appear as though they are not being discriminatory by issuing a business license (with the forced police permit), they are simultaneously disallowing the operation of your business or the ability to earn a livelihood anywhere within Chesterfield County limits―a literal Catch-22 and a moot point to obtaining a business license in the first place! What a perfect way for the government officials of Chesterfield County, VA to “keep out” what they deem as undesirables! For the record, I should be zoned as C-3, a community business operation.

For those who reside in one of the named counties or Richmond, you may have noticed three “psychic” businesses that are “allowed” to continue operating. The county zoning dept indicated the reason for this was due to their longevity of being in business; thus “grandfathered in” during the changes made by city/county planning dept regarding business zones. Note that the denial of an individual’s Constitutional Rights enacted by Chesterfield County, is being perpetuated by several and separate governmental offices, which are acting in cooperation with each other.

For the moment, let’s review those two pieces of paper, “Fortune Teller, Defined” and the county ordinance, “Article XI. Fortune-Tellers, Sec. 15-246”, both of which I am including exact copies of at the end of this article, and both of which contain slight variations to the following disclaimer: