CLAIRVOYANCY is traditionally shrouded in mystery and conjures up images of gipsies and crystal balls.

However, a Ripon woman who has known she had the ability to predict the future since she was 13, is dispelling the myths and stereotypes surrounding clairvoyance, and says it is really just another form of counselling.

Mrs Jane Welbourn, aged 37, from Aldfield, near Ripon, has re-started her clairvoyance business after taking a ten-year break to have children.

Since starting again, she has found it to be as popular as ever, and sees between 40 and 50 clients a week, many of whom are men.

It all started before the death of her brother when she was 13. Mrs Welbourn said: "I had a vision which came to me quite by chance, but I realised from then that I had this gift.''

While fellow teenagers tried their hand at ouija boards, Mrs Welbourn was busy reading the palms of her friends.

"It started off quite jokey until it became serious and I realised I could predict where things were going,'' she explained.

She uses the aura around the palm and spirits to predict the future rather than the lines on the hand, and can also detect any illness depending on how broken or clouded the aura is.

"The spirits can throw-up the most amazing things. The spirit is the spirit I work with, it's someone guiding me with the client, but spirits can also come in with the clients, usually of someone who has gone over to the other side.

"They will bring that spirit in the minute they sit down for the reading, perhaps they are worried about someone who has died, or bring in a spirit who is not at rest because of a trauma they are going through.''

This may bring back memories of watching the Hollywood blockbuster The Sixth Sense, when the boy tells Bruce Willis that he sees dead people, but Mrs Welbourn insists it is nothing nearly so spooky.

"It isn't something spooky or weird, it's just there. You can't really say what it is, it is just something that's with me and works with the client. I am able to keep my life and the clairvoyance separate, and I can shut off, or I would never rest.''

While Mrs Welbourn limits how many readings she does, she is in such demand that she now has to have a stand-by list of clients waiting for cancellation appointments. She says their need to see her and hear what the future holds for them is often born out of stress and worry about a problem and the need for direction in their lives.

"About 90pc of the people I see are experiencing some stress, or something is bothering them. Whether it's drink, drug, illness, financial, infidelity or marital problems, there is usually something.

"I work with their palm, tell them what's going on at the time and obviously pick up on the problem and see where that's leading and what's going to happen in the next couple of years.''

She is sceptical about clairvoyants predicting what will happen further than this into the future, as she does not believe it can be done.

"Any clairvoyant who tells you what's going to happen in the next five to ten years is talking absolute rubbish,'' she said.

The issue of telling people about bad things that await them is one Mrs Welbourn has a simple way of dealing with: "I always ask every client before we start, if there is something not very good on the hand, maybe a tragedy or trauma, do they want to be told about it? I tell clients what's there on the palm, it isn't a fairytale, it's just what's going to happen next.

"I talk through the situation that is the problem at the time and I tell them what's going to happen and I will be bluntly honest and tell them in that reading what I think they should do, to bring them the most happiness.''

The service offered by Mrs Welbourn is completely confidential, as she knows from experience that her clients often tell her things they have never mentioned to anyone else.

"People are carrying traumas and stresses that they have never told anyone about except for me, people living with terrible nervous disorders who are almost scared to live.''

This obviously puts a burden of responsibility on Mrs Welbourn as her clients are turning to her for help and guidance in dealing with serious problems.

"It's a very fine line. I'm not a qualified counsellor, I don't ever make out that I am, but I do think because I deal day to day with problems like this it gives me a much wider view of life and I am able to advise people through the reading of the palm.

"Being outside the situation and detached from it does help, you can see which path the client should take.''

This responsibility coupled with the concentration Mrs Welbourn needs to do the reading makes the experience a very tiring one for her.

"The moment someone comes in for a reading the concentration is intense and it is very draining for me. These readings take an awful lot out of me and that's why I have to limit how many I do.''

Mrs Welbourn advises clients to allow at least an hour for a reading, but they can take longer.

Each reading costs £20 and is taped so the client can analyse it later: "There may be things at the time of the reading that they can't quite put together, but later fall into place,'' she explained.

Mrs Welbourn can be contacted on 01765 620464.