My ‘spooky’ job is illegal under bizarre state law – I face a year in jail or a $2,500 fine, but these are my beliefs
A WITCHCRAFT shop was threatened with fines over fortune telling.
Beck Lawrence runs an "eclectic, metaphysical" shop in Hanover, Pennsylvania that sells candles, crystals, and more spooky items alongside tarot card readings.
After promoting her store, The Serpent's Key, in her local newspaper, Lawrence received a visit from the local police.
Police chief Chad Martin told her that fortune telling is illegal in Pennsylvania, and if anyone lodged a complaint the police department would have to investigate her store.
“It was kind of intimidating,” Lawrence said to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In Pennsylvania, practicing fortune telling is punishable by 6-12 months in prison plus a $2,500 fine. This is supposedly to protect people from being scammed out of thousands of dollars by receiving fake fortunes.
Read more on The U.S. Sun
Lawrence does her readings off of a tarot card deck, which is also illegal under Pennsylvania law. Her prices range from $10 to $100, but she put a disclaimer in her shop and on her website that state the readings are only entertainment and not real.
Martin said those warnings would not be solid in court.
The police visit garnered a lot of attention, mostly because of Lawrence sharing it to her nearly 200,000 followers on TikTok.
Two videos she posted about the incident garnered 1.4million and 1.1million views on the platform. It was so much attention that the police chief used the department's Facebook page to defend his visit.
Most read in The US Sun
“There was never an investigation, nor was there any threat of arrest in this matter,” Martin wrote.
“With that being said, if a complaint was made against someone for engaging in acts qualifying as ‘fortune telling’ in the Borough of Hanover; this department would be obligated to conduct an investigation.”
The fortune-telling laws were put in place in 1972, but it hasn't stopped many small shops from practicing anyway.
In Hanover, there are multiple other shops with similar inventories to Lawrence's, and they say they haven't received any police attention.
“Is he popping into every bar or restaurant and just telling the staff, ‘Hey, by the way, it’s illegal to serve people under 21?’” Johnny White, owner of Sacred Moon Circle Apothecary said.
Lawrence said she was put back by the police visit, but appreciated the support from her witch community and that she is used to the negative attention.
She said when she was younger her grandparents attempted an exorcism on her because she listened to Evanescence.
“They thought I was possessed by the devil,” Lawrence said.
“So I guess I just give off that vibe.”
