She’s Naming Names

Deb Abraham Spalding

Charla Acker (pictured right) is a professional in dress, demeanor, and presentation. She works out of her home office in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and often ventures out to appear at community events. She defines her profession as, “Service work. It’s hard work, but it’s very fulfilling.” She is committed to her profession and finds great joy in “seeing clients transform.”

Her clients’ transformation is often an emotional relief from grief or the reassurance that we are not alone in life, nor do our souls cease to exist after our physical bodies die. You see, Charla Acker is a psychic medium by profession. She admits, “We don’t choose this work, it chooses us. It’s a huge responsibility. It’s a life-long education.”

Charla explained that we all have some psychic ability; intuition at its least-developed level and psychic mediumship at a professionally trained level. About being a psychic medium, she added, “You’re already starting at a disadvantage in this profession because there are so many people out there claiming to be a psychic medium when they’re not. In this work, you’re called crazy and a fraud. As professionals, we need to bridge that perception.”

How to bridge the negative perception is through education. Professional psychic mediums don’t “fish” for facts. They present specific information. It’s called evidential information, and it leaves no doubt. “People should be at this professional level before calling themselves a medium. Those who don’t do more damage than good.”

Charla is skeptical and tough on spirit. For example, “Last week a father came through during a client’s reading, and I saw the strangest thing. I saw cases of creepy clowns. I looked at the client and said, ‘I have to tell it like I see it.’ I told her what I saw. Her face turned white and she started to cry. She said there were three people in the whole world who knew that her father was in a circus as a kid and collected creepy clowns. They are still in her parent’s attic.”

I first saw Charla when she presented a psychic gallery for charity at the Totem Pole Playhouse near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, last August. A friend offered me one of her tickets and I accepted, not because I wanted a reading nor did I expect one in an audience of 350 people. I told my friend that I would video when she got her reading. And, that’s what I did! I started to video as quickly as I could when Charla said, “I have ‘Tom’ here bringing through his daughter, ‘Ash.’” Charla named their names, no questions asked. She did that with every reading she gave that evening. I’d never seen a psychic who was so accurate with names, not even big-name celebrity psychics.

The second time I saw Charla was in March of this year. This time it was just me and Charla. The first thing Charla said during my reading, after explaining how it works and her role, was, “Who’s Diane?” After conveying the message that, “Diane has transitioned and wants everyone to know that she’s happy,” Charla went on to mention several other names throughout my reading that were significant to me.

Charla feels that she’s “just the radio” who brings through the message from the spirit realm frequency. She explained, “It’s the love that bridges the gap.” She describes her energy as being like a balloon. It starts out full of energy and with every reading, it deflates a little until it’s all gone.

Her advice to a client is to not have expectations about who will come through during a reading, stating, “It’s not 1-800-Dial-the-Dead! Whoever chooses to come through, comes through!” The spirit who comes through could be an uncle who’s been dead longer than you’ve been alive or a family friend who steps forward instead of your deceased mother. This can leave you scratching your head about things. Be assured that if the facts presented don’t make sense in the moment, they’ll usually make sense later.

Charla was raised in a church-going Protestant family in Ohio. In kindergarten, she remembers playing with spirit children on a memorial playground located on a former school site that was destroyed by fire in 1908: 172 children, 2 teachers, and 1 firefighter perished in that fire. She said, “As a child, you really don’t know what to do with that energy. It’s a lot to take on.”

As she grew older, Charla dabbled in the topic of energy as a hobby and furthered her knowledge. She got married and lived in Pittsburgh with her husband who was a criminal attorney. Then, at age 30, she had a stroke. “That’s when my ability exploded.” She had become spiritually heightened. The adage, “When the student is ready, the teachers will come,” was evident.

At a book signing for John Edward (he did the television show Crossing Over) he said to Charla, “Wow, you’re going to be doing this work. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!” After that, she met people with like interests, and she attended workshops and group development sessions. She couldn’t get enough learning about energy. Yet, although she was fascinated by the whole process, it was still just a hobby. She said, “You don’t grow up wanting to be a psychic!” She used to be like everybody else and battled with the perception of being different.

Regardless of her internal excuses, her talents expanded, and she started giving tarot card readings to her friends and then started to take on paying clients. One day, while giving a reading for a client, she started seeing visions and hearing voices (hearing comments in her head). This was the beginning of her mediumship development. She took every class she could to understand the process. It had become her mission, her purpose in life.

Charla and her husband moved to Gettysburg from Pittsburgh when her husband started a new career. Her business continued to expand. Her clients are doctors, lawyers, garbage men, and people from all walks of life. Today, Charla has a full schedule. She is accessible and affordable. She is reaching to impact many people because she feels that’s her calling.

For Charla, it’s about healing, clarity, and transformation. She assures us, “There is life after death. This isn’t all there is.”

Charla is certified through the Tarot Certification Board of America and is a member of The American Tarot Association & Forever Family Foundation. Charla is also an Ordained Minister with the Universal Life Church Ministries. She is certified in Usui Reiki Levels 1, 2 & 3 Master/Teacher. The wait time for a reading (in-person or on the phone) with Charla is currently one year. alloescort.ch

Find out more about Charla or see some of the videos of her in action online at www.tarotimpressionsbycharla.com.