A few months ago, an eager friend and I headed off to a psychic in Revere. Five minutes and $35 later I was left feeling unsatisfied and stupid. The man of my future, Mary the Psychic said, would be Rick, Nick or Chip.

Great.

Instead of just writing off the possible or plausible amount of truth a psychic could posses, I went off in search of a psychic with a little more credibility.

I’ll give you a moment right here to write me off. Call me ignorant, naive, a pagan if you wish, but that didn’t stop my intense fascination that there is a chance, albeit slight, that someone could know me without, well, actually “knowing” me.

So, enter with me if you will the Original Tremont Tea Room, the second oldest tea room in the country and one of the best known psychic parlors in Boston. Here I met Michael Palermo, a certified psychic and a high priest of the Wiccan religion.

From a small, colorfully decorated room on the third floor of 48-50 Winter St., Palermo told me about myself. I see things as I want to see them. The glass is half full, instead of half empty. I will have children not because my maternal clock is ticking, rather I will have the need to nurture something.

After a few minutes, I realized Palermo wasn’t the typical names-date-time psychic. Instead of vaguely predicting my future, he was right on, and counseled me on what I should do to fix it.

Palermo explained his technique as trying to build up people’s self confidence as opposed to the customer becoming dependent on him for specific dates and times.

“I think [psychics] are generally concerned,” he said. “We pick up things because we are sensitive. My job is to challenge you while you’re in that chair, to give you a kick in the butt.”

Palermo has worked at the Original Tremont Tea Room since 1994, when his brother Alex bought the room, established in 1939. The original owner opened the store and read peoples’ tea leaves in order to give them hope during the depression.

Forty-five years later, the psychics of the Tea Room are just as interested in positively affecting people’s lives. Although many of the psychics employed at the Tea Room are Wiccan, Palermo said there is no religious discrimination. He pointed to a wall in the main room that had an icon from almost every religion.

“We’re here to help people from all walks of life,” he said.

Over the past 10 years, the Original Tremont Tea Room has racked up a certified clientele list of over 8,000 and Palermo estimates the store does about 50 readings per week.

As a psychic, Palermo said a major thing he has to look out for is clients who want the psychics to solve their lives for them. He said he would not see the same person within a time frame of less than three weeks.

“I don’t want them to become dependent on me, and I just don’t want to take their money,” he said.

Palermo said just as there is no black without white, there are no psychics without skeptics. So, if you fall into the skeptics category, Palermo suggests you find somewhere else to spend your money.

And just so you’re not looking for Nick, Rick or Chip, I suggest you try the Tea Room first.