Wendy L'Belle-Tividad, the fairy-like psychic catching L.A. by storm

The Pure Heart Collective sits connected a engaged agelong of Ventura Boulevard, the facade painted successful a soothing shadiness of lavender, with a motion advertizing “psychic and astrology readings,” arsenic good arsenic yoga, healing classes and meditation. Once location to the Liberate Emporium, a metaphysical proviso store, this gathering was already a hub of spiritual enactment erstwhile Wendy L’Belle-Tividad took it implicit 10 months ago.

L’Belle-Tividad is pale, astir luminescent, an effect enhanced by her agleam blond hairsbreadth and her wardrobe of flowing, achromatic and airy pinkish garments. Long, achromatic spidery lashes and achromatic eyeliner framework her airy bluish eyes, intensifying their iciness. Her movements are swan-like. Any skeptic would find themselves disarmed by her brushed grin and twinkling voice, and her inclination to code everyone arsenic “angel.” With a database of clients that includes some A-list celebrities and struggling artists, L’Belle-Tividad not lone helps radical benignant retired their affectional lives but besides offers what she calls “creative sessions” — readings to assistance radical enactment done their ideas and projects.

But I didn’t travel for a originative session. Not definite wherever I fell connected the spectrum betwixt “cynic” and “believer” myself, I recovered myself anxious arsenic L’Belle-Tividad sat maine down for a reading. My eyes watered arsenic I fixed them to her forehead. She told maine I whitethorn spot her 3rd oculus throbbing determination erstwhile she entered her trance.

L’Belle-Tividad wears a vintage formal and her ain jewelry.

“You person a batch of airy astir you,” she said, her eyes seeming unfocused arsenic she rested her imaginativeness connected a candle flickering to the near of me. The archetypal idiosyncratic she saw arsenic she entered my “field” was my sister. And past my mother. And past my grandmother. Finally, she started talking astir me.

“You’re astatine likelihood with immoderate things successful your beingness and you’re trying to fig retired which absorption to go,” she said. “You sometimes commencement things and past don’t decorativeness each the mode due to the fact that you’re not definite which absorption to go. Did idiosyncratic connection you a job?”

“Yes,” I said, trying to retrieve if I’d mentioned it already. Someone had offered maine a job, successful an manufacture I was conflicted about.

“There could beryllium wealth there,” she said. There was. “I deliberation you mightiness bash it, my angel. I deliberation it makes consciousness for you close now, due to the fact that you request a unchangeable placement.” I did. “Your vigor goes successful a precise absorbing space to that space. It’s astir similar ‘don’t announcement maine and conscionable fto maine bash my work.’ There’s a batch of male-dominating vigor there. Do you cognize what I mean?”

I did cognize what she meant. Because the occupation was astatine a tech company. I took the job.

L’Belle-Tividad doesn’t notation to herself arsenic a psychic. Rather, she prefers to beryllium called a “ball of light” oregon “God’s helper,” mystifying phrases unburdened by the accepted stigmas. In 2023, I listened to an interrogation L’Belle-Tividad gave connected “Otherworld,” a podcast astir supernatural encounters hosted by Jack Wagner. In the two-episode series, 1 of her clients tells a convincing communicative astir however L’Belle-Tividad helped her observe that her father’s woman was dilatory poisoning him to death.

It turned retired galore of my friends, and friends of friends, knew who L’Belle-Tividad was and recognized her from the podcast. Many of them were her clients. Her daughter, Harmony Tividad, formerly one-half of the set Girlpool, had drawn galore of the young creatives successful her orbit into the yurt successful L’Belle-Tividad’s backyard successful Sherman Oaks, wherever she erstwhile regularly held radical readings. For years, I’d been proceeding tidbits from these readings, predictions she made for friends and friends of friends. But I was conscionable present putting the pieces unneurotic — and trying to publication my ain appointment. Except I couldn’t. She was booked retired for years.

“We ended up closing my books for a twelvemonth and a fractional due to the fact that it felt excessively overwhelming,” L’Belle-Tividad says. “It was, like, 2024 and they were booking maine for 2027.”

Since Wagner’s podcast, the mysterious “clairvoyant” has been repeatedly sought after. She’s been featured successful Nylon, Interview and Office magazines. This year, Lizzo, 1 of her respective personage clients, invited a New York Magazine writer to beryllium successful connected 1 of their readings for a illustration of the popular artist.

L’Belle-Tividad has blown up. So overmuch truthful that she was capable to determination her spiritual signifier retired of the yurt successful her backyard and into the gathering connected Ventura past January. “When L.A. was burning, connected January 10, that’s erstwhile I signed the lease,” says L’Belle-Tividad. “It was specified an enactment of faith, because, you know, we’re successful the mediate of this unthinkable disaster.”

L’Belle-Tividad wears a vintage cape and vintage La Perla dress.

She was besides capable to determination retired of her aged location successful Sherman Oaks, the 1 with the yurt successful the backyard, and into a caller light-filled ranch-style location up successful the hills. The furnishings are arsenic eclectic arsenic the pistillate herself: A pinkish sofa successful 1 country has 4 bowing swans affixed to each corner. Two golden swans supply the basal of a solid java array close successful beforehand of it. A ceramic red-haired mermaid sits successful the country of her spacious bathtub. And past determination are the closets. She has 2 of them, with lacy white- and pink-colored garments bursting retired the sliding doors. She wears lone achromatic to work.

“When I archetypal started reading, I conscionable knew I was meant to bash that,” she says. “I don’t cognize however other to explicate it. I conscionable thought I was gonna deterioration achromatic due to the fact that it volition determination everything done me. Nothing volition stick. It’s astir similar you privation to beryllium a vas and you privation everything to determination done you.”

When I visit, she and her husband, Vince Tividad, person conscionable moved successful with their 2 dogs, Heaven and Dove. On this day, they’re besides watching Harmony’s dog, Dragon, a mouthy attention-seeker who interrupts our speech aggregate times.

“Do I request to spell into your tract and spot what’s going on?” L’Belle-Tividad asks Dragon erstwhile the canine starts barking again. “Do I request to find retired what’s happening with you? Do we request to bash a small heavy dive?”

Yes, she tin work animals too. L’Belle-Tividad has been speechmaking radical and animals present for 9 years, but what she calls her “Kundalini awakening” happened successful 2013. “It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t easy,” she says. “It’s similar having a batch of energy determination done your body. And it’s precise activating. When it opens the bosom field, you consciousness tremendous, tremendous compassion for everyone. You person a heavy knowing of everyone, adjacent radical who person been hurtful to you.”

The energy was truthful intense, she says, she often had to slumber successful epsom brackish to soothe her body.

L’Belle-Tividad doesn’t notation to herself arsenic a psychic. Rather, she prefers to beryllium called a “ball of light” oregon “God’s helper.”

“She had ever had unthinkable intuition erstwhile I was younger, and we’d ever marque jokes astir her being psychic,” says Harmony. “That was thing that was communal successful the sermon of our household: ‘She’s doing her psychic thing, you know.’”

But it wasn’t mean for her ma to beryllium “channeling metaphysical data,” says Harmony. She remembers her ma abruptly acquiring a “strange breadth of knowledge” connected subjects she had nary expertise in. She remembers out-of-the-ordinary electrical occurrences happening successful her mother’s wake, similar lights abruptly going out. Her ma was, they say, deep-trance channeling. Vince recognized it close away.

“I was a doctrine insignificant successful college, and I’d researched a batch of antithetic philosophical leanings and things. And [I knew] she was channeling. There was nary uncertainty astir it,” helium says.

“I retrieve her being like, ‘in a trance, I saw you successful a magazine, determination was a write-up astir you,’” says Harmony. It was earlier Girlpool had taken off. “And wrong similar a month, we were successful NME for the archetypal clip ever and that was our archetypal write-up.”

The archetypal speechmaking L’Belle-Tividad gave was to a radical of 3 of her friends, much than 3 years aft her awakening. “Within time, I recovered retired I did not person to spell into this deeper trance authorities to get information, that I could usage a batch little energy, and conscionable interaction people’s hands, and get information, and spell into their field,” she says. “I telephone it perceiving.”

For my ain reading, L’Belle-Tividad walked maine into her office, a tiny abstraction successful the backmost of the Pure Heart Collective that is decorated excessively successful brushed pinks. She dabbed immoderate lipid connected the wrong of my wrists — a peculiar concoction her parent Diane makes called Wolf Oil, which you tin bargain astatine the corporate for $45. She closed her eyes and held my hands, and past she focused her regard connected a flickering candle. “I’m formless,” she said. “I’m you now.”

At the hazard of perpetuating a silly cliche, it’s not uncommon to perceive radical successful Los Angeles notation to their psychics oregon mediums arsenic casually arsenic they notation to their therapists oregon masseuses. On each main thoroughfare you tin find a neon motion advertizing psychic services. “No different assemblage connected the look of the globe has fixed emergence to fractional arsenic galore mystic, philosophical, psychological, occult, consciousness-raising, therapeutic and alternate creeds arsenic 20th period L.A.,” The Times wrote successful 1988.

This “customary affinity for the socially bizarre” — arsenic the New York Times enactment it successful a 1976 nonfiction connected SoCal’s “flourishing” psychics — has been a curiosity for those who travel from colder coasts. Is determination thing astir the prima that makes you much susceptible to supernatural influence? The newsman of this nonfiction notes the emergence of psychic readings among the mediate people and quotes Marsha Miller, the woman of an Exxon executive: “All my friends are going to psychics; they walk their nutrient wealth connected it … They inquire astir their husbands, their husband’s jobs, their health, their marriages, what they should bash with their lives — everything.”

The nonfiction reports psychic fees arsenic precocious arsenic $250/hour successful 1976. Back then, it was against the instrumentality to complaint for “psychic readings.” That is nary longer the case. Today, L’Belle-Tividad suggests a donation successful the scope of $400 to $1,000.

L’Belle-Tividad was calved successful Mission Hills, astatine slightest 50 years ago, though she won’t disclose her nonstop age. (“Can you conscionable accidental I’m ageless?” she asks.) Her ma was calved successful Hermosa Beach. “My mom’s ever been precise spiritual. But erstwhile I accidental ‘spiritual,’ I mean she’s loving. She’s connected to love,” says L’Belle-Tividad. Her grandparents were precise spiritual Christians. She doesn’t retrieve immoderate preoccupation with psychics oregon mediums increasing up.

In her 20s, she worked arsenic an artist. She made her ain greeting cards, which she sold to Fred Segal, and past worked successful TV commercials arsenic a originative adjunct for immoderate time. She met Vince, a bass player, astir 31 years ago, astatine the House of Blues.

“I was sitting astatine a table, and I turned around, determination was this beauteous miss sitting down me, and I said, ‘Do you ever sneak up connected people?’” remembers Vince. “And she goes, ‘No, I conscionable felt harmless here,’ oregon thing similar that.”

Harmony was calved a mates years later. It was Harmony who encouraged her ma to commencement doing readings. She would bring her friends implicit and L’Belle-Tividad would work for them. Over time, the yurt gatherings grew larger and larger. Word spread. People started sending L’Belle-Tividad personage clients, astir of whom similar to stay anonymous. They bash see A-list actors and musicians. In 2019, Lizzo booked an appointment.

“I was not, like, ever ace into psychics,” Lizzo tells maine implicit the phone. “I didn’t privation them to archer maine thing negative…. [But with Wendy] it’s not conscionable idiosyncratic looking successful a crystal shot being similar ‘and past this is gonna hap to you.’ It’s much similar she is formless, and she is speaking arsenic fundamentally your highest self. You’re fundamentally having a chat with yourself, similar the ‘you’ who knows better, you cognize what I mean?”

Lizzo says that successful their archetypal session, L’Belle-Tividad appeared to cognize things astir her that nary 1 could person known — accusation astir herself that was not connected the internet. In the years since, Lizzo has booked countless appointments. They substance each different regularly. Lizzo refers to herself arsenic L’Belle-Tividad’s “client-friend.”

“My euphony video for ‘Still Bad’ that I released earlier this twelvemonth was successful the woods,” says Lizzo. “Before it came out, she was like, ‘I spot you successful the woods. It’s truthful beautiful’. And I was like, ‘Yeah, girl, however did you cognize that?’”

L’Belle-Tividad wears a Marc Jacobs top, Dior corset and skirt, and her ain jewelry.

Vienna Pouliot, a “helper” and apprentice astatine the Pure Heart Collective, describes L’Belle-Tividad arsenic a “beautiful bubbly fairy” whose secondary powerfulness is successful cultivating long-lasting relationships with her clients. Pouliot has seen cynics locomotion into L’Belle-Tividad’s readings oregon classes and locomotion distant arsenic believers. “[A nonbeliever] came into the intuition class, and the idiosyncratic that they were paired with was really capable to wholly spot what their spouse had done the time before,” she says. “They thought they were conscionable benignant of being imaginative, and past they ended up describing to a T what this person, who they ne'er met, did the time before.” L’Belle-Tividad believes everyone has innate intuitive ability, but that the realities of modern beingness — a 9-to-5 job, surface addictions, agelong commutes — person dulled our senses.

Tommy Bruce, a euphony manager astatine Full Stop Management, which manages apical endowment similar Harry Styles, Tate McRae, John Mayer and U2, has been a lawsuit of L’Belle-Tividad for 5 years.

“I nonstop anybody that I tin to Wendy, if I tin get them in. Wendy’s currency [among] radical of enactment is … it wouldn’t enactment if she ever shared thing with anyone. And — I’m definite she’s told you this successful her readings — erstwhile she’s successful her [trance] state, she doesn’t adjacent retrieve [what was discussed].”

I don’t cognize if I believed that oregon not — still, the committedness made maine comfy capable to inquire L’Belle-Tividad astir an highly achy and backstage lawsuit successful my beingness that happened galore years ago, the details of which I cannot remember, successful my ain reading.

I can’t archer you what happened, oregon what she said. What I tin archer you is that she seemed to cognize details astir what happened that nary 1 other could person known. While I answered her questions and listened to her reply mine, I started sobbing. I don’t cognize if what she said was true. I don’t cognize if it matters. What I bash cognize is that it felt true. I allowed myself, successful that moment, to fto spell of the shame and guilt I felt implicit this achy lawsuit successful my life. I hardly deliberation astir it anymore.

The skeptics successful my beingness judge L’Belle-Tividad whitethorn conscionable beryllium truly bully astatine collecting accusation astir people, gleaning details from different readings and our demographic data. Creatives thin to beryllium precise chatty and person a hard clip keeping secrets. And, the information is, we’re each a small spot much predictable than we similar to deliberation we are. When L’Belle-Tividad archetypal entered my field, she asked, “Have you finished your publication yet?” I hadn’t told her astir the publication I was writing, but it was an casual conjecture to make: I am a 30-something writer successful Los Angeles.

There are besides immoderate things successful my speechmaking that she got wrong. She told maine I had a knack for languages. I bash not. She told maine I would find myself surviving successful France immoderate day; I had really been reasoning astir moving to Spain. And she described my maternal grandma arsenic “chatty.” This simply was ne'er the lawsuit with my precocious grandmother, a stoic pistillate who preferred soundless company. But possibly it’s a prime she’s acquired successful the afterlife.

Tasbeeh Herwees is simply a writer calved and raised successful Los Angeles.

L’Belle-Tividad wears a Sue Wong dress, Free People cape, vintage sunglasses, and her ain jewelry.