Ruth ( Cookie) White
1 The last time I bought the Psychic News it was a small black and white newspaper,
edited by Maurice Barbanell, who was the founding editor in 1932. This time,I
picked it up as a glossy magazine in a ‘new age’ shop, because Uri Geller’s photo
was on the front , and my son, Clifford, was one of the dozen or so children –
including Matthew Manning-who found they could bend cutlery after watching Uri
Geller on ‘Pebble Mill at One’ in the 70’s.
My life has been one long embracing of all things psychic ,spiritual, and
metaphysical.
I trained at the London College of fashion for two years from 15 to 17 years of age
and worked as a designer /pattern cutter in the fashion trade. By the age of 19 I had
discovered palmistry. I remember sitting on a beach under a palm tree surrounded by
dozens of young people patiently waiting to have their palms read.
By my early twenties now, with a child,I taught myself astrology with the help of
Linda Goodman’s ‘Sun Signs’ and Parkers’ Astrology. I was hooked! I still am!
Around the same time I found a local group-the Harrow Astrological and Psychic
Society-and in no time became the programme arranger for the group.
This brought me into contact with every branch of subjects psychic and spiritual. I
became interested in all of those too.
By now I was doing psychic fairs locally, and not so locally, driven there by my
husband Geoff, as I found it very tiring- doing dozens of readings can be very
draining!
I continued doing the fairs for a few years, and then decided I’d had enough.
I then did a training course at the College of Psychic Studies in Queensberry Place,
South Kensington for a couple of years.
This all at the same time as being a full time couturiere, making ball gowns for
special occasions for clients, from my workshop at home.
I took up painting only in the last fifteen years. I had always done my own
illustrations for the fashion advertisements that I took out, and,of course, sketched
the designs for my clients’ dresses.
I joined the Harrow Art Society about 10 years ago and am now the administrator
and exhibition organiser, plus running their facebook page.
I believe my spirituality dictates what I paint-I often channel ideas in the middle of
the night, and some inner voice ( or my higher self ) tells me how to create the
dresses I make.I always listen to the voice now-I used to argue with it-not any more it’s always right!
I used to go with my mother, also a dress designer, who was very ‘into’ all things
psychic, and was very good at doing ‘aurographs’- which were coloured swirly
drawings of peoples’ auras- to the Arthur Findlay College in Stansted Monfichet,
which is a wonderful house with lovely grounds where they run psychic development
courses.
At some point I acquired an agent who booked me for parties and guest
appearances, mainly as a palmist .One day I was asked to visit the home and offices
of Lady Elizabeth Anson-the Queen’s cousin, who was a (very upmarket) party
planner .
There I was asked by Elizabeth to read the palms of all her office staff-and
herself-obviously as a trial run for something! All very hush-hush!
That ‘something’ turned out to be the wedding of John Paul Getty 111rd, where
they secreted me in a little ‘grotto’, specially erected on the ‘battlements’ of his
beautiful home-Wormsley-in Buckinghamshire, where he was marrying Gisela
Zacher in June 1974-the wedding brimming with celebrity guests, and serenaded by
Jools Holland and his band.
I remember it was bucketing with rain all day-even multi-millionaires can’t control
the English weather! In the event, I didn’t get to read many celebrity palms as they
didn’t want to leave the warmth of the hall to venture into the pouring rain-however I
read the palms of many of the Getty family. Later Geoff and I had a lovely meal with
the band (but no other celebrities)-shame.
In 2013 I went on an ‘Art Safari’ holiday to Swaziland, South Africa, and absolutely
loved it! We went on two game drives a day for ten days-getting up at 5.30am.-being
presented with hot chocolate to wake us up, and having to drink it very quickly before
the monkeys stole our drinks, because they were left outside our ‘very open air’
accommodation. We drew and painted the animals -( giraffes, lions, rhino, many
birds-even vultures) ‘in situ’-wonderful memories! All the walls of my home are
covered with my animal art!
When I design a dress for a customer for a special occasion it is a process of looking
and listening to her, before a picture forms in my mind of her already in her dress.I
call it ‘psychic dressmaking’.
My spirituality dictates what I paint or sew-I often channel ideas in the middle of the
night, sketching them down roughly before I forget. It’s very useful if you’re an
insomniac like me! I believe my inner voice ( or higher self) tells me how to create
the dresses I make or paintings I paint. I used to argue with the voice-not any more -it’s always right!
I started designing my range of astrological birthday cards, which I painted to the
size of card that I wanted, in 2017 and to my own concepts, and painted them in
watercolours and Sharpie pens! Then had a ‘eureka’ moment with the concept of an
‘astrological calendar’ in which one writes down the birthday dates one wants to
remember and which indicates what sun sign they are, so you can never forget their
birthdays.The calendar is a collage of all my card designs.
I paint in my small conservatory, putting on whatever music I need to create a certain
‘mood’ for my painting , and lighting my incense burner with some wonderful
fragrance which puts me in the right frame of mind .
When I have an important decision to make I will very often give myself a tarot
reading -I have found it to be invaluable.
I used to have predictive dreams, which have been featured in a dream book called
‘The Hidden Power of Dreams’ by Dr. Robin Royston: a guide to understanding their
meaning -still available on Amazon.( He changed my name to “Rachel”in the book).
My metal-bending son -Clifford White-then became a top ‘new-age’musician/composer,
and is as into all the same metaphysical subjects as myself, so we can talk for
HOURS! He doesn’t bend spoons any more though!
Clifford has a ‘Zodiac’ album on Astrocards.
I have an art gallery on facebook :@cookiecanvasart -and sell my cards on AstrocardsGifts on Etsy
