Psychic experiences have arguably been around since before the caverns of Chauvet, and certainly by the time of the Oracle of Delphi. But whereas psychics were once the toast of the town, people blessed with the clairvoyant gene stowed away their gifts when “witches” and “diviners” fell to the flames of indignant Puritans.

But that isn’t the case today. This past weekend a daylong retreat on psychic awareness was held at the Chilmark Community Center. The event was led by Constance Messmer, included fourteen participants, and was followed by an evening lecture featuring six keynote speakers. Only the evening portion of the day was open to the public.

Niki Patton, a West Tisbury playwright, philosopher and astrologer began her talk by saying with a laugh, “I don’t believe in astrology but . . . it works!”

She then went on to talk about her earlier career as a producer in New York city. “I always had a psychic capability for astrology, but my left-brained work wouldn’t let go, and I started to break down. I came to Martha’s Vineyard in ’95 to do some healing.”

Ms. Patton outlined planetary shifts from the past three years. “We’ve come through survival issues about material goods and real estate and transcended them,” she said.

She also described calling friends in 2007 and advising them to sell stocks and to start new occupations. “For the next twelve years Pluto would be in Capricorn and that’s a time to build a new foundation.”

Dan Booth Cohen lives in Needham, but frequently visits his mother, Evelyn Cohen in Aquinnah. Wearing glasses, khaki pants with a belt and a button-down brown shirt, Mr. Booth Cohen began by saying, “I feel like the psychic nerd around here.”

He then described his work in Systemic Family Constellations through his company called HiddenSolutions.com. “It’s a transformational process in use in Europe, Latin America, Russia, and now branching out to other countries including ours.”

S.F.C. maintains that people house trauma in their bodies going back through three or four generations. These traumas can cause blocks that can be released through therapy. “You look at the big picture and where movement lies towards healing. I’ve worked in prisons, boardrooms, refugee camps, and with Jewish Holocaust survivors.”

Mr. Booth Cohen said the most traumatic event befalls babies whose mothers die in childbirth. As a famous example he cited the Buddha whose mother died seven days after he was born.

Cheryl Flanders (name changed for professional reasons) spoke of her postponed spirituality. “I sat with a friend at Clam Cove the night before 9/11. The friend had lived in an ashram for fifteen years and was absorbed in the nighttime sky. Ms. Flanders told the friend, ‘I can’t feel it. I don’t like it here.’”

Ms. Flanders was transformed by the disaster at Ground Zero. Shortly thereafter, she attended a workshop, along with her husband, with Constance Messmer. “She guided me through a channel and I started feeling things I hadn’t experienced since I was five year’s old,” she said. “Like I’d been washed and completely transformed.”

Ms. Messmer plans to host more psychic symposia to provide a space for discussions and experiential learning on topics in the field of psychic awareness and metaphysical experiences. Her goal is to look at the continuing evolution of the psychic experience and the awakening of human potential to effect positive change in people’s lives.

To find out more about future events, visit PsychicSymposium.com.