Miller Plant Farm Poinsettias
David Miller of Miller Plant Farm in York City talks about the thousands of poinsettias his farm produces each year before the Christmas holidays.
A visit by Hanover police to The Serpent’s Key, a metaphysical store that offers tarot readings and witchcraft-related merchandise, sparked social media outcry after the owner spoke about their experience.
“While I personally didn’t have ‘police activity surrounding my place of business on suspicions of witchcraft’ on my 2023 bingo card, I suppose no one expects the (Hanover) Inquisition,” owner Beck Lawrence wrote in a Facebook post.
In an interview with The York Dispatch, Lawrence said their store was recently profiled in a local business publication, prompting a visit by Police Chief Chad Martin. During that exchange, Lawrence said the chief referenced an obscure state law restriction tarot readings.
“He didn’t plan to make an arrest or press charges,” Lawrence said, of the exchange. “He just wanted to let me know that there was a law passed in 1861 that outlaws tarot readings.”
The Pennsylvania statute in question is Title 18, Section 7104. First enacted in 1861, it identifies a wide variety of magic-related practices — including necromancy, fortune telling or predicting future events — as punishable by a misdemeanor of the third degree.
Martin did not respond to several requests for comment. However, in a statement published on the department’s Facebook page, he said he went to the shop to make the owners aware of the law.
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“There was never an investigation, nor was there any threat of arrest in this matter,” the chief’s statement read. “With that being said, if a complaint was made against someone for engaging in acts qualifying as ‘fortune telling’ in the Borough of Hanover; this department would be obligated to conduct an investigation.”
The chief added: “The only departmental time utilized was mine in an effort to educate someone and to prevent a future complaint or issue.”
Lawrence, who uses they/them pronouns, disputes that. They said Martin was accompanied by another officer and that the officers did not consent to be recorded.
“The Hanover Borough police chief used his time and possibly county resources to try to intimidate a small business owner, and that’s totally what it comes down to,” Lawrence said. “Anyone can complain to them, even if they’re not a client.”
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Lawrence had been given a heads-up by Main Street Hanover, the publication that originally profiled their shop. Martin reportedly visited its offices on his way toward The Serpent’s Key, which is located at 10 Baltimore Street in Hanover. Main Street Hanover did not respond to a request for comment.
In addition to the Facebook post, Lawrence made several TikToks on the matter, including one that utilized the theme of the comedy TV show “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
When Lawrence pointed out other shops offering Tarot readings during the chief’s visit, they said Martin told her he wasn’t aware of the others. A Google search for “Hanover PA Tarot readings” yields several listings, including at least one other shop in Hanover that provides readings.
In the Hanover police’s statement — which eventually limited who could comment on the post due to the intense public interest — Martin encouraged residents to contact their legislators.
“If one possesses the sentiment that the statute . . . does not protect anyone from harm and is not needed, then I would suggest that their proper recourse is to contact their legislators and voice their opinion,” the chief wrote.
The fortune telling law itself is rarely enforced.
Earlier this year, a criminal complaint was filed against Billie Mitchell by Palmyra Police for theft by deception and fortune telling, as reported by ABC27.
In 2015, The Pottstown Mercury reported that one practitioner pleaded guilty to four counts of fortune telling. While it was not the first time she had been charged with fortune telling, it was the first time she had been convicted on it; she had been accused of taking more than $10,000 from women over a period of months from 2009 and 2010.
According to a 2010 column in the Tribune Democrat, the statute had been used in 1935 against Jennie Viscount, who had convinced a woman her son had come down with an illness. She reportedly asserted that, for $100, she could make the illness go away. Viscount was sentenced to pay a fine and serve two years consecutively on two counts, or four years total.
Lawrence’s store is a metaphysical store that offers products like crystals, teas and art. Tarot sales, they said, make up about 20% of the business. The business also provides a safe space for people to learn about a different spiritual path.
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“If you’re a Wiccan, or a pagan, or someone who just loves the earth, we cater to all types,” Lawrence said. “I’m just trying to run a business and help people, because I didn’t have a safe place to go to experience my spirituality when I was growing up.”
In regard to Tarot readings, Lawrence said there’s legal disclaimers in three places around their store to inform customers that the readings are intended for entertainment purposes only. That’s in response to the fortune telling law, which Lawrence researched before opening their business in July.
“You can literally go to Barnes and Noble or Books a Million. You can go to Target and find Tarot cards anywhere,” Lawrence said. “This has been so exhausting.”
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Lawrence said they were still talking with legal representation but didn’t think the police would do anything further.
There was a positive, however. Lawrence said the past couple of days have been two of the most successful days in the history of their shop.
“Nothing has precipitated other than the community showing up for me, and I just want to express how grateful I am for that,” Lawrence said.
— Reach Matt Enright via email at menright@yorkdispatch.com or via Twitter at @Matthew_Enright.
