Still Running Off at the Keyboard

Sure, they still give facials and hot-stone massages. But a growing number of spas are dipping their pedicured toes in the supernatural, hoping for more client loyalty in a market that's become increasingly crowded.

At Juve The Spa in Alpharetta, Ga., patrons can get a metaphysical add-on to any spa service, such as a $100 tarot card reading or a $175 one-hour astrological consultation.

For $200 an hour, you can talk to an American Indian shaman at Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, Calif. Or try Soul Regression Therapy, a guided tour through past lives, for $90 an hour at Ruby Room in Chicago, a spa that also touts sessions on Dream Therapy and Energy Healing For Pets.

The spiritual offerings, once unheard-of at day spas outside California or New York, are catching on everywhere. Adamo Day Spa in Cohasset, Mass., has an on-staff astrologist. Vitality Unlimited spa near St. Louis, Mo., will schedule tarot readings at spa parties. Whispering Waters Day Spa in San Antonio, Texas, offers $70 Polarity Therapy sessions, where patrons work with a healer to align life energies.

To some, it may sound like a bunch of high-priced hooey. But Julie Sinclair, editor of American Spa Magazine, a trade publication for spa owners, says it's going mainstream.

"Everyone's incorporating this stuff in their spa menus. People are still coming for traditional massages and facials, but they're ready to explore something deeper," Sinclair said.

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