Frank Castellano
When you tell someone you have an appointment with a psychic, there’s an array of responses you’re liable to get. You might get a snort or an eye-roll, or maybe even a diatribe about the dangers of pseudoscience. On the other hand, you might get a raised eyebrow, or a look of sheepish curiosity. But among an increasingly large circle of Nashvillians, if you say, “I have an appointment with Frank Castellano,” chances are good that you’ll be met with nods of approval. He has that effect on people.
“I’m the sixth-generation medium in my family,” says Castellano. He has a good-natured, no-bullshit earnestness — kind of like a metaphysical Jonathan Van Ness. Castellano’s family, which has roots in Italy and Spain, has a long history with what he calls “the gift” — a combination of certain strengths like clairvoyance (the ability to see the future) and clairaudience (the ability to hear it). Castellano says he’s a precognitive clairvoyant, clairaudient, clairsentient psychic medium. But to hear him describe it, it’s not that dissimilar from, say, inheriting a knack for songwriting.
“I’m not a musician,” he tells me, sitting cross-legged on a chair in his Inglewood workspace, “but I would think that it’s like being a producer and listening to a song, and then somewhere in your head you think, ‘This could use a banjo!’ You’re still fully aware, but there’s another part of your mind that is processing different information.”
Frank Castellano
The 38-year-old has lived in and around Nashville for a little more than 10 years, and his business, The Spirit Chrysalis, is so popular that by the end of February, he’s already booked appointments through August. Castellano is immediately likable, greeting visitors with hugs instead of handshakes, and speaking effusively in a direct but carefree manner. He’s a far cry from the bescarved crone waggling her fingers at you over a crystal ball. If nothing else, he swears too much to fit that stereotype.
“Most of the time we approach situations and we’re like, ‘I got this, I can do this, I’m a fucking queen,’ ” says Castellano. “And that’s great. But what I want you to know is that there are all these beings from the other side that are just waiting to help you out.”
His periwinkle-blue office is arranged into two sections. There’s a room that’s dedicated to energy work, and looks similar to a massage studio outfitted with dozens of crystals. The main room resembles a therapist’s office, albeit one with dozens of burning candles and several tarot card decks. This is where he does the majority of his readings, which he says consist of connecting a client with spirit guides that are already there.
Castellano says he begins each session by giving clients specific information that he wouldn’t be able to find online or through preliminary research. But he’s also reluctant to persuade nonbelievers in what he does.
“I mean, listen, I don’t need you to believe in spirit guides or angels,” he says, as emphatic as a best friend reciting Lizzo lyrics at you after a breakup. “But I definitely want to help you believe that there’s something else that’s helping you out.
“People in my generation, we want things super easy,” he continues. “And that’s great! But intuition is not about making life easy. It’s about making life rich and deep and fulfilling.”
