To an outsider, her work may seem like a mystic mix of candles and costumes, statues and superstition. But for Xosi, an "intuitive counselor," it is a business -- even though making a profit is not always the first order of the day. And it's a business that is booming as people in poorer neighborhoods look to "spiritual advisors" for reassurance in post-welfare times. This is the first of several profiles of brujas, diviners and fortune tellers in the United States, and how they view their clients and themselves. PNS correspondent Angela Eaton is a San Francisco-based freelance journalist.

SAN FRANCISCO -- She calls herself an "Intuitive Counselor." A bright blue business card announces "spiritual and practical alternatives." Working in her home, Xosi (pronounced Zo-see) receives visitors who pay as much as $30 an hour for her counsel.

"Most of the people who come my way aren't comfortable with just a priest or a doctor." She suggests that her clients are looking for advice that can combine these worlds.

Raised in a family of counselors ("consejeras") Xosi has used her skills since she was six years old, starting with trips to the race track with her uncle.

It is not, she says, easy money, not even at $30 an hour. Her fees are based on a sliding scale, and payment is not always in cash. She has bartered her services for gynecological exams, tamales -- and her bright blue business cards.

Xosi explains the economic realities of her business. She reports what she "can afford" to the IRS, but there are times when she still needs government assistance to support her family. "You know, no one can live off of what the government gives you," she explains. Besides, she says, the business of being a spiritual advisor is more about giving people direction than making a profit.

Xosi says that people who come to her either need to be reassured that they're all right, or they are in the middle of a crisis and need to be pulled away from the situation to get some perspective. "When I started working at this, I thought that women would be asking about love and men about money. Really the opposite is true. And another thing -- women cheat more than men."

The room in which Xosi offers her readings is cluttered with books on every imaginable religious principle and she has read them all. Her readings aren't geared to any one faith ("I'm not going to tell an atheist to pray to St. Anthony"), as she prefers to use whatever language her client finds most comfortable. "Cross out everything that is not a human rule, and you wind up with the Ten Commandments," she says.

She calls people like herself, who try to help, "originals" not like the charlatans who offer "three-in-the-morning comfort" and make money for those 900-lines.

As her goal is helping people achieve what they want, and what is best for them, Xosi estimates that half her practice is about handing out the number of a women's shelter, or giving information on how to get free dental treatment. "That's why my card says spiritual and practical alternatives."

A good consejera will give solutions in a helpful way, she has learned. Blurting out bad news can have devastating fallout. "You don't just tell someone that their man is cheating on them and send them out the door. You given them paths that help achieve the desired effects."

Many other consejeras work out of storefronts filled with devotional candles, herbs, saintly images. Candle store owners in San Francisco's Mission District say their customers pretty much know what they want. Thrill-seekers may come in to buy a Lucky Lottery candle, but faith is what keeps the regulars coming in the doors. As one proprietor put it, "If you're asking for something that's not supposed to be yours, a candle is not going to get it for you. Most people who do that are trying to control something that is not theirs to control."

As economic uncertainties increase, Xosi sees people becoming more spiritual and turning to religion. She believes that people mess themselves up with rules. When you get to the court of the Lord, she says, your sins will be determined by what you have decided are sins, and whether you committed them.

She herself believes "what people think are sins are not sins, and what people think is the right thing to do is not necessarily that, either. Man sees actions, but God knows the motives."