Monday, December 28, 2020
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Monday, September 21, 2020
Branching/Progressive Anagrams
The branching anagram is a method devised, as far as I know, by Stanley Collins in 1920 and has been tinkered with by numerous thinkers over the years. The principle at the core of the method is that a person can think of a word, and as long as there are a limited number of options to choose from, by discovering which letters are present in the word they chose, their word can be determined.
See:
The Prodigal by Atlas Brookings
P.A.TE.O. Force
P.A.T.E.O. Force (pick any two, eliminate one) is a method of forcing a particular object from a set of objects created by Roy Baker. It was first described in Baker's Bonanza (page 40) by Hugh Miller (1968).
It involves the spectator and magician in a rotating selecting and elimination process, leaving only one object from an unlimited number of objects.
The method may be disguised in a multitude of ways within card tricks, mentalism, stage routines, etc.
Stepping Out Onto the PATEO
It involves the spectator and magician in a rotating selecting and elimination process, leaving only one object from an unlimited number of objects.
The method may be disguised in a multitude of ways within card tricks, mentalism, stage routines, etc.
Sunday, September 20, 2020
Mind Sniffing - Ian Rowland
Pins a large folded jumbo card onto a spectators shirt.
Has audience think of a number between 2 and 21.
Chooses someone in the crowd to reveal their number.
Picks up the cards from the glass. Counts the number of cards, faces toward the audience, till he gets to the number and places that card back into the glass.
Reveals the Jumbo card matches the card in the glass.
Friday, September 11, 2020
Friday, August 14, 2020
Monday, August 10, 2020
Thursday, August 6, 2020
Gozinta Box/Parabox
Parabox performance
Tutorial
Tutorial
Setup:
Two balls in the black box, one in the red.
Script:
I have here a little red box. And inside here is a black box, and inside is a little red ball.
Now you've got to remember that the black box was inside the red box. Therefore, the red box can't go inside the black box, can it (as you put the red box inside the black box). Well it shouldn't be able to because inside the red box is this blue ball. So it shouldn't be able to go in there at all.
Now the black box started off inside the red one, didn't it. Now it shouldn't be able to do that. And the reason it shouldn't be able to do that is because of this yellow ball inside there.
Tutorial
Tutorial
Setup:
Two balls in the black box, one in the red.
Script:
I have here a little red box. And inside here is a black box, and inside is a little red ball.
Now you've got to remember that the black box was inside the red box. Therefore, the red box can't go inside the black box, can it (as you put the red box inside the black box). Well it shouldn't be able to because inside the red box is this blue ball. So it shouldn't be able to go in there at all.
Now the black box started off inside the red one, didn't it. Now it shouldn't be able to do that. And the reason it shouldn't be able to do that is because of this yellow ball inside there.
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Nine Card Problem & Variations
Created by Jim Steinmyer
-tutorial
Magicpedia Link
Variations:
Diamond Jim variation here
Larry Hass has a version called Pure Magic
Cardboard Lie Detector-Scott Cram
-tutorial
Magicpedia Link
Variations:
Diamond Jim variation here
Larry Hass has a version called Pure Magic
Cardboard Lie Detector-Scott Cram
Double Deal Effects (Predixion, Untouched, The Friendship Game)
UNTOUCHED Daryl
-Performance by Michael Ammar
See:
Easy to Master Card Miracles Vol 4
THE FRIENDSHIP GAME Larry Hass
-Link to Penguin Page
PREDIXION Max Maven
-Performance by Michael Ammar
See:
Easy to Master Card Miracles Vol 4
THE FRIENDSHIP GAME Larry Hass
-Link to Penguin Page
PREDIXION Max Maven
Thursday, July 23, 2020
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Friday, July 3, 2020
Thursday, July 2, 2020
ATFUS (Any Time Face Up Switch)
Technique to switch out some cards from a small packet of face-up cards, leaving them with the remainder of the deck.
Used in:
Cannibal Cards
See:
Card College Vol 1
Magicpedia: ATFUS
Xavior Spade: ATFUS
Cards/Phone in Balloon Trick
Daniel Garcia - Pressure
Airtight (Card in Ballon) Jay Sankey
Inflation by Shawn Farquhar (tutorial on Superhumanz)
-Shawn describes it as a marriage of Garcia's "Pressure" and Sankey's "Airtight"
-Performance
-Performance
-Performance
Airtight (Card in Ballon) Jay Sankey
Inflation by Shawn Farquhar (tutorial on Superhumanz)
-Shawn describes it as a marriage of Garcia's "Pressure" and Sankey's "Airtight"
-Performance
-Performance
-Performance
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Comedy Magic
Mentalism Gags
-The "No" Prediction Gag: "Do you have any idea what word is on this card?" you ask. "No? That's correct!" you exclaim as you reveal the word "NO."Tutorial
-"Your Name": You ask, "Would you be surprised if your name was printed on the other side?" The card, of course, states "YOUR NAME."
-"Your Name": You ask, "Would you be surprised if your name was printed on the other side?" The card, of course, states "YOUR NAME."
(Hug/Kill) Of Dice and Men/Dice Man
Of Dice and Men Performance
Dice Man Performance
Business Card Hug/Kill
Fold a business card into five parts. Write hug on the second slot, kill on the rest. Use ? instead of numbers on the other side. Tear the card along the folds 4/5 through. Use Quinta to force the hug. Fold to reveal the hug. While giving the hug, place the card on the table with the kill side up.
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Hypnosis (General Notes)
What is Hypnosis?
Herbert Spiegel (2007), an American psychiatrist who popularized hypnosis as a treatment for pain and other disorders, identified three characteristics of hypnotized individuals:
Hypnosis involves a person's ability to set aside critical judgment without relinquishing it completely, and to engage in makebelieve and fantasy (Gill & Brenman, 1959; E. R. Hilgard, 1977). For some people this make-believe may be so vivid and intense that they have trouble differentiating it from reality. Indeed, they may not be able to do so.(1)
1. Dissociation is the conscious versus unconscious separation of memory, perception, and motor response from one’s main awareness. The capacity to dissociate is biologically determined and is reflected in the Eye Roll (ER) movements controlled by the external ocular muscles (as explained below).
2. Absorption (fixed attentions) is the decrease in peripheral awareness to facilitate greater focal attention. The intensity and duration of this absorption is influenced by bio-psychological components of intelligence and motivation. Absorption is diminished by attention deficit disorders, impaired concentration, and some medications.
3. Suggestibility is characterized by how prone an individual is to accept new information as fact with a relative suspension of critical judgment. (2)
It should be emphasized that the experience of hypnosis has very little to do with the abilities of the hypnotist, and is mainly a matter of abilities of the person hypnotized. The ability to conduct a hypnotic induction is acquired easily and rapidly by an individual who has at least moderate interpersonal skills, and who is able to establish a relationship of trust and an appearance of competence.(1)
Hypnotic Susceptibility
Hypnotic susceptibility, hypnotic ability, hypnotizability and hypnotic responsivity are terms that are used interchangeably in the scientific literature on hypnosis. They refer, descriptively, to the extent to which a person is able to experience hypnosis.(1)
Studies have found that approximately 10-15% of the population is highly responsive to hypnosis; that is, able to experience the more classical phenomena of hypnosis such as age regression, analgesia (pain reduction), positive and negative hallucinations, and post hypnotic amnesia. An additional 10-15% is unresponsive, or minimally responsive to hypnosis; these individuals are unable to experience even mild subjective alterations, such as the suggestion that the arm is light and weightless and is floating towards the forehead of its own accord, as if it were attached to a brightly colored helium balloon. The remaining majority of 70-80% of the population is moderately responsive to hypnosis; they can experience easy, and in some cases, moderately difficult hypnotic items, but at a certain cut-off point they are unable to respond further.(1)
Hypnotic suggestibility scales are the primary way to measure hypnotic susceptibility. Two such scales include the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale (SHSS) and the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (HGSHS). These tests are constructed for standardized group administration and are scored by self-report. They consist of a recorded verbatim hypnotic induction, which is scored according to how similar the subjects responses are in relation to previously measured highly susceptible individuals. There are many other ways to measure hypnotic susceptibility, but these two scales are most commonly used in scientific experiments.(2)
In 1992, Herbert Spiegel presented three different personality styles based on the way an individual related to the self and to the world. Those who score high on hypnotic ability tend to be more trusting, have a higher degree of malleability, and an extreme propensity to dissociate. This lends to total absorption with a complete abandonment of peripheral awareness. Those who are not susceptible tend to place logic at highest priority and have a limited experience of dissociation, having constant peripheral awareness. Those in midrange exhibit trends toward oscillating between relative periods of action and inaction. They tend to fluctuate between feeling and thinking and have a moderate ability to express dissociation.(2)
Suggestibility Tests
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7UWgAqrAXA
(1) Key Concepts in Hypnosis: Campbell Perry, Ph.D
Hypnotic Susceptibility
Hypnotic susceptibility, hypnotic ability, hypnotizability and hypnotic responsivity are terms that are used interchangeably in the scientific literature on hypnosis. They refer, descriptively, to the extent to which a person is able to experience hypnosis.(1)
Studies have found that approximately 10-15% of the population is highly responsive to hypnosis; that is, able to experience the more classical phenomena of hypnosis such as age regression, analgesia (pain reduction), positive and negative hallucinations, and post hypnotic amnesia. An additional 10-15% is unresponsive, or minimally responsive to hypnosis; these individuals are unable to experience even mild subjective alterations, such as the suggestion that the arm is light and weightless and is floating towards the forehead of its own accord, as if it were attached to a brightly colored helium balloon. The remaining majority of 70-80% of the population is moderately responsive to hypnosis; they can experience easy, and in some cases, moderately difficult hypnotic items, but at a certain cut-off point they are unable to respond further.(1)
Hypnotic suggestibility scales are the primary way to measure hypnotic susceptibility. Two such scales include the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale (SHSS) and the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (HGSHS). These tests are constructed for standardized group administration and are scored by self-report. They consist of a recorded verbatim hypnotic induction, which is scored according to how similar the subjects responses are in relation to previously measured highly susceptible individuals. There are many other ways to measure hypnotic susceptibility, but these two scales are most commonly used in scientific experiments.(2)
In 1992, Herbert Spiegel presented three different personality styles based on the way an individual related to the self and to the world. Those who score high on hypnotic ability tend to be more trusting, have a higher degree of malleability, and an extreme propensity to dissociate. This lends to total absorption with a complete abandonment of peripheral awareness. Those who are not susceptible tend to place logic at highest priority and have a limited experience of dissociation, having constant peripheral awareness. Those in midrange exhibit trends toward oscillating between relative periods of action and inaction. They tend to fluctuate between feeling and thinking and have a moderate ability to express dissociation.(2)
Suggestibility Tests
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7UWgAqrAXA
(1) Key Concepts in Hypnosis: Campbell Perry, Ph.D
(2) The Neurological Underpinnings of Hypnosis and its Clinical Applications
Hypnosis in Contemporary Medicine
Time: Is Hypnosis Real? Here's What Science Says
Not getting sleepy? Research explains why hypnosis doesn't work for all
The Relationship of Hypnotizability and Empathy:A Replication and Extension Study
Clinical assessment of hypnotisability
https://touroscholar.touro.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1041&context=sjlcas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnotic_susceptibility#:~:text=Hypnotic%20susceptibility%20measures%20how%20easily%20a%20person%20can%20be%20hypnotized.&text=The%20Harvard%20Group%20Scale%20(HGSS,SHSS)%20is%20administered%20to%20individuals.
Hypnosis in Contemporary Medicine
Time: Is Hypnosis Real? Here's What Science Says
Not getting sleepy? Research explains why hypnosis doesn't work for all
The Relationship of Hypnotizability and Empathy:A Replication and Extension Study
Clinical assessment of hypnotisability
https://touroscholar.touro.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1041&context=sjlcas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnotic_susceptibility#:~:text=Hypnotic%20susceptibility%20measures%20how%20easily%20a%20person%20can%20be%20hypnotized.&text=The%20Harvard%20Group%20Scale%20(HGSS,SHSS)%20is%20administered%20to%20individuals.
James Brown Penguin Live Lecture (Notes)
Hypnosis, according to James, is comprised of 1) suggestion, 2) imagination and 3) belief.
Everything around you is a suggestion. Everything that you experience around you in some way suggests information to you, and in the case of what we're doing it's a bit more direct.
Your imagination then takes that information and it creates this wonderful thing were it turns a thought into a feeling. That your imagination has the power to give what your thinking a much more physical sensation. A feeling that you have that has a strong association with a thing that you are thinking.
And then you add in belief, this notion that we also have the ability to automate functions. And the key belief I'm talking about is the belief that it is happening to you. The perception that you get when something that you do becomes automated. And you get it in lots of different ways. @1:12
Anthony Jacquin simple explanation.The idea of turning a doing into a happening.
For example. If I pretend my hand is stuck to the wall. Using my imagination by allowing my body to create the experience for me. I push my hand flat then I create the illusion for my self of this tension. I know it isn't but I can imagine it is. The only difference between that and if I were hypnotized is the perception that I have.
Everything around you is a suggestion. Everything that you experience around you in some way suggests information to you, and in the case of what we're doing it's a bit more direct.
Your imagination then takes that information and it creates this wonderful thing were it turns a thought into a feeling. That your imagination has the power to give what your thinking a much more physical sensation. A feeling that you have that has a strong association with a thing that you are thinking.
And then you add in belief, this notion that we also have the ability to automate functions. And the key belief I'm talking about is the belief that it is happening to you. The perception that you get when something that you do becomes automated. And you get it in lots of different ways. @1:12
Anthony Jacquin simple explanation.The idea of turning a doing into a happening.
For example. If I pretend my hand is stuck to the wall. Using my imagination by allowing my body to create the experience for me. I push my hand flat then I create the illusion for my self of this tension. I know it isn't but I can imagine it is. The only difference between that and if I were hypnotized is the perception that I have.
Foot Stuck To Ground @1:53
"It will still work on any of them who are willing to follow my first instruction and that is when I say imagine, I don't just mean think, I mean feel and experience to." @2:21:35
The Trilby Connection (Notes)
Reality Is Plastic
1.0 What is Impromptu Hypnosis?2.0 Hypnosis: No introduction necessary
-Franz Anton Mesmer
- James Braid
-Franz Anton Mesmer
- James Braid
-Milton Erickson
-Dave Elman
It is useful to note that in none of these definitions is there any mention of sleep or relaxation. That is because hypnosis is not sleep and does not require even a smidgen of relaxation. What is emphasised is that when hypnotized the subject’s attention narrows and becomes fixed around selected ideas or a single idea. Wider environmental stimuli are ignored
Recently a fresh theory of hypnosis and the mind entranced has emerged from the Human Givens pioneers Jo Griffin and Ivan Tyrell (6). They suggest that hypnosis is the result of accessing the REM state. In the REM state e access the imagination, what they refer to as ‘the reality generator’,
that is responsible for our dreams. One of the functions of dreaming is 'o discharge unresolved emotional arousal. In another words it allows us to complete emotional ruminations of the day through the metaphoric imagery and connections of our dream. Its other key function is to update our instinctive templates or behavioural and emotional responses. In other words the learning state is also an REM state. Whenever we act without -onscious effort we are reliant on pattern matching, going back to an earlier learned response or behaviour that was set in the REM state. So when we act instinctively we are, in effect, acting on a post hypnotic suggestion. In the same way when a hypnotized subject acts on a post hypnotic suggestion
Recently a fresh theory of hypnosis and the mind entranced has emerged from the Human Givens pioneers Jo Griffin and Ivan Tyrell (6). They suggest that hypnosis is the result of accessing the REM state. In the REM state e access the imagination, what they refer to as ‘the reality generator’,
that is responsible for our dreams. One of the functions of dreaming is 'o discharge unresolved emotional arousal. In another words it allows us to complete emotional ruminations of the day through the metaphoric imagery and connections of our dream. Its other key function is to update our instinctive templates or behavioural and emotional responses. In other words the learning state is also an REM state. Whenever we act without -onscious effort we are reliant on pattern matching, going back to an earlier learned response or behaviour that was set in the REM state. So when we act instinctively we are, in effect, acting on a post hypnotic suggestion. In the same way when a hypnotized subject acts on a post hypnotic suggestion
2.2 Being The Hypnotist
To be a great hypnotist it is of key importance that you become The Hypnotist. Not a hypnotist. Not someone who knows a bit about hypnosis put The Hypnotist. You must express absolute confidence, congruence and expertise in your skills, knowledge and abilities. In the beginning this takes a certain amount of front. Pretend and master it. Believe you are the best, believe you are a natural and behave like you are.Believe your subject is a wonderful hypnotic subject. Want and expect them (Oo go into hypnosis and do what you tell them.
When you have decided to hypnotize someone or someone asks if you would there are five things it is useful to do.
-Remove fear
-Eliminate misconceptions e Increase expectancy
-Fire up the imagination
-Take control
The easiest approach is to just ignore all of the above and take control. This means rapidly hypnotize the subject in seconds or less, before they have a chance to be afraid. Using a rapid induction such as the Instant Induction, Jacquin Power Induction or Handshake Induction detailed in Section Four will do that. However if you are not going to do that, a few simple words will help things along.
Taking control does not mean being bossy and pushy but it does require you '(o become the dominant party. This can be achieved by asking your subject 'o do something.
Can you just move your chair to one side slightly. Now can you place your feet on the floor, your hands comfortably in your lap and look at me.
if they are standing up, then adjust their position and ask them to put their feet together.
[t begins to demonstrate who is in control and you get a chance to see
how good the subject is at taking directions.
Can you just move your chair to one side slightly. Now can you place your feet on the floor, your hands comfortably in your lap and look at me.
if they are standing up, then adjust their position and ask them to put their feet together.
[t begins to demonstrate who is in control and you get a chance to see
how good the subject is at taking directions.
https://archive.org/details/reality-is-plastic/page/14/mode/2up
1) Rapid
2) Direct
3) Gradual scaling up of the phenomenon
The structure:
1) Approach
2) Setup
3) Set Piece
4) Induction
5) Deepening
6) Bigger Phenomenon
7) Wake Up Procedure
Approach
Getting your head in order first. Assumptions.
-People are suggestible.
-Higher levels of emotion are better in participants as they are more suggestible.
-Want people engaged and attention focused on you.
Approaching people
1) Let them know you are a hypnotist. Use the word performer.
2) Use C.I.Q. (Compliment, Introduction, Question)
C- "You look an intelligent guy" or "You look like interesting people".
I- "I'm
Q-
3) Looking for the people in the group most fascinated or interested.
Setup
1) You want the subject in the best physical position. "Can you please place your feet flat on the floor for me", "Face this way", "place your hands on your lap", "would you take a deep breath in just breath out and relax". You want to find out are they listening to you, following direction, etc.
Set Piece (bridge between the conversation and induction)
An opportunity to gain some credibility in the eyes of the subject. Opportunity to observe the subject, perhaps to decide whether to move on to the induction.
1) Magnetic Fingers
2) Eye Lock (Calof)
3) Eye Lock (Elman) @27:35
4) Stiff Arm
5) Card Drop (Calof)
The Trilby Connection
This approach to hypnosis is characterized by a number of things:1) Rapid
2) Direct
3) Gradual scaling up of the phenomenon
The structure:
1) Approach
2) Setup
3) Set Piece
4) Induction
5) Deepening
6) Bigger Phenomenon
7) Wake Up Procedure
Approach
Getting your head in order first. Assumptions.
-People are suggestible.
-Higher levels of emotion are better in participants as they are more suggestible.
-Want people engaged and attention focused on you.
Approaching people
1) Let them know you are a hypnotist. Use the word performer.
2) Use C.I.Q. (Compliment, Introduction, Question)
C- "You look an intelligent guy" or "You look like interesting people".
I- "I'm
Q-
3) Looking for the people in the group most fascinated or interested.
Setup
1) You want the subject in the best physical position. "Can you please place your feet flat on the floor for me", "Face this way", "place your hands on your lap", "would you take a deep breath in just breath out and relax". You want to find out are they listening to you, following direction, etc.
Set Piece (bridge between the conversation and induction)
An opportunity to gain some credibility in the eyes of the subject. Opportunity to observe the subject, perhaps to decide whether to move on to the induction.
1) Magnetic Fingers
2) Eye Lock (Calof)
3) Eye Lock (Elman) @27:35
4) Stiff Arm
5) Card Drop (Calof)
Monday, May 4, 2020
Friday, May 1, 2020
Friday, April 24, 2020
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Notes: Spirit Theater (Eugene Burger)
Ch. 4
Spirit theater is the production and presentation of apparent spirit phenomena accomplished through the use of theatrical devices, techniques, and strategies. pg 20
Henri Robin's Living Phantasmagoria 1847
Pepper's Ghost 1860's
Blue Room 1870's
Seances of Florence Cook
Spook Shows 1940's
Frances Willard (Houdini Seance
Ch. 5
Eugene tells a story of performing a seance as a teenager when a door unexpectedly slams shut from the wind. He learns from this experience:
-The power of personal contact. People were looking for a personal experience of fright, their own thrill. Almost like the thrill one seeks when riding a roller coaster
Two of Eugene's favorite seance strategies. the secret assistant and the hidden assistant.
1) Secret assistant (confederate, stooge) is a member of the audience who secretly acts on the performers behalf.
2) Hidden assistant is actually hidden, no one else is aware of his or her presence.
Eugene describes his 1st seance he did in college. He emphasizes that less is more. The only effects were a string tied to a candle stick and a string tied to a coke bottle.
Speak slowly, clearly and with power.
He starts with the poem "The Ballad of the Harp Weaver". After the poem, silence. Then, in the middle of this silence, the candle moved-or did it? Then onto the rhythmic breathing. Some simple and ambiguous suggestions: "I sense a light cold." More quiet.
After about 15 minutes of the above, I began getting "strange vibrations." I became a bit agitated and asked everyone to join hands and "think positive thoughts." This "something strange is happening here" theme was built up for a bit - all the time I was becoming more alarmed. This is unnerving for people.
Suddenly the Coke bottle fell and broke on one side of the room. The hidden assistant counted to ten and, keeping himself hidden, pushed over a stack of five large trunks. The seance is over. For the group, this was to say the least, a punch ending. EVeryone gasped. My head dropped forward, I didn't move for about a minute. People weren't sure. Slowly I looked up and said, "The seance is concluded."
During the second seance, Eugene experimented with personal contact and use of total darkness.
Ch. 6
The rise and development of the belief in spirits in the last half of the nineteenth century was influenced by the earlier work of an eighteenth century doctor, Franz Anton Mesmer. Mesmer's work provided the spiritualists with three most essential contributions.
1. It provided a ready-made audience as mesmerism (putting someone into a trance) was already an amusing diversion or pass time.
2. It prepared the minds of nineteenth-century men and women for the idea of weird powers.
3. Mesmerism provided spiritualism with mediums in that many for profit mesmerist became mediums overnight.
Eugene provides a summary of mesmerism and it's influence on spiritualism.
Ch. 7
This chapter discusses the contributions of Andrew Jackson Davis (1826-1910) to the the spiritualist movement. Known as the Poughkeepsie Seer, Davis became one of the chief writers to whom the spiritualist turned for philosophical or metaphysical support.
At the age of 18, Davis is said to have wandered off in a state of semi-trance and, forty miles from home, was visited by the spirits of the ancient Greek physician Galen and the Swedish mystical philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg, both of whom told Davis that the had a great mission to perform.
In 1847 he published The Principles of Nature, Her Divine Revelations, and a Voice to Mankind which he had dictated while in a trance to his scribe, William Fishbough. The book was popular with those who liked scientific sounding metaphysical teachings as well as those who favored evolutionary and/or socialistic ideas. Davis did not claim that these revelations were given by the spirits of the dead (as did many late spiritualists). The were, he said, the products of a general inspiration.
He called his system "The Great Harmonia." He pictured the universe as one great harmonious whole in which the soul is constantly progressing and learning-the life which we know here on earth being little more than a station along the way to something far more spectacular which he called the "Summer Land."
One last point about Davis and his famous book. In it, he wrote: "It is a truth that spirits commune with one another while one is in the body and the other is in the higher spheres...and this truth will ere long present itself in the form of a living demonstration. And the world will hail with delight the ushering in of that era when the interiors of men will be opened, and the spiritual communion will be established such as in now being enjoyed by the inhabitants of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn." This was written one year before the official birth of spiritualism and as such, was seen as a clear prediction of the movement.
Ch. 8. "One of the Great Points of Psychic Evolution
Eugene discusses the official beginning of spiritualism in 1848 when two young sisters, Kate and Margaret Fox, began to communicate with a spirit which had been making mysterious rapping noises in their home for some time. He begins by describing the world during this time period and why it was fertile ground for the growth of spiritualism.
Though the Fox sister. did not invent the idea of mediumism, they popularized the idea during this time period. Their parents, John and Margaret Fox, moved to Hydesville New York in 1847. Two of the four Fox children lived at home: Kate who was 6 and Margaret who was 8 (Other accounts have them age 11 and 14 respectively). For some time knocking noises were heard in the house causing Mrs. Fox to fear her family might be in the midst of a demonic visitation. Then, on March 31, 1848, Kate, the youngest daughter, began playing with the noises. Yelling out "Here, Mr. Splitfoot, do as I do!" she snapped her fingers three times. Almost immediately an identical number of knocks responded. Kate continued to play with the unknown entity leaving her mother a bit shocked.
Neighbors where called to witness the amazing events. Soon no less than seventy or eight persons had visited the Fox cottage and heard the rappings which the spirit used as a means to communicate various things. Men were told their ages. Women were told the number of their children. A code was worked out with which the spirit told its story. The "presence" in the Fox home was the ghost of a dead man, a peddler named Charles B. Rosma who had been murdered some years earlier and buried in the cellar.
Word traveled quickly and people soon flocked to Hydesville to witness the spirit manifestations for themselves. The everyday life of the Fox family became hopelessly changed, so it was decided Kate would live with her brother David and Margaret with her older sister Leah. But spirits seemed to follow the girls.
Kate remained with her brother until 1850 where she gave many "sittings" as they were called. Margaret held similar sittings while living in Rochester with Leah. These demonstrations caused a great deal of excitement with the audience roughly divided between those who believed and those who didn't. A number of committees where formed to investigate but none could find evidence of trickery.
A short time later, Leah Fox made the profitable discovery that she to possessed mediumistic powers. So now the Fox family had three mediums rather than two.
In 1850 yet another committee was organized to examine the girls, this time composed of professors of medicine. They discovered that the spirits would not manifest themselves while they held Margaret Fox's legs. They concluded, not unreasonably, that the raps were most likely produced by the cracking of the knee joints. The growing number of spiritualist, however, reacted to this conclusion with righteous scorn and anger.
The sisters fame spread as they undertook a tour of major American cities. Many famous and near famous persons were converted and this, of course, made news. At one of Kate's sessions, Mary Todd Lincoln, the widow of the Late President, came seeking spirit contact with him.
(add more)
After the Civil War things changed dramatically. Perhaps the number of dead and the agony of their families led to new interest in spirit communication after 1865. Another element in spiritualism's rise during this period was the introduction of spirit photography. When William Mumbler began exhibiting spirit photographs in 1863, he found that he was creating a sensation. Soon other spirit photographers sprang up, though all proceeded the same way. Sitters would come to the photographer to have their picture taken and, when the plate was developed, there along with the subject was a spirit form. People frequently recognized these forms as departed loved ones. Though Mumler was himself exposed several times spirit photography as a fad caught on for a while.
Spiritualism in England in the 1860's includes personalities such as Mrs. Everitt (the first native medium) and the American medium Foster, who visited England in 1861, with his specialty of reading messages sealed in envelopes.
(add more)
Ch. 9 Manifestations from Beyond the Grave
Initially a codes were devised by the Fox sisters to communicate with spirits such as one rap for "no"; two raps meant the question could not be answered; three raps signaled "yes"; five wraps a call for the alphabet. The introduction of automatic writing made the process of communication much tidier and less boring. Margaret Fox discovered she could hold a pencil in her hand and the spirits would take possession of her body and write their answers directly to the sitter using Margaret as their "instrument."
Another early manifestation of the spiritualists was really a dip into the "grab-bag" of mesmerists: table tipping. For mesmerists, table tipping indicated the presence of magnetism. For the spiritualists, it was a way of contacting the dead who were credited as being the real "movers" of the tables. Best of all, the same sort of communication could be accomplished with table tipping as with rappings.
Spirit theater is the production and presentation of apparent spirit phenomena accomplished through the use of theatrical devices, techniques, and strategies. pg 20
Henri Robin's Living Phantasmagoria 1847
Pepper's Ghost 1860's
Blue Room 1870's
Seances of Florence Cook
Spook Shows 1940's
Frances Willard (Houdini Seance
Ch. 5
Eugene tells a story of performing a seance as a teenager when a door unexpectedly slams shut from the wind. He learns from this experience:
-The power of personal contact. People were looking for a personal experience of fright, their own thrill. Almost like the thrill one seeks when riding a roller coaster
Two of Eugene's favorite seance strategies. the secret assistant and the hidden assistant.
1) Secret assistant (confederate, stooge) is a member of the audience who secretly acts on the performers behalf.
2) Hidden assistant is actually hidden, no one else is aware of his or her presence.
Eugene describes his 1st seance he did in college. He emphasizes that less is more. The only effects were a string tied to a candle stick and a string tied to a coke bottle.
Speak slowly, clearly and with power.
He starts with the poem "The Ballad of the Harp Weaver". After the poem, silence. Then, in the middle of this silence, the candle moved-or did it? Then onto the rhythmic breathing. Some simple and ambiguous suggestions: "I sense a light cold." More quiet.
After about 15 minutes of the above, I began getting "strange vibrations." I became a bit agitated and asked everyone to join hands and "think positive thoughts." This "something strange is happening here" theme was built up for a bit - all the time I was becoming more alarmed. This is unnerving for people.
Suddenly the Coke bottle fell and broke on one side of the room. The hidden assistant counted to ten and, keeping himself hidden, pushed over a stack of five large trunks. The seance is over. For the group, this was to say the least, a punch ending. EVeryone gasped. My head dropped forward, I didn't move for about a minute. People weren't sure. Slowly I looked up and said, "The seance is concluded."
During the second seance, Eugene experimented with personal contact and use of total darkness.
Ch. 6
The rise and development of the belief in spirits in the last half of the nineteenth century was influenced by the earlier work of an eighteenth century doctor, Franz Anton Mesmer. Mesmer's work provided the spiritualists with three most essential contributions.
1. It provided a ready-made audience as mesmerism (putting someone into a trance) was already an amusing diversion or pass time.
2. It prepared the minds of nineteenth-century men and women for the idea of weird powers.
3. Mesmerism provided spiritualism with mediums in that many for profit mesmerist became mediums overnight.
Eugene provides a summary of mesmerism and it's influence on spiritualism.
Ch. 7
This chapter discusses the contributions of Andrew Jackson Davis (1826-1910) to the the spiritualist movement. Known as the Poughkeepsie Seer, Davis became one of the chief writers to whom the spiritualist turned for philosophical or metaphysical support.
At the age of 18, Davis is said to have wandered off in a state of semi-trance and, forty miles from home, was visited by the spirits of the ancient Greek physician Galen and the Swedish mystical philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg, both of whom told Davis that the had a great mission to perform.
In 1847 he published The Principles of Nature, Her Divine Revelations, and a Voice to Mankind which he had dictated while in a trance to his scribe, William Fishbough. The book was popular with those who liked scientific sounding metaphysical teachings as well as those who favored evolutionary and/or socialistic ideas. Davis did not claim that these revelations were given by the spirits of the dead (as did many late spiritualists). The were, he said, the products of a general inspiration.
He called his system "The Great Harmonia." He pictured the universe as one great harmonious whole in which the soul is constantly progressing and learning-the life which we know here on earth being little more than a station along the way to something far more spectacular which he called the "Summer Land."
One last point about Davis and his famous book. In it, he wrote: "It is a truth that spirits commune with one another while one is in the body and the other is in the higher spheres...and this truth will ere long present itself in the form of a living demonstration. And the world will hail with delight the ushering in of that era when the interiors of men will be opened, and the spiritual communion will be established such as in now being enjoyed by the inhabitants of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn." This was written one year before the official birth of spiritualism and as such, was seen as a clear prediction of the movement.
Ch. 8. "One of the Great Points of Psychic Evolution
Eugene discusses the official beginning of spiritualism in 1848 when two young sisters, Kate and Margaret Fox, began to communicate with a spirit which had been making mysterious rapping noises in their home for some time. He begins by describing the world during this time period and why it was fertile ground for the growth of spiritualism.
Though the Fox sister. did not invent the idea of mediumism, they popularized the idea during this time period. Their parents, John and Margaret Fox, moved to Hydesville New York in 1847. Two of the four Fox children lived at home: Kate who was 6 and Margaret who was 8 (Other accounts have them age 11 and 14 respectively). For some time knocking noises were heard in the house causing Mrs. Fox to fear her family might be in the midst of a demonic visitation. Then, on March 31, 1848, Kate, the youngest daughter, began playing with the noises. Yelling out "Here, Mr. Splitfoot, do as I do!" she snapped her fingers three times. Almost immediately an identical number of knocks responded. Kate continued to play with the unknown entity leaving her mother a bit shocked.
Neighbors where called to witness the amazing events. Soon no less than seventy or eight persons had visited the Fox cottage and heard the rappings which the spirit used as a means to communicate various things. Men were told their ages. Women were told the number of their children. A code was worked out with which the spirit told its story. The "presence" in the Fox home was the ghost of a dead man, a peddler named Charles B. Rosma who had been murdered some years earlier and buried in the cellar.
Word traveled quickly and people soon flocked to Hydesville to witness the spirit manifestations for themselves. The everyday life of the Fox family became hopelessly changed, so it was decided Kate would live with her brother David and Margaret with her older sister Leah. But spirits seemed to follow the girls.
Kate remained with her brother until 1850 where she gave many "sittings" as they were called. Margaret held similar sittings while living in Rochester with Leah. These demonstrations caused a great deal of excitement with the audience roughly divided between those who believed and those who didn't. A number of committees where formed to investigate but none could find evidence of trickery.
A short time later, Leah Fox made the profitable discovery that she to possessed mediumistic powers. So now the Fox family had three mediums rather than two.
In 1850 yet another committee was organized to examine the girls, this time composed of professors of medicine. They discovered that the spirits would not manifest themselves while they held Margaret Fox's legs. They concluded, not unreasonably, that the raps were most likely produced by the cracking of the knee joints. The growing number of spiritualist, however, reacted to this conclusion with righteous scorn and anger.
The sisters fame spread as they undertook a tour of major American cities. Many famous and near famous persons were converted and this, of course, made news. At one of Kate's sessions, Mary Todd Lincoln, the widow of the Late President, came seeking spirit contact with him.
(add more)
After the Civil War things changed dramatically. Perhaps the number of dead and the agony of their families led to new interest in spirit communication after 1865. Another element in spiritualism's rise during this period was the introduction of spirit photography. When William Mumbler began exhibiting spirit photographs in 1863, he found that he was creating a sensation. Soon other spirit photographers sprang up, though all proceeded the same way. Sitters would come to the photographer to have their picture taken and, when the plate was developed, there along with the subject was a spirit form. People frequently recognized these forms as departed loved ones. Though Mumler was himself exposed several times spirit photography as a fad caught on for a while.
Spiritualism in England in the 1860's includes personalities such as Mrs. Everitt (the first native medium) and the American medium Foster, who visited England in 1861, with his specialty of reading messages sealed in envelopes.
(add more)
Ch. 9 Manifestations from Beyond the Grave
Initially a codes were devised by the Fox sisters to communicate with spirits such as one rap for "no"; two raps meant the question could not be answered; three raps signaled "yes"; five wraps a call for the alphabet. The introduction of automatic writing made the process of communication much tidier and less boring. Margaret Fox discovered she could hold a pencil in her hand and the spirits would take possession of her body and write their answers directly to the sitter using Margaret as their "instrument."
Another early manifestation of the spiritualists was really a dip into the "grab-bag" of mesmerists: table tipping. For mesmerists, table tipping indicated the presence of magnetism. For the spiritualists, it was a way of contacting the dead who were credited as being the real "movers" of the tables. Best of all, the same sort of communication could be accomplished with table tipping as with rappings.
Friday, April 3, 2020
Shake Change to Selected Card
Method 1
Have spectator select a card. Use the tilt move to seemingly return it to the middle of the deck. Turn over the top card to show the spectator it is not their card. During this you make a break under the card on top of the deck. Place the card you have shown to the spectator face up on top of the deck. Pick up both cards and perform the shake move.
Method 2
-Perform a triple turnover showing bottom card for the spectator to remember.
-Turn the three cards (as one) back over. Take the top card (which spectator thinks is their card) and place it in the middle of the deck.
-Take the next top card and show the spectator and during this you make a break under the card on top of the deck. Place the card you have shown to the spectator on top of the deck.
-Pick up both cards as one using your thumb and middle finger. Perform the shake move.
Have spectator select a card. Use the tilt move to seemingly return it to the middle of the deck. Turn over the top card to show the spectator it is not their card. During this you make a break under the card on top of the deck. Place the card you have shown to the spectator face up on top of the deck. Pick up both cards and perform the shake move.
Method 2
-Perform a triple turnover showing bottom card for the spectator to remember.
-Turn the three cards (as one) back over. Take the top card (which spectator thinks is their card) and place it in the middle of the deck.
-Take the next top card and show the spectator and during this you make a break under the card on top of the deck. Place the card you have shown to the spectator on top of the deck.
-Pick up both cards as one using your thumb and middle finger. Perform the shake move.
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Thursday, March 26, 2020
French Twist
From A Million Card Tricks: Performance/Tutorial and Aldo Colombini
Step 1
-Four aces face up (spades the last one) on top of the face down deck. Get a pinky break under the fifth card, and lift off the five cards as if they were just the four face up aces, placing the deck on the table.
-Hold the five cards in biddle grip and count off the four aces hiding the face down card. Square them up then turn the packed over so they are face down. (Colombini) Peel off the bottom card (ace of spades) with your right hand and as you turn it face up, simultaneously turn the packet in your left hand over. Flick the ace of spades with your left thumb then turn it over the top of the packet. (You now have two face down cards on top of three face up aces).
Step 2 First Ace Reveal
-Do an Elmsley count revealing one ace has turned over. Use the last card to flip the ace over then put it on the bottom of the pack.
Step 3 Second Ace Reveal
-Do a normal Elmsley count to show all the cards are now face down. (Now you have three face down cards on top followed by two face up aces).
-Do another Elmsley revealing a second ace has turned over. Use the last card to flip the ace over then put it on the top of the pack.
Step 4 Third Ace Reveal
-Hold the cards in biddle grip then reverse count showing four cards. Square up the packet.
-Do an Ascanio spread showing the third ace has turned over. Hold the double in your right hand. Square up the cards in the left hand. Turn them over with the cards in the right hand faced up, then place the right hand cards on top. Turn the packet over.
Step 5 Fourth Ace Reveal
-Do a normal Elmsley count showing all the cards are face down. Then do another Elmsley count revealing the ace of spades. Leave the ace of spades upjogged, then spin it out on the index finger of your left hand.
Step 6 All Aces Face Up In Spread Deck
-Show both sides of the card in the right hand and the packet in the left. Use this action to get a break under the top card of the left hand. Place the ace of spades face up on top of the packet while maintaining the break. Pick up the ace of spades and the card beneath with your right hand, then flip over the three aces in the left hand. Place the double from the right hand on top (apparently showing just the four aces). Square up the cards and flip them over.
-Do an Elmsley count showing four face down cards. Do the shake change to turn the packet over. Place all the cards on top of the pack. Cut them into the deck. Spread to reveal all four aces are face up.
See:
Impromptu Packet Tricks - Aldo Colombini
PA Million Card Tricks: Performance and tutorial
Aldo Colombini Performance
2nd Performance and Tips
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Hypnotic Rumba Count
Hypnotic Rhumba Count by Jean-Pierre Vallarino published in Genii 2003 December - Shows only 2 face cards while apparently showing the faces of all cards in the packet. (Originally published in only in French).
Used in Royal Rumba
Used in Royal Rumba
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Oil and Queens (Roy Walton)
Setup:
Face up, five alternating red, black number cards on top followed by the four queens.
Method:
Show eight alternating red and black number cards (show four cards, then Hamman count to hide the Queens and show four more cards. The last two cards are shown as one).
Turn the packet over, and the put the top four cards on the table. Elmsley count the remaining five cards as four cards. Turn the packet face up, then Elmsley count showing the card are all red (or all black). Pick up the packet on the table showing they are all Queens.
See:
Impromptu Packet Tricks (Aldo Colombini)
Face up, five alternating red, black number cards on top followed by the four queens.
Method:
Show eight alternating red and black number cards (show four cards, then Hamman count to hide the Queens and show four more cards. The last two cards are shown as one).
Turn the packet over, and the put the top four cards on the table. Elmsley count the remaining five cards as four cards. Turn the packet face up, then Elmsley count showing the card are all red (or all black). Pick up the packet on the table showing they are all Queens.
See:
Impromptu Packet Tricks (Aldo Colombini)
Saturday, February 22, 2020
Hamman Count
A false count used to give the impression that the magician has more or less cards than he actually does or (more often) to hide a packet of cards within a count.
See:
Card College Vol. 2
Impromptu Packet Tricks (Aldo Colombini) Oil and Queens
Daryl Encyclopedia of Card Sleights Vol 7
See:
Card College Vol. 2
Impromptu Packet Tricks (Aldo Colombini) Oil and Queens
Daryl Encyclopedia of Card Sleights Vol 7
Friday, February 7, 2020
Joel Dickinson - VOLITION v2
VOLITION v2:
This is currently my favorite impromptu business card effect to perform, it's unique, impossible and leaves your participant and spectators with a memorable effect. Three business cards are passed face down to a participant to mix. After deciding which card will go where, your participant's actions where predicted well ahead of time.
Your participant is given complete control of the cards, they are informed before hand that each card will go to a different location. This is as fair as it gets.
This is self contained, no special gimmicks are required, it's impromptu and this leaves your audience with no logical explanation.
Method:
You require five business cards or double sided blank pieces of card. You will have words wrote on the backs of these cards. Three will have the word 'POCKET'. One has the words 'Right hand' and the other has the words 'Left hand'. The card which contains the words reading 'Right hand' will require a marking on the design side of the card. I place a large nail impression on the top left and bottom right corner of the card. That way it's easily located.
SET UP:
Place the cards with the words 'left hand' and 'right hand' in your left trouser pocket with the words facing away from your participant. Place the three 'Pocket' cards in a spare pocket, or an envelope or where ever you want to store them.
PERFORMANCE:
For the duration of this effect you need to stand directly opposite your participant. Remove the three 'pocket' cards and pass them to a participant to mix. Explain 'one card will be placed in your pocket, so pass me the two cards and which ever you're left with place in your pocket'.
Place your left hand out to retrieve the two cards which will not go in your participant's pocket. You will now secretly switch the cards in your left hand for the two in your pocket. This is very easy to do and happens under the guise of an instruction. State to you your participant 'Please place your selected card in your pocket'. You will simultaneously demonstrate placing the card in your pocket which will be the moment to secretly switch the two cards in your hand for the cards in your pocket. As your hand goes in to the pocket simply ditch the two cards and come back out with the alternative cards. Don't draw attention to the fact your hand is in your pocket, focus your attention on your participant's actions.
You will now hand the cards to your participant and state 'You consciously placed that card in your pocket, your next decision will happen any moment. Without looking at the back of the cards please mix the cards and separate the cards once it feels like the right moment.' as you state this final sentence you will simultaneously and casually place both of your hands out in a palm up gesture.
As your participant separates the cards they will be left with one card in each hand. You will now watch for the marked card and if it ends up in your participant's left hand you will proceed by stating. 'Now without changing the order of selection you have made please place the cards on my hands.'
Your participant will now automatically place the card which says right hand into your right hand and the card which reads left hand into your left hand. All you are left to do now is reveal these results.
Here is the script which I use: "Nobody could have known you would have selected this card for my right hand, and this card for my left hand or that card for your pocket. What if you did know all along. In my right hand this card reads right hand and in my left hand it reads left hand. And you placed one of these cards in your pocket, please remove it and read it aloud.'"
Now let's take a look at the alternative scenario, which will leave the right cards in your participant's correct hands. If this is the case casually drop your hands from the upward gesture and state : 'You did all the mixing and you made decisions both consciously and subconsciously. Nobody could have known where these cards would end up wouldn't you agree? What if there is somebody who did know, and that person is you. In your right hand would you please turn the card over and read it aloud. Now, in your left hand please read the card aloud and finally remove the card from your pocket and read that aloud.'
Take your applause.
A nice subtlety is to have the two cards in your pocket ready to switch, but start the effect with three blank cards and a pen. Then tell your participant you are going to write down three surprise predictions, one on each card which will be revealed at the end. You will write the word 'pocket' on each card. However your participant will believe you have wrote three different predictions, this helps strengthen the effect at the end when your participant's try to back track the effect.
ALTERNATE SETUP
Take a stack of business cards and reverse half so that the white is facing both sides of the pack. Then put your 'Right Hand' and 'Left Hand' cards face down on one side so that it now just looks like a stack of cards facing the same direction.
When you perform, you now take the stack and present them as blank business cards. You say you are going to write something on three cards. You are actually writing pocket three times. They choose a card to put in their pocket and the other two cards go back on the stack. You pick up the stack and secretly turn it so that the "Right Hand" and "Left Hand" cards are given to the participant. Proceed normally from there.
Take a stack of business cards and reverse half so that the white is facing both sides of the pack. Then put your 'Right Hand' and 'Left Hand' cards face down on one side so that it now just looks like a stack of cards facing the same direction.
When you perform, you now take the stack and present them as blank business cards. You say you are going to write something on three cards. You are actually writing pocket three times. They choose a card to put in their pocket and the other two cards go back on the stack. You pick up the stack and secretly turn it so that the "Right Hand" and "Left Hand" cards are given to the participant. Proceed normally from there.
Friday, January 31, 2020
Friday, January 24, 2020
Spiritualism
Spiritualim is a religious movement which began in the United States in the mid 1800s. It is based on the belief that the dead continue to exist in the form of spirits and the living may communicate with these spirits through mediums.
Origins
Spiritualism is often traced back to March 31, 1848 in upstate New York, when Margaretta Fox, 14, and her sister Kate Fox, 11, convinced their parents and neighbors that they were able to communicate with a spirit which had been haunting their home. Knocking sounds that could not be accounted for were heard on many prior nights. But it was on this night that Maggie and Kate decided to talk with the ghost. What follows is from a signed affidavit written by Mrs. Fox.
On Friday night, March 31st, 1848, we concluded to go to bed early and not permit ourselves to be disturbed by the noises, but try and get a night's rest. My husband was here on all occasions, heard the noises, and helped search. It was very early when we went to bed on this night; hardly dark. I had been so broken of my rest I was almost sick. My husband had not gone to bed when we first heard the noises on this evening. I had just lain down. It commenced as usual. I knew it from all other noises I had ever heard before. The children, who slept in the other bed in the room, heard the rapping, and tried to make similar sounds by snapping their fingers.(1)
Levitation
Modern Spiritualism, itself part of the Christian tradition, offers the case of the medium DD Home (1833-1886), who attributed his psychokinetic powers to God. Home was seen to levitate objects - including pianos and tables with people sitting on them - in good light, and often by multiple witnesses in surroundings with which he was unfamiliar. He was also said once to have floated out of an upper storey window at night and back in at another, dramatic testimony which however was vulnerable to criticism and weakly supported.(2)
Psi Encyclopedia: Fox Sisters
(1) First Spiritual Temple: The Fox Sisters
(2) Psi Encyclopedia: Religious Levitation
(3) Wikipedia: Spiritualism
http://oldoperatingtheatre.com/blog/seeing-is-believing-spiritualism-in-the-victorian-era-part-1
http://www.thearda.com/timeline/movements/movement_67.asp
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-fox-sisters-and-the-rap-on-spiritualism-99663697/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritualism
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01515.x
https://publications.newberry.org/outofmany/exhibits/show/atlanta/spiritualism-in-nineteenth-cen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_sisters
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322631234_The_Fox_Sisters_Talking_to_the_Dead_or_Tricking_the_Alive
https://www.historynet.com/the-fox-sisters-spiritualisms-unlikely-founders.htm
https://www.fst.org/fxsistrs.htm
Origins
Spiritualism is often traced back to March 31, 1848 in upstate New York, when Margaretta Fox, 14, and her sister Kate Fox, 11, convinced their parents and neighbors that they were able to communicate with a spirit which had been haunting their home. Knocking sounds that could not be accounted for were heard on many prior nights. But it was on this night that Maggie and Kate decided to talk with the ghost. What follows is from a signed affidavit written by Mrs. Fox.
On Friday night, March 31st, 1848, we concluded to go to bed early and not permit ourselves to be disturbed by the noises, but try and get a night's rest. My husband was here on all occasions, heard the noises, and helped search. It was very early when we went to bed on this night; hardly dark. I had been so broken of my rest I was almost sick. My husband had not gone to bed when we first heard the noises on this evening. I had just lain down. It commenced as usual. I knew it from all other noises I had ever heard before. The children, who slept in the other bed in the room, heard the rapping, and tried to make similar sounds by snapping their fingers.(1)
Levitation
Modern Spiritualism, itself part of the Christian tradition, offers the case of the medium DD Home (1833-1886), who attributed his psychokinetic powers to God. Home was seen to levitate objects - including pianos and tables with people sitting on them - in good light, and often by multiple witnesses in surroundings with which he was unfamiliar. He was also said once to have floated out of an upper storey window at night and back in at another, dramatic testimony which however was vulnerable to criticism and weakly supported.(2)
Psi Encyclopedia: Fox Sisters
(1) First Spiritual Temple: The Fox Sisters
(2) Psi Encyclopedia: Religious Levitation
(3) Wikipedia: Spiritualism
http://oldoperatingtheatre.com/blog/seeing-is-believing-spiritualism-in-the-victorian-era-part-1
http://www.thearda.com/timeline/movements/movement_67.asp
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-fox-sisters-and-the-rap-on-spiritualism-99663697/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritualism
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01515.x
https://publications.newberry.org/outofmany/exhibits/show/atlanta/spiritualism-in-nineteenth-cen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_sisters
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322631234_The_Fox_Sisters_Talking_to_the_Dead_or_Tricking_the_Alive
https://www.historynet.com/the-fox-sisters-spiritualisms-unlikely-founders.htm
https://www.fst.org/fxsistrs.htm
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Cartomancy
Speed Learning Cartomancy Notes
There are two main types of readings - the all purpose reading and the question reading. All purpose readings are ‘one size fits all’ readings for people with no specific questions who simply want some insight into their current situation, whereas question readings are far more specific - people hold a current problem or circumstance in their mind while the reading is conducted.
Chapter 1 - The Four Suites
Diamonds
•Money - Diamonds conjure up images of vast wealth, jewels and treasures
•Power: With wealth comes the power of emperors and kings
•Success: Wealth and success usually go hand in hand
•Energy: Diamonds are almost indestructible and able to cut through anything!
Hearts
•Love - The heart is the universal symbol of love
•Emotions: We may think with our heads, but we follow our hearts
•Pleasure: There’s love and there’s lust!
•Healing: The power of love to heal all wounds
•Healing: The power of love to heal all wounds
*The first card is the "focus" or "subject" and the second card "sheds light" on the subject.
Clubs
• Work - The day to day ‘doing of things’ that gets us where we want to go
• Business - Making things happen, learning from some and teaching others
• Social - Meetings, partnerships and human interaction
• Progress - The idea of growing into something greater than we already are
Spades
• Swords - To be wielded in battle in our everyday struggles • Hurdles - To be seen in advance so we may jump them
• Obstacles - That we must clear from our path or sometimes simply avoid
• Decisions - That must be made for better or for worse
Chapter 2 - Putting the Suits Together (pg 16)
Chapter 3 - Three Card Suit Readings (pg 24)
When you deal three cards face up for a cartomancy reading, the second card is the influence of the first card, and the third card is the influence on the second card! So we are simply doing a two card reading twice!
Time Progression
The three also allow for the concept of time and progression. They can show us how things are going and where they’re headed. Some people use a simple past - present - future reading for the three cards, and although this isn’t far off the idea it is missing the point somewhat. To do this think of the the basic color qualities as red cards are good and the black cards are bad
1) Color Readings
Black Black Red:
Things have been tough but are going to get better in the future
Red Red Black:
It’s been plain sailing so far, but look out for clouds on the horizon
Red Black Red:
You’re entering a rough patch but things will get better
Black Red Black:
Things have taken a turn for the better, but it’s not over yet
2) Suit Readings
Combining the themes of the suits from chapter one with the color themes and time progression above, you can do a simple three card suit reading.
See the chapter examples
Chapter 4 - The Spot Cards (pg 30)
Here are the basic meanings of the numbers one through ten:1. Beginnings
2. Cooperation
3. Expansion
4. Security
5. Activity
6. Communication
7. Spirituality
8. Inspiration
9. Changes
10. Success
Think about this little story for a moment. We all begin alone (1) we couple up (2) and bring life into the world (3) before we make a home with four walls (4). There is much activity as the child grows (5) and before long the child learns to communicate (6) and ask big questions about the world around him (7). Finally he is inspired to go out into the world (8) make a difference (9) and be successful (10). He’s now alone (1) and the cycle can begin again.
Chapter 5 - Deciphering the Spot Cards (pg 46)
Simply put, we ‘read’ a card by taking the number idea (the focus) with the influence of the suit idea (the influence).
Chapter 6 - Three Card Readings
Three card reading:1. Lay three cards face up in a row
2. Figure out what the first card means
3. Figure out what the second card means and how it influences the first card
4. Figure out what the third card means and how it influences the second card
5. Take into account which suits and/or numbers appear more than once
6. See if any other interesting and relevant numbers can be created from adding up the first two cards, second two cards or all the cards to see if this can add some further insight into the reading.
Chapter 7 - The Court Cards (pg 85)
Chapter 8 - Deck Personality (pg 107)
Chapter 9 - More on Readings (pg 117)
Chapter 10 - Beyond the Three Card Reading (pg 121)
The Nine Card Reading
The Sevens Spread
The Star Spread
Other Spreads
Chapter 11 - Numerology and Other Systems (pg 127)
Chapter 12 - Cartomancy as Language
Chapter 13 - Conclusion
Various Other Notes
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Star/Zodiac Signs
Astrological Signs (Zodiac Signs, Star Signs)
The order of the astrological signs is:
Aries,
The Ram (March 21 – April 20)Taurus,
The Bull (April 21 – May 21)Gemini,
The Twins (May 22 – June 21)Cancer,
The Crab (June 22 – July 22)Leo,
The Lion (July 23 – August 22)Virgo,
The Maiden (August 23 – September 23)Libra,
The Scales (September 24 – October 23)Scorpio,
The Scorpion (October 24 – November 22)Sagittarius,
The Archer (November 23 – December 21)Capricorn,
The Goat-fish hybrid (December 22 – January 20)Aquarius
The Water-bearer (January 21 – February 19)Pisces.
The Fishes (February 20 – March 20)
https://www.alwaysastrology.com/learn-astrology.html
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Propless Thought of Card
Divining between two options
1) Flicker (Cog: Ben Seward)
To find the color:
“Think of any card that you want and picture it in front of you”
Watch their eyes, as the direction that their eyes flick in will be the same as their flick later.
“Now if your card is red, I want you to picture the pips on the card bleeding out until the whole card is red”
Watch for the eye flicks
“If your card is black, I want you to imagine each of the pips hollowing out and fading from the card until the card is completely blank”
Look for eye flicks again.
Finally, it is important to stress that they should be picturing the things asked of them. I use this line.
“Now its really important that you try really hard to picture the things I ask you to or this won’t work. If I ask you to picture your card and you think of something completely different then this won’t work. I can’t get your card if you’re not thinking of it”
If you are finding it hard to spot the eye flicks then try this:
“So you now have your card in your mind, yes, perfect. A little known fact is that playing cards are based on tarot cards. The black cards traditionally are negative or warning cards, where as red cards are normally positive. If you are thinking of a red card I want you to think of a time when you were truly happy (watch for eye flicks). If you are thinking of a black card I want you to picture something
that terrifies you (watch for eye flicks)”
To find the suite:
For example:
If the spectator is thinking of a red card
“If you are thinking of hearts I want you to picture a person who is very close and important to you (watch for eye flicks), if your thinking of diamonds I want you to imagine the best gift that you have ever received (look for eye flicks)”
if the spectator is thinking of a black card
“if you are thinking of clubs I want you to imagine a time that you where completely spontaneous (look for eye flicks), if you are thinking of spades I want you to picture a time that you overcame a challenge (look for eye flicks)”
2) Obviously Black...or Red (Peter Turner: Bigger Fish Files: Ahead)
3) You didn't do what everyone else does and choose a club? (Peter Turner: Bigger Fish Files: Ahead)
4)
See:
Cog by Ben Seward
Psychological Card Forces by Peter Turner
Bigger Fish Files by Peter Turner
1) Flicker (Cog: Ben Seward)
To find the color:
“Think of any card that you want and picture it in front of you”
Watch their eyes, as the direction that their eyes flick in will be the same as their flick later.
“Now if your card is red, I want you to picture the pips on the card bleeding out until the whole card is red”
Watch for the eye flicks
“If your card is black, I want you to imagine each of the pips hollowing out and fading from the card until the card is completely blank”
Look for eye flicks again.
Finally, it is important to stress that they should be picturing the things asked of them. I use this line.
“Now its really important that you try really hard to picture the things I ask you to or this won’t work. If I ask you to picture your card and you think of something completely different then this won’t work. I can’t get your card if you’re not thinking of it”
If you are finding it hard to spot the eye flicks then try this:
“So you now have your card in your mind, yes, perfect. A little known fact is that playing cards are based on tarot cards. The black cards traditionally are negative or warning cards, where as red cards are normally positive. If you are thinking of a red card I want you to think of a time when you were truly happy (watch for eye flicks). If you are thinking of a black card I want you to picture something
that terrifies you (watch for eye flicks)”
To find the suite:
For example:
If the spectator is thinking of a red card
“If you are thinking of hearts I want you to picture a person who is very close and important to you (watch for eye flicks), if your thinking of diamonds I want you to imagine the best gift that you have ever received (look for eye flicks)”
if the spectator is thinking of a black card
“if you are thinking of clubs I want you to imagine a time that you where completely spontaneous (look for eye flicks), if you are thinking of spades I want you to picture a time that you overcame a challenge (look for eye flicks)”
2) Obviously Black...or Red (Peter Turner: Bigger Fish Files: Ahead)
3) You didn't do what everyone else does and choose a club? (Peter Turner: Bigger Fish Files: Ahead)
4)
See:
Cog by Ben Seward
Psychological Card Forces by Peter Turner
Bigger Fish Files by Peter Turner
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