KING

OF

THE

COLD

READERS
 July 18, 1996

Bascom Jones and I were friends for many years before we decided to collaborate on this book I
had always admired the way that he could make words flow easily.
I had contributed different pieces to MAGICK and was absolutely amazed at his talent for
polishing up what I had written or taped to him. In any event at a Psychic entertainers convention
we decided that talents complimented each other. Bascom had no background in old reading, and
I had no talent in magic. Bascom thought that this combination made us the perfect pair.
In 1988 I lived in Manchester, New Hampshire and Bascom lived in Bakersfield, California.
Because of the geographic distance we decided to communicate once a week by phone, and for
me to put all of my cold reading material on cassette tape. I still have all of the original tapes. I
guess that I sent Bascom 16 hours of taped material that spanned a four month time frame.
As we worked on this book, Bascom would urge me to let him identify me as “KING OF THE
COLD READERS” I was reluctant to do so because at that time my daughter Carmela was in a
very strict catholic school, and I was afraid that a book might fall into the wrong hands and get
her expelled. Bascom and I decided to identify me at a later date. We felt that this book would be
well received and probably would be reprinted. We felt that it would be an easy task to add an
explanation page to the newer books being printed. Well, my daughter has graduated and I no
longer feel the need for secrecy.
I miss Bascom. I miss our chats. I believe that Bascom had a profound effect on many people that
he met. I think Bascom is pleased that his “KING OF THE COLD READERS” has finally been
identified.
KING OF THE COLD READERS has been out of print for about five ears. At least once a week
I am asked by someone “When will KING be reprinted?” I am honoring those requests now.
I have kept the original manuscript untouched. I have added on some additional material for your
reading pleasure. Within these pages you will find some material from three other books on
readings.
RED HOT COLD READING Herb Dewey & Dr. Thomas Saville
PSYCHO-BABBLE Herb Dewey & Roy Miller
MINDBLOWING PSYCHIC'READINGS Herb Dewey & Marc Sky
 Preface

In their international 'underground' bestseller “The Morning of the Magicians,” authors Louis
Pauwels and Jacques Bergier, in writing about the so-called secrets of science, noted that the
“secrets may not be fables, legends, or games,” but precise keys to open up and reveal the
strengths and weaknesses of man.
Much the same thing, of course, can be said about the secrets and techniques used by the
pseudopsychic.
Technique usually doesn't follow science; it precedes it. But in recent years, while man and
woman have shifted away from old-time values and have been motivated by needs and ideas that
are changing with dramatic speed, the techniques of the psychic reader often remain rooted in the
truisms of the 1920s and the 1930s, and even the infinitely more-ancient teachings of Gypsies.
In a world of jet flight, speed-of-light communication, and the breakdown and dissolution of
former ethnic, moral, and geographic barriers, the secrets and techniques of the pseudo-psychic
nave fallen behind the times.
Long before I first met the shadowy pseudo-psychic known, in the field, as the King of the Cold
Readers, his reputation for innovative new concepts and techniques for psychic readings had
preceded him, and was widely whispered and much respected.
After we had met and become friends, he pointed out:
“In the laid-back world of a few years ago, life was not constant, but it changed more slowly and
quietly. Teachings handed down from one generation to the next often would remain current.
Now, many of those past cliches are no longer valid. Some have changed radically, even over a
period of a few years. Yet, the secrets and techniques of the psychic reader were never meant to
be written in stone. Successful practitioners will remain successful only if they remain in step
with mankind.”
This book is predicated upon that concept.
 Chapter One
Introduction
When early man first ventured forth from his cave, he sought information about his future. He
looked to the sun, the moon, and the stars for answers. He turned to twigs and shells and bits of
bones, and to shamans and priests. He searched not only for meaningful signs but for those who
could interpret those signs.
Down through the ages, man continued to be driven by his quest for information about the
unknown. Presidents and kings have been advised by seers and psychics. Up to 40-million
people, in the United States today, peruse I the daily astrology columns that are featured in many
of the nation s best newspapers. Store-front shops, private residences, and even mini-malls bear
the signs and advertising of psychic readers.
What once was thought of as a few pieces of silver crossing the palms of Gypsies has become a
flood. It's estimated that more than one billion dollars are spent each year, in the U.S., on
astrology alone. The psychic world has become a world of big business. And it's a very profitable
business.
Hollywood films, up until a few years ago, created the image that most fortune-tellers are
Transylvanian-accented, olive-skinned Gypsies, whose gift for perceiving the future was part of
their heritage and was passed to them from great-grandmother, to grandmother, to mother, and
which, in turn, was destined to be passed on to one of their daughters. Certainly, many Roma, as
Gypsies prefer to be called, do make a living as fortune-tellers. They have done so for centuries.
But you don't have to be a Gypsy to practice fortune-telling. Nor do you have to be a woman.
And you don't even have to be psychic, although it doesn't hurt to have a flair for showmanship
and a better than average understanding of human nature, along with its frailties.
In practice, women do well at fortune-telling. It allows them to make use of their greater
sensitivity, their intuitive perceptions about themselves and about others. But, then, such
sensitivity is a prerequisite common to most successful psychics, who specialize in personal
readings. One lay sitter described a typical psychic reading in this fashion:
“It is an entrancing experience, having one's life described by a stranger. It's an exercise as
seductive as looking at a photograph of one's self. At the very least, what (you get for your
money) is an attentive listener and guilt-free self-absorption.”
Just about the same thing could have been written about analysis, of course, or about any session
with a psychologist or psychiatrist. Indeed there are some who maintain that today's practicing
psychic is the' poor man s analyst. It is an interesting concept, and it may be so.
A long-time psychic reader describes her psychic-client relationship in this manner:
“A lot of (my clients) know what they ought to do but can't find the courage to do it. What these
people need is self-confidence and belief in themselves, a little advice from someone who has
been around. I give them a push in the right direction. If the doctors and preachers were doing
their jobs right there would be no need for me.”
The practitioner quickly added another bit of advice that is of value to every would-be psychic
reader:
“I try to leave them with hope. You never want to paint a dark picture of the future, always want
to keep your thoughts and words positive. You'll never get rich in this business peddling gloom.”
While women, traditionally, have been depicted as fortunetellers, some of the most famous
psychics in history have been men. Nostradamus, Cagliostro, and, more recently, Edgar Cayce
are widely recognized names.
And recognition is important. In a business that has come to rely heavily on word-of-mouth
advertising, there always will be a certain amount of jostling for recognition. One West Coast
seer drives a new Cadillac, with a cellular telephone and a personalized license plate that reads
PALMRDR. A fortune-teller who practices in the vicinity of Disneyland advertises a shuttle
service from the park and from convention-area motels to her parlor. A popular East Coast
psychic utilizes expensive audio taping equipment to provide readings for his clients, each boxed
with is picture and address.
Yet, when it comes to an explanation of their art and of the techniques they use, few modern-day
psychics can afford to be identified by name. For most, it's simply a matter of dollars and sense.
Their livelihood depends upon the manner in which they are perceived by their clients.
Writing a book on the behind-the-scenes techniques of private readings, for example, could prove
to be an invitation to disaster for a psychic, if a copy of the book turned up in the hands of a
repeat client or was associated with the psychic in the letters-to-the editor column of one of the
magazines, in which he, or she, may routinely advertise.
But such enforced reticence on the part of working psychics, over the years, has its down side.
Much useful information never sees print. As a result, much that is in print as source material is
as outdated as wide lapels and bell-bottom trousers for men. In an acre and at a time in which the
world and society are moving ahead in quantum leaps, such material needs to be brought up
to-date, and regularly.
William Lindsay Gresham, in his book, 'Monster Midway' makes the observation that today's
Gypsy fortune-tellers face one disadvantage. Their art is so ancient, passed on from mother to
daughter, that their much-used cliches, in some cases, no longer apply to modern woman.
Today, for example, not all young girls think only of an early marriage; some may aspire to
become corporate presidents or military test pilots. Gays, in increasing numbers, are coming out
of the closet, and taking on their own identity. Black-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Asian
Americans, and a host of other hyphenated Americans have complex agendas, and far-reaching
goals, much removed from the ethnic stereotypes widely accepted as reality a few years ago.
Much of the material in this book has not previously been published. It is as current as now. Nor
is it just theory. It has been refined and proven valuable over the course of -many thousands of
private readings. The source of the material is a long-practicing psychic. He is extremely suc-
cessful in that calling, so much so that he has been called “King of the Cold Readers”, by many
of his peers. And he has earned that title in more than a quarter of a century of doing private
readings.
Consider these partial credentials. He has done more than 100,000 personal readings. He is a
member of the Board of Directors of a number of psychic organizations, and is the official 'house'
psychic for various radio and television outlets. As a recognized authority on the subject, he has
written about psychic matters for magazines and newspapers, and is routinely featured in several
of this country's best-known magazines.
He has done psychic readings for men and women, and for both young and old. He has even been
paid his full fee to do readings for horses, and for just about every category of household pet.
Although most readings for people are personal and, usually, private, he has commanded
enthusiastic response from larger audiences, by doing mass readings from the stage, in clubs, and
at large parties. In such settings, he may simply point at an audience member, give his impres-
sions, and, then, move on to the next person, using the same proven techniques he uses in private
readings. (Such forays into the spotlight are not just exercises in personal vanity or self-imagery;
they provide a well-qualified source for new clients, and usually reward him many times over for
the amount. of time and effort that he may devote to them.)
In the sub-culture of the private reader, he has another name, the Shadow Man. For many
working psychics, his whispered identity is the final seal of approval for his innovative new
reading techniques and approaches. His contributions to the art are legend. He has been a
superstar in the business a long time, and even among his peer group, he has gained recognition
and respect as a master of advanced cold reading techniques.
Cold reading is the term used to describe the method of fortune-telling, in which the psychic, or
reader, approaches the client, or sitter, 'cold', knowing little or nothing about the individual, who
usually is a stranger. By observation and deduction, the psychic fits the person into a category,
and launches into a formula reading.
He tailors the formula reading to the individual, as he goes along, using information gleaned both
from deductive reasoning and from, his own unobtrusive observation. Often, the client's body
language, rhythm of breathing, hands, posture, and even unguarded comments will allow the
psychic to become ever more specific, during the course of the reading.
In a remarkable series of lengthy audio-tape recordings, spanning a period of more than four
months, the man known as 'King of the Cold Readers' has described, in detail, the many
advanced techniques and methods he uses, or has developed, in his day-by-day readings. The ma-
terial for this book is based upon those secret tapes. It covers just about every aspect of client
contact, from initial reading to follow-on visits.
There are man individual approaches to fortune-telling, of course. Different nationalities and
ethnic groups often lean toward specific types. The 4000-year-old I Ching was developed by the
Chinese. The colorful and mysterious cards known as Tarot are popular among many European
nationalities. Palmistry has been a long-time favorite of Gypsy readers, and numerology and
astrology have large groups of adherents. Tea leaves, coffee grounds, witches' stones, and runes
all have been used as a medium to pull aside the curtains of the future, and have their own
advocates.
No matter what method, or methods, you choose to use, however, the problems and needs of the
individuals with whom you come in contact will be basically the same. Nationalities and ethnic
groups may vary widely, but the individuals within them have the same fears, problems, and life
patterns. And their questions about the future, predictably, will be similar. The secret of a
successful reading is to anticipate the sitter's hidden worries and needs, nothing more.
 Chapter Two
The Formula Reading

“There are only two or three human stories...” Willa Cather observed, “ ... and they go on
repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened DeTore.”
Each of us likes to think of ourselves as unique, with problems and needs and goals that set us
apart from all the others. We're not. Although we may mistrust generalities, whether we like it or
not, there is a commonality about our fears, wants, and aspirations that make them predictable...
for every one of us. Psychic readers recognize this, and use it to their advantage.
As individuals, we want to know about money and health. We are concerned about love,
relationships, and family. We worry about work, and wonder about travel and change. It's not a
long list.
When one or more of those areas takes on a disproportionate emphasis, we may visit or contact a
psychic. The psychic, without the need to ask questions, not only will dredge up those areas that
concern us but will tell us many other specifically accurate things about ourselves.
How? That's the function of the formula reading, sometimes called the character reading. It's
fashioned, by the psychic, to touch briefly on each of the areas that could concern a client. The
formula reading is the foundation, or skeleton, upon which the psychic continues to build, using
his powers of observation and deduction.
It consists of a number of psychological truisms and positive character traits. Most individuals
will accept an incredible 80 per cent of the statements as applying specifically to them. This is
particularly true, if the traits are ones apparently identified by something that restricts them to the
individual, such as the lines of the person's palm, the relationships of stars to each other at the
time of his or her birth, or the personalized shuffling and handling of fortune-telling cards.
Further enhancing the high acceptance factor is the fact that most individuals tend to identify and
remember those statements in a reading that seem appropriate and meaningful, while they pass
over and forget anything that is more or less meaningless to them.
Actually, most formula readings used by psychic readers are nothing more or less than a
continuous flow of ambiguous statements, generalizations that apply readily to most people. The
client, or sitter, will tend to embellish selected statements, from the reading, with details that
make the generalizations appear more accurate than then are.
One technique to keep even the formula reading fresh and 'different' is to mix the order of the
statements. In order to do this, most psychic readers have a significantly larger supply of
generalized statements than are required or a normal reading, and they draw upon this supply in a
random fashion, which means that no two readings need come out exactly the same.
Whether you are a man or a woman, if you are an average individual, you will find the following
formula reading amazingly accurate:

The Formula Reading

“I see that you are a very sensitive, energetic person. You have the ability to cope with any
situation. Although you are far from a wimpish type of individual, you are not an aggressive,
manipulative type, either. You appear to be a very stable person, very reliable. You're the type
that tends to take up challenges. You win more than you lose. You are a survivor.
You have a tendency to become impatient with people who are users. You become impatient
with people who procrastinate, who are lazy. On the other hand, you would benefit by putting
more thought and effort into establishing meaningful relationships. I sense some problems there
now. And there are people around you that are weaker willed than you. You have a tendency to
be a loner, and you probably would benefit from other friendships in your life, both male and
female. And people from different walks of life.
You have the flexibility to adjust to whatever situation comes forth in your life. You have a
strongly developed capability to bring stability and balance to situations around you. You nave
the ability to bring harmony out of chaos. Many of those around you recognize this. Some look to
you to take control.
You are in control of your life, and are able to deal effectively with whatever happens. I sense an
inner strength, one that is surprising or not even seen by those around you, who don't always see
the real you. You tend to be your own person, with little real need to be dependent upon others.
You have an empathy for nature, for growing things. You like the feel of soil. But you can't
always take the time that you would like. Conversely, you have less liking for confined spaces.
Sometimes, particularly late at night, you get the feeling that things are closing around you too
tightly.
There are indications that you take life very seriously. You don't delude yourself that you are a
genius, but you accept that you have a better than average mind. You have a very good education.
I would tend to say that you have accomplished more being self-taught than any college would
try to claim. You have learned quickly and thoroughly what you want to learn.
You have a great deal of self-confidence and self-respect, and you have the ability to take control
of your life and be successful at the goals you undertake. You are not a complainer. You do not
give in. You do not give up. You do not compromise easily.
One of your strengths is your ability to observe and evaluate others. You have a strong empathy
for other people, an ability to understand them. However, you don't necessarily like them all. You
would like to be more open and free. You want others to like you and admire you. There is a
suppressed need in you to open doors in your life for the future. In fact, there is a great deal of
unused energy that you have not turned to your advantage, and a tendency to procrastinate in
some critical areas. On two occasions in the past year, your hesitancy to rock the boat has meant
you have failed to reach for the brass ring.
But, unlike many about you, you possess the keys to the doors in your future you want opened.
You have a talent for recognizing and understanding the problems of other people and for dealing
with those problems.
One of your strong suits is your rock-solid dependability. You can follow instructions and fit
readily into any situation that requires teamwork. You are generous with your time, your talent,
and your money, so much so that you sometimes allow others to impose upon you. Probably your
greatest weakness is your inability to say 'no', at those times when you should.
Your personality tends to attract others to you, both men and women. But through no fault of
your own, you tend also to attract losers to you.
There are some moments when you let your imagination run away with you. You recognize them.
But you don't spend a great deal of time day dreaming. You are able to make positive, concrete
plans. You are able to set goals and accomplish those goals. Whatever you set your mind to
achieve you can accomplish, if you wish to devote the energy and effort.
You prefer a casual life style. You have many, many acquaintances, but because of your
selectivity, you have only a few close friends. People around you don't always understand you. At
times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary,
and reserved. You tend always to hide your innermost feelings from others.
You are discriminating by nature in your choices. You are not easy to please. Most people in your
life do not impress you.
I sense that you will enjoy a long and fruitful life, living comfortably beyond your eightieth
birthday.
Your inner strength and endurance will bring you the financial success that you choose. You
operate mostly from a physical, intellectual, and emotional level, and you are more comfortable
with long-term relationships than short-term. There is a throwback to the old-fashion in you, in
that you are not loose or promiscuous. Here, too, you tend to march to the beat of a different
drummer.
In your life, you're willing to put your energies into a meaningful relationship. You have a very
sensual and romantic nature, and can be a loving and caring mate. You came into this world with
a strongly developed sense of independence and self-reliance, and I sense that you were able to
stand alone at a very early age. I would judge that you were on your own at about sixteen or
seventeen years old.
Others recognize this and tend to draw upon your inner strength, leaning on you for support,
leaving much of what must be done up to you. One of your most secret fantasies, at times, is that
you be allowed to let go. You would like to let someone else take over. Let someone else push
the buttons and clear the tracks.
You have a very deep way of dealing with people. You are honest and do not relish playing mind
games. You put all of your cards on the table. If someone does you a favor, you feel a debt to
repay that favor. There's a streak of the puritan in you. You could not be a bad person if you tried.
With your imagination, your desire to succeed, your goal setting tendencies, and your inner
hunger and drive, you have the potential always to accomplish what you choose to achieve in
your life. You will experiment with several different career goals in your life, before you find one
that satisfies you. But you've always tended to look to the stars, and not been content to meekly
accept what has been dealt.
You have a strongly developed sense of adventure, an interest in travel. I sense you will
experience a number of fantastic journeys in your life. While you don't usually play mind games
with others, you do tend to play mind games with yourself. You have the ability to find
excitement looking through travel brochures. I see you visiting places in your mind, but I also see
you visiting exciting places in your lifetime in an actual physical way, too.
The figure two repeats itself in your life. I can relate it to potential relationships, to potential
long-term career goals, and, maybe, even to children. I see two strong and competing love
interests.
You have an exceptionally strong psychic capability. Others call it your mysterious side. Your
dark side. Although you have not done as much as you can to develop it, it's out of the ordinary.
It makes reading you extremely difficult. You are successful in blocking me out in certain private
areas.
All indications are that you will lead a very full life, and find a great deal of contentment in your
life, with relationships that grow stronger with the years and with time. Like a good book, your
future seems to get better, the further you get into it.”
 Chapter Three
More Useful Generalities

Before considering techniques for making the formula reading more personalized, here are some
additional generalized statements. Remember, don't make the mistake of attempting to memorize
an entire reading. Instead, commit to memory as many specific generalities, as you can. Over the
years, you'll find you will add many others to your collection.
By drawing upon those generalized statements in a random way, you'll be able to create an
almost endless number of skeletal readings, each reading more or less different and fresh.
Experience has shown that eight out of ten of your readings probably will be done for women,
since more women than men consult psychic readers. Consequently, most of these additional
generalizations are ones that apply especially to women.
Finally, it's of particular importance to keep in mind you are doing the reading for the client or
sitter, not for her friends. Your statements, for the most part, should reflect the way she sees
herself, and not necessarily the way her friends or acquaintances see her. She is the one who must
judge the accuracy of your impressions. And she will view your statements through a different
pair of glasses.
We all tend to blame others for faults in ourselves that we don't want to face. Psychologists call it
a protective mechanism. The bossy busybody sees herself as helpful and assertive. To a mean and
spiteful person, you might say, “You tend to be too nice, too trusting, at times. You are
frequently hurt by mean and spiteful individuals around you.” That's the way she sees herself.
Each of the following statements will be accepted by most clients as descriptive of themselves:
§ “Money, career, travel, while important, are not as important as having love in your life.”
(Most women seek understanding, compassion, M tenderness, and will agree with this.)
§ “You are comfortable in a management or supervisory capacity. As a decision maker, you are
able to make typical male decisions, and can cope under pressure.. (Such a statement will
apply equally well to a 21year old secretary, who recognizes she can do, and often does, the
work of her boss, or to a 65 year-old widow, who is forced to make all the decisions once
made by her husband.)
§ “You will outlive your first husband.” (If she is a widow, you are right. If she is married, she
will agree your prediction is probably right. And even if she is unmarried, she will tend to
view it as a prediction for the future.)
§ “I sense you were brought up to DO the right things, GO to the right schools, MARRY once
and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, as you've found, things don't always work out that
way.” (This is a strong statement. Isn't that the advice most parents try to give their children.
And, of course, it doesn't always work out that way. But, whether it's a problem relating to a
failed marriage, drugs, in-laws, or finances, you'll e given the credit for knowing about it.)
§ “I sense you are a touching and hugging individual, tending to seek the Teddy Bear, the
Gentle Ben, in the opposite sex.”
§ “You tend to be a giver, rather than a taker.”
§ “You have a mind similar to a computer, very, very sharp. Very intuitive. Very observant.”
(Regardless of the person's level of education, most women want to believe they have
something on the ball. They want to believe they are difficult to deceive.)
§ “You are deep, analytical, pragmatic. You tend to analyze everyone.” (Most people tend to
see themselves as better than average judges of character. They will agree with this.)
§ “Something seems to be frustrating you. At times, you seem to be making progress, but at
other times, you seem to be slipping backward. There are confusions, delays, and
disappointments.” (Is there ever a period in a person's life, when all about us is perfect?)
§ “I sense a sentimentality in you, a sensitiveness that is exceptional. You are an incurable
romantic, in fact.” (Studies show that most women feel they are sentimental and
old-fashioned.)
§ “There is a certain amount of jealousy that surrounds you, at times. It goes with the territory.
The fact that you are attractive and noticeable, for example, has caused some to accuse you of
'making an entrance' when you enter a room, even when you are completely innocent.” (What
women doesn't want to secretly believe she is the cause of a certain amount of jealousy
among her peers? What woman doesn't want to believe she is the center of most eyes when
she enters a room?)
§ “Your nature seems to be success oriented. You are not the type to settle for second-best, and
you do not allow yourself to be easily compromised.” (Most people strive for a better life, a
better personal world, a better existence, and even born losers will see themselves as success
oriented.)
 Chapter Four
Beware of Too Many Predictions
Analyze the Formula Reading, and you'll find it contains relatively few long-range predictions.
This is not by chance. It is done deliberately, and or a purpose.
Inexperienced psychic readers will sometimes devote too much of their reading to predictions.
They heap one prediction on top of another, possibly on the theory that, as the number goes up,
their chances for being right become that much better. They predict future travel, future wealth,
future relationships, and future happiness.
But, in concentrating on the future, they forget that the client must form an opinion about the
reading based upon the present. Those many as-yet-to,-be-proven predictions, even if they should
eventually turn out to be 100 per-cent true, can have little weight in the client's immediate
evaluation of your skills.
Satisfied clients and word-of-mouth repeat business depend upon your ability to instill
confidence in the sitter, at the time of the reading. Your client must be shown that you are right
about her now, if she is to believe your predictions will come true in the future.
“The confidence factors” is what the man who has been called King of the Cold Readers terms it.
He sees it as a critical aspect of every reading, and of vital importance to repeat business.
“You gain that confidence only by earning it “ he points out. “Toward that end, I spend most of
my energy in my readings on telling clients certain irrefutable truths about themselves.
“I strive to develop an accurate 'personality profile', during the reading, one that fits the client
like a glove. After all, if I am demonstratively right about the present, my predictions about the
future could also prove accurate.”
Out of dozens and dozens of 'specific generalizations' about the client, in a reading, only a few
will concern really long-range predictions. To further enhance the confidence factor, he asks the
client to give no response until the reading is finished.
“I use no pumping, no fishing e editions, and no special questions from me,” he adds. “The best
predictions seemingly should not be in answer to a client's question.” This is not to say that he
doesn't get a great deal of useful information from the client, but he makes no obvious attempts
to obtain such information, with repeated questions.
There is one important area within every psychic reading, of course, that demands a prediction,
or answer, and that is the area that relates to the real, or imaginary, problem that faces the client.
The sitter wants help with that problem. Quite frequently, it's her sole reason for visiting the
psychic.
No reading can be totally successful, in the eyes of such a person, unless the psychic is able to
quickly identify the problem facing her, and help provide the answer to it.
The successful psychic soon learns that it's not a near-endless variety of long-range predictions
people want but a simple answer to their worries, a solution to the problem that is plaguing them.
Touching on that problem, and identifying it, is not as impossible as it sounds.
 Chapter Five
T.H.E. S.C.A.M.

“You have a tendency to worry over little things that often never happen,” cautions the fortune
cookie from the Chinese restaurant. And the bit of printed advice, on the tiny slip, hit the nail
squarely on the head.
Just as a whole series of cookie fortunes, read in random order, may provide perceptions about a
person that are astonishingly sensitive and accurate, at least eight out of every ten statements
used in the Formula Reading may be judged to be uniquely descriptive of the client.
But, as has been pointed out, a perception of accuracy is not sufficient to make a re din r
satisfactory in the minds of most clients. At an average of thirty dollars for a half-hour reading
and sixty dollars for an hour, most clients go to a reader because they have a problem. Some may
try to hide their problem, even from themselves, but it remains the motivating force behind their
visit.
Even spur-of-the-moment clients will identify a specific problem, or question, that is uppermost
in their thoughts, and wait to see what the psychic has to say about it. After all, human
relationships and weaknesses are essential tools of the psychic's trade.
To be given high marks for the reading, you, as the psychic, must quickly and accurately identify
the client's problem, or w6rry, during the reading' and suggest a solution. Such a task would seem
to be impossible. But a carefully-structured Formula Reading will help provide an answer.
In your reading, you simply touch briefly upon all possible problems that might be confronting
the client, counting on her to unconsciously identify for you the one that is important to her. Even
should you fall to learn the specific problem bothering her, she will give you credit for having
done so. Two factors make, this possible.
Each of us tends to listen selectively. We hear those things, in a conversation, that we want to
hear, and tend to mentally filter out those things that make little or no sense, when measured
against our thought process. The client, in other words, will assign immediate significance to any
mention, by you, of her problem or worry, while she will pass over as unimportant other
problems or worries you touch upon, in the same reading.
Gail Sheehy, in her coast-to-coast best-selling book, “Passages” advocated what Gypsies and
other fortune-tellers long have known, that most people fall into a few basic categories, that their
lives and life-paths are Health. In touching upon Health, which represents the second letter in the
anagram, you flirt with one of several areas where you, as a psychic reader, must exercise
extreme caution. You are not a medical doctor, and you should not offer predictions or advice
concerning illnesses. It's best to admit it. “I'm not a medical doctor.”
Each of us, for our long-term health and well-being, should have access to a physician and
consult him regularly. But, with regard to health, in a general way, I sense that you will have a
long life. I see you living into your eighties or nineties. You have the inner potential to overcome
any negative influences that would effect your health. For example, it s generally accepted that
people with a negative mind-set can actually bring on poor health. Conversely, a positive
mind-set is a powerful and continuing guard against any negative vibrations.”
Expectations. The third letter in the anagram represents a client's expectations. This would
include predictions; things in her life that lie in the future. It also would include fantasies, things
that will or will not happen, her future achievements, and potentials.
Sex. In this category, you would comment on love, lust (remember Presidential-Candidate Carter,
and his interview in Playboy magazine?), relationships, and a happy or unhappy marriage. But
use caution in this category. Although many psychologists see sex as the cause of many of the
problems people have, the individual doesn't always see it so clearly.
And, as has been mentioned, you are doing the reading for the individual. In this category, you
also can make mention of the person being attractive, of being romantic, of being constant. It's
strange, but true, that every woman, even the most beautiful Hollywood star, will relate to this
statement, “If I had to find fault with you, it would be that you are beautiful, yet you do not know
you are beautiful.” Cover girls and models, school cheer leaders, beauty pageant winners, and ra-
diant young housewives may know the are attractive, but without exception, they feel their
beauty is flawed They don't really believe they are beautiful.
Career. The subcategories you would touch upon, here, include predicted or anticipated career
changes or modifications, staying in the same career field, for example, or entering into a
different career. Generally, with respect to career changes, most people tend to change their job
title, but stay within the same career field. A late-life career change, however, has become an
increasing possibility, as people reenter the work place or keep working beyond retirement ages.
Ambitions. This catch-all category allows you to comment upon the client's ambitions, secret
desires, and potentials. “Your secret desire will be granted you,” is a comment that many clients
will relate to, fleshing out the comment with their own interpretation.
Money. The subcategories, here, relate to all aspects of the client's financial situation. You can
cover such subjects as potential job income, gifts, inheritances, investments, sweepstakes, and
stocks and bonds. Here, you would also make mention of the fact that the client's financial
situation is going to improve.
By touching on all the various categories and subcategories, during the reading, you not only will
fashion a good reading but you will identify the probable area of the client's worry or concern.
Using the memory aid as a check list, your comments normally are designed to be woven among
the more generalized statements of the Formula Reading.
The memory aid also can be used as the basis for a short, five or ten minute stand-alone psychic
reading. It answers the complaint of many beginning practitioners that they “never remember
what to say next.” Such a reading would sound like this, in its briefest form:
“Change, movement, some distant places. I sense both long and short journeys in your future, an
opportunity for travel realized. You have a desire to return to a place from the past. A desire to
escape to another area. A forgotten moment or incident you want to recapture. Is someone
standing there? Or is it the place, itself? It's not clear.
With regard to health, you possess an energy within you to overcome and overpower any
negative energies. There as been a strong negative energy around you in the past, but that is
coming to a close. Or has come to a close. In terms of age, I sense you will live comfortably be-
yond your eightieth year.
Expectations, dreams, desires. There are so many. Some are unrealistic, impractical. Yet, there
are many that can be realized, because you have a great deal of untapped potential. There is one
in particular.
You basically are a very romantic type of individual, when you allow yourself to be. Your mind
is deeper than most give you credit. I sense that you have visually lusted after a person, but I don't
see that you have met your soul mate in this life. If I were to find fault with you in any area, it
would be your inability to accept the fact that you are extremely beautiful. Something in you
fights against accepting that fact.
There are questions in your mind concerning your career. Should you change your career field?
Are you really happy? I can tell you that your career is going to show positive changes or the
future. You may find yourself being up-graded given additional responsibilities, but there most
definitely will be several changes in the next twelve months.
You basically are a person who always is going to realize her ambitions. You tend to make your
own dreams and fantasies come true. There is a secret desire that tugs at you, something that
you've wanted to do. You have not been able to accomplish it thus far, but I sense that you will
achieve your ambitions in this area, too.
There appears to be money coming to you from three different areas. You'll receive money that is
both expected and unexpected. You shall receive money in the form of a legacy, something
through the courts that will be left to you. That's in the future. I sense also there will be
unexpected money, possibly money in the form of a gift or from a sale. There also may be a
windfall, a sweepstakes or lottery winning. Some thing to do with chance.”

Thus, in a short reading that will take no more than five minutes to deliver, you have touched on
the main subjects of human interest: love and relationships; health and travel; expectations and
ambitions; career and money.
One advantage of the short reading of course, is that it allows the novice reader to gain
proficiency and confidence. But the short reading is useful also where you want to do quick
readings for a number of persons, such as at a party or gathering0*
The problem of reading for a number of individuals, where they immediately can compare notes,
is the requirement to make the readings substantially different. The anagram memory aid makes
this simple.
With each reading, you place the emphasis, or thrust, of the reading on a different category.
Although the total reading would touch upon all of the categories, in one reading you would put
the emphasis on health, while in another your emphasis would be placed upon travel. For a third
person, you could emphasize money, or career.
Later, if the individuals for whom you have read compare notes, it would have to be something
like this:
“Honestly, I didn't say a thing. He told me things about myself I wouldn't even confide to my
husband ...
“He told me I was to make a significant career change by the end of this year. I'd receive more
money and more responsibility. Something I have wanted for a long time …”
“How could he know about the surprise trip to Hawaii that I have been planning for a second
honeymoon for Bill and me? I just made the reservations last Thursday ...”
“He knew about the money from the sale of the property up north. It's up on the lake, but we
haven't used it in years …”
“He knows about the tennis instructor. Those thoughts have never been out of my mind …”
 Chapter Six
The Client
More than 150 years ago, an old Gypsy woman instructed a young girl in the art of
fortune-telling, saying, “When thou wilt tell a fortune, put all thy heart into finding out what kind
of man or woman thou has to deal with.”
The advice, good then, is just as valuable to the modern psychic reader, who can learn much by
inconspicuously sizing up a client or sitter. What is learned, in the process, will enable the reader
to further personalize the reading to the client.
Clothes, jewelry, personal grooming, and posture are just a few of the things about a person that
will provide useful data. Face, hands, the color and styling of hair, all impart information about
the client to the individual who is watchful and alert.
How does the person move? Is the individual overweight? Underweight? Is the voice that of an
educated person? Does the speaking voice indicate tension? Anger? Hopelessness?
Religious and fraternal jewelry are easy to spot and identify. The working shoes of a mechanic or
a nurse differ from their regular footwear and indicate occupation.
Each person who seeks you out and wants a psychic reading is motivated by some sort of
purpose. Unless the reading is free or priced ridiculously low, people seldom come as a lark.
They have other ways to spend that amount of money.
Most often, although they may try to hide it from themselves, they are worried about something.
If you are to be really successful as a psychic reader, you have got to find out what's worrying
them, what made them come for a reading. Without finding that out, your reading will never be
one-hundred per cent successful.
Look for signs of anger, anxiety, fear, self-pity, frustration, desperation, or despair. They will
narrow your search parameters. Anger, either on the surface or bubbling underneath, may
indicate a problem in a relationship, probably another woman.
A woman worried about her own health or the illness of someone close to her will exhibit
anxiety, perhaps fear. Anxiety and self-pity frequently are symptomatic of money worries, over
which she has no control. Frustration can be associated to seemingly insurmountable problems
and worries concerned with the quality of her life, including her job, ambitions, life status, or
activities.
Desperation is an indication that time has entered the equation, and that some deadline, real or
otherwise, is approaching, or has become critical. Will she find a soul mate, before it's too late?
Get married? Have a child? Solve her problem? Get a job? Win the lottery?
Despair is the utter loss, or absence, of hope, and is an indication that the problem or worry that
is plaguing the individual seems to be without solution. Everything has become too big, too
complex for her.
In sizing up a client, or sitter, don't be afraid of your intuitive reaction. Sometimes, your
subconscious mind will pick up and interpret information that your conscious mind misses.
But careful observation and deductive reasoning will tell you much, and are skills that can be
cultivated. Here are some other tips that will help you:
§ The very young feel they are immortal, but as people grow older, they recognize that death is
always close. If you see scars on the face of a person, other than diminutive nicks, you can
say, “I sense you have stood, momentarily, in the dark shadows of death. You swayed close,
but, through your own strength, pulled back.” Most will relate, to this. Older people will
relate to this statement, also, basing their agreement upon some event or illness from their
past.
§ Most women, as they grew up, were told that they possessed the eyes of I their mother. Thus,
you can say, “I sense you inherited your mother s eyes. They will agree. And, since most
women are not happy with their nose, you safely can add, “And I feel you have your father's
nose.”
§ All women like to be told they possess more than average psychic ability. You can refer to a
woman's eyes by saying, “ They are very magical, very mystical, very psychic. “
§ With tall, lanky woman, you may safely say, “When you were growing up, and, even now, to
a lesser degree, you hated your feet.” Many women, particularly tall ones, feel their feet are
too big, too conspicuous.
§ For the client with dark smudges or shadows under her eyes, you may mention “a problem or
situation that bothers you, that worries you, that keeps you awake at night.”
§ A relatively young man or woman, who has exceptionally straight, even teeth, quite probably
had braces as a child. But don't look at the person’s teeth and comment that he, or she, had
braces. Instead, say something like this, “I sense you grew up in a comfortable environment.
There was love rather than abuse. Attention was devoted to giving you, the right clothes, the
right education, the right start in life. Money was not the major problem it is for some.”
§ A person who has eyeglasses with a cord designed to keep them around the neck is usually a
person who uses the glasses often. Say, “I see you doing a lot of work perhaps with words. Or
maybe with figures.” You probably will be right.
§ If you see a mole or birthmark on the neck or shoulder of a woman, the chances are good that
she has one also on her back, probably her lower back. Don't comment on the one that is
visible. Instead, during the course of your reading, say something like this, “There is a mole,
or birthmark, on your lower back. You have been aware of it since you were a little child. As
you grow older, you probably should have it checked periodically by a skin specialist.
§ Most different ethnic cultures, particularly European cultures, have dark eyes. This makes it
possible to say to a dark-eyed woman, “You have the eyes of a Gypsy.”
Not only will they see this as a compliment but many will respond, “Yes, my grandmother
was a Roma, or Gypsy.”
§ There is another way in which you may capitalize on the fact that many ethnic cultures are
people of dark eyes. Watch for a fair-haired woman with blue or green eyes, whose married
name is representative of one of the ethnic cultures. Tell her that her husband as dark eyes,
and you'll be correct most of the time.
§ Should you notice that a person may have a twitch in, say, his left eye, don't say, “You have a
weakness in your left eye.” You probably will be wrong. The twitch is one probably caused
by strain, trying to compensate for a weakness in the right eye.
§ As a guide to determine whether or not a woman is sensuous and sultry or cautious and rather
cold, look quickly at her lips. Most sensuous women have full lips, while women with thin
lips are not particularly happy with themselves. Treat women who consciously make their
lips fuller with makeup in the sensuous category, for that is the way they perceive themselves.
§ In looking at a client's hands, use caution when you see a mark, which shows she has recently
removed her ring. There may be marital problems, or she may have removed it so she would
not provide you with information about herself. On the other hand, widows and many women
who are divorced continue to wear their ring, so it's not a sound practice to assume a ring
automatically indicates a continuing marriage.

§ Watch for a man, in particular, who wears his wrist-watch on his right wrist. It probably
indicates he is left-handed. But, instead of saying something to that effect, say, “Many adults,
when you were a child, tried to make you change your ways, but you chose a path not as
populated as most. All your life, I see you marching to the beat of a different drummer..
§ Most men and women who wear a tattoo will relate to this type of statement, “You are the
type of person who is not afraid to do your own thing. You are strong-willed, even
anti-establishment, at times.”
 Chapter Seven
Tools: Psychic Crutches

From astrology to the reading of tea leaves, there are many dozens of different techniques used to
0 tell fortunes. Some of them date back thousands of years. Each method has its adherents. You
will see them everywhere.
In Paris, at a table in a sidewalk restaurant, a young dark-eyed girl leans forward, as she patiently
interprets a layout of the colorful and mysterious-looking cards called Tarot. Thousands of miles
away, in a candle-lit room in Los Angeles, a woman focuses her eyes, as she looks deep into a
polished crystal ball. And aboard one of Hong Kong's famed floating restaurants, an old man,
obsidian eyes set in wrinkled parchment, casts three ancient Chinese coins, to start an I Ching
reading.
Cards, crystals, coins, seashells, flower petals, rune stones, sand, sticks, gemstones, and feathers,
these are just some of the tools and devices used by fortune-tellers in their trade. Yet there is
nothing really mystical or magical about any of them.
One well-known East Coast Psychic has described them as psychic crutches. That's a reasonable
description. “They are a focal point, “ he tells his clients. “The psychic insight still must originate
with the person doing the reading.”
His explanation is a good one, and it is one the novice practitioner should remember. But it
doesn't mean you can dispense with the various tools and simply do readings.
The same East Coast psychic, some years ago, was participating in a psychic fair. Readers around
him were using crystal balls, tea leaves, cards, and other devices, but he sat behind an empty
table that was covered only with a blue cloth. When people stopped at the table and asked what
he did, he replied, “I do psychic readings..
They asked what he used to do his readings, and he said “I don't use anything. I just talk.”
That day, he made almost nothing, although everyone around him was kept busy. But, following
that experience, the psychic went out and did some shopping. He bought a crystal ball and a pack
of Tarot cards.
He has been busy ever since.
Numerous psychological studies have shown that people are more prone to believe statements if
the statements, purportedly are interpretations of something that is controlled by, or unique to,
the individual. This would explain the continuing popularity, among the general public, of
palmistry, graphology, and astrology.
On the other hand, continuing elements of mysticism have long provided a protective mantle of
plausibility to the ancient rune and witches stones, the crystal ball, Tarot cards, and I Ching.
It doesn't matter which one of the techniques you pick, but you'll benefit by using one of the
fortune telling devices in conjunction with your readings. Pick one that you'll feel comfortable
with, one that's right for your personality and reading style. It will help your client explain what
you do.
If you are the intense, darkly-brooding type, you might experiment with the witches' and rune
stones, or with I Ching. Those individuals who are quiet and mystical in nature might try Tarot or
card readings. If you are a sensual, touchy type of person, palmistry or psychometry would be
methods you should explore. Studious types would be comfortable with graphology.
One easy method to determine which method or technique works best for you is to try several.
Stay with the one that seems to get the best reaction from those for whom you read.
Some of the methods, of themselves, provide additional information about the sitter, and make
them suited for readings by mail. Graphology for example, will reveal such things as whether or
not the individual is outgoing or introspective, assertive by nature or mild, angry or despondent.
It s just that type of information, of course, that will enable you to personalize your reading for
the individual.
Although it is much overlooked, one of the best techniques for readings by mail is the
photograph. When a client sends you a photograph, he or she unwittingly provides you with a
great deal of useful information. You have the opportunity to leisurely study the client, seeking
useful information from the way she is dressed, her jewelry, her age.
You'll gain additional information from a study of the surroundings in the photograph,
particularly if they show the inside of a home or workplace. Still more information will be
revealed by studying others, if any, who might be in the picture with the client.
Turn the picture over. Many photographs have a date stamped on the reverse side, indicating
when they were processed. If you're lucky, you may even find names or other us6ful bits of
information written on the back of the photograph, in pencil or pen.
Photographs, in other words, can provide much the same sort of information that you might glean
from any client, who walks into your office or home. But they can offer still more advantages,
too, such as the built-in possibility for repeat readings and for additional readings.
Asking potential clients to forward a photograph is a favorite reading technique for the psychic
reader who has been called King of the Cold Readers. A significant amount of his income is
derived, now, from mail-order readings. The readings result both from advertising placed in
magazines and from the word-of-mouth, referral advertising of satisfied clients.
“No other technique that I have used with mail-order clients has provided me so much useful
information about the client, he pointed out. “With a photograph, you are able to apply the same
skills of observation and deduction that you must develop for one-on-one readings.”
Along with the photograph, he encourages clients to forward three or more handwritten
questions, depending upon whether or not the requested reading is to be thirty minutes or an hour
in length. The questions, of course, enable him to further personalize the final reading.
The reading is returned to the client in the form of an audio tape recording, on a high-quality
major brand cassette tape. He sets aside several days and a number of evenings each week to
handle incoming reading requests. He selects days and times, of course, to accomplish his
mail-order readings that don't conflict with his schedule of in person readings.
“When the requested photograph includes people other than the client, I always point out at some
point during the taped reading that I could be more specific if the photograph was of the client
alone,” he said. “My readings, I explain, are impressions, and the additional people in the
photograph provide conflicting impressions.”
With surprising; regularity, this approach engenders a further reading with a new photograph, of
the client alone. In the same manner, during the course of a reading that is based upon a
photograph of more than one individual, he may briefly provide a quick impression or two about
someone else in the photograph. The result, frequently, is a request for a reading about that
individual.
One seeming disadvantage of using a photograph poses no real problem. You might worry that
the picture you receive is of someone who had subsequently died and you would lose credibility
if your reading didn't reflect this fact.
The answer to this, and to any similar fears, is simply to state in the early part of your reading
that the impressions you are providing are ones relevant to the period in which the picture was
taken.
You'll find the same type of disclaimer useful at those times when someone hands you an item
with the request that you do a psychometric reading from it The item may be something handed
down to the individual from a favorite grandmother, or it may be something the person picked up
that day at an antique store.
 Chapter Eight
Avoid These Pitfalls

“Look keenly,” the old Gypsy woman told her young novice; “fix thy glance sharply, especially if
it be a girl. When she is half-frightened, she will tell you much without knowing it ... soon thy
eyes will look like a snake's, and when thou art angry thou wilt look like the old devil.”
While this advice may have been good more than a century ago, few psychic readers today would
agree with it. Or practice it. After all, if you depend heavily upon repeat business and
word-of-mouth advertising, to make a living as a reader, it's much better to have a satisfied client
than it is to have a frightened one.
Indeed ' far from deliberately frightening your client, the opposite should be true. From the start,
your efforts should be to create an empathy, a strong sense of rap ort, with her. The reading will
go more smoothly, and it will be much more successful.
It's always a good idea to explain to the client how you work, and tell her what you intend to do.
A new sitter may have heard of you, made an appointment, sat down with you, and still not know
what to expect. She probably has been drawn to you because she has a problem or worry she has
not been able to resolve. She may be nervous, perhaps a little frightened.
Try to make her relax, feel comfortable. Explain that you will attempt to establish an empathy
with her, that, during your reading, you will attempt to focus in on tier need for information. You
might explain to her that it takes two to produce a good reading, that the two of you must create a
rapport in order for you to obtain impressions.
Tell her that, as in many other areas, psychic impressions are never a certainty. It's not an exact
science. Certainly, you mustn't fall into the trap of letting her attribute to you an image for
accuracy you can't match. You may explain to her that, while you have developed a high degree
of accuracy, your impressions will not all be one-hundred per cent on the mark. You can acid,
however, that you do expect seventy to eighty per cent of your thoughts to have meaning for her.
Another pitfall to guard against has to do with the mind-set the client brings to the reading. It will
not be unusual for a client to have one thought, one worry, uppermost in her mind. If you fail to
anticipate this mind-set on her part, you may find at the end of your reading she has concentrated
so totally on listening for information about her problem she has missed most of what you have
had to say.
“If you are here looking for the answer to one , specific question,” you might tell her, “I ask you
not to dwell on just that one question, because you will flood the reading with those vibrations
and you will not hear anything else I have to say. My impressions will come both from your
subconscious and your conscious mind. Take what you can from those impressions.”
Although it's best to exercise control over the number of predictions you make during the
reading, since they are not something the client can verify in evaluating the reading, it's obvious
that some predictions are appropriate, in each reading.
You will discover you'll have better results, however, if you substitute the word 'potential' for the
term 'prediction.' Instead of saying, “I predict you will be rich,” you might say, “You have the
potential to acquire vast riches in your lifetime.” Instead of saying, ”I predict you will marry” a
specific individual, try saying “You have the potential to overcome the odds to marry” the
individual.
Most clients will better relate to the word 'potential', and you will have left it up to the sitter to
make it turn out the way you have foreseen.
The time element in a prediction is viewed by many as a potential pitfall in psychic readings.
Indeed, some see it as a lurking bogeyman, poised to spring from the shadows and grab the
psychic reader by the throat. It need not be. Simply point out to the client that sometimes you will
be off in terms of the time frame, but that you sense a very high degree of accuracy with respect
to the prediction, itself.
How do you practice to become a psychic reader? How do you learn? It's a question asked often.
The answer is to do readings, actual readings. Read for your spouse. Read for your friends. Read
at parties, and for your fellow workers. That's the best type of practice.
Many attempt imaginary readings for persons they see on the street, or in a restaurant. The pitfall
to this approach is there is no feedback. You might size up a burly man at the next table in a
restaurant as a truck driver, who is having marital difficulties. In reality, he may be a florist, who
shares an apartment with his male assistant.
At the end of every reading, take a moment and have the client evaluate it for you. Critiquing
every reading should become a lifelong habit. Ask the client to assign some percentage figure to
the reading, indicating how accurate you were. If the client says you were sixty per cent accurate,
don't ask her to tell you where you were right. Instead, ask her to indicate where you were wrong.
You'll learn quickly to be a better reader. And earn a reputation as you do it.
 Chapter Nine
A, B, C's of Cold Reading
A.
§ Articulate clearly. Older clients and those occupied in noise-polluted environments may have
a hearing loss.
§ Allow the client to ask questions. Remember, the reading is being done for the client. Your
answers should not only help clarify your remarks but they can better personalize the reading.
§ Avoid negative predictions. A client troubled by worry or disappointed in life needs a boost
in her self-esteem, a belief in herself.
§ Agree with your client's views, on life, things, and actions. Most clients know the correct
answer to their problem; sometimes they merely need support.
§ Advise your client in a logical, common-sense way. All of us, at one time, can get too close
to the trees to see the forest. Many clients are simply interested in practical alternatives.
§ Alternate your reading between the client's past, present, and future.
§ The client may be worried about her future, but she will judge the caliber of your reading by
the accuracy of your statements about her past and present life.
§ Allude to a happy future. Provide the client with something positive to look forward to, a
light at the end of the tunnel. She has the power to make it come true, and she will be a
happier person.
§ Accent the positive. A push in the right direction is all that many clients need. And, besides,
predictions of gloom and doom won't make you rich, in terms of repeat business.
§ Absorb the mood of the client. Learn her secret hopes and fears, the worries or the problem
that brought her to see you. Only then can you give her a really successful reading.
§ Accept both a critique and criticism from your client. Don't ask what you told her that was
right; instead, find out what you told her that was wrong. And listen closely to any criticism
she has.

B.
§ Believe in your predictions, or don't predict. Will it offer the client hope, the possibility for
improvement? Is it realistic? Is it based upon sound advice, sound thought?
§ Befriend your client, establish- empathy. You'll find very, very few clients visit you on a lark.
Most have deep-set fears, worries. Help them feel comfortable. Help them relax. It will result
in a better reading.
§ Back away from casting spells or curses. You can liven your reading with a bit of mystery, a
 solemn warning, and some sound advice. The casting of spells or curses is best left in another
age. Don't compound your client's worries or fears. She came to you for help.
§ Bewitch, bedazzle, baffle, but in moderation. Like the seasoning used in food, a little will go
a long way.
§ Beware of predictions or advice on health or legal questions. State frankly that these areas are
not ones in which you are trained or qualified. Point out the advantages to them of seeking
such advice from a
§ qualified practitioner.
§ Balance your reading. Talk of love, money, career, travel, all the major areas of human
concern. Ignoring any may mean you ignore the one area that most interests your client.
§ Blend your statements into a story format, a reading. Don't give the impression you're
delivering a staccato-like string of isolated statements.
§ Birthdays are important. Learn the client's birthday, and comment on its astrological
significance.
§ Build up your client's self-esteem and ego. Most people will consider the charge for the
reading as money well spent, if you can boost their self-confidence and their belief in
themselves.
§ Basic character truisms are more convincing than predictions that can't immediately be
confirmed. Your client must judge the accuracy of your reading based upon those things she
knows to be true.

C.
§ Charge a fee; the reading will be appreciated more. People tend to measure the value of
advice by what it has cost them.
§ Create a comfortable atmosphere. If you can make the client feel comfortable and if you can
establish a friendly rapport with her, she will accept a less successful reading, in the belief
you tried.
§ Compliment the client, always, on her psychic skills. Men, as well as women, like to hear
this, and react favorably.
§ Constantly plant positive seeds. In the psychic field, what you see is what the client gets. And
many predictions become self-fulfilling. Individuals will work to make it that way.
§ Clarify predictions. Be specific. You can be guided by the questions the client may ask,
letting your answers become ever more specific.
§ Credit your client with above-average intelligence. Most of us are quick to rate our
intelligence higher than it actually is.
§ Conduct yourself at all times as a professional. More than fifty per cent of your business will
be repeat readings, or will be as the result of referrals.
§ Choose a reading style that is you. Try several until you find one that suits you.
§ Channel intuitive information to the client, as part of your reading. Don't be afraid of being
intuitive. Some of your best readings can result.
§ Charm your client, but don't overdo it. A successful reading depends upon the client, as much
as upon you. The client who is uncomfortable, frightened, or unhappy will be of little help to
you.
 Chapter Ten
Props and Environment

In the yellow pages of most big-city telephone directories, listed within finger-walking distance
of psychic readers, is a category for design engineers that specialize in structural design for the
work environment. They determine the placement height for office computer or typewriter, or the
seat design that will offer the most comfort in a new automobile.
As a new psychic reader, you won't need to rush out and hire a person of this type, but some
thought given to the props and physical environment you'll use would be worthwhile.
Of course, if you plan to restrict your readings pretty much to private parties, or work in a
cooperative restaurant or club, the environment is more or less out of your control.
But if you will be doing readings in your home, or you're going to open a store-front office, you'll
need a table, chairs, and some props that can make your job easier.
These ideas, developed and proven-in-use in over a quarter of a century of private readings, will
work for you. Few of the ideas have previously been revealed. The suggestion about the table, for
example, is almost 180 degrees out of phase with the commonly accepted practice for tables that
are used for psychic readings.
Once you determine you will do private reading at your home, give some thought as to what
room can best be used, particularly with respect to the realistic needs of other occupants of the
house. Will your readings be in the evening, or afternoon, or both?
You can use the den, a spare bedroom, the dining room, the kitchen, or a screened or glassed-in
porch, just about any place where you won't suddenly find yourself surrounded by people slyly,
or openly, peering at your client. For a successful reading, you want the client to feel com-
fortable, be at ease. If she suddenly becomes the center of attention for your son's high-school
basketball team or for a group of your daughter's friends planning a slumber party, her attention
won't totally be on the reading.
Contrary to the image perpetuated by Hollywood, you don't have to decorate the area with devil
masks or life-sized oil paintings of Dracula. You don't need burning incense, or mummified
hands. The client expects a psychic reading, not a stage production. And Hollywood-style
decorations will make most clients uncomfortable.
Table. Most psychic readers use some sort of a table. Many use a card table, draped with a heavy
cloth. Instead of the standard dining-room or kitchen table, or the cloth-draped card table, invest
in a clear, glass topped table. It will offer a number of advantages, whether you read Tarot cards,
palms, or receive psychic impressions, sitting with one hand over your eyes.
Place the client to your left. This will allow you to sit so you can put your left hand up, whenever
you choose, to cover your eyes. You actually can cover your eyes, or you can sit and look down
through the clear table top. The glass top will allow you to see her hands in her lap, watch the
movement of her feet, and see any telltale shifting of her weight, as she leans forward or away.
Her hands and her body movement will tell you much about her reactions to your words, allow
you to target specific areas of interest.
Many women clients carry large top-opening purses. The client who places her bag at her feet
probably is more trusting, while the one who keeps it in her lap tends to be more careful ... or she
may have a tape recorder in it. If the bag, is open, you can see some of the contents through the
table top.
If not, hand the woman a piece of notepaper, asking her if she has a pencil or a pen. Most women
carry one in their bag. As soon as she opens the bag and finds a pen, courteously take the opened
bag from her, explaining you will place it out of the way at her feet.
You can determine many things from a glimpse at the contents of a woman's purse. She may
smoke, carry prescription or nonprescription drugs; you may see a photograph or a checkbook
with a name or address; she may have a work ID or car keys with an automotive emblem.
Most psychics prefer their readings not be taped, but explain to the client that you have no
aversion to her taking notes. “Rather than attempting to make a verbatim copy of everything you
hear,” you can tell her, just write down key words or phrases. Those points that interest you. This
is an invaluable stratagem. Even with your eyes tightly closed, you'll be able to hear each time
something you have said captures her attention. By squinting though the fingers of your left hand,
you even can watch her write.
Consider the advantage you would have if, as you talk, she jots down the word “money, or
“health,” or “trip., or “marriage, or mother.” You could target back into these areas, make your
reading more specific and personal.
Instead of looking through the table, take advantage of the reflective top of the table, which can
be put to subtle use in a number of ways, including card readings.
Chairs. Although any type of suitable chairs may be used, it's worth the money to obtain
matching swivel-type chairs, something that would be appropriate for the table. For a period of
several days after you obtain the chairs, drip water on the swivel mechanism of the chair that will
be used by the client, or sitter. The slight rust build-up that will occur will cause the chair to
squeak and chatter, each time the client changes position. It won't be enough to be annoying, but
it will alert you to any sudden change in position of the client, indicating, perhaps, increased
interest. You won t have to watch the client for information; you can listen to her.
The Book. You'll find that fifty per cent or more of your readings are done for persons for whom
you have read before, or are done for individuals recommended to you by previous clients. Their
names and addresses of all your clients are important to you.
Somewhere in the room in which you do your readings, keep a large, expensive looking ledger
type open book. Explain to each sitter that it is your mailing list, and ask if the person would like
to fill it out. You can do this while you are making the individual feel comfortable, getting her to
relax. The book should have columns for name, address, zodiac sign.
Frequently, a person will make an appointment using the name, say, Phebe Haines, but will use
Mrs. Robert S. Haines in her mailing address. Without making it too obvious, you often can
glimpse her writing, and learn something about her birthday and her husband's name.
Timer. Psychic readings are generally done on the basis of units of time, with the longer readings
costing more. You might have a price schedule for a 20-minute reading, a 30-minute reading, a
45minute reading, and an hour reading. The most popular time frames are the 30-minute and the
one hour readings.
You can time the reading with a pocket watch or a clock. But a better idea is to purchase a
spring-wound oven timer. You can set it for the appropriate number of minutes as you begin the
reading, placing it on the table. Neither you nor the client will have to make calculations,
subtracting or adding minutes to the time on your watches or on the clock.
When the bell on the timer indicates the time has elapsed, reach out and turn it off, but continue
to talk for a minute or so, giving the client an obvious few minutes of reading time for free. It
leaves you in control, but makes a nice way to end the reading.
Ornate Wooden Boxes. While the man known as the King of the Cold Readers stoutly refuses
to use trick devices or paraphernalia that so endears itself to stage magicians, he does recommend
two other items. Depending upon your reading style, you may discover they have utility use. Both
are intricately carved, ornate wooden boxes. His are expensive, but seem appropriate.
One is simply an empty box in which he keeps his Tarot cards, index cards, and other items he
might use in a reading. Fastened inside the lid of the box, although the client can't see them, are a
hundred year calendar and a list of social-security numbers (see Chapter 12). At one time, before
he committed them to memory, he also used the lid to conceal a list of the Zodiac signs and the
dates they represent, and a corresponding list of birthstones.
The hundred-year calendar provides him with a powerful throw-away line, once he has
determined the client's date of birth. He simply determines the day of the week on which the
individual was born, using the calendar. Then, having determined, say, it was a Monday, he will
weave into his reading the line, “You can be stubborn, at times, a Monday's child.” A surprising
number of clients know, or have been told, the day of the week on which they were born, and
will react positively to 'Monday's child' or 'Thursday's child.'
(Persons who have received a natal chart or who have studied astrology will know the day of the
week on which they were born. Remember the lines? Monday's child was 'fair of face'; Tuesday's
'full of grace'; and Wednesday's child, 'full of woe.' The child of Thursday had 'far to go'; Friday's
child was 'loving and giving'; Saturday's 'worked hard for its living'; and Sunday's child was
'bonny and blithe, good and gay'.)
He uses a second ornate box. It, too, is carved. It's a music box. He has found it useful in relaxing
the client during the opening moments of the reading. He simply opens the box and lets it play
for a few seconds. At the end of the reading, he stands and gently opens the box again, signaling
that the reading is over. For him, it has proven effective, and melds well with his reading style.
Promotional Flier. Not all readers will want or use promotional fliers, but if you elect to use
one, consider having your flier printed so the back is blank. Instead of providing the client a
blank sheet of paper on which she can make notes of key words or phrases from your reading,
give her one of your fliers, indicating she can use the back. Her handwritten notes about the
reading will assure she keeps your flier. And, should she review her reading with a friend, your
name and telephone number will be immediately available to her, if the friend should request
them.
 Chapter Eleven
Check that Check!

In song and story, Gypsy fortune-tellers of old had the individuals for whom they read cross their
palms with silver. Base metal was the accepted means for exchange for any service.
Today, if you work at home or in a store-front office doing psychic readings, you'll discover
many of your clients will pay for their readings by check. And, of course, a check is usually
enclosed with most requests for mail-order readings. You even may receive checks, if you work
restaurants, psychic fairs, or private parties.
Examine the checks carefully. They can be a surprisingly valuable source of information about
your client. Such information is particularly useful if you are doing mail-order readings. With the
check in your hands before the reading, you have the opportunity to study it and factor the
information it discloses into the reading.
But even when you receive a check from a client after a reading, you can add the information to
your file on the person, and have a fifty-fifty chance of using it later. About half of your clients
will return for future readings. (If you have a personal computer, maintaining such a file poses no
problem. But even an index-card file is easy to maintain, and will prove useful).
Account Opening. Many checks will show a tiny, three-digit number printed to the right of the
name and address of the payee. The numbers, for example, might read 5-87, 4-79, or 8-88,
indicating May 1987, April 1979, or August 1988. The numbers denote the date when the ac-
count was opened. This frequently will indicate some major change or upheaval in the person's
life. It could indicate a move or job change, or a marriage, separation, or divorce.
Different Address. Should you receive a check that has a different address printed on it than is
shown on the envelope, it may be an indication of a recent move.
Stamps and Logos. Many personal checks bear stamps or logos that might indicate the payee's
job or occupation. For example, credit unions, hospital trusts, and steel workers or teachers'
credit unions will further identify the person.
Oversized. Oversized checks that come from a ledger-style checkbook indicate that the person
operates a business of some sort. The business name may, or may not, be on the check, but the
check's size will indicate a business venture, which you can refer to in your reading.
Telephone Numbers. Along with the payee's address, one of the most common bits of
information to be found on a check is the person's telephone number. It allows you or someone
else to call the number, under some pretext, and glean additional information.
'Also Known As.' A person's name, followed by the letters AKA (Also Known As) and a second
name, usually indicates a person in the entertainment field.
Scenes on Check. Banks frequently offer customers a choice of checks with various pre-printed
scenes, such as wildlife, floral, or scenic. The selected scene may indicate a preference or artistic
interest of the payee.
One Name Only. Checks printed with only one name on them usually indicate a single status.
Post-Dated Checks. A post-dated check may indicate some momentary financial stress on the
part of the payee. It may be that she is simply waiting for a deposit to clear.
Money Orders. When a person sends a money order instead of a personal check for a reading, it
usually indicates she is trying to conceal her activities from some skeptic or non-believer, such as
her husband. In your reading, you can say that you feel the presence of a negative influence near
her. The same may be true, if you receive cash through the mail. Certainly, it is indicative of a
trusting nature.
Social Security Number. An increasing number of individuals have their social-security number
imprinted on their checks. The information it will tell you is covered in the next chapter.
 Chapter Twelve
The Social Security Number

It's not widely known, but the first three digits of a person's social security number will reveal
where the person first applied for and received the number. This bit of information, of course,
can be extremely beneficial to the psychic reader. The numbers are not impossible to obtain.
As has been pointed out, many individuals have their numbers imprinted on their personal
checks. Sometimes you will see the numbers, when a client removes a photograph, or other item,
from her wallet. You need only the first three digits. Three digits can be quickly memorized.
Suppose your home is in New Jersey, and you know your client lives and works there, too. You
are doing a reading for her, and you have learned that the first three digits of her social-security
number are 567.
You might say to her, “I sense that you have moved about a bit in your life. You haven't always
lived here. I believe you lived across the country at one period. As far across the country from
here as you can get. Arizona... no, California. Yes, California.” The number 567, which are the
first three digits in her social security number, indicates she applied for and received the number
in California. The numbers and the states, or areas, they represent are listed on the following
page:
001-003 New Hampshire 429-432 Arkansas
004-007 Maine 433-439 Louisiana
008-009 Vermont 440-448 Oklahoma
010-034 Massachusetts 449-467 Texas
035-039 Rhode Island 468-477 Minnesota
040-049 Connecticut 478-485 Iowa
050-134 New York 486-500 Missouri
135-158 New Jersey 501-502 North Dakota
159-211 Pennsylvania 503-504 South Dakota
212-220 Maryland 505-508 Nebraska
221-222 Delaware 509-515 Kansas
223-231 Virginia 516-517 Montana
232-236 West Virginia 518-519 Idaho
237-246 North Carolina 520 Wyoming
247-251 South Carolina 521-524 Colorado
252-260 Georgia 525 New Mexico
261-267 Florida 526-527 Arizona
268-302 Ohio 528-529 Utah
303-317 Indiana 530 Nevada
318-361 Illinois 531-539 Washington
362-386 Michigan 540-544 Oregon
387-399 Wisconsin 545-573 California
400-407 Kentucky 574 Alaska
408-415 Tennessee 575-576 Hawaii
416-424 Alabama 577-579 District of Columbia
425-428 Mississippi
 Chapter Thirteen
What's Your Sign?

About every 2000 years, the sun's spring equinox, when day and night are of equal length, shifts
by one Zodiac sign. The current shift is moving us from Christianity's Piscean Age into the
Aquarian Age, which is supposed to portend a new Golden Era for -mankind.
Perhaps it will. But, by way of a more immediate spin-off, the Aquarian Age has brought with it
a renewed interest, among the general public, in the Zodiac and the individual sun signs.
"What's your sign is an. acceptable get-acquainted greeting at a New York after-the-theater party
or a late-night Hollywood poolside bash. It's a conversational gambit that works equally well in
Dallas, Boise, or Macon, wherever people congregate.
Oddly enough, although people may know all about their own individual sign, and may recognize
the names for some of the other signs, few can tell you the symbols for the other signs. They may
be familiar with Gemini or Sagittarius, in a general way, but will not recognize them as the
Twins or the Archer.
If Libra rings a bell with them, it will not be in terms of the Scales. Conversely, to a Cancerian, if
you mention the Crab, she will associate it immediately with her sign. Mention the Fish, and a
Piscean will be come suddenly more alert.
Here are the twelve signs of the Zodiac, along with the symbols associated with them. Every
psychic reader should commit them to memory.

Aries the Ram Taurus the Bull Gemini the Twins

Cancer the Crab Leo the Lion Virgo the Virgin
Libra the Scales Scorpio the Scorpion Sagittarius the Archer
Capricorn the Goat Aquarius the Water Bearer Pisces the Fish

Once you have the signs and symbols in mind, you will be able to leave a sitter, following a
reading, with the conviction that you knew and identified her specific sun sign. You can do this
without asking questions or having to pump for information, during the reading. Indeed, she will
remember your remarks concerning the sign as an integral part of the reading.
You merely weave into the reading, at appropriate intervals, nine statements that the client will
interpret as part of the reading. She will accept each of the statements. One of them should get a
very positive reaction from her, since it specifically identifies her sign.
These are the nine statements:
§ In your Aquarian world, the fish is your spiritual symbol.
§ In this lifetime, your karma is to balance the scales, to seek harmony.
§ You characteristically perceive things in a pure virginal way.
§ I believe your psychic guide is the ram.
§ I sense twins in your family tree.
§ You have a love for animals. Your inner strength would indicate that if you could become
one it would be the lion.
§ You obviously are not easily characterized as the meek or mild, and can be the bull in the
china shop, or crabby by sign.
§ You become the stubborn goat, but only when friends attempt to take advantage of you.
§ In another life, you used the long-bow. That affinity for archery continues, as you have an
undeveloped talent for it.
§ Astrologically speaking, the sun sign Scorpio will be a significant Zodiac sign in your life.

Following the reading, if you feel you didn't get a positive reaction to one of the statements, ask
the client if you correctly identified her Zodiac sign during the reading. If she seems at all
hesitant, boldly ask for her sign. No matter what her answer, let's say it's Cancer, you quickly
point out, “Oh of course. Don't you remember I told you during the reading that you were a Crab
by sign? That's the Cancerian in you.” You merely recall whatever statement proves to be
appropriate.
 Chapter Fourteen
“How long will I live?”

One difference between the young and the old in this world is that the old would like to be
immortal, while the young are. Perhaps, then, it is a first real sign of maturity when a person
begins to wonder how long he, or she, will live.
Although the question of longevity is not one a psychic reader will get from relatively young
clients, with older clients, it is a question that is asked frequently.
It's asked much too frequently, in fact, to be sloughed off with a shoot from-the-hip answer, even
if the answer conforms to existing actuarial tables.
Part of the problem has to do with the fact that you may anticipate reading for the same client
more than once. Certainly, you would be expected to give the client the same answer, each time
you read for her An obvious solution would be to pick a number within the actuarial spread, such
as 78, and use that with all clients. Then, no matter how many times you read for the same client,
you would be assured of giving the same answer. But the problem with that approach is that
sooner or later several clients might compare answers.
This solution has been used by the legendary Shadow Man for more than twenty-five years, and it
helps explain why he so often has been characterized as King of the Cold Readers. The solution
is simple, foolproof, and enables you to give different answers to a succession of sitters.
Yet, should you accidentally encounter the same client on the street a week later, or even five
years later, you immediately could repeat your prediction concerning the client's longevity.
How? Using 80 as a base for everyone, you simply add to it the number that corresponds to the
individual's birth sign. Suppose the client is a Scorpio, which is the eighth sign of the Zodiac.
You add the two figures, and predict she will live comfortably beyond her eighty-eighth birthday.
Leo is the fifth sign of the Zodiac. For a Leo, you would predict that he would live comfortably
beyond his eighty-fifth birthday. Weeks or years later, those predictions could be made again for
the same individuals, and they would be the same.
And, in this concept, too, there is a beneficial spin-off. No client will readily forget how long you
predict she is going to live. Years later, all have to do is find out what you predicted concerning
the client's longevity, and you immediately will know the person's birth sign.
Like origami, the intricate Japanese art of paper folding, the concept changes configuration as it
is folded back on itself.
 Chapter Fifteen
Reading for Gays

In the United States, the Turbulent 60's launched a movement that was to change forever one
aspect of psychic reading … Gay Rights.
By the start of the 1970s, gays in increasing numbers were coming out of the closet and
identifying themselves. Never again would psychic readers be able to sit across from clients,
either men or women, and safely mouth the old cliches about early marriages, children, and
family aspirations.
In the 1980s, the gay parade intensified, rather than dwindled. Many who didn't openly announce
their homosexuality made little effort to conceal it, either. The world was treated to an image of
lesbians and gays standing forth, linking arms, and moving into the mainstream.
Suddenly, standard cold-reading texts and techniques, including the tried-and-true books and
methods as recent as those of Robert A. Nelson, were as out-of-date as a 15th-century codpiece.
As William Gresham pointed out, Gypsy cliches that have withstood the test of hundreds,
perhaps thousands, of years were no longer completely valid.
But, as the gays moved out of the closet, they brought with them as personal baggage their own
unique problems and worries. One national publication, in equating the plight of homosexuals to
the discrimination faced by blacks, noted at “the reality of being gay is as indelible, involuntary,
and unchangeable as the dark pigments in the black.”
But the pros and cons of the argument no longer matter. What is certain is that the person sitting
across from the psychic reader, with specific concerns about his or her future, might be straight,
gay, or lesbian. It is up to the psychic, if not to determine which, to be able to fashion a reading
that will prove to be satisfactory to each.
On the one hand, the psychic who does a straight reading for a gay, and mentions opposite sexual
attractions, immediately destroys his credibility. Yet, on the other hand, upwards of 80 per cent
of all questions an4roblems brought to a psychic have to do with relationships.
Put another way, eight out of ten persons visiting a psychic want the answers to such questions as
“Will I ever find my soul mate?”, “Will the relationship last?” I “Will we be happy together?”,
“Is this the right person for me?', or “Is he (or she) involved with someone else?”
These and many similar questions can be as poignant to a gay or lesbian as they can be to a
heterosexual. Gays have questions concerning their careers and jobs, ambitions, money, travel,
and health. Their problems can be just as bleak and real as are those of anyone else.
They also can have problems related to stress, discrimination, and self-identity that set them
apart, and can bring them back, again and again, to a psychic for a reading.
Some clients have no hesitancy at identifying themselves as gay; others will attempt to keep it a
secret. Actually, except for statements that concern gender, readings for straights and gays can be
surprisingly similar. But it's in the area of gender that the psychic must take care.
The psychic reader who has developed the practice of talking about relationships, instead of
marriages, will find the term has more' meaning, also, to gay clients. Indeed you should try to
avoid the needless use of terms, in your reading, that specify gender. Using words like 'soul
mate', 'person', or 'individual' allows the client to read a selected gender into our statements. Let
the client mentally substitute the word 'man' or 'woman', 'him' or 'her', for 'soul mate' or 'person'.
Ideally, in reading for gay clients, you want them to think you are very much aware they are gay,
even if you're not able to determine it.
A practical technique is to insert this comment early in every reading. “It appears that in a past
lifetime you were of the opposite sex. Now, as you're working out your karma of this lifetime,
you attract to you both males and females, who seek out your friendship, your help, your com-
panionship.”
The heterosexual male or female will find no fault with the statement, while a gay or lesbian
immediately will give it an entirely different interpretation.
Gay clients, as do straight clients, take their problems and worries to psychic readers, seeking
advice and help. And a major worry of most gay males, and some females, relates to one health
problem, above all others. That problem is AIDS. A number of their friends may have it. Others
may have died from it. There are very few among the gay community who remain completely
untouched by AIDS, in one way or another.
Thus, in giving a reading to a gay male, you can safely say, “It appears that many of your friends
are no longer with you. I sense they nave passed on to the other side.”
Most gay males that approach you for a reading will be concerned with health. Their questions
will include “How long am I going to live?”, “Am I going to die young?”, and “Am I going to get
AIDS.”
Most gays are artistic, sensitive, and emotional. Combining that fact with the epidemic-like
nature of AIDS means they will recognize the reality of a statement like, “You have experienced
a particularly dark tragedy in your life, a darkening shadow that hovered around you for a long
time."
Most gay males who elect to wear an earring in one ear will wear it in their right ear, as a subtle
signal to others. But not all straight males, who also choose to wear an earring, know this
practice; they may or may not wear their earring in their left ear. An earring may send mixed
signals.
It's safe to predict to most male gays that they have had at least one close female relationship in
their life. It may not have been a sexual one, but it ma have been long lasting. Most gays can
relate to such a statement, without having to dredge back through their childhood to confirm it.
By the same token, most lesbians can relate to at least one close relationship with a male.
By and large, however, most gays and lesbians, like most straights, want long-lasting
relationships that can bring love and a sense of meaning into their lives. They want relationships
that promise commitment and a companionship that will stay with them into the future. They are
afraid of dying young, and don t want to be alone.
The real problem of reading for gays is not in trying to find something to say to them. You
simply talk about those same critical areas of human interest you talk about, when you read for
anyone else. The real problem for most psychics is in shifting genders, and talking to a male, or a
female, about a 'soul mate' of the same sex, about a 'relationship' with the same sex, or about a
life-long 'companionship, with the same sex.
Finally, if you are doing a straight reading and a client suddenly interrupts you and tells you that
you are wrong in your reading, because he is gay, memorize and use this line:
“No, I am aware of your life-style and sexual preferences. But I'm also aware that you've gone
out of your way to conceal them from others. I have no right to pry, to invade the privacy of a
client. Your business is your business, and not mine. You didn't reveal yourself to me, so I used
the gender that I would for a straight, in doing the reading. The statements and predictions are
accurate. I felt you could modify the gender.“
 Chapter Sixteen
Baubles and Gemstones
The summer of 1983 was even wetter and colder than usual in Eng1and, and soot-dyed moisture
traced skeletal patterns on the big windows at Heathrow airport, outside of London.
Passengers for the big 747 jumbo-jet that was scheduled to depart for Los Angeles waited in the
gate lounge, having already cleared through the slow lines of the security hand-luggage check.
Some dozed. Some tried to read. Parents wearily watched the acrobatics of their children.
In one corner, a bearded, bear of a man stood with his feet on either side of his attaché case, as
though he dared anyone to try to take it. His eyes quickened as an old man approached him and
held out a tiny purple stone, a piece of amethyst quartz.
“You won't remember me,” the old man said, “but you told my fortune at a company party almost
fourteen years ago. Most everything you told me came true, too. Just the way you said it. You
gave me this little piece of quartz from your personal collection, and told me it would ring me
luck, if I hung onto it. And you said you could hold it and energize or recharge it, if I ever saw
you again.”
The big man looked hard at the other, but there was no recognition, no name. He was just one of
more than 100,000 people he had done psychic readings for in more than a quarter of a century.
But he squeezed the purple stone in his fist, and suddenly his eyes been to blaze. “The power of
the bit of crystal remains strong,” he said, "matching the power and energy that flows through
you. No, I don't remember you, but I sense the figure seven around you, seven's everywhere.
Seven would be a lucky number for you. And I sense that you are going to live comfortably past
your eighty-seventh birthday. From the energy force surging around you, I sense you would be a
Libra person. An Aries would be a soul mate. Would I be right?”
He was not only right about the old man being a Libra, but some fourteen years before, at a
company party, he had told the man he would find seven to be a lucky number, that he would live
comfortably beyond his eighty-seventh birthday, and that an Aries would make a good soulmate.
The secret of this remarkable demonstration, in the TWA terminal of the rain-dampened London
airport, lay in the tiny gemstone that was handed to the master psychic by the old man, who had
first received it from the psychic fourteen years before.
The stone provided the psychic with five different bits of information about the person who was
carrying it. It told the psychic the individual's Zodiac sign, his lucky number, the predicted age to
which he would live, his aura color, and the Zodiac sign of his soul mate.
The concept, worked out by the Shadow Man more than thirty years ago in conjunction with his
readings, has been a closely guarded secret until now, and is being revealed here in print for the
first time.
Initially, his quest was for something both inexpensive and different he could give to each person
for whom he read. Something the person would keep. He hit upon the gemstones, after visiting a
rock shop. Stones, about the size of a person's little fingernail, can be obtained for an average
cost of about ten cents.
In addition to a supply of stones, you will need to memorize the twelve Zodiac signs, in their
numerical order, and the twelve colors assigned to the Zodiac. See the chart below:

1. Aries Blue Lapis

2. Taurus Red Ruby (Imitation)
3. Gemini Yellow Amber
4. Cancer Pink Rose Quartz
5. Leo Copper Copper
6. Virgo White Clear
7. Libra Purple Amethyst
8. Scorpio Black Apache Tears
9. Sagittarius Green Adventurine
10. Capricorn Orange Carnelian
11. Aquarius Silver Mica
12. Pisces Gold Pyrite

If you haven't already committed the colors associated with the twelve Zodiac signs to memory,
these memory aids will help you make the task easy.
Aries is blue. Think of a blue ram.
Taurus is red. Think of someone waving a red cape at a bull.
Gemini is yellow. Think of Siamese (yellow) twins.
Cancer is pink. Think of pink, healthy tissue fighting cancer.
Leo is copper. Think of the copper-colored mane of a lion.
Virgo is white. Think of a white, virginal bridal dress.
Libra is purple. Think of purple scales.
Scorpio is black. Think of the black-widow spider for Scorpio.
Sagittarius, the archer, is green. Think of the green hat of Robin Hood, the archer.
Capricorn is orange. Think of the stubborn goat eating an orange.
Aquarius is silver. Think of a silvery splash of water.
Pisces is gold. Think of a gold fish.
The gemstones, each representing one of the twelve colors, are available at rock shops. The ruby,
of course, is simply an inexpensive red stone. The color of the various gemstones is the important
thing, not their value. The stone you give to the client, following a reading, is one that cor-
responds to the color of his Zodiac sign. Thus, the purple amethyst that showed up fourteen years
later at Heathrow represented Libra, the seventh sign of the Zodiac.
Since the individual was a Libra, you would have told him, during the course of his reading that
seven would be a lucky number for him. Using eighty as a base, and adding seven to it, you also
would have told him he would live comfortably beyond his eighty seventh birthday.
In order to systematize the assignment of a soul mate to an individual, get an imaginary image of
the face of your watch in mind. Assign one of the twelve signs of the Zodiac to each of the
twelve numerals, beginning with Aries at one and ending with Pisces at twelve.
Now, to pick a soul mate for an individual, simple take the Zodiac sign that is directly across the
face of the watch from that individual's own sign. Libra would be located at seven o'clock, for
example. Directly across the watch from seven is one. The first sign of the Zodiac is Aries. Years
later, you would know immediately that would be the sign you would pick as the soul mate of a
Libra.
For the aura color for an individual, you use the color that represents his Zodiac sign. For Libra,
it would be purple or violet.
Seventy per cent of the recipients of the stones will retain them, carrying them for either luck or
energy. For the few pennies they cost, they add a personal touch to your reading, and probably
more than pay for themselves in word-of-mouth advertising.
You impress upon the person that the stone is from your private collection. “It should not be
given away,” you caution the individual. “It should not be sold or traded. It should be kept on you
wherever you go. Should you encounter me at some future date, I will be happy to reenergize the
stone.”
 Chapter Seventeen
Food for Thought
Most first-time clients will approach the reading with considerable trepidation. Many will be
extremely nervous. They will have come to u with a deep-seated problem or worry. Maybe they
have hidden the problem from themselves, but it is there, in the background. Lurking.
They want some indication of interest. Some sympathy. Some helpful advice. But, first, you must
read their mind, reach back into their innermost thoughts, and identify what is troubling them.
If you are successful at doing that, they will believe your advice as to what they should do about
the problem. There is no real logic to it, but it's what they expect from the psychic reader. That's
you.
You now know what to anticipate from the reading, the words to say, the pitfalls to guard against.
You know the need and ways to make them feel comfortable, relaxed.
The oven timer has been set. The reading begins. And, now, it is a battle between you and the
client. She wants you to win, but outwardly helping you would destroy your credibility, make you
the loser.
How do you know when you are targeting her worry? How do you know when the reading is
working? Here are several more useful tips.
Drop your voice a bit as you start the reading. It will force her to lean forward, to focus her
energies on hearing your words. She will be less guarded, more open, more revealing.
Deliberately try to duplicate her breathing pattern. It not only is a means to establish empathy
between the two of you, but you'll be able to determine immediately whenever she chances that
pattern. And you can relate any changes in that pattern to your words.
Place your left hand palm down on the table. Have her lightly rest the palm of her hand on the
back of yours. It creates an intimacy, and it gives you an opportunity to utilize a form of muscle
reading. Look elsewhere, as you talk, but keep your attention focused on the weight of her hand.
She unconsciously will alert you, as you begin to target her problem.
A psychic reading, particularly if it successful, can be a very intense experience for a client. She
may be just as nervous when it's over, as she was when it began. Her mind may be working
furiously. Certainly, she will be thinking back over what you had to say.
She may remember to pay you. She may not think of it. If you think her mind is elsewhere, smile,
as you rise, and say, “You may pay me, if you like.” It's a nice way to ask for your fee.
What should you charge? Your fee should be established in advance and clearly understood. In
an affluent area, you may charge a bit more, in a less affluent area, it would be a bit less, but an
average rate is about $30 for a half-hour reading and $60 for an hour reading.
One means to set your rates is to determine what other local psychics are charging for similar
readings. Most will be glad to quote a price over the telephone; almost all like to work by
appointment.
A random survey of prices in the Los Angeles area showed minor variations. But most palm
readings seemed to be priced around $20. They, also, were the readings for which the least
amount of time was quoted.
The prices went up when card, tea leaf, and psychometric readings were promised. Most Tarot
card readings seemed to be priced between $30 and $45, while psychometric readings, in which
the psychic picks up vibrations from an inanimate object obtained from the sitter, started around
$35 and topped out around $60.
Crystal ball readings, some priced at more than $100, were by far the most expensive, in the
informal price survey.
On the other hand, psychic fairs, which offer one of the easiest ways to obtain needed practice,
are one of the lowest paying. Usually, the sponsor sets the fee, and you get to keep half of what
you take in during the fair.
 Chapter Eighteen
Gently, Gently

Fortune-telling is based upon the concept that it's possible to utilize unknown powers to predict
the future and identify favorable courses of action. It presumes, in most instances, that the
unconscious minds of the psychic and the sitter are able to establish rapport and that both are “in
touch with the forces of destiny.”
It's strange, then, when you think about it, that the modern-day pseudo-psychic uses much the
same techniques that have filled man's dreams, down through the years. Best results are obtained
when the reader is able to anticipate the mind-set and the thoughts of the sitter, to identify her
secret worries and fears.
This book, studied carefully, will teach you how to know the innermost thoughts of a sitter, how
to look into her future. And you can. But advising the sitter with respect to her future is like
proffering, advice to your spouse; it's a thing best done gently, gently.
As all parents and all teachers know, in dealing with the mind, it is best to do so with care.
Prophesies can become self-fulfilling. Fears can be calmed. Or they may be made into
nightmares.
In fortune-telling, the word 'medium' is appropriate. No matter what technique you employ to
perceive answers about the future, the perceptions are yours and you are the final medium
through which those perceptions become transmitted to the sitter.
You should transmit those perceptions and thoughts with common sense and more than
reasonable care. “It's quite true,” as one wag put it; "going to visit a psychic is heady stuff.”
 Bonus
Excerpt from Red Hot Cold Readings

The difference between a psychic and the person coming to the psychic is if the person meditates,
looking in their mind for the light at the end of the tunnel, they may not be able to see the tunnel.
The psychic should be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and the next tunnel and the
next tunnel and the next tunnel.
If you try to impress the person with the magnitude of your predictions, you would be in error.
They come to you initially convinced that you have more mentally going for you than they do,
that probably in your own way you are able to help them. It's really not necessary to do any center
tears, billet work, marked cards, because all that you have to do in a thirty minute reading or a
sixty minute reading is to have that person think that you're doing magic, gimmicks and gaffs,
you would have blown the whole reading.
You'll be thoroughly amazed in doing a reading by attempting to give that person advice,
attempting to create an empathy with that individual. You will be very successful in doing that. If
there is one thing that I try to create within a reading, is to identify with the person, and to create
an empathy with that individual.
Do that and they'll give you information. I indicated earlier that I close my eyes. I do not ask
questions. In a thirty-minute reading, this would happen probably for the first twenty minutes. In
the final ten portion of the reading, I would open my eyes and say something to the person. “Oh
you're still awake. I thought I was boring you.” Or “I thought I was putting you to sleep.”
The person would say, “no, would you indicate again what you meant by this statement.” And
then you can say, “normally I do not ask any questions of my clients, but I do have one question
for you.” If you have a particular question.
After the reading is over, the person will swear on a stack of bibles that your eyes were closed for
the full thirty minutes of the reading, or sixty minutes of the reading, whatever the case may be.
They will swear that you never asked them any questions. After the person is gone take down
notes, i.e., birthday, things that were said, the situation of the person, etc. Upon returning, you
can simply pop a card out of your file to give you a little bit of background on the person. They
will not remember everything they said to you.
 Bonus
Excerpt from Psycho Babble

It is fairly common, either during, or after the reading is concluded for your client to ask you “Do
you know what my occupation is?” A variation of this question is “Do you sense what job I
would be best at?” Or: “What career goals should I aim at?” I believe that my answer is the
closest you will get to the ideal response. The key to the perfect answer is the word
“REHABILITATE.”
Webster's Dictionary defines: REHABILITATE. REHABILITATION, REHABILITATIVE,
REHABILITATOR.... To restore to a former capacity, to reinstate, to restore to good repute, To
reestablish a good name. To restore to a former state as of good management or efficiency or
solvency. To restore or bring to a condition of good health or useful and constructive activity.
Think about this for a moment.
There are a multitude of job responsibilities that include some sort of Rehabilitation. Listed here
are a few, and I am sure you can add to this list. Doctors, Nurses, Guidance Counselors,
Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Chiropractors, Attorneys, Priests, Hypnotherapists, Poets, Artists,
Policemen, Educators, All self help groups, Financial planners, Therapists.
No matter what our chosen profession, in many ways we feel that on some level we are able to
“Rehabilitate” someone's mind, body or spirit. It is a word that will fit most people. The person
that denies having any rehabilitative effect on anyone probably would not be coming to you for a
reading anyway.
You don't have to wait until this question is asked by your client, make the statement during your
reading.
Another word that can be used with almost the same effect is “THERAPEUTIC.” During a
reading, either over the telephone, in person, or on tape I would say: “One of your strongest
talents is the fact that you have a therapeutic or rehabilitative effect on most people that you en-
counter.” Very Strong!
When a person first sits down at my table for a reading, I will innocently ask, “How long are you
here for?” The answer might be: “I just flew in from New York, or Florida, and I am here for just
a day.”
Great! You get credit for knowing that she is from out of town.
If she is from near-by and questions what I mean, I say “I meant how long is the reading you
want, a half hour or a full hour?” Very often, you will be given credit for your superior intuition.
 Bonus
Excerpt from Mind-blowing Psychic Readings
Physically attractive woman
I believe that you will always be on a different mental level. In dealing with men it would be very
difficult for a man to work with you or have you as a co-worker without that man attempting to
cross the line to make the relationship closer than perhaps what it would be.
You may find as you go through life that you will have many first dates and that if you're not
impressed by the first date there won't be a second date. I believe that many men bore you
because they come across as being one dimensional so they're drawn to the aesthetics, they're
drawn to the face, the figure, the complexion, the hair.
You will always intimidate males and they will always see you as having an invisible chip on
your shoulder. So it's reasonable to say that no man shall own you, possess you or control you.
No man is going to have you jump through hoops at the count of three.
You are not the typical bombshell with no education. You are educated and certainly the major
issues in your life would be men. And if nine out of ten men do not impress you the one that does
would be a challenge.
Obviously you are comfortable in dealing with players. A potential relationship or husband
would be a professional person, doctor or lawyer or stockbroker, somebody that would own their
own business.
It would probably be unlikely that you would become involved with truck driver or someone that
works in a factory because they would not mentally challenge you.
Through no fault of your own you have attracted losers, and again I say through no fault of your
own. I don't believe that you are manipulative or a game player.
I simply feel that you were bored with men because they live by patterns and routines and
somehow they feel it's their mission in fife to pursue you. Granted, many men would see you as a
fantasy or sexual object and I may go out on a limb by saying this but I feel you're a one man
woman.
It doesn't matter how many men you've experienced in your life. I still feel you are a one-man
woman. I feel you search for your soulmate, you search for your twin flame or lifemate that is out
there.
Other women would either hate you or love you because you come across as a threat to them as
they may lose their husband to you or boyfriend to you. I believe that you are mentally
preoccupied with a man who is comfortable to be with, one that is non-threatening and probably
one of the few men that you would not intimidate.
Based on your name I feel you would be compatible with the J's, the R's, the M's or the D's.
James, John's, Joseph's, Robert's, Richard's, Marc's, Michael's, David's or Donald's. Any
significant relationship that you have will be different.
It will either be an ethnic difference, or cultural difference, or age difference, or geographic
difference. I doubt very much if it would be two peas in a pod. I don't believe that your mother
raised any fools, you have above average brains and above average mind. You have above
average intuition in dealing with people.
Deep within you want to be desired for your personality, character, your soul, your spirit, and it
gets very old and tiresome and very boring to continually have men at your fingertips. I know it's
pleasant to be pursued, great for your self-esteem but as we realize it won't last forever. I think
you would have two significant love relationships in your life.
You will attract Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, you will attract heterosexual males and even
homosexual males, simply because your aura is one of romance. The energy level that you give
out is one of romance.
The major issues in your life, the major accomplishments, or failures will be contingent on a love
relationship where you have to be in love. I think you are physically capable and emotionally
capable of loving a man. Finding a man is not the problem. To be 'in love' is the secret.
Very few times in your life you would be 'in love.' I do think you've gone through an abusive,
either mentally or physically abusive relationship with a man who did not have the loyalty, did
not have the respect, did not have the compassion that you need.
You search for a chemistry, or a synchronicity between you and that person. There has to be that
chemistry. You are able to close your eyes and just detach yourself from somebody that you
would perhaps like or be fond of, but not in love with. I don't feel that you like to have your hair
touched. You take great care of your hair and don't feel that you like it to be touched or messed
up.