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CARNIVAL OF SECRETS
NEAL SCRYER +7
Other titles in this series:

The Practical Psychic's Little Black Book

The Practical Psychic's Little White Book

Neal Scryer & Friends GARNIVAL OF SECRETS

Neal Scryer +7
By Richard Webster

Brookfield Press
Flrst published 20J.2 by
BROOI(FIELD PRESS
8 Napa Court,
Auckland 2016,
New Zealand
The copyright for all the efFects in this book are retained by the
originators.
This arrangement @ Brookfield press 20 j_2
rsBN 978-86-467 -O89L-7
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or
reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including lnternet usage,
without written permission from Brookfield press, g Napa Court, DEDICATION
Howick, Auckland 2OL6, New Zealand. phone 064-9-535 -2344
WARNING! DO NOT USE ANY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED We'd like to dedicate this book to one of the great unsung
IN THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU READ AND AGREE TO THE heroes of our art:
FOLLOWING IN FORMATION :
lnvolvement in dangerous performance pieces carries a Jerome Finley
significant risk of damage to property, personal injury or death.
lf you should choose to perform effects in this book, you do so
at your own risk. Frankly, you owe it to yourself and your
audiences to appreciate and understand the risk involved in
effects and performances tempting fate.
The authors, editors and publishers of this book recommend
that you should become knowledgeable about the risks invorved
and assume personal responsibility for your actions. Be warned
that you must exercise your own judgment as to the difficulty
and your ability to safely protect yourself from the inherent risks
and dangers. Do not use the information provided in this book
unless you understand and accept the risks of performing the
more dangerous performance pieces contained herein.
Performing or practicing or any other use of the information
contained within this book is purely the voluntary will of the
performer or end user. You shall not hold the publisher, authors,
editors or other contributors responsible for any incidents
related directly or indirectly to the materials published within
this work. The authors, editors and publishers assume no
liability or responsibility for your actions.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
@@N,ffi,EAXTINS
As always, many people have been involved in the
production of this book. lt's been a privilege and delight to FOREWORD (or FORWARD)............ .........10
work on this project with such good friends. We'd
especially like to thank: FIRST GOOD KISS, FIRST BAD KISS .......11
Marc salem and Bob Cassidy for writing the Foreword and
Afterword.
PAPER BALLS .............13

Peter Arcane, Loyd Auerbach, W. M. Barclay, Mark Caretz, MYSTICAL SU BL|M|NAL SVENGA1| .......................... 1 5
Max Maven, and Michael weber for their contributions.
Paul Romhany for doing the page layout and interior THREE OBJECTS OVER THE PHONE ......................18
design.
SCRYER'S FEATH ER READ I NG ............. ...................21
The entire team at stevens Magic Emporium for designing
the cover, and promoting the book. SCRYER'S LOTTERY LIE DETECTOR TEST ....,......23
We'd also like to thank yOU for buying this book.
SCRYER'S BLINDFOLD THOUGHT DUPLICATION ..26

BUSINESS CARDREADING ......29

MAYYOUR W|SH COME TRUE .................31

THREE EFFECTS USING A THUMPER .....................33

SMASH AND STAB ............ .........37

SCRYER'S GROUP CLEARING ............ .....39

GROUP READING A TO Z ............. .............40

SCRYER'S CARNIVAL OR AMUSEMENT READING.42

SEANCE.
SCRYER'S EASY ........44

PENDULUM SVENGALI.......... ....48

SCRYER'S SNEAKY CARD ATANY NUMBER ..........51

 GOOD OR EV|L.. .........54
THE EYES TELL....
......56
SCRYER'S COIN BEND IN COIN PURSE
OR COIN
ENVEIopE............. ......._..._.1..,....L]..'....ua
POSITIVE CHANGE
....60
SCRYER'S TOSSED OUT BOOK TEST ...,.62
SCRYER'S CONTACT OR LIE DETECTOR
BOOK
TEST""" ......64
SCRYER'S HELIUM BALLOON WISH ........66
SCRYER'S HAUNTED PEN ........68
A TH|N ltNE........ .........72
SCRYER'S TIP WITH RESTAURANT
STAFP.............75
A READER'S STORY............. .....77
AFFtNtw CARD
..........80
PLAYING BY EAR
.......82
RINGS ON THEIR FINGERS
......86
UNLOCK ......89
QUALITIES OF THE BEST PSYCHIC
PRACTITTONERS:. ......s2
MICHAEL WEBER'S SIX GOLDEN RULES"
............100
ASTRAL TRAVEL ,,,...1O2
THE JOHN LENNON SEANCE............. ....112
 W@JR{BVJI @RlE (or FoRWARD)
Forward is often defined as moving ahead. To
continue, and to go further.
This book does all that......BUT MORE:
This tome doesn't just move ahead, it MOVES A
HEAD. Yes, the devious ideas will leave your
spectators' heads spinning.
I may or may not know Neal. (l'm not even sure I
know me). He is everywhere and nowhere.
He is isolated, but surrounded by confidantes .
He is rarely seen performing, but has millions of fans.
He is both known and unknown.
My head just hurts thinking about this disappearing
dervish of demonic delight.
As a friend, one can have no one fiercer. He atways
has you back.
As an enemy . . . well he has none . . .you see they
have all become one with the earth.
Beyond his obvious gifts, creative genius, warmth,
humor, ideas galore, he is also a complex man . . . or
men, who defies description. His friends and
collaborators are legion and proof enough of the high
regard with which he is held. And that proof
continues to be published.
The latest is in your hand. Use it wisely
Enjoy it, while you can.
Marc Salem 2OL2
L0
PtS,W 0'00D KWS', ErUmtS,
tsND KU$S
This is one of Neal's favorite openers when doing a
ladies only home psychic party. He starts by asking,
"How many of you remember the first great kiss you
ever had? Please raise your hands." Neal smiles as he
looks at the women. "That's great. Now, how many of
you remember your worst kiss? Please raise your
hands. That's good. What I'm going to try to do is to
sense between the good and bad kisses. Would the
people who remember their first good kiss raise their
hands again." Neal hands each of them a business
card. "On the back of my card please print the name
of the person you kissed."
Neal repeats this with the people who remember their
worst kiss. He asks a lady to collect the cards and
give them a thorough mix. When she's done that, she
hands the cards to Neal. He looks at the top card, and
then pauses for a moment. "l don't want anyone to
say anything that might tip me off when I call out the
names. ls that okay? Good. Now let's see - the first
name is Robert. Yes, I sense he was a top kisser. You
were crazy about him. ln fact, you couldn't resist him.
Please don't send me anything else. lt's your secret."
Neal walks over to one of the ladies, and shows her
the card. "ls this yours?"
She looks astonished. "Yes, it is."
Neal looks at another card. "This name is Tony. I
sense you were very disappointed. He wasn't very
good. I don't think you saw him again." Neal walks
L1
over to another lady, and hands her the card. "l
believe this is yours." Again, he is correct.
Neal sometimes stops at this point, having revealed
one good kisser and one bad kisser. Sometimes, he
does it this twice more, revealing another good kisser
and another bad kisser.
METHOD:
The cards are marked. Neal marks the good kisser
cards on the right side of his business card, and the
bad kissers on the left. When he hands out the cards,
he nicks the cards of one or two of the good and bad
kisser cards, so he knows who to return them to.
ln practice, Neal has the top card of his stack of
business cards already nicked for the good kisser.
The bottom card of the stack is already nicked for the
bad kisser. lf you wish, you might prefer to nick the
third card from the top and the third card from the
bottom. lf you intend identifying two good and two
bad kissers, you might use the first and third from
both the top and bottom of the stack. Neal usually
performs this with one good kiss and one bad kiss.
Most of the time, Neal does an A to Z reading on the
name written on the last card.
Despite its simplicity, this is an extremely strong
piece. Neal works on the principle that the easier the
effect, the stronger it is, as you can focus entirely on
the presentation.
t2
PAPffiEt tsAI,LS
At a party, Neal will approach a lady. Let's assume her
name is Lisa. "l sense that you're very psychic," he
says. "ln fact, I sense there's a strong psychic
connection between us." Neal takes five crumpled
paper balls from a pocket and tosses them onto a
table. "Let's try something," he continues. "l'll place
my energy on two of these balls." Neal places his
hands over two of the balls. "Please sense the one
you'd like to remove." When she indicates one, Neal
removes it. "Now it's your turn. Put your hands on any
two balls, and I'll try to sense which one to remove."
Neal indicates one of the balls, and it is removed.
"There are just three balls left. I'll put my hands on
these two. Now, go deep into your psychic abilities,
and sense which one you want to remove." When she
indicates a ball, Neal removes it. "There are just two
balls left. Place your hands on them, and I'll sense the
one I want to remove." Again a ball is removed,
leaving just one ball.
Neal smiles at Lisa. "lf we both used our intuitive
skills, we'll have the correct one. Earlier, I took the
liberty of writing something on one of the balls. Will
you open the other four balls." Lisa does, and nothing
is written on any of them. "Would you now open the
ball that we both intuitively chose."
Lisa opens it and reads: "l sense you and Scryer make
a perfect team. I hope you have succeeded intuitively,
and are left with this message. You are a gifted
person, Lisa, and your psychic abilities are unlimited.
lf you work hard on this gift, you will reach your
goals. Feel free to contact me if you have any
questions."
L3

METHOD:
This is simply the PATEO force. You need to secretly
learn the person's name beforehand. If you crumple
the ball containing the message smaller than the
others, you'll be able to identify it once they are
placed in a row. Alternatively, you could carry four
balls in one pocket, and the ball containing the
message in another. Mix them up on the table before
starting the force, but make sure to keep an eye on
the force ball.
It's not necessary to include the person's name, but it
adds enormously to the effect, as people will be
stunned that you somehow know their name.
Don't play this effect short. lt makes the other person
feel empowered and successful. She's also
demonstrated her psychic abilities.
Instead of using crumpled paper balls, you might use
five business cards. The one containing the message
is marked. ln this version, you can ask the person to
mix the cards for you. lf you don't wish to mark a
card, you can have the card with the message on it at
the bottom of the stack. Casually mix it to the top,
and then back to the bottom, before laying them out.
74
MffSWT(OAI, SUBI,WruilVI
S\ffB,[V'0'AU"U(
Neal asks someone to cut a deck of cards, look at the
card she cut to, and then replace the packet she cut
off. He then asks her to cut the deck a few times to
make sure the card she looked at is completely lost.
"There is no way that you or l, or anyone else, could
possibly know where your card is," Neal says, while
producing a digital recorder. "This is a recording
device. I recorded a mystical sound on it. You won't
be able to hear it consciously, but your psychic sense
will subliminally hear it. Would you please start
dealing the cards into a pile until you sense it's time
to stop."
Neal turns on the digital recorder, and his volunteer
starts dealing the cards. Sooner or later, she'll stop.
Neal asks her to turn over the last card dealt.
Amazingly, it is the card she looked at.
METHOD:
The name of the effect says it all. Neal uses a Svengali
deck, and the volunteer can stop whenever he or she
wishes. Neal silently counts the cards as they're dealt.
lf the last card dealt is an odd number, he asks his
volunteer to turn it over. lf it's an even card, she looks
at the top card of the stack still in her hand.
Sometimes Neal records twenty seconds of new age
music. He tells the volunteer that when the music
stops, she will be dealing the card she selected.
Neal also sometimes uses a plastic flute. He steps
several feet away and plays the flute while the
volunteer is dealing the cards into a pile. He keeps
L5
tracl< of the number of cards dealt, and stops on an mal<es her feel good, ancl that, Ncal says, is what it's
odd number. ,rll about.
Frequently, Neal tells a spectator that he believes he
is psychic, and asks him to play the flute as he senses
the person will stop playing when he intuitively feels
the time is right. The entertainment value increases if
the person can't play the flute. Neal always gives the
flute to the person who played it, as they cost less
than two dollars.
You need to be aware that sometimes the person is
still playing the flute when the person finishes dealing
the cards. This doesn't matter. Neal asks her to pick
up the cards and continue dealing. However, you
need to remember that the force card is now in all the
even positions, rather than the odd.
Neal sometimes has a friend play the flute over the
phone. Neal tells his audience about his unusual
psychic friend who uses music to enhance his
intuition. He phones him using Speakerphone and
asks him to play. Neal's friend plays for twenty to
thirty seconds and then stops.
One final point. The instrument does not have to be a
flute. You can use a harmonica, bells, or anything else
you wish.
Neal mentioned in Neal Scryer and Friends how he
demonstrates the Svengali deck is a normal deck. He
asks the person to cut the deck. Neal asks her if the
bottom card is red or black. He repeats this twice.
Each time the volunteer sees a different card on the
bottom of the deck. lf the person has successfully
guessed two or three colors correctly, Neal
congratulates her and tells her she's psychic. This
encourages her to think that her psychic sense told
her exactly when to stop dealing the cards. This

16 L7
 "lt sltows that our encrqlcs.llc lll luttc, arrcl lcan clo
tlrc reading." Neal then glvus hur-ln A to Z reading on
WHIS PJH@SYB llre name I(ATHY.
Of course, this doesn't always worl<. When this
Neal cails this an experiment, as it doesn't Irappens, Neal says, "Okay, I need to tune in some
work Loo%
of the time. However, it works more often more. Let me concentrate. yes, I see the problem. I
than not,
and even if it misses, it's not important rreed you to open your heart connection. lt appears to
as Neal
immediatery moves on to a reading. Let's lrc blocked. No worries - I'll send you some good
assume near
is chatting on the phone wirh a laJy energy to remove the negativity. That will open your
called K;;hy.
"Kathy, I want to try an experiment heart connection, so I can tap in to you." Neal takes a
to see if l,m few slow, deep breaths. "Everything's good now. We're
connected with you before I proceed
with your connected and I can give you a reading."
reading. Would you please select three
objecis, and
place them in a rine from reft to right As you can see, it's not a problem if you fail on the
in frtnt of you,
about three inches apart. What obfects object selection. lt's still a wonderfuljourney for the
ur. V",
using?" person you're doing this for. Of course, you're a
"A key, a phone, and a quarter." superstar if you get the first part right, but opening
"That's good. I assume the key is up the person's heart connection is still pretty
on your left?,, impressive.
"Yes."
METHOD:
"That's good, Kathy. Now hold your
right hand a few Place three coins in a line infront of you, roughly
inches above the key. When I tell you
io ,t"ii, yir,il three inches apart. Hold your hand over the coin to
move your hand. slowly from object to your left. When you tell the person to start moving
object, irorn
left to right, and then back Movinj your her hand, you do exactly the same, moving your hand
"g"in. objects as franO
backwards and forth over the-three from left to right, and back again until she tells you
many
times as you wish. When you feel f ike itopp*n, she's stopped. The chances are that when she says
,arp
with your hand over one of the objects. L;i
when you decide to stop. Okay, Kithy,
;;'tnow she's stopped your hand will be over one of the
start no*.,, objects. ln the example with Kathy, she stopped over
Kathy moves her hand over the three objects. the phone. That was the middle item, so Neal's hand
After a
while, she tells Neal that she's stopped. would have been over the middle coin. lf the lady says
"That's great, Kathy. r sense that you she's stopped while your hand is between two coins,
stopped over the name the object to the right. lf Kathy had said she'd
phone."
stopped when Neal's hand was between the key and
"How did you do that?"
the phone, he would have named the phone as that
was the object on the right.

L8
19
Neal estimates that.he's right approximately
70% of
the time. However, his clie'nt, happy tOOlof af," SOE.tYME.I 'S UrUAWHtsrg{
"r"tfre object, h",i
time, as even if he fails to name
resolved a probrem (the brocked R{m
RBA.DTMI.8?
heart connection) for
them.
When Neal presents this, he always Neal's feather readings began when he saw a large
sends good
energy to the person. He silently says, ,,1 tlisplay of brightly colored bird feathers in a craft
wish (Kathy)
all the best. I wish her good health,'piorp"iitv, \t.ore. They are available in a variety of sizes, but Neal
happiness. May her boJy Ue cteansed *O lilces the ones that are between four and six inches
of all
negativity." Although the client is not Iong. He displays about thirty of them in a glass
consciously
aware rhat Neal is doing rhis, she,ll pick
subconsciously and realize Neal is
ia;t-- ' container, and uses them when doing readings for
doing everything smaller functions. He also uses them when doing walk
he can for her. Near arso berieves .rround or strolling mentalism. He places the glass of
that wien vou wistr
someone wer, the universe wirr reward f'eathers down, and starts his readings.
him tenford.
Once he's set the glass down, he asks the ladies to
select a feather that they're attracted to. They might
choose it by its color, shape, or size. Once they've
chosen one, Neal asks them to hold it in a closed fist.
so they can impart their energy into it.
Neal takes each feather individually, and gives the
person who selected it a reading using psychometry
from A to Z. He uses the color of the feather, or the
person's name. Usually, all he needs is a single letter
to give the person a brief reading. Sometimes, Neal
might spend an entire afternoon reading for a group
of ladies. In instances like that, he might use each
letter of the person's first name. However, most of the
time, Neal does quick readings with the feathers.
Once he's finished the reading, Neal hands the feather
back to the person who chose it, and tells her to keep
it.
"You and I have both put our psychic energy into this
feather," Neal says. "This gives it a special quality.
Believe it or not, this feather can answer any

20
2L
questions you may have, and l,m sure you'll find it
very useful in the future."
Neal then shows all the ladies how to use the feather
as a divination tool. "First of all, you need to think of
a question," he says. "lf you're doing it here, you can
ask the question silently. lf you're doing it on your
own at home, you might prefer to ask the question
out loud. You hold the feather like this at the very
tip." Neal holds the feather by the tip of the feathered
end. "You raise your hand as high as you can, and
then, while thinking of your question, let it go." Neal
releases the feather and watches it fall to th; ground.
"The position in which it lands answers your question.
lf it lands with the feathers pointing away from you,
the answer is no. lf the feather points towards you,
the answer is yes. rf the feathers point to the left, the
answer is 'maybe.' lf they point to the right, you need
to either rephrase the question, or ask it again
another time."
Neal told me: "Tell everyone to guard this carefully.
Feather readings are very dear to me, and the ladies
love them so much."
Neal and I both believe the right person could make a
fortune doing nothing but feather readings.
22
g,CP,{ [,uffi
Neal holds up ten envelopes. "Each of these envelopes
contains a lottery ticket," he says. "Unfortunately, nine
of them contain losing tickets from old lotteries.
l1owever, one of them contains a lottery ticket that
lras not been drawn yet. The lucky person who
receives that envelope has a chance to win millions of
dollars."
Neal hands the envelopes to a spectator and asks him
to mix them up. He returns them to Neal, who passes
them out to members of the audience. He asks the
ten people to join him on stage.
"ln a moment I'm going to ask you to open your
envelopes, and remove the ticket inside. Please don't
say anything, as I'm going to try to determine who is
holding the undrawn ticket. l'll turn my back while
you remove the tickets and look at them." Neal turns
away and speaks to the audience while the ten people
open their envelopes.
"Have you all done that? Good. I'm turning back now.
I'm going to ask each of you in turn if you're holding
today's ticket. I want each of you to say, 'no.' That
means nine of you will be telling the truth, and one of
you will be lying. My job is to detect the liar using a
combination of body language, voice expression, and
my intuition. To make this experiment even harder
for me, I'll give each of you a ticket for today's
drawing if I get this wrong. lf I get this right, you'll get
nothing."
23
Neal aslcs each person in turn if they're holding Itrstead of asl<ing ev(rtyoltt, to .,,ty "llr)," you could find
today's ticl<et. They all say'no,' but Neal triumphantty out who has today's ticlcut rrsirrc,; a pcnclulum or
succeeds in determining the person who lied. cclntact mind reading.
"Thank you all. You've been good sports, but you, sir, lrinally, even if you lose tracl< of the person who has
need more practice in lying. As you've all been so t,he marl<ed envelope, it doesn't matter. You're going
good, I'd like to give each of you a ticket in tonight's to hand out lottery tickets to them all, anyway. Either
drawing." way, you're going to look like a good guy.
Neal gives them all a ticket, and leads the applause as
they return to their seats.
METHOD:
This effect costs Neal ten to fifteen dollars each time
he presents it, but he feels this is money well spent.
The routine is entertaining, and he successfully
'guesses' who holds the active ticket. At the end of
the routine, all ten volunteers walk away with the
possibility of winning a lottery.
Neal loves effects like this, as all the dirty work has
been done before he even starts. This means he can
focus entirely on the presentation.
All that is necessary is one marked envelope. Neal
uses a nail clipper to trim the edge of one envelope. A
nail nick or pencil dot will work just as well. Neal
sometimes hands out all the envelopes himself,
noticing who received the marked envelope. On other
occasions, he gives the marked envelope to the third
person, and asks the next person to take an envelope
and pass the other ones on.
lf you wish, once you know who has the marked
envelope, you can ask people to exchange envelopes.
Naturally, you need to keep track of the marked
envelope.

24 25
 jRil
sGR irB S BU^[m{)EW@uiE
WH @ KY'@W W ID WP& WGA WW@$.V
Neal hands out pens and pads to ten people and asks
them to write down a happy thought, ,r.h as love, a
vacation, a wedding, or a new car. Once they've
written it, they are to tear it out of the pad and
crumple it into a ball. They can place the ball in a
pocket or purse. They can hold it, if they wish. "Don,t
let anyone see what you wrote," Neal tells them.
Later in the evening, when Neat comes out to
perform, he tells the audience that earlier he handed
out pads and asked people to write down a happy
thought. He asked the people who wrote down a
happy thought to confirm this.
"Thank you," Neal says. "l'd also like you to
confirm
that I was nowhere near you when you wrote down
your thought, and you didn't let anyone see what you
wrote. ls that correct?" They agree. "Good. May I have
the pads back. No, on second thought, you can keep
lhem." Neal produces a brindford. "ineed someone to
blindfold me. somehow r find this easier to do with
my eyes closed. So to make the point, it's best if I,m
blindfolded."
Neal picks up a large sketch pad and a pen, and then
lets someone blindford him. once she's done this,
Neal asks her to guide him through the audience. He
walks for a while and stops in front of a lady. He
smiles, and says, "Hi."
He then starts drawing on the sketch pad. He might
draw a rose, a chaper and a ring. once he's finish-ed,
26
he hands the pad to thtr l.tcly wlto ir ht'lping him wall<
around and asks her tcl show it, to the audience.
"What did I draw?" Neal asl<s. The lady tells him he
drew a rose, a chapel and a ring. Neal turns to the
lady who he stopped in front of. "Does that make any
sense to you?" he asks. Naturally, she says, "Yes."
Neal nods. "l was sensing love and possibly marriage,"
he says.
Neal repeats this with two other people, and then
takes off his blindfold to accept the applause.
METHOD:
Neal uses impression pads. He usually uses the ones
made by Paralabs or John Riggs. He approaches one
person and hands her a pad as he explains what he
wants her to do. This is an impression pad. He then
moves on to two or three other people and repeats
the request. They are handed normal pads. He then
returns to the first person and asks for the pad, as he
needs to give it to other people. He does this two or
three times. Once he has the necessary information,
he puts the gaffed pads away and hands out more
regular pads.
When he's performing, he asks for the pads back, and
then changes his mind telling the volunteers to keep
them.
This effect can be done without a blindfold, but Neal
prefers to use one. This means he needs to look at
the shoes worn by the people who write on the
impression pads. He also needs to find out where
they are in the audience before starting.
When he's drawing his impressions, he conveys the
impression that he doesn't know what he's drawing.
27
consequently, it doesn't matter if the images are not
perfect, just as long as they are identifiable. CAE{D
iF!
Neal finds that an audience of about thirty is perfect 'Ur
for this effect. Neal has made a reputation for himserf
with this one effect. you can too.
This is one of Neal's favorite ways to give a reading.
He asks someone to draw a house on the back of his
business card. Once they've started doing this, he
asks them to use their imagination and include some
scenery, such as trees, mountains, or a lake. lf they
wish, they can include some people in the picture, as
well.
Once they've done this, Neal gives them a reading
based on what they drew. lf someone drew a large
house, a lake, and several people, Neal might start by
saying: "You enjoy leading an extravagant lifestyle
when you get the opportunity. You're outgoing and
adventurous. You enjoy being noticed and
appreciated by others." He'll continue using the A to Z
principle on the different items included in the
drawing. By doing this, Neal can easily do a ten or
fifteen minute reading.
When he's finished, Neal gives them the card to keep.
As it has all his contact details on the other side, Neal
gets a great deal of business from these. Sometimes,
when he's working in a restaurant, he'll ask people to
draw their pictures on the back of the restaurant's
cards. The restaurant loves this, as everyone takes
their cards home with them. Of course, the restaurant
also rebooks Neal, making this a true win: win
situation.
Sometimes, Neal asks the person to draw a car, plus
the scenery. He may ask them to draw an amusement
park, or a place they visited as a child.

28 29
Neal frequently combines this business carcl reacling
with the next effect, as after receiving a reading EWM Y' Y@WYF'T MT8S,H C@Mffi
they're extremely receptive to hearing about *irr,. WM{WB
"
Neal asks a lady to think what she would ask for if
she could have three wishes. He hands her a business
card and asks her to write down her first wish. There
is no need for her to conceal what she's written, so
Neal reads it as she writes. He hands her another card
and ask her to write down her second wish. He
repeats this with the third wish. He then asks her to
mix the cards face down and to place them in a row
in front of her.
"Let's assume you're granted only one of these
wishes," Neal says. "Which one of the three would you
choose?" Her three wishes might be: L. a new car. 2.
Will I win Lotto? 3. Will I travel to Europe? Of the three,
she chooses the trip to Europe.
Neal holds a pendulum over each card in turn and
asks: "Will this be the wish that come true?" The
pendulum fails to move over two of the cards, but
swings over one of them. The lady turns over the
chosen card, and finds it contains her chosen wish.
Neal finds the people he does this for experience
great pleasure and an enormous feeling of assurance
and wellbeing when the pendulum chooses their
favorite wish.
METHOD:
The first two cards are marked in whatever manner
you choose. Neal uses nail nicks. All you need do is
remember the three wishes, and the order in which
she wrote them. Everything else is window dressing
with the pendulum.

30 31
I
I
I,T
When Neal does this impromptu, maybe with the
restaurant's business cards, he marks them as he
hands them to the person to write down her wish.
However, he now usually uses a method that requires
no marks. The lady writes down her first wish, and
turns the card face down. She places her second wish
face down on top of the first, and repeats this with
the third wish. Neal picks up the cards and shuffles
the top card to the bottom. He shuffles the new top
card (the second card) to the bottom, and repeats this
with the third card. They are now back in their
original order. Neal repeats this twice, and then deals
the cards in a row in front of the lady. As they are in
their original order, Neal knows the position of each
wish and can make the pendulum swing over
whatever wish she chose. lt would be hard to find an
easier impromptu effect using borrowed business
cards.
Nowadays, Neal marks only one card and asks the
lady to write her favorite wish on it. She writes down
two more wishes on the other cards.
For the sake of completeness, Neal sometimes uses
another method. The lady writes her wishes on three
business cards. You don't see what she wrote. The
cards are shuffled, and you ask the lady which of the
three wishes she'd choose. You hold the pendulum
over each card in turn, and see which one it reacts
best over. Turn over the card. lt's wonderful if it
happens to be the wish she chose. lf not, you simply
say that this is the wish that will happen first.
Sometimes Neal has the client hold the pendulum.
This is because it actually doesn't matter which one
she picks, as they're all good wishes. lf she happens
to pick her favorite wish, so much the better.
32
WW(RMM ffiWWECWS WSUNG? A
WUil'UM(PtsR
Number I
Neal has himself blindfolded, and then faces a wall.
He asks the person who blindfolded him to walk away
and face the audience. When he feels like it, he is to
turn to face Neal, and point at him. Neal explains:
"This way I'll be able to feel your energy." When Neal
senses he has done this, he raises a hand., and
says:"You just turned and pointed at me." Neal does
this twice more, and is correct each time.
METHOD:
As the title suggests, this effect is done using a
thumper. Neal believes the two strongest secret
weapons it's possible to have are a thumper and a
clipboard. You may not be able to use a thumper all
the time, but it's a wonderful tool when you're at a
function with a trusted assistant. This could be your
agent, girl friend, wife, or good friend.
lf you want to use a thumper at a private party, you
need to ask the host or the person who booked you,
if you can bring this person with you. Tell the client
that this person has never seen you work. ln Neal's
experience, T5% of the time, the person will agree. lf
it's an agent, say he will sit and watch. He won't want
a drink, as he's there solely for business purposes.
You can even bring a mentalist friend, by saying he's
your new agent, or is about to become your agent.
Whoever it is, you need to make sure he or she is
dressed professionally. Neal always pays his
33
assistants. lf he's getting, say, $3,000.00, he gives
them ten per cent. Why not? They've helped him
present a reputation making effect, and deserve to be
paid. This also keeps everyone happy.
One final idea. This effect can also be done with a
shiner. Neal uses many shiners, but lately he has been
using the scryer Mirror, available from Bill Montana.
Neal holds the shiner in the palm of his hand. As Neal
gestures, he raises his arm, and this enables him to
get his glimpse.
Number 2
Neal has a sketch pad and four crayons lying on a
table. He holds an identical sketch pad and irayons in
his hand. Again he is blindfolded, and faces away
from the audience. He asks the person who
blindfolded him to pick up the sketch pad and any
one of the four crayons, and to draw a house. "When
you've finished, put the crayon down." While he's
drawing a house, Neal also draws a house.
Neal then asks the person to draw a tree using a
different colored crayon. Neal also draws tr"" while
he is doing this. Finally, Neal asks him to "pick up a
different crayon and draw a car and a cloud. When
he's finished, he closes his pad. Neal does the same,
and removes his blindfold.
The two stand side by side and open up their pads
together. Amazingly, the drawings and colors match.
That is how Neal used to present this effect.
Nowadays he does it slightly differently. He has the
person complete his drawing, close the pad, and put
all the crayons down. Neal then takes off his
blindfold, picks up a second sketch pad, and holds a
hand over the crayons as if he's sensing vibrations.
34
He then proceeds to draw tlre ;rlcture uslng the same
colors the person dld.
At the end, he and the other person stand side by
side, and reveal their pictures together.
METHOD:
Neal uses four crayons - red, orange, green, and
blue. His assistant thumps once for red, twice for
orange, three times for green, and four times for
blue. ln addition, with the original version of this
effect, the assistant gives one long buzz when the
person has finished drawing with each color.
When doing this at a private house, instead of using a
blindfold, Neal will go to another room with a
committee. When the person has finished his
drawing, Neal and the committee return. Amazingly,
he has drawn the same picture. ln this case, the
assistant gives a long buzz when the person starts
drawing, and another long buzz when he's finished.
Number 3
Neal walks up to a table and shows everyone a deck
of cards. He asks several people to shuffle it before
handing the deck to the person he's going to use.
(This person needs to be sitting or standing beside
Neal's assistant.) Neal walks several feet away, and
asks the volunteer to select a card from the deck.
After looking at the card, he is to place it face down
on top of the deck. Neal asks him to cut the deck, and
to then cut it again, so no one could possibly know
where the card is. lf desired, the person can shuffle
the cards again. When everyone is satisfied the card is
lost, the volunteer places the deck face down in front
of himself.
35
"No\A/," Neal says,"l'd lil<e you to slowly deal the cards
face down into a pile." At some point during this
process, Neal tells them to turn the card over. To
everyone's amazement, it's the card the volunteer
chose.
METHOD:
The deck is a marked deck. The assistant reads the
secret mark when the card is placed on top of the
deck. Later, after the deck has been cut and shuffled,
she reads the secret marks again as the cards are
slowly dealt into a pile. The cards are placed onto the
table, and dealt from there. This gives the assistant
plenty of time to read the secret marks, and to thump
you when the selected card appears. Neal suggests
that the cards can also be dealt face up, ttrit makes
"t in
it easier for your assistant. This is also useful
situations where the lighting is bad, making it hard
for your assistant to see the marks.
36
Ncal indicates two sc.tlc'cl lr.ttls sittir-rq on a table. One
rs red; the other green. llc tclls the audience that he'll
be asl<ing a spectator to determine his fate. One
outcome is good, but the other can cause damage. A
volunteer is selected. Neal gives him a deck of cards
[o examine. Once he's certain that it's a regular deck,
he's asked to shuffle them. Once he's done that, Neal
asks him to deal three cards face down onto the
table.
"ln a moment, we'll turn over the cards and see which
ones you chose," Neal says. "lf the numbers on the
cards total less than twenty, I'll use the palm of my
hand to smash the green bag. lf the numbers total
more than twenty, I'll smash the red bag. The court
cards all count as ten, and the other numbers are
whatever they happen to be."
The spectator turns over the cards. Let's assume they
total twelve. Neal immediately uses the palm of his
hand to smash the green bag. He then opens the red
bag to reveal a spike or a knife inside it.
METHOD:
All that's required is a marked deck. Neal uses a
green bag and a red bag. Creen means it is safe, but
red indicates danger. When the three cards are dealt,
Neal reads the secret markings, and adjusts what he
says accordingly. lf the total is below twenty, he'll say
that if the total is less than twenty he'll smash the
green bag. Of course, if the total is more than twenty,
he'll say that if the total is less than twenty he'll
smash the red bag.
37
Now you l<now the principle, you can change it if you
wish. You might use two identicat bags and refer to
them as left and right. you might asl< the volunteer to
place cards with the numbers 'one'and 'two'written
on them in front of the identical bags. ln these
examples, yolr need to remember which one is the
safe one to smash. This is why Neal prefers using two
colors. You might like to use more bags, and have
them eliminated untiljust two are remaining.
Neal uses colored paper cups when he can find them.
Sometimes he uses white cups labeled red or green.
ADDED BONUS
Neal's friend, Ted Karmilovich suggests using a red
and black bag. Ted has six black cards and four red
cards on top of the deck. He asks the spectator to cut
the deck, and does the criss-cross force. He then tells
the spectator to deal down ten cards. lf there are
more black cards than red cards, he'll crush the black
bag. lf there are more red cards, he'll crush the red
bag. Naturally, there are more black cards, so the
black bag gets crushed.
38
s,0Riruill's q'.RfO{JP
ru[,s-K[\[sle,
Before doing readings for a group of people, Neal
lil<es to cleanse and clear everyone in the room. This
is how he does it.
Neal starts by showing the group his pendulum. He
swings it in a clockwise direction. When it stops, he
says:
"l ask the Universal Energy to release any negativity
that lies within this group. Please remove any
negativity amongst the group. I also ask that all
negativity be removed, and transformed into positive
energy."
Neal swings the pendulum in a clockwise direction
again, and remains silent until it stops. Once it stops,
Neal starts doing his readings. Neal likes to start
group readings with this, as it eliminates all the
negativity, and creates a positive sense of expectancy
among the group. This helps him give everyone a
good, accurate reading.
39
 E.iR.OKJP PTSAIETMVS A tsO y l) D.rring
| .Enthusiastic
After doing the pendulum group clearing, Neal is | - Family
ready to give everyone a reading. He does this using C - Cenerous
either his intuition, or Richard Webster's psychometry I

from Ato Z. l-l - Humanitarian I

He starts by asking everyone to close their eyes and | - lntuitive

to slowly inhale and exhale a few times. He closes his J - Joyful
eyes too. After a few slow, deep breaths, he asks
everyone to open their eyes. Neal looks at one person
l(- Karma
in the group, and starts giving her a reading. "l am L - Love
picking up from you . " He proceeds to give a M - Money
reading based on the color of her clothes, hair, eyes, N - Nurture
or even a piece of jewelry. lt doesn't matter what it
happens to be, as long as he can relate to it. O - Opportunities
At some point during the reading, Neal asks: "Does P - Peace
anything I'm saying make sense?" lf the reply is Q - Quality
positive, Neal says, "Great!" and moves on to the next
person. lf the person says, "No," Neal says, "l'm only
R - Resourceful
a
messenger of the Universe. r can only give you what r S - Sexy
receive. lt's up to you to interpret it. Maybe you,ll T - Trust
understand what r received later." Neal then goes on U - Unlimited potential
to the next person.
V - Variety
sometimes, Neal will ask each person for his or her
first.name, and gives them an A to Z reading based W - Wall Street (investments)
on this. However, he finds people are more intrigued X - X-roads
and fascinated if he gives them a reading without Y - Youthful
asking them for any information at all.
Z - Zeal
Here is a list of possible A to Z words:
A - Adaptable
B - Bountiful
C - Creative

40 4T
 S,0Pt YtSrpt'S 0A,p,t$y[ WA[^ @tp,t lttjoyccl c.tt"ing hot tlor1.,, lrr,'rl lr',r, ll .ttrtl l). Ncal
rrsually spends ab<lttl lrvr, nrtnul(", ()lr lltt' tcading, but
AM( uysrgmfl ts tny w inrJg A rbunvq (.ln expand it indef irritr,ly, rl rrt,t,cl ltc.
nt the end of the reacling, Neal gives the person his
Neal performs this effect regularly at
home psychic business card with the details he has just written
parties, strolling gigs, and one-on-one. down on the bacl<. People keep these, and Neal
All he needs
is a stack of business cards and a pen. receives many calls as a result from people wanting a
"l'd like you to imagine you're private reading.
at an amusement park
or a carnival," he says. "l'd like you to Neal uses this idea in different ways. He may ask the
tell me the
things you'd enjoy doing if you had a special person to imagine they're taking a cruise, and to tell
day at
an amusement park or carnival. him what things catch their attention. He might ask
"lf yo_u like, you can relive some them to visualize themselves at a beach, a casino, or
memories from your almost anywhere else.
childhood. you might like to close your
eyes, take a
few slow breaths, and visuarize a speciat This simple idea produces so much information that
day from the
past. There's no rush. think Neal only uses A to Z tf he feels like it. Most of the
Just about all the ahing,
you'd like to do, and tell me what time, he looks at the items they name, and that gives
they are.,,
Each time the person mentions him all the information he needs.
something, Neal --
writes it down on the back of a businus
IirA.
"That's good. And now visualize
the people you are
sharing this wonderfur day with. Maybe
visuarize the
food you're eating. Again, each time you
tell me
something, I'll write it down. When you,ve
told
everything you wish, open your eyes. Everythingme
you
tell me tells me about you, and where yor;ru
t,u-uOing
in life."
This is an enjoyable experience for the person,
gets to relive a pleasanr day, and as she
then r,l..itiu., f.,.,
a reading based on what she told him.
ll' .for instance, she said roiler coaster, Near
wourd be
able to say she loves challenges and
thrills. ln
addition to this, Neal also usis psychometry
from A to
Z on the first letter of everything she
namej. Witf,
roller coaster, he'd use R and C.-tf sne
said she

43
 SOPTY ,g,Pt'S iSASy SiSA "W(]'rer c,1oinc.;to try t() nl.rl\{' ( onl,lr I wrllt tlrt' sltirit
world," he says" "W(' lrrrrllrt llr, ,rlrlt' lo <<lttt"lct a few,
or maybe even sevct'.rl ltco;llu wlro Jrave passed over.
Neal presents this seance whenever the right llut first, I'd lilce to show you how this pendulum
situation
presents itself. Sometimes, Neal engineeri worl<s."
this
himself, by bringing up the subjectlnd seeing how
much interest it creates. On other occasions, he Neal has the pendulum indicate the "yes" and "no"
is responses.
booked primariry to do the seance. rn this situation
he'll bring candtes and other items to help set the He then suspends the pendulum in the middle of the
mood. circle of business cards, and asks: "ls there anyone
here? Please let us know."
Before the s6ance starts, Neal asks one person
to
write down the first name of the person she wishes After a pause, the pendulum gives a "yes" response.
to
contact on the back of one of his business cards. "Are there many spirits here?" Neal asks.
He
also asks her to write her fuil name berow this
on the This time the pendulum indicates "no."
back of the card. He teils her to keep what she
wrote "Are there four spirits?"
a secret.
Neal then hands out cards to everyone erse, The pendulum indicates "no."
and asks
them to write down the first name of the person "Three?"
they'd like to contact, as weil as their own fuil name. "No."
They all have to keep what they wrote down
a secret. "Two?" Again the pendulum gives a negative
When it's time to start the s6ance, Neal asks
everyone response.
to sit down. Usually, they sit down around a table.
Sometimes he asks for the lights to be dimmed, "lt looks as if we have just one spirit here tonight,"
to Neal tells the group. He focuses on the pendulum
help create atmosphere. However, this is not
necessary. Once the mood has been set, and again. "ls your name written on one of these cards?"
everyone's comfortable, Neat continues. he asks.
"l asked you all to write down the first The pendulum says, "yes."
name of a
deceased person you'd like to contact, and your "Which card contains your name?"
own
name. ls that correct?" Neal waits for everyone
to The pendulum starts swinging, and gradually
agree. "wourd you prease ptace your cards face
down indicates a card.
on the table."
"Cood." Neal waits until the pendulum stops
once they've done this, Near asks someone to mix
the swinging. "Now we need to determine your name. I'll
cards and to place them in a circle. Neal then
go through the letters of the alphabet one at a time.
produces a pendulum.

44 45
 Please let us lcnow when we find the first letter in your
name."
Let's assume the spirit's name is Beth. Neal asks if the
first letter of her name is A. The pendulum gives no
response. However, it reacts to B, as that is the first
letter of her name. The pendulum gradually reveals all
the letters in Beth's name.
Once the name has been revealed, Neal drops the
pendulum on top of the card that the pendulum
indicated.
"Who here knows Beth?" he asks.
One lady says, "Me."
Neal pauses, and closes his eyes for a few seconds.
When he opens them again he says, ',ljust heard Beth
telling me, Janet, all is fine. I need to go now, but |,lt
come back again."'
Neal varies what he says at this point. He might say:
"Beth sends you love, and wiil arways be there
for you.
she'll contact you again when the time is right." Neal
has learned to be carefur with what he saysl as this
contact can be highly emotional.
Neal picks up the card beneath the pendulum and
turns it over. lt contains the words Beth and Janet's
full name. Neal hands the card toJanet. He knows
she'll keep it, and will definitely call him.
Neal then thanks Beth for visiting, and wishes her
well. He places the pendulum in the center of the
circle, and thanks everyone for pafticipating.
METHOD:
All you need is a small clip board, a pendulum, and a
stack of business cards.
46
You clip one person to get the necessary lnformation.
lf you wish, you could cllp two, but Neal flnds he can
easily get twenty minutes wlth Just one. lt usually
takes him several minutes to explain the pendulum
and how it works.
You pass out the business cards, giving the marked
one to the person you clipped. Once everyone has
written down the necessary information, the cards are
mixed and placed in a circle on the table.
Neal has as many people as possible sit around the
table. The others can stand to watch the proceedings.
From now on, everything is automatic. You know the
information, and are able to control the pendulum to
get the replies you require.
lnstead of using business cards, you can use pieces of
paper that are crumpled into balls. ln this case, the
balls are handed to you, so you can set them out in a
circle. This enables you to keep track of the clipped
ball.
This daylight s6ance has been a wonderful reputation
maker for Neal. lt can do the same for you. Neal says:
"Please use this wisely, and don't tip it to fellow
performers. You paid good money for this book.
Please don't dilute its value by sharing any of the
information you've learned. The fewer people who
know, the better, and the more successful you'll be. lf
you're the only person in your market using this
material, you'll stand out from all the others."
47
 M[..VD W[h UrM( $ \rwsv@A
[^ U(
EFFECT
Neal asks a lady to help him. Let's assume her name
is Helen. He asks her to cut a deck of cards, and to
secretly look at the top card. The card is replaced,
and the cut portion of the deck placed on top of it. He
asks Helen to cut the deck a few more times, and to
then place it on the table.
"The card you selected is lost somewhere in the
deck," Neal says. "lf I asked you to tell me what its
position in the deck is, you'd find it difficult to say
exactly where it is. Would you agree?',
Helen agrees, and Neal continues.
"Today I sense a psychic energy in this group of
people. One of you is extremely psychic. Helen, would
you please indicate seven people. Thanks. I'm going
to ask you all to name a number from L to 52 that
you think might be the position Helen's card is in."
The seven people might say the following numbers:
25,27, 3,36, 42, LB and 12. Neal produces a
pendulum and, after explaining how it is used, asks it
to indicate the "yes" and "no" responses. Neal then
asks the pendulum, "Did any of these people name
the correct position?" The pendulum moves to
indicate "no".
"Helen," Neal says. "Would you please choose another
seven people?" (lnstead of using difFerent people, you
can ask the same group to suggest other numbers.
You can do this two or three times, if you wish, and
then make the pendulum say "yes.")
48
Neal asks these people to call ctut the number that
lndicates the positlon of Helen's card. Once they've
done this, Neal asl<s the pendulum lf anyone named
the correct position. Thls tlme the pendulum says,
"yes". Neal then goes to each person in turn, and asks
them to name their number again. The pendulum
says, "yes" to one of them. Let's assume the number
is 21.
"Helen, would you please deal out 2L cards face down
in a pile."
Once she's done that, Neal moves this card to one
side. He then turns over the cards immediately before
and after the 2Lst card and asks Helen if either of
them was her chosen card. Naturally, she says, "no".
Neal assembles the deck and places it back in its box.
He then asks her to name the card she chose. Let's
assume Helen chose the Nine of Hearts.
"Turn the card over," Neal says. She does, and is
amazed to find that it's the Nine of Hearts.
METHOD:
The words "Svengali deck" say virtually everything you
need to know. Neal likes the pendulum to say "no" for
the first group, and "yes" for the second. The
pendulum reacts favorably to an odd number in the
second group. You need to be careful not to choose a
number that someone in the first group also named.
When Neal reassembles the deck before the final
reveal, he places it in his pocket. After showing the
chosen card, he brings out a regular deck that is
missing this card, and places the card on top of the
deck. Neal usually replaces the card on top of a
stacked deck, and is ready to move on to another
miracle.
49
 fi
The person who named the "correct" number always
feels proud and happv, Els this effect shows that she
is psychic.
Neal's friend, Bob Cassidy, recommends letting the
0ArRlD AW it[YlY NIUM(BBrP,I
spectator use the pendulum.
Neal has entertained thousands of people - and also
fooled many magicians - with his version of Any Card
At Any Number. Like all of his effects, the method is
simple, but the entertainment value is huge.
Neal approaches someone and asks her to write down
the name of a playing card on a sheet of paper. He
tells her that shortly she'll hear about an amazing
premonition that he had before coming to the venue.
She keeps the paper with the playing card written on
it.
Neal then approaches someone else and asks him to
write down any number from one to fifty-two. Again,
he keeps the slip of paper.
Neal then hands a sealed envelope to a third person,
and asks him to look after it carefully. "lt relates to a
premonition I had earlier today," he says.
When it's time to perform, Neal asks the person
holding the envelope to join him on stage. He asks
the man to confirm that Neal had given the envelope
to him earlier, and that he had said it contained a
premonition. The man agrees. He also asks the man if
they had met before this evening. The man says, "No."
Neal asks the two people who wrote on the papers to
come up on stage. After learning their names, Neal
asks if they had ever met him before. They both say,
ttNo.tt

"Good," Neal says. "NowJessica, did I ask you to write

down the name of any playing card?" She confirms
this is correct. "For the first time will you open the

50 51
 piece of paper and teil us ail the name of the carcl you occasionally uses a clt'tl< ol 'r I lrl,tttl< carcls, and adds
wrote on it." the playing card that was n.ttnccl.
Let's assume for explanation purposes she replies, Neal tells all three volunteers that this is a
"The Queen of Diamonds." premonition he had shortly before he left home. He
"The Queen of Diamonds," Neal repeats. He
walks changes the story from time to time, depending on
over to the other person who wrote something down. the group he is working for.
"Michael, I asked you to write down any number from
one to fifty-two. ls that correct?" Michael confirm this.
"For the first time, wourd you open the paper,
and teil
us what number you wrote down."
Let's assume Michael says, "Thirty-two."
Neal then goes to the man who is holding the
prediction envelope. "What is your name, sir?"
'Joseph." 'Joseph, will you please open the envelope.
lnside you'll find a deck of cards. please count down
the cards until you reach card thirty-two." He does.
"would you please turn over the card, and teil us
what
it is."
"The Queen of Diamonds!"
METHOD:
Neal uses an impression device. He starts with a lady.
After learning her name, he asks her to write down
the name of any card in a deck of playing cards. Once
she's done this, Neal retrieves his impreision device,
learns the card she wrote down, and then hands it to
a gentleman. Again, he learns his name, and asks him
to write down a number. Neal takes back the
impression device and goes backstage, or to the
men's room. He finds the card and places it in the
correct position in the deck. He seals it in an
envelope, and gives it to someone to look after.
sometimes, Neal will use a marker to write the names
of the two volunteers on the card. He also

53
 elO@JE OrPt BVIffi, Sonretimes Neal ;:erf'orttts tlrl,, u\ln(J n('g.ltive cards,
such as The Devil and lltc lowt,l.. I lc then gives the
group a pendulum clearing to remove all the negative
Neal asks a young lady to herp him. Let's assume her energy. Often, he places the decl< in his pocket while
name is Helen. Neal hands her a Tarot deck, and asks performing the clearing. He then brings out another
her to indicate five people in the audience. once she deck, with two positive cards on top, and suggests
has done this, Neal tells the five volunteers that Helen they do it again. This time, the clearing proves to be
will slowly deal cards face down in a pile. At any time, successful as the routine finishes with a positive card.
any of the five volunteers can call out "stop." rt makes
no difference if one person, or ail five peopre, cail out This effect may sound ridiculously simple, but Neal
"stop." Neal then says that while this is going'on, uses it with great success, especially at Ladies'
he,ll Nights. He follows this effect with a pendulum
send good, positive energy to Helen, h.;d b.
"nd Helen
grateful if the five volunteers did the same. clearing, and Richard Webster's Astral Travel
deals the cards into a pile until someone calls out (included in this book). These two effects, plus the
"stop." The undealt cards are placed to one side. pendulum clearing, provide an entire evening of
She entertainment. Neal says these create "the perfect
picks up the deal cards and dears them into two pires
until all the cards have been dealt. combination of effects."
Neal asks the five volunteers to select either one of
the two piles. The majority rules. Consequently, if
three people choose one pile, and two people ihe
other, the pile selected by the three people is the one
that will be used. The unchosen pile is placed with the
other discarded cards, and the top card of the
selected pile is turned over. lt will be, for instance,
the wheel of Fortune card. This shows the power of
positive energy.
METHOD:
Before starting this effect, Neal places two positive
cards on top of the deck. These are the first cards
dealt into the singre pile, and they both end up on top
of the two piles that are created from the single pile.
Consequently, it makes no difference which p-ile is
selected as both contain a positive card. Suitable
cards include: The Sun, The Wortd, The Wheel of
Fortune, and The Star.

54 55
 WiHffi HYSS UULL over the face clown c.rrrl to.,lrnw llr,rl tlrt, ll.rt l1ctvcl
him or herself away. llrt,r,lrrl t,. llrt, lic.;ht, of Clubs (or
whatever card it happerrccl to bc).
Neal hands a decl< of cards to a spectator, and asks
METHOD:
her to shuffle the deck before selecting a card. we'll
assume her name is Tina. Her freely chosen card is All that is necessary is a marl<ed deck. When the card
placed on the table. Neal then asks her to place a is placed face down on the table Neal glances at it,
bunch of cards - ten or twelve - on top of her reads the secret mark, and walks well away. lt makes
selected card. Tina cuts these cards to bury her no difference how many cards the volunteer places on
chosen card, and then shuffles them to ruk" sure her top, or how thoroughly she shuffles them.
card is completely lost. while she is doing this, Neal Sometimes, Neal does the final three cards verbally,
walks to the other side of the room. When Tina apparently telling if the person is telling the truth or a
finishes shuffling, Near asks her to give the cards to lie from his or her voice.
someone who she thinks would be a good liar. Tina
has to whisper the name of her chosen card to him or
Often, Neal uses a small pen light that he shines on
her. Neal turns his back while she does this. the pupil of the person's eye for the final two cards.
This is purely to heighten the tension, and provide
once this has been done, Near turns around and takes additional entertainment for the audience.
the stack of cards from the person the volunteer
thought would make a good liar.
"l'm going to show you these cards one at a time ',
Neal says to the 'good liar.' "l don't want you ao ,"y
anything, or react in any way. I'm going to look into
your eyes, and I'm confident you'll give yourself away
when you're looking at Tina's card."
Neal shows each card in turn to the person Tina
selected. After showing each card, Neal drops it into
one of two piles on the table. He ends up with three
cards in one pile, and tells the audience he thinks it's
one of these. He shows the three cards again, one at
a time. He might do this two or three times before
placing once card face down on the table.
"l think the card you're thinking of is the Eight
of
Clubs," Neal might say. He turns to Tina. "li that
correct?" When Tina agrees that it was, Neal turns

56 57

G@X$Y PKyiP,lS.s @,Bt 00mY
Br$YWJS&@PE
EFFECT
Neal produces five quarters from an ungimmicked
coin purse or coin envelope. He asks five people to
help him in an experiment. Let's assume their names
are Paul, George, Kathy, Mary, and Judy. Neal asks the
first person for his name (paul), and writes it on one
of the quarters with a Sharpie pen. He shows the
name to Paul and returns the coin to the coin purse
(or envelope). He repeats this with the other
volunteers.
The five participants help choose one of their number
to hold the purse. Let's assume it's Mary. Neal hands
the purse to Mary and asks her to cup it between her
hands. Neal holds his hands an inch or two away from
hers and concentrates. "Do you feel a warm
sensation?" he asks. "What do you feel?" After she
replies, Neal asks her to open the coin purse and
remove the coins. One of them is bent. When Mary
looks at the bent coin she finds it is the one with her
name written on it.
REQUIRED:
One coin purse or envelope.
One fine-tipped Sharpie pen.
Five quarters, one of which is bent.
METHOD:
When Neal removes the quarters from the purse he
makes sure that the bent one is at the bottom of the
stack. He prints the name of the first person on a
cluarter, and freely sltow.' ll lrr,lotr,rlt()l)l)ltrt1 it ittto
the purse. He appears lo r{,1)r,,rl llrt', with lhe next two
coins, but actually prints tlrc rranrc on the coin, blows
it dry, and drops it into the purse. l
Neal has two coins left. He holds them in his
fingertips with the bent coin facing him, and the
straight coin facing the spectators. The straight coin
provides natural cover for the bent coin. Neal prints
the name of the fourth person (in this case, Mary) on
the bent coin, blows on it, and drops it into the coin
purse without showing it. There's no need to at this
stage, as the spectators know what he's doing. He
asks the last person for his or her name, prints it on
the coin, and drops it onto the table. He asks that
person to drop it into the purse.
Neal usually prefers to turn the stack over after
writing the name on the first coin, and then prints the
next name on the second (bent) coin.
All Neal has to do now is use the PATEO (point at two,
eliminate one) force or equivoque to ensure the
fourth person is selected to hold the purse.
The effect is now over. Neal asks the person holding
the purse a few questions, and then asks her to tip
the coins out onto the table. Lo and behold, her coin
is bent.
59

P@SU(WU(Sf$ 0,HASV0IB
Michael Weber
"lt is said that a small change can make a big
difference. Let's see if that is true."
The guide removes a handful of coins from his
pocket and selects six quarters.
"lf there was one area of your life where you would
like to be able to see physical evidence of change,
where would that be - Love, Health, Work? lt is up
to you."
The seeker replies "love."
Holding the coins in a spread, the guide prints one
simple word on the face of each of the coins - Work,
Health, Love, Travel, Friend, and Foe.
The coins are stacked and held between the finger
and thumb of the right hand so the seeker can see
they are all sitting flat, level and aligned on top of
each other.
The coins are dropped into an empty glass or coffee
cup as the seeker instructs, "Think of the kind of
change you would like to make in the area of your life
which you have decided upon. You have the power to
make this change. lt is in your hands. Close your
hand around the power, and force it into the glass,
but direct it at your target - direct the power at
having an effect on Love."
The seeker does as directed, then lifts the cup
herself and tips out the coins. One of them has been
dramatically transformed by the sudden transfer of
60
power. -[[rc coin marl<ed "l-ovc" is trow pr,rrrrant:ntly
changed - it is bent 45 clegrecs throucyh the middle.
The guide, who has not touched the coins since they
were dropped in the glass, indicates the bent "Love"
coin and urges the seel<er to "l(eep the Change."
METHOD:
This is exactly the same method that Neal shared
with me at our dinner in the City. All I have added is
presentational dress ing.
The coins you remove are all normal but for the
single pre-bent quarter. Keep the bend quarter on
the bottom of the stack and spread them so the edge
of each coin's face is visible. Print a simple word on
the face of each coin, saving the seeker's choice for
the secretly bent coin.
Stack the coins and hold them, bent coin at the
bottom, so that the aligned edges are visible, and the
bent section of the lowest coin is concealed behind
the thumb.
Drop the coins in the glass and your secret work is
done.
It is challenging to imagine a simpler means for the
guide, or a more powerful effect for the seeker.
61
 When he calls clut five worcls, hc clr.libcrately includes
SCP{YBP{'$, W@SSBID @WyW a word that is not the first word on page 259 in any
B@@K WJ$SW of the books. Four people sit down. He already knows
what word the fifth person is thinl<ing of , and can
either simply name it, or draw it on his sketch pad.
EFFECT
Naturally, all five boolcs need to have more than 259
Neal passes out five books to a volunteer and asks pages. The book he riffles through is noticeably larger
him to pass them out to five people he doesn't know. than the others, and contains at least 350 pages.
Once he's done that, Neal riffles through a large book
and asks the volunteer to call out "stop" whenever he Neal often finds suitable books on bargain tables for
wishes. When he does, Neal looks at the page and as little as a dollar. When he uses these, he gives
calls out: "Page 2Sg." Neal thanks the volunteer, and them to his volunteers at the end of the effect.
asks the five people holding books to stand up, and As he does this regularly, using different books, Neal
to open their books at page 259. "Concentrate on the often writes the force words on the pad ahead of time
first word on the psge ," he says. "Close your book using a pencil to act as a crib.
once you've memorized the word."
Neal picks up a dry erase board sketch pad, and
quickly writes down some words. "l've written down
five words," he says. "l'll call them out. lf I say the
word you're concentrating on, please sit down."
Four of the five people sit down. Neal asks the person
who is still standing to concentrate on the word. After
a few moments, he names it and the person sits
down. lf the chosen word is something that can be
visualized, such as a house or a tree, Neal will draw
his impression on his pad. He then asks them what
the word was, and turns the pad around to show that
he'd successfully visualized it.
METHOD:
Before the show, Neal memorizes the top word on
page 259 (or whatever page number he decides to
use) of each book. When he riffles through the book
and asks the volunteer to stop him at any time, he
miscalls the page and says, "259."

63
 il
wjgsw
EFFECT
Neal starts out by riffling through the pages of a
book, and asking a spectator to say stop at any time
she wishes. Neal asks her to look at the first word on
both the left and right pages, and decide which one
she wants to use. Once she has a word, Neal closes
the book and places it to one side. He hands the
spectator a pad and pen, and asks her to write down
five or six words, including the word she has chosen
from the book. Neal turns his back while she does
this.
Neal places the pad on a table, and asks the volunteer
to hold his wrist while he moves his hand to and fro
over the words she wrote. Finally, after a few
hesitations, Neal lowers his hand and touches one
word - the one the lady chose from the book.
METHOD:
Neal usually uses a book with a short page to force
the page he wants. Alternatively, he'll peek at the
page while she is also looking at the words, or later,
by casually riffling through the book before he places
it to one side. Sal Franchino published an excellent
peek in Neal Scryer and Friends. Feel free to use any
force you wish.
Although the contact mind reading isn't genuine, this
effect provides a useful way to practice it.
64
d
You c,.ur .ll'r() 1lt:tlortrr this t'llt't I wtllt .t ltt' rlt'lt'ctol
theme. ln this case, you tcll thc volrrrrt(.('r [o say "no"
after each word, as you reacl thcrn clut loud.
A variation Neal sometimes uses is to force a word on
one person and asl< her to write it anywhere on the
pad. The pad is then passed to several other people
who also write any words they wish. Neal sometimes
does this with as many as twenty people writing
words on the pad. When it is returned to him, he finds
the forced word using either the contact or the lie
detector methods.
Occasionally, Neal does this with a stooge who writes
down a word they have previously chosen. The pad is
passed to several other people who also write words.
Neal finds the stooge's word using the lie detector
method.
Here is a bonus effect that also uses a stooge. Neal
chooses several people, including the stooge, and
asks them all to write down a word. He turns away
while they do this. Once they've done it, he eliminates
people one by one, using the PATEO force, until the
stooge is the only person left. Neal picks up a pad,
and asks the stooge to think of his word. Neal
concentrates and then writes down the word he is
thinking of. This is one of the strongest effects Neal
does, as he never looks at the words that were written
down.
65
 instancc, thc lacly had writtern, "Will lt.rl<t,.1 cnrisc this
sc8{Y&P{'S ffiBI,INy$W( year?" Neal might reply, "l see you w;rvirrg goodbye to
your friends from a ship. Does that mean anything?"
BA&.&,0@S'Y -V$rU$H
Neal does not perform this effect often, as he saves it
for special occasions, such as birthdays and
This is one of Neal's favorite effects. lt requires a anniversaries. This routine is especially powerful
helium balloon, which are often available at private when done for the host or hostess. lt is always the
parties and outdoor events. Occasionally, Neal will most talked about effect when he does do it.
bring a helium balloon to a party, purely for this
effect. This effect has made Neal a great deal of money. The
first lady he performed this for immediately asked
He approaches the hostess, and asks her to write him to be her psychic adviser. She was extremely
down a wish or desire. Once she's done that, she wealthy, and was always very generous whenever Neal
folds the paper and seals it inside an envelope. Neal gave her a reading.
tells her to keep the envelope safe, as he'll need it
during his presentation. Please don't share this effect with people who have
not bought this book. lf you use it sparingly, in the
Later, while he's performing, Neal tells the audience right situations, it will serve you well. lf you share it
what has occurred. The lady who wrote down her wish with other entertainers, you'll immediately give
confirms everything he says. yourself u nnecessary competition.
Neal takes a helium balloon, and asks her to attach METHOD:
the envelope to it. lf necessary, Neal makes a hole in
the envelope, and the lady runs the string from the Neal uses an impression device. As the necessary
balloon through it, and ties it securely. work is done preshow, Neal has all the time he needs
to read the wish, and think of a suitable answer.
"Please close your eyes," Neal says. "Think about your
wish. Visualize it as clearly as you can. That's good.
Open your eyes again. I'm going to let go of the
string, and the balloon will go up into the air."
Neal lets go, and as the balloon heads to the sky, he
tells the lady that her wish will be answered.
"Sometimes I can look up into the clouds and get an
answer," he says. "lt doesn't always happen, but I'll
see how I do tonight."
Neal gazes upwards, and after a few seconds, starts
speaking in general terms about her wish. lf, for

66 67

SGHT-YBR'S WAUTTIWHD
PBN
I have no idea who invented the effect in which a key
visibly turns over in the mentalist's palm. lt is
described in many places, including: Hugard's Magic
Monthly (Vol. Xl, B, January lgi4, page 91), Martin
Gardner's Encyclopedia of lmpromptu Magic (Magic,
lnc., 1978, page 275), Eugene Burger's Spirit Theater
(Kaufman and Creenberg, l_986, pages 135-B), and
Robert E. Neale's Tricks of the lmagination (Hermetic
Press, 1991, pages 191-8)
The haunted, or ghost, key effect, in which a key
mysteriously turns over in the mentalist's hand, is
easy to do, but looks impossible. For years, I opened
my close-up mentalism show with this, saying that I
was unlocking the door to reveal the secrets inside. I
bought several marketed keys that had been weighted
to make the turning even easier. The best of these
was The Key to Borley Rectory, marketed by Martin
Breese. Martin loved this effect, and I was fortunate
enough to see him perform it on several occasions.
Despite the allure of the "improved" marketed
versions, by far the best key I have is an old key that I
found in a junk shop about thirty years ago.
Tony Andruzzi used a large, black key that looked as
if was hundreds of years old. ln his presentation, a
spectator held his wrist and fingertips, while Tony
made circular movements with his free hand. This
apparent limitation made no difference to the
movement of his key.
I know magicians who carry an old key around with
them, so they can perform the effect anywhere, at any
time. To me, this always seemed illoglcal. They could
have made it logical with an interesting story as to
why they kept an old lcey in their pocl<et, but none of
the magicians I know who do this bothered with a
back story.
Ten years ago, Neal Scryer showed me his version of
the haunted key. He told me that he'd shown this to
only two other entertainers, and would never release
it. Much to my surprise, he's agreed to let me write it
up for this book.
Neal uses a pen, rather than a key. lt's more logical,
and no one wonders why he happens to carry a pen,
as he uses it all the time, anyway. Neal uses a
beautiful, expensive pen. lt's reasonably heavy (3L.7
penny weights, or 49.3 grams).
Neal places it diagonally across his palm, with the tip
facing his fingers. The tip of the pen reaches slightly
beyond the base of the first finger, and the other end
extends slightly beyond the palm, about two thirds of
the way between the base of the little finger and the
wrist. He asks a spectator to hold his fingertips.
As he tells a story about the haunted pen, it slowly
turns over in his palm. The movement is caused by
minute muscle pressure and an extremely slight tilt of
the hand. With practice, no discernible movement of
the hand is visible.
Everyone's hand is different, and you will need to
experiment to find the perfect place where the pen
will roll over easily. Neal likes to have the pen resting
at an angle across the palm. You may find that it
moves better if you place it horizontally across your
palm.
The most important part of this effect is the story.
Neal is not willing to divulge the story he uses, as he
69
wants you to come up with an origin.rl \toty ol your (ourse, altcr tlre group has focused all their energy
own. This will mal<e the effect more person;rl for you. orr it, the pen eventually rolls over.
Here are a few ideas that might help you come up All the legal owners of this book have the right to
with your own story. perform this effect, method and presentation in non-
You might introduce the pen by saying it belonged to recorded, non-broadcast, live performance settings
a famous person, such as Aleister Crowley. Obviously, only. No one is permitted to manufacture, sell, teach,
the pen would need to be an old one to use a story of lecture, translate or otherwise use, demonstrate,
that sort. You might say you inherited the pen from a display or perform this within other than live, first
deceased uncle who spent most of his spare time person performance. All broadcast, narrowcast,
ghost hunting. Unfortunately, the ghosts eventually internet, intranet, YouTube and any and all other uses
started haunting him. You might demonstrate the throughout the Universe by anyone other than the
effect and say that you have no idea why it works in author must otherwise be obtained in writing from
such a peculiar fashion. Your audiences will the author and creator first.
remember the pen rolling over, but it will mean
nothing unless it is accompanied with a semi-
believable story.
You'll find this effect works with virtually any pen.
However, it looks more impressive when it is
performed with a large pen. Stevens Magic Emporium
will distribute these pens when Neal finds a regular
source for them.
lf the pen appears reluctant to turn Neal slowly lowers
his hand to start the movement.
BONUS
This is how Neal presents this effect most of the time.
He tells his audience that he'd like to perform some
psychometry, and he's discovered that pens are
extremely good at providing him with the necessary
vibrations. He starts giving quick psychometry
readings from various pens. Finally, after reading one
particular pen, he places it on his palm and tells the
group that this pen has significant energy. He asks
everyone to hold a hand above the pen, and to focus
on it. He says, if they're lucky, the pen may move. Of

7L

Ar
 A WiH(TMNT [.TNI$
Michael Weber
The Mystic removes a small card from his wallet. lt
resembles a "Customer Loyalty" card given out by
Coffee and Yogurt shops but instead of displaying the
number of past purchases, a list of life's little worries
is enumerated.
"Take a look at these and tell me which one you
would like to eliminate from your life today?"
The seeker ponders some of the possibilities - "Not
Listening", "Not Seeing", "Too Certain", "Too Soon,' -
and finally settles upon one.
The Mystic turns the card writing side down on the
table and removes a beautiful pen from his pocket.
"This pen is filled with a pale grey ink, because
nothing in our lives is Black or White, everything lies
somewhere in between."
The cap of the pen is removed and placed on the
opposite end exposing the tip and the open pen is
placed carefully across the palm of the seeker's hand
so that it lies parallel between the lines in the center.
"These are the lines of Head, Heart and Life. Their
length and thickness can serve as indicators of past
experience and future potential. A printed map can
reveal many paths but we must choose our
destination and the best way there. Think of these
-
lines in the same way not as certainties but as
possibilities.
"Focus your thoughts and feelings on your chosen
possibility and whether this is something you would
lilce to enhance or eliminate. And now the pen begins
to act on your thoughts and moves once in a single
straight line.
"Did you want more or less of the possibility you
chose?"
"Less" comes the reply.
"ln that case, the fact that the pen has crossed-out
one of the choices is a good sign, as long as it is the
one you were thinking about."
The Mystic lifts the pen from the seeker's palm and
replaces it with the card. When turned over and
examined, it is seen that the seeker's choice is, in-
fact, the only thing crossed-out with a thin line of
grey ink.
METHOD:
Neal's adaptation of the turning key is used to
animate the pen while held by the spectator who
actually names their choice out loud during the first
part of the process.
The choice of "more or less" is a bit of deception,
because by the time that question is asked, a thin line
has already been drawn, left to right, through the
lower 1/9th of the chosen words. The placement of
this line is purposefully ambiguous such that it can be
described before it is seen as either "underlined" or
"crossed-out."
73
while the line can be drawn with a boon or traditional
nail writer, a more organic and pleasing technique is
to use the tip of a pencil or dark eye make-up to
apply a thin line to the edge of the right thumb nail.
By placing the edge of the nail on the appropriate
section of the card and then gently pressing down
while the left hand pulls the card away, a straight grey
line is produced in the desired location without any
obvious or suspicious actions.
There are only five or six choices printed on the back
of the card and if this becomes a regutar ritual for the
performer, he can have a number of the cards
profess ional ly pri nted.
74
IrufI(WIH
g,WAW'W'
Nowadays it's common for the server's name to be
printed on the receipt. Neal makes use of this
information in two different ways. He pockets the
receipt, and allows a bit of time to pass before
offering to do something for the staff.
He asks the cashier or server to write his or her first
name on the back of a business card. The cashier
folds the card into quarters, and either keeps it, or
hands it back to Neal. lf it is returned to him, he holds
it high above his head. After a few moments of
concentration, Neal tells the person his or her first
name.
The second effect uses two business cards. Neal asks
the server to think of the name of the first person he
or she fell in love with. Neal concentrates, and writes
a name on the back of a business card, which he
places on the table with the writing concealed.
"What was his name?" he asks.
The server tells him. Neal smiles. "That's good," he
says. "And now would you please think of your first
name."
Again Neal concentrates and writes something on the
back of the second card, which he places on the table
on top of the first card.
"What is your name?" he asks.
75
When she tells him, Neal grins, and piclcs up the two
cards. He looks at them both and then hands them to
the server so she can see he has correctly divined
both names.
METHOD:
This is simply one ahead. When he is apparently
writing down the name of the first love, he writes the
server's name. Once he places that card on the table,
he asks her for the person's name. She tells him, and
this is the name he writes on the second card.
Neal often performs this one ahead in supermarkets,
department stores, and anywhere else where the
cashier's name is printed on the receipt. This idea is
incredibly simple, but it makes the cashier's day, and
also makes Neal unforgettable.
Sometimes Neal obtains a glimpse of someone else's
receipt, and learns the server's name that way. This
nrakes it impossible for anyone to try to work it out
ater.
76
A EtUA)DBFI'S, S,WOP'IY
Mark Garetz
I'm sure many of you that do readings believe there is
something more going on than just reciting the lines
from whatever system you are using. I'm equally sure
that many of you are happy to recite the lines and
don't think there's anything more to it. When I started
out doing readings (using Psycards) I was also in the
latter camp. But too many strange things happened
and I am now firmly a believer!
There are basically three ways to do a reading:
Camp 1. You are the reader and you tell the sitter
what you interpret. This would usually be done with a
"passive" oracle such as a palm reading, crystal
gazing, aura reading or no oracle at all.
Camp 2. The sitter uses their psychic ability by
interacting with an oracle and you interpret their
selection simply using the system you have learned.
For example they select some Tarot cards or throw
the I Ching.
Camp 3. The sitter uses their psychic ability by
interacting with an oracle and you interpret their
selection using the system and your own psychic
ability.
Experienced readers are either in camp L or 3 while
beginners tend to be in camp L or 2. lf a beginner is
in camp 1-, they are usually not trying to use any of
their own psychic ability (whether they believe they
have any or not), and in camp 2 they usually don't
77
 il
believe the sitter has any real psyclric.rlrrlrty t,lllrur.
It's all window dressing.
lf you are not currently a believer and you l<eep doing
readings and take them seriously, I predict that you
will become a believer! As I said earlier, it happened
to me. Here is just one story that might help convince
you:
I was on a business trip with a colleague in Charlotte,
North Carolina. As is common on these kinds of trips,
after the day of meetings and dinner, we repaired to
the hotel bar. I had brought my Psycards with me and,
at the insistence of my colleague, was doing a few
readings for folks in the bar. The female bartender
seemed interested and eventually asked for a reading.
She was attractive, slim, blonde, 22 or so, and quite
feisty.
The way I did Psycard readings was to ribbon spread
the deck face down and while concentrating on the
question they wanted answered, I would have the
sitter run their hand over the spread and stop and
select a card when it felt right to do so. This was
repeated two more times for a three card reading.
(The accuracy of the reading was usually proportional
to the amount of effort/seriousness with which the
sitter selected the cards.)
I always started those readings by asking the sitter to
think of a question they wanted the cards to answer.
Her question was, "What does my career future look
like?" She selected three cards, somewhat half-
heartedly. The cards were Mother, Birth and the
Tower. My reading went on about how the Birth and
Mother cards indicated that either she was a recent
mother or was going to be one soon and that would
affect her career, andlor that her own mother would
78
I
Ir.lve sorrrt,tlrrrr<1 to clo with it. Charlotte is a big
banking town so I interpreted the Tower card to mean
that she would be worl<ing for one of the major banks
in town, unless the birth of children interfered.
Well, she was not impressed! ln fact, she said, "That's
complete bullshit! I'm never going to have children
and I want to be a NASCAR driver!" And she stormed
off down the bar.
Well you can't always be right! I chalked it up to her
not taking the card selection process seriously. We
went back to our drinks.
About twenty minutes later, she comes bacl< down the
bar and faces us. She is in tears! Amongst her sobs,
she apologizes and says that I was completely correct.
She had just had a baby, couldn't tal<e care of it and
she had given the child to her mother to care for.
She's trying hard to get her life back together and get
back to school so she can pursue her career in the
banking industry. She doesn't want to be a NASCAR
driver.
lf I didn't have a witness, few would believe this story!
But he told it to everyone we met for the next three
days.
So if you are currently starting out doing readings and
you are not a believer, when things like this happen
to you, you are going to change your mind!
79
 t [-he p.rrtrcrp.rrrI has, by now, found the one card and
Mark Garetz
"The ancient Tarot cards," informs the Reader, "were
used by medieval gypsies who depended upon the
Tarot's mystic symbols to help them interpret fortune,
fate, and future.
"our common playing cards are direct descendants of
that arcane Tarot deck. Many people who are not
otherwise superstitious feel that some of those
magical properties are still associated with all cards."
The Reader pauses, then asks," How would you feel if
one day you found the Ace of Spades slipped under
your front door?"
"ln fact," continues the Reader, ,'certain cards do seem
to have an affinity for particular personality types. or
perhaps it's the other way around. Are you game for a
simple experiment?
"Take these modern playing cards and look through
them until one of them feels 'right' to you. lt helps if
you don't search for a particular suit or value; let the
card select you, as it were. When you've located your
affinity card, place the others aside and put your
selection on the table with your hand touching it.
There's no need to reveal it just yet."
As the participant is looking through the deck, the
Reader goes on, "Already, I sense that your affinity
card will indicate that this is a time of change for you
- that circumstances have forced you to rolify plans.
You still hold on to your dream but sometimes feel
frustrated that fate keeps putting obstacles in your
way... "
has placed her hand over it. The Reader lightly places
his hand over hers and says, "ln fact, those
impediments are solidifying in you a strong resolve to
persevere. lt's likely that you will be drawn to a red
card. The fact that you are becoming more
emotionally assertive lately * I can hear you saying to
yourself, 'l'm not going to be anyone's doormat any
longer' - shades your personality more toward the
hard diamond as opposed to the soft heart. You need
fewer complications in your life right now which
would draw you to a two or a three. What card spoke
to you?"
She turns over the card to reveal the Three of
Diamonds!
Of course you are using a marked deck. Combine
well-timed reading lines with your participant's
selection of a card and it seems that your comments
predict rather than react to her choice.
An important subtlety is that you don't name the
exact card but instead narrow it down to a small
range. Otherwise people will immediately think the
deck is marked. The placing of the hands over the
cards further takes the heat off the deck. You
probably don't need to, but to hide it even further
you could have the participant choose a card while
your head is turned, do an Annemann peek, and then
have her cover the card with her hand.
The reading lines above are obviously just an
example. Use whatever you feel comfortable with,
based on the chosen card.
81

Y.(.}Ve' tsY S-TII\
Max Maven
The legendary Tony Slydini used to chide: "you look,
but you don'a see." Let's take a few paragraphs to
discuss a corollary concept: "You hear, but you don't
listen."
Listening is a valuable-but often overlooked-tool
for performers, particularly mentalists. lt is not,
however, something that just occurs. Listening to the
audience, in its most useful and productive sense, is
an acquired skill.
Almost always, when a performance begins, the
audience develops a group identity, in a process that
is virtually instantaneous. This is a very mysterious
phenomenon; the participants are generally unaware
of it, and exactly how it happens seems to defu full
analysis. lt happens nonetheless. And as soon as that
Composite Entity exists, it starts communicating. lt
will continue to do so, throughout your performance.
The Composite Entity will never lie to you, and it is
always correct.
That can be tough to accept. There's an old show
business adage that holds that "there's no such thing
as a bad audience." And, like so many adages, it's not
true. There are bad audiences. Just as there are
individual people who are boorish, contrary, or simply
stupid, sometimes a Composite Entity can turn out to
be bad. But, that said, the vast majority of the time
when a performer blames a bad show on a "bad
audience" the condemnation is misallocated. More
often, the Composite Entity was not "bad"-rather, the
82
J
ornrrrurric.rtiorr f ell ap;rrt because the performer
r
wasn't listening.
llre audience has much to tell you. ls that pacing too
slow? ls that transition too quick? ls that premise
clear? ls that juxtaposition engaging? ls that outcome
compelling? The answers are there, if you remember
to listen-actively, constantly.
Again, the audience will never lie to you. But, for that
to have practical value, you must listen to them
honestly. After all, there's a difference between a
polite or even sympathetic response, and a
legitimately positive response. lt's important to listen
to what they're really telling you, not only what you
want to hear.
lf you tell a joke, and the audience doesn't laugh, you
cannot dispute that assessment. You may love that
particular joke. lt may strike you as being really
funny, and that opinion may be shared by almost
everyone. But for that audience, at that show, the joke
wasn't funny.
There are multiple options as to how to process that
s ituation:
' You can wonder if that poor reaction was a
fluke. Retrying the joke in future shows will
efficiently test that. Assuming that the poor
reaction is repeated,
' You can tweak the joke; alter its timing, adjust
its phrasing, modify its vocabulary, change its
placement in the act. lf it still doesn't work,
' You can decide that there is a limit as to how
much time and effort you'll put into its revision,
B3
 and eliminate the jol<e from your show,
possibly shelving it for reexamination at some
future time. Or,
You can decide that the joke is funny, and
therefore you need to find new audiences. Or,
You can select any of several dozen other ways
to address the situation.
tell you, the less they are liable to want to receive
what you have to tell them.
And remember the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes:
"lt is the privilege of wisdom to listen." Yep-it's
another aphorism that sounds much more profound
than it actually is. But it's a classy way to bring this
essay to a close.

What you can't do is to ignore what the Composite

Entity has told you. Well, you can-but ignore it at
your peril.
And remember, if you aren't listening, you won't even
know that you're ignoring something in the first
place!
ln the world of stand-up comedy, there's a syndrome
called "laughing ears." That's when a comic does a set
to minimal response, but comes off stage believing
that there was a substantial amount of laughter. lf it's
possible for a comic to imagine the existence of
audible reactions in a room that is mostly silent, it's
even easier for a mentalist to imagine the existence of
silent awe...
Audiences-even stupid ones-can pick up on things.
They get all sorts of messages from the performer,
deliberate and otherwise. And, because it's built into
the Composite Entity's part in the performerl
spectator contract, from the outset they're already
listening.
lnteractive performance (and to my knowledge, there
is no other type of mentalism) is a dialogue. The less
you are open to what the audience members have to

85
 $Ve'S.OSV WSIgrut Irrdcx finger - Jupiter [Water]
The lndex finger is known as the 'mirror' finger. lts
iF',XmVSrS]PrS ruler is Jupiter and it's about self-reflection. A ring on
this finger shows self-esteem issues, and a frustrated
Peter Arcane need for power and recognition.

Middle finger - Saturn [Earthl

The Middle finger is known as the 'wall' finger. lt's
ruled by Saturn and represents psychological
boundaries, lifestyle and value systems. A ring worn
(-
c on this finger, shows how seriously the wearer takes
! =
m
T o n life and the more they want to fit in and feel secure.
;m rt- o
L
:o o v
Ring finger - Apollo [Firel
The ring finger is ruled by Apollo, the god who drove
the sun in his golden chariot across the heavens and
was associated with music and poetry. ln palmistry
this Ring finger is connected with creativity and the
arts and it reveals the inner sense of happiness and
fulfilment. Due to this being the finger that wedding
I'd like to share with you a technique which I have bands are worn upon I tend to let it pass as the norm.
used for I think as long as I have read hands. lt's
something that can be used within a serious reading
or as a casual observation to drop into a Little/Pinkie finger - Mercury [Air]
conversation. Either way I believe it to be a powerful The Little or Pinkie finger is ruled by Mercury, the god
arcane piece of knowledge and hope you enjoy using of communication, wit, commerce and sexuality. lt's
it as much as I have. sometimes called the 'antenna' in modern palmistry
as it's concerned with communication at all levels:
Have you ever wondered why people wear rings
verbal, signal and sexual. A person wearing a ring on
on their thumbs, or pinkies/little fingers!? To them
the little finger may be inclined to bend the truth, be
it may be a fashion statement, for us -the miracle they in the field of business, education, finance or the
workers I believe it to be a secret doorway into
med ia,
their subconscious.

86 B7

tr
 Thumb - Mars
The thumbs in palmistry are about self-control.
Someone wearing a ring on their thumb lil<es to be
the boss and in charge, they also tend to dig their
hells in and would fight to the death to get their way.
ln addition...
For those already familiar with palmistry/hand
analysis and the fingers and thumb, but who are not
familiar with the wearing of rings. Another way to
read which finger the ring is on is to double/tripte the
fingers meaning and importance.
88
WDiIUL@GK
Peter Arcane
Tricks are for mere mortals. Here from deep within
the Books of Arcane is a presentation (and variations
on that theme) which carries great power and
responsibility. How the reader decides to use this lies
with them.
PRESENTATION:
The reader having allowed the sitter to inspect a small
padlock and a handful of keys asks that the keys be
tried in the lock. Each key is tried in turn and found
not to open the lock. An additional key is produced,
tried and is found to open the lock. This key is mixed
with the others.
With the padlock left open and placed to the side the
reader places a number of colored plastic key fobs
(http://tinyurl.com/cdlmeft) on to the table. Upon
each is written a single word ... LOVE, MONEY,
CAREER, HEALTH, TRAVEL, EDUCATION, AMBITIONS.
An additional blank fob is removed and placed to the
side.
The sitter is asked to look over the fobs and pick up
those which they are looking to 'unlock the potential'
of. They are directed to attach these to the padlock
and close it. lf for whatever reason the sitter is unsure
exactly where they want to unlock their potential they
may use the blank fob, either by leaving it blank or by
writing their own 'personalised' area.
Remembering that with readings come great
responsibilities, the blank fob could also be used to
B9
record a specific name. This option I wcluld use with
great care and respect.
METHOD:
The above as I'm sure you will have already deducted
is dressing for Annemann's 'Seven Keys to Baldpate'.
difference, and allows them to make a difference.
They mal<e the decision and accept the consequences.
Please don't get hung up on proving the other keys
do not open the padlock - this is not a magic trick.
I

will assume the reader has their own preferred

method for this - gafFed lock, equivoque, lock or key
switch.
In addition to your method of choice you will need:-
B plastic key fobs

8 ring clips

A Chinagraph pencil or dry-wipe marker

VARIATION:
Rather than attaching the fobs to the padlock, the
fobs could be attached to the keys and the sitter
asked to focus on one specific area they are looking
to unlock potential in. They select the key with the
area attached and find that it unlocks the padlock.
A hole-punched business card can be used to record
names and can then be attached to the padlock. This
could give the reading more focus and allow the sitter
to see the association of the unlocking and the
breaking free from any ties.
Throughout I've made a point about using the above
responsibly, and I seriously hope people do not take
that lightly. For me the choosing of keys and the
unlocking of the padlock drives home to the sitter
that it is their own personal choice which makes the

90 9L

PSYG.HSC
PRAGWWWW@SVEP.{$:
Observations of a ParapsychologisUPsychic
Entertainer
Loyd Auerbach
I'll admit it: I'm in an odd place when it comes to
Mentalism, Magic and Parapsychology. My education
in Parapsychology certainly got started a few years
earlier than my involvement in the entertainment arts
(though I'd done some comedy in college). And other
than being a fan of Kreskin and Doug Henning, I was
introduced to Mentalism and Magic while studying in
the Graduate Parapsychology Program atJohn F.
Kennedy University outside of San Francisco in the
early 80s. [Note: the program ran until the late ]_980s,
when a combination of financial factors and university
politics - mainly the former - caused it to end.l
We were required to take a course called "The
Creation of lllusions" as part of our Master's program.
Taught by a local magician, the course was to
introduce fledgling parapsychologists to a variety of
methods of psychic frauds, mentalists and magicians
in order to be able to knowledgeably consider fraud
as potential explanation for psychic reports and to be
better able to consider a variety of issues for controls
in the laboratory.
It happened that I took to Magic, and ended up with
sort of a parallel career once I got out of grad school.
Always reading and keeping up on the latest in
Mentalism, I mainly performed comedy magic (close
92
tu
up ancl st.rrrrl r,rlt/platform) through the B0s. With the
urging of the late Marcello Truzzi, himself firmly
planted in the magic/Mentalism and parapsychology
communities, I switched to psychic entertainment in
the very early 1990s, establishing my performing
persona as "Professor Paranormal" - a title that has
carried over to my parapsychological work, thanks to
several media people in the early 2000s.
Throughout, I was also consulted regularly by my
parapsychologist colleagues about their experimental
controls and possible fraudulent psychics ("busting" a
few here and there, something I've done to this d"y).
Being immersed in the field of Parapsychology,
reviewing the evidence and the extensive (and
incredibly well-controlled) research on ESP and PK,
conducting my own research and extensive field
investigations, and knowing more than a bit about
psychic fraud, I found that my interest in psychic
experience was well supported. Yes, I saw fraud -
mainly in and about in the public, though occasional
"psychics" trying to fool researchers (and not
succeeding) - but I also saw the real thing.
More than that, I've worked with some genuine
psychics and mediums of extremely high caliber and
psychic functioning, in investigations, under
laboratory conditions, and in situations where they
applied their talents.
Several years ago, I wrote and presented a paper to a
Parapsychology Foundation conference on
mediumship in Charlottesville, VA, on what I've
learned about psychics and the commonalities of the
very best from working with some of the best over the
years. I've since presented the topic at several
parapsychological conferences, and had lots of
93
l'eeclbacl<frorn colleagues tlrat tlrcy, too, t,un(' Io
similar conclusions (but hadn't really rnacle a list).
As a psychic entertainer, I've had one advantage that
others do not have: I know the actual research, the
history, and findings of people studying psychic
abilities and experiences, and have conducted such
research and investigation myself. I've worked
extensively with several psychics over the years who
demonstrated ESP and PK abilities, and been able to
observe their behavior before, during, and after the
psychic displays.
ln other words, I know how a real psychic behaves
during readings, during apparent spirit
communication, while doing PK, while attempting
remote viewing, and more. Strangely, I've been
criticized by fellow mentalists on occasion when
performing for mimicking the real folks - apparently,
real psychics make it look too easy. You know, no
look of intense concentration, no long delays to get
the information or make something move or bend,
and no throbbing vein seen on the forehead!
All I can say is, whether you believe in "real" psychics
or not, watch some of them work.
Neal Scryer has asked me to pass along what I've
learned about the commonalities of the best psychics
- and when I say "best," yes I do to some extent mean
the most accurate (really, the ones who are accurate
most of the time).
But what's below is really about the more personal
commonalities of the psychics and mediums who
often seem impressive to people, and who work best
with researchers and investigators.
It is not my intention to discuss in this article how to
judge "how psychic" is a self-professed psychic,
psychic rrrt'rltulll, or medium. I'hat requires a separate
piece of its own. To my mind, choosing a psychic
practitioner to work with can be summed up in two
points: (a) how useful is the information provided by
the practitioner and (a) how useful is the practitioner.
As to the first, one can only judge the usefulness of
information within the context of the situation itself. I
have observed a number of psychic practitioners
provide information irrelevant to the situation. For
example, in working with them in investigations of
reported apparitions, hauntings and poltergeists, one
should look at more than the verifiability of the
information and consider how the information
explains, supports, or melds with the experiences of
the witnesses and information gathered in
researching the case. Much of the usefulness of a
psychic practitioner's information in the resolution of
cases rests with how that information is received and
accepted by the clients (and perhaps the discarnate
entity).
The usefulness of the psychic practitioner is often
related to how ego-involved the psychic is and his or
her interpersonal skills. A psychic should not be the
main focus of the investigation process or reading, as
that should remain the experiences of the clients.
Certainly while the focus in an experiment is on the
subject, it's the experiment itself that needs to be the
focus.
Many psychics and mediums seem to have a need to
be the center of attention, but if they are good at
communicating and working with people, they can
still be good team players. lt is those having a need to
be "right" who can be real problems to deal with,
especially when their perceptions are contradictory to
95
the experiences of the witnesses and to otlrt.r clata
collected, or to the results of an experiment.
The best practitioners to work with are those who
recognize that their psychic perceptions may be at
times incomplete, filtered through their own biases or
personal issues, symbolic, or even obtained from a
source different from the case at hand. They are
willing to take each perception and examine it for
both validity and relevance. They recognize that
others on the investigative or research team and
perhaps even witnesses in a case investigation, or the
client in a reading, may need clarification or may need
to fit the practitioner's perceptions into other parts of
the case or even disqualify them for lack of validity or
relevance. They do not become defensive if told that a
particular perception is incorrect, misinterpreted, or
misguided.
They realize that they may not be psychic in all
situations. For example, many mediums who spend
their time communicating with spirits are good when
it comes to apparition (ghost) cases, but lousy - even
totally "blind" - when it comes to reading living
people. Many psychics who can read people or
objects can't pick up anything in apparition cases.
They are willing to consider various non-paranormal
and non-spiritual explanations for events in a case or
experience and to consider fraud. They will follow
suggestions from the field researchers, especially
where focusing their perceptions to gain more or
different information is concerned. They will
participate with the investigators in trying to
understand the initial and subsequent factors that led
the clients to believe their building is haunted or to
an individual believing he/she had an intense psychic
experience. They are willing to discuss and consider
A.
their l)(,r( (,ptiorrs in light of the observations of the
other investigators. They are willing to let go of
ownership of their perceptions in discussion with the
investigators and witnesses.
They are willing to learn the perspective of the
researcher and field investigator, even to the point of
understanding good investigative and experimental
procedures. They may have their own personal
spiritual or religious beliefs, but they do not force
them into the cases or on others.
They consider the clients' needs above their own.
They have a sense of humor, especially with regards
to how seriously they take themselves.
Most of all, they have a real curiosity about their own
abilities, what their limits might be, how they do in
different situations and conditions, and how psi might
actually work.
The best psychics and mediums seem to work with
the investigators and the clients to set expectations
of success at a reasonable level. While they are able to
cite past successes, they are aware of their own
limitations and are honest about them.
The best seem to display many additional qualities
beyond their psychic talents. They have excellent
interpersonal skills, and because of that are confident
without being egotistical. lt has been said that
psychics often have great egos. This can be a plus if
the practitioner understands the place of a big ego
and is able to both freely admit this, and most
importantly to be humorous about it.
The best psychics and mediums generally display a
good sense of humor, especially about themselves.
They do take their work seriously, but because of
97
their maturity, they see the liglrter sitlt, ol lif t' .rs . Ar(, ( in rous about their own abilities, how they
extremely important. They actually enjoy watching worl<, ancl what their limits are
(good) psychic entertainers and magicians, unlil<e . Do not force their beliefs on others, even as they
many who don't fit the criteria of this article who stand by their own beliefs
voice objections to "making fun of" the paranormal.
. Put the clients first
Personally, I've always said I take my subject seriously
- but not myself. And I can have fun with it all. That . Don't claim to be right all (or even any particular
sums up the attitude of the best psychics and unverifiable percentage) of the time
mediums. . Display a good sense of humor, especially when
One special note: There are some very famous it comes to themselves
psychics out there who don't fit these commonalities. ln other words, good psychic practitioners have good
They've often bullied their way to the top, or used any people skills.
bit of mystery andlor fame andlor publicity to get Loyd Auerbach, M.S.
there and frankly, what I end up observing about their
psychic abilities (in my role as a parapsychologist) is Director, The Office of Paranormal lnvestigations
extremely unimpressive. But even if they were Professor, Atlantic University
incredibly psychic, I still wouldn't recommend people lnstructor, HCH lnstitute, Parapsychological Studies
to them because as people they leave much to be
desired. One of them is downright mean to people! Adjunct Professor, JFK University
To sum up, here's a list of the qualities I've found. I Rhine Research Center Board of Directors
encourage all mentalists/psychic entertainers to Forever Family Foundation Scientific Advisory Board
incorporate these into your performing persona, Windbridge lnstitute Advisory Board
naturally adapted to your own personality. The best
psychic practitioners Psychic Entertainers Association, Meeting of the
Minds Liaison
. Are confident without being egotistical (but still
have a healthy ego) www.mindreader.com
. Display good "people skills" (with the living and profparanormal@g mai l.com or
loyd. au e rbach@atl anticu n iv.ed u
the dead)
. Don't set expectations too high, and know their www. hy pn oth e rapytrai n i n g. co m / parapsyc h . cf m
own limitations and biases www. hau nted bychoco ate.co m
I

. Are still willing to learn (i.e. from a Visit my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/
parapsycholog i st/fi eld researcher) loyd.auerbach

98 99
 F!
evcrytlrrrrry tourld be cut, I would probably agree with
UP{'S, S'BX you. Why would they want to watch something you
would not fight to keep? lf your reaction is "that
&s\I lP{UU^tsS sounds like a really tough rule" then I totally agree
with you. lt is a constant but worthwhile battle. Start
f) Character - The only thing an unethical fighting.
performer cannot steal from you is your TRUE 6) Show Length - The perfect Mentalism
persona. Only you know how to be you. Only you will performance is one effect: the single perfect miracle
be able to naturally make the correct decisions, on for that audience at that very moment. Everything else
stage, under pressure, every time. is a compromise, so less is always better than more
2) Material - Here is a perfect way to choose your (see #5.) lf you tell me that you would have trouble
material: if anyone else is already performing it, booking a show that only had one miracle in it, I
don't. There is enough great material in print (and in would tell you that you were speaking from a place of
your imagination) for every mentalist to have his own fear and speculation, not a place of experience. And if
unique act. you think that a show like this is hard to book, I can
3) Audience - Treat your audience as if they were promise you that it is much harder to create than it is
family members or friends who you like. I am tough to sell after you have created it.
on family, friends and my audiences, but it comes '* Note that these are much more observations and
from a place of pushing them to do and be more - to suggestions than they are "rules" and that all six are
test their limits and expand beyond them. I am not actually lead until you try one and find it useful, at
rude, critical, and I do not talk down to them, lie to which time it will be transformed into gold.
them or feed them bullshit. My goal is their
entertainment produced through a process based in
uncertainty.
4) Disclaimers and other presentation - The rule is
"Show, Don't Tell." Do not bore them with your
nonsense about five senses creating the illusion of a
sixth, or that you can read their body language. lf you
perform the impossible in an entertaining way, trying
to understand "how" and "why" is part of the
theatrical experience for them. Let them enjoy this
personal journey.
5) How much and how long? - My tough standard
is "if it can be cut, it must be cut." lf your response is
that nothing can be cut, then you already have a
perfect show - congratulations. lf you think almost

100 101

l.
 RA[. TRAV$[..
Richard Webster
This is my outline for a tark r give on astrar traver.
You're welcome to use it if you wish. you'll see that it
contains audience involvement and a bit of humor,
both essential elements. r have also underlined the
key words that I use to remember the entire speech.
"lt's wonderfur to be here this evening with such an
enthusiastic and happy group. shortry we'il be doing
an astral travel, and that is why Im looking at you so
intently. I'm trying to work out who is here mentaily,
as well as physically, and who has already left on an
astral trip.
"There has been a rot of rubbish written and spoken
about astral travel. lt's something we can all do with
ease. ln fact, you've probably done it many times
without knowing it. you know, in that time when
you're about to drift off to sleep, it's very easy to float
away on an astral travel.
"Astral travel is simply the ability to leave your
physical body behind and go anywhere in the universe
you wish to. lt can be very useful. you can visit a
sick
friend in another continent. you can keep an eye on
your husband when he's off on a busin.rt trip. what
say' you've always wanted to see the Mona Lisa but
there's no way you can afford a trip to paris. All you
need do is sit back in a comfortable chair and asirar
travel there! You don't have to pay admission or visit
during normal visiting hours. you go when you want
to.
"Some of you may have read a bit about the subject.
There's certainly a huge literature out there. rf ylu're
1,O2
tf intcrt'rr.tl nr t.rlcing it further, probably the best bool<
to start wit"h is lourneys out-of-the_body by Robert
Monroe. Robert Monroe was an American
businessman who suddenly started astral traveling at
night. To begin with it was terrifying for him as he
had no control over it. Eventually, he was able to
harness the energies and astral travel when and
where he wanted.
"Tonight, we'll be doing a controlled experiment, so
there is no need for any alarm. I've got a warehouse
at home, and keep all the bodies of the people who
never came back from an astral travel there! No,
that's not true. Everyone has survived the experience
so far, and that makes it a great deal safer than going
to public school! Not only has everyone survived it,
everyone has thoroughly enjoyed it.
"My first astral traver occurred when r was about
twelve years old. r went to bed at my normal time and
fell asleep very easily. During the night I had what I
thought was a dream. ln my dream I left my physical
body behind. I remember rooking down at it from the
ceiling. Then I flew at the speed of light far, far away.
I remember looking down on large cities, admiring all
the lights. Then, suddenly, I felt a need to come back.
I returned instantly, but not to my room. I was
hovering beside a friend's house. He was a school
friend, who I hadn't seen for a while, as he'd been ill.
I saw him lying in bed, with a doctor sitting on the
bed beside him. My friend's parents were both in the
room and his mother was crying. My friend looked
very pale and ill. As I looked at the scene, my friend
opened his eyes and looked directly at me. r smiled at
him and he tried to smile back. The next instant r was
back in my bed, wide awake.
103
"l lool<ed at mywatch. ltwas 11..30 prrr. lr;ol out of
bed and went through to my parent's roon.r ancl wolce
them up. 'Sean's going to be all right,' I told them.
'Of course he is,' my mother replied. 'He's not that
ill.''Yes he is. The doctor's there right now.'lthen
told my parents the full story. 'l think you've had a
dream,' my father said. 'Go back to bed and try to get
to sleep.'
"l returned to my room and tried to fall asleep. lt was
hard as my mind was going over what had occurred.
Was it simply a dream, or had I somehow managed to
leave my body to visit my friend? At that time I hadn't
even heard of astral travel.
"The following morning I left for school early. On the
way I went to my friend's house. Sean's mother
opened the door.
"Oh, Richard,' she said with a smile. 'Sean was talking
about you last night.'
"ls he all right?' I asked.
"He's an awful lot better now, thanks. Would you like
to see him?'
"Sean was lying in bed, just as he'd been the previous
night.
"What did the doctor do?' I asked him.
"How did you know about the doctor?' Sean's mother
asked.
"He was here last night,' I said. 'About l-L.30.' I
described the doctor and Sean's mother went white.
"l told you he was here,' Sean said to her. 'You told
me I'd get better, didn't you?'
104
"l nLrclclctl,.rrrcl lclt as quicl<ly as lcould. I had a lot to
thinl< abclut. Sean did get better, and we're still
frie nd s.
"Have any of you had an experience lil<e that? lt
certainly gave me a lot to think about. After that, it
was years before I did another astral travel. The next
time I knew what I was doing and deliberately set out
to experiment with it.
"lt's not dangerous. I know a lot of the books say that
our astral bodies are connected to our physical bodies
by a long silver thread,_and that if this thread gets
broken we can never get back. That's an interesting
theory, but it's not correct. You can go safely
anywhere you want, at any time. I have read stories of
experienced astral travelers who deliberately looped
their silver cord around trees to anchor themselves so
they wouldn't suddenly slip back into their normal
physical body. There is no need for you to do
anything like that tonight.
"Astral travel is known by a variety of names. Astral
projection is one you may have heard of. Scientists
call astral travel out-of- the-body experiences.
Unfortunately, most scientists disregard it, so I
cannot give you a scientific explanation for it.
However, it appears to be universal. People from all
over the world at differing times in history have all
recorded their astral travels.
"For most people, it is something that happens
spontaneously and is quite unexpected. My first astral
travel was like that. People who are very sick often
astral travel. This could well be an explanation for the
people who almost die and have a near-death
experience. They invariably come back with a
completely new perspective on life. They might say
105
that they no longer havt: .rrry f c.lr ol clcath, f'or
instance, as they now l<now that death is not the end.
I'm sure you've read a number of reports of this sort
of thing in the papers.
"Stress can cause people to astral travel. lf someone
has been overworking and is under intense emotional
strain, he or she could go on a spontaneous astral
trip very easily.
"Finally, of course, we get the people who decide
quite deliberately that they're going to astral travel.
And that describes all of us here, doesn't it? lt looks
as if some of you are not too sure. I'm quite happy to
have a pause while you rewrite your wills.
"While you're thinking about it, I'll mention some of
Robert Monroe's findings. He found that some 95% of
the people who astral travel really enjoy the
experience. They find it joyful, uplifting and
inspirational. The remaining 5% find it frightening,
and this is only because they think - while it is
happening - that they are dying. Naturally, they all
belong to the group who have spontaneously gone off
on a trip, and not to the group who deliberately
decide to have one.
"One final thing. lf you look at yourself during the
astral travel, you'll find that you'll look young.
beautiful and perfect. No matter what life has done to
you, in an astral travel you are physically perfect in
every way. And that's another good reason to take the
trip!
"You're going to have a great time. Before we start,
think about where you're going to go. You might want
to see what your husbands are doing right now. You
might want to go home and see if everything is fine
there. You could visit a friend or relative. You might
t"
visit tltt, l.t1 Mahal. Could I suggest that you go
samewher_e that vou can checl< on later. For instance,
if you visited your mother and found that she was
having a cup of tea with her next door neighbour, you
could confirm this. lf you visited the Taj Mahal, on the
other hand, it would be a bit harder to prove that you
had actually been there.
"To start the astral travel, we're going to go through a
relaxation exercise. I'll get you to close your eyes and
listen to some rather spooky music, while I talk. When
I feel you're ready I'll ask you to leave your body and
travel." (l use a CD of New Age music. Anything that is
relaxing will do. Avoid tapes that have sounds of
water, though. They tend to make people want to go
to the bathroom.)
"Now, this is important. Some of you will return
sooner than others. When you come back, just sit
quietly for a few moments before you open your eyes,
and then stay quiet until everyone is back. That way,
we can ensure that the experience is joyful for
everyone.
"Are there any questions before we start?
"Good. Now make yourselves as comfortable as you
can. Place your feet flat on the floor and rest your
hands in your lap. Take a nice big breath in and just
close your eyes as you exhale.
"Concentrate on relaxing. Let a wave a relaxation drift
right through your entire body. And take another
deep breath, and let it out slowly. lt's so pleasant to
relax so peacefully. With each breath you take you'll
relax more and more. Nothing need disturb or bother
you. Just relax.
"Allow your toes to relax. Let that pleasant relaxation
drift into your feet and ankles. Feel them relax. Now
LO7
let the relaxation drift up into your c.llv('s .tncl l<nees.
Let it flow into your thighs and up, ull into your
abdomen, as you relax more than you ever have
before. You now feel so relaxed, so peaceful and so
comfortable. You're going to relax more and more
with every breath you take. My voice makes you relax.
"Feel the relaxation moving into your chest. lnto your
shoulders and down each arm to the tips of your
fingers. Your fingers might tingle a little. lt's just the
relaxation happening. Now let the relaxation drift up
into your neck and face. Feel your eyes relax. The
muscles around your eyes are relaxing twice as much
as the rest of your body.
"You feel so calm, so relaxed and so contented. Just
drifting down, down, down into your own pleasant
world of relaxation and comfort. Nothing need
disturb or bother you. And in this nice calm, peaceful
place you're becoming more and more in tune with
your inner mind. Your inner mind can enable you to
do anything you want. Anything at all is possible. You
can direct your inner mind to make any changes you
want in your life. All you need do is relax yourself,
just as you are now, and speak directly to your inner
conscious mind.
"Tonight we're going to ask our inner mind to take us
away on an astral trip. ln this nice, calm, peaceful
relaxed state our inner mind will take us anywhere we
want to go. We are still relaxing more and more with
each easy breath. Our relaxation is so soothing and
pleasant, and we're enjoying going deeper and deeper
into this wonderful relaxation.
"ln our mind's eye, we're selecting where we want to
go. ln a few moments we'll be leaving our physical
bodies behind and traveling through time and space
108
\
to vrsrt orrr sclccted location. ln this relaxed state,
anything is possible. We can do anything we want.
And now it is time for us to leave on our trip.
"We feel safe, secure and happy. We want to enjoy
this fabulous experience. So now, all together on the
count of three, take a big breath. One, two, three, big
breath in. Hold it, hold it, hold it, and now let it out
slowly.
"That's good. That's very good. Now, we'll take
another deep breath, again on the count of three.
One, two, three, big breath in. Hold it, hold it, and let
it out slowly.
"Very good. Now we'll do this one last time, but this
time when you exhale give an extra little puff at the
end, and allow yourself to leave your body behind.
You'll find yourself above your body looking down on
yourself. Then, as soon as you feel comfortable, you
will leave to visit the place you decided on.
"All ready? All breathing in on the count of three. One,
two, three, inhale. Hold the breath, hold it, and let it
out slowly. Give an extra puff at the end and let
yourself go. Have a great trip!"
I sit down and relax while they're enjoying their trip. I
keep half an eye on what everyone is doing. I smile at
the people who have come back early (or maybe
didn't go at all). When about half the audience have
returned, I turn the music up loud for a few seconds
and then turn it off. This encourages several more to
return. After about another minute, I return to the
microphone and start talking.
"Well, most of you are back now," I say very quietly
and gently. "ln the next few moments the rest of you
will return as well. No matter what you're doing, you'll
come back now. You can astral travel again any time
109
you wish. Coming bacl< now, cornirrq ll.rcl<. lh"rt's thern wrtll .rcLOunts of their exciting astral travels.
right, coming back, sitting comfortably in your chair, Also, at the end, ltell them that the more times they
eyes opening whenever you wish." practice it, the easier it will become.
It is rare for anyone to still have their eyes closed by Finally, before you do this for a group, experiment on
the time I finish this. lf they do, I'll repeat the yourself. Make a tape of my script, relax somewhere
previous paragraph in a more authoritative way, and try it. You're unlikely to astral travel, but you'll
almost ordering them back. have an interesting and enjoyable time. Also, - more
Once everyone is back I ask for comments. With some importantly - you'll know what your customers are
groups everyone wants to speak; others are more going to experience.
reticent. This article was originally published in Ladies Nights
"Did you get where you wanted to go?" I ask. "Did you by Richard Webster (Brookfield Press, L994).
see something that you can verify later on? Did you
enjoy it?"
After several people have had their say, I continue.
"l'm pleased you enjoyed your first astral travel. Now
you've done it once, you'll be able to do it again any
time you like. lf you didn't succeed this time, don't
worry. lt's easier to do it by yourself, rather than in a
room full of people. Simply keep practicing, and in
time you'll be traveling anywhere you wish. To go on
a trip, just sit down comfortably somewhere, close
your eyes, and allow all of your muscles to relax.
Now, it's hard for many people to relax like that all by
themselves. lf that describes you, you should get
yourself a relaxation CD. You can buy them at many
places - new age shops, for instance. I think I have
one or two with me tonight. Once you're fully relaxed,
take three deep breaths and let yourself leave your
body after the third one. Who knows, we may meet up
sometime on the astral plane when we're both taking
a trip!"
Naturally, not everyone will go off on a trip. This
doesn't matter. They'll blame themselves for the
failure, not you, as their friends will be busy regaling

110 111
 il'
u'iH.g J(0HS1 IL8,HTN,,O enrlrloyrrrr,lrt in the future, I smiled and nodded
enth us iastically.
SJ.gASVG.g "Happy to do whatever I can," I said. My intuition
screamed out - Be Careful - You don't know what
W M. Barclay you're about to step in. I had ignored my instincts
before and wound up regretting it. The possibility of
work on a big show trumped that feeling. I kept
smiling.
The Producer grinned back. "Look, I've this party for
some Big Shots coming up and I want to do
something very different. Something they've never
seen before. How about a S6ance? You know all about
that spook crap."
Spook crap? I had done readings and a spirit message
once before at a Christmas party I'd been invited to at
the Producer's Central Park West penthouse
apartment. Something to break the ice with a number
of people I hadn't met before. lt was more successful
than I ever expected it to be. The Producer's wife was
very taken with it. I guess she had been working on
the old boy.
"Sounds like fun. I think I can help you. When is this
Part One: THE SEANCE party and where?"
"My place. Next month."
1. THE BEGINNING Not a lot of time, but possible. The wheels began
turning in my head. Possibilities began to take shape.
It would have to be theatrical given this crowd.
You're into weird stuff. I could use your help.,' Something with a big finish. I started grinning.
Weird StufP I wasn't sure whether this was a "OK. Let's go for it. I'd like to stop by your apartment
compliment or an insult. Since the speaker was a to look for the best place to stage this and go over
well-known Theatrical producer I had worked with some details. Looks like we're in the S6ance
before and one who might provide some lucrative bus iness !"

Lt2 113
"Creat" said the Proclucer. "Comc ov('t orr S.rtur"clay.
the way, what spirit will we be contacting/
I had no idea, but I started to blurt out a name
anyway. lt just came out of nowhere before I could
give it any serious thought.
'John Lennon."
I could hear my intuition smirking. Yes, you just
stepped in it. Told you so.
2. PREPARATION AND LOCATION
Now that I had committed myself, I had to move fast.
First, I had to have an idea what was physically
possible and what was not. Next, I wanted something
that was guaranteed to work without risk of
mechanical failure and always under my immediate
control. And last, it had to build to a finish that would
make everyone jump out of their seats.
And all this in less than a month.
On Saturday, I met the Producer at his apartment on
Central Park West. lt was a two-story duplex
penthouse that was larger than the suburban house I
grew up in. The entry foyer (which was lined with
posters of all the shows he had produced in New
York) opened up to an enormous living room with
windows that faced the park. lt was big enough to
hold three separate seating arrangements, a baby
grand piano and a Monet. There were pairs of sliding
pocket doors at opposite ends of the room. One set
of doors led to a paneled library that also served as a
private conference room. lt was dominated by
beautifully carved partners desk and a pair of leather
couches. The other set of doors led to a dining room
t14
By witlr a t,rlrlt, that could be extended to seat twelve
guests. Windows on two walls of that room
overlooked the park and a side street. Another door
lead to the kitchen, pantry, and what in bygone days
would've been called the maid's room.
I learned that there would be ten for dinner. Eight
guests plus the Producer and his wife. We discussed
some ideas in general terms and decided our event
would begin in the living room following dinner. We
would then move back into the dining room for the
actual seance. The library was ruled out as a
possibility. Given the number of windows, it was
unlikely I'd be permitted to mask all of them out for a
full blackout. On top of that, the views were the
apartment's strongest feature so I knew better than to
even bring up the subject. This was going to be a
low-light seance.
I had brought a few things with me to test out in the
dining room. When the Producer went off to make a
phone call, I pulled out my gear and tried the effect I
had hoped to build the entire s6ance around.
Fortunately, it worked like a charm.
I was packing up when he returned and gave him the
good news. The s6ance was going to work!
I still had to work out one major prop and memorize
everything I could learn aboutJohn Lennon. lt was
going to be a busy month.
ln a few days, I had collected a stack of books on the
Beatles and the life of John Lennon. There are literally
hundreds of these biographies, far too many to read
them all. lsettled for six or seven. Since lhad grown
up with Beatles' music, this wound up being an
enjoyable chore. While I was reading, I played a
continuous soundtrack of Lennon music all day long.
115
 Fi
My job was to soal< up as much ol'J<llrrr's s;ririt as I
could in the time I had. Ah, the sacrifices we mal<e for
our art.
I hunted down a sand pendulum in a Creenwich
Village new age shop and easily adapted it into the
centerpiece of the s6ance performance. More about
that later on.
Everything was starting to come together.
3. PARry ON!
The night of the S6ance, I arrived by the rear door in
the kitchen and retreated to the maid's room to wait
for my introduction. The party sounded quite lively
from where I was situated.
Four couples had joined the Producer and his wife for
the evening. They were all established figures in show
business and journalism. Not major names you'd see
onstage or onscreen, but influential people who made
things happen. Not the easiest crowd to impress.
Everyone had arrived at 7:00 PM for cocktails. Dinner,
along with several bottles of fine wine, was served at
8 o'clock. The guests relocated to the living room
afterwards for coffee and after-dinner drinks. By then,
no one was feeling any pain.
I had anticipated a drinking crowd (well, perhaps not
this much...) so everything I planned was going to be
simple and easy to follow.
The host introduced me. I explained that in addition
to my work in the theatre I was a student of the
paranormal, and had some success with connecting
to those who had passed over.
116
"Tonir.;lrt, I was invited to conduct a seance. We are
going to try to connect with the spirit of John
Lennon."
As if on cue, most heads turned toward the window.
The Dakota, the historic apartment building where
John had lived, was only two blocks away. Lennon was
gunned down steps from the entrance on December
8, 1980. A few guests glanced at the Producer to see
if this was a gag or not. Playing his part, he nodded
seriously.
I could tell from the expressions of the guest's faces
which ones were the believers, the skeptics, and
those simply looking to have a good time.
"The success or failure of this attempt will rest with
yoU," I continued. "We need to focus our collective
energy if we are going to make a connection. Let's
see if we can strengthen our rapport with a few
simple tests." I reached down, picked up a small
doctor's bag, and put it on the coffee table. Opening
the satchel, I took a dramatic pause. "This won't hurt
a bit."
From the bag, I removed five boxes of Zener ESP
cards. Opening one card case, I removed and showed
the cards. Five symbols repeated five times. I gave the
cards to one of the guests to shuffle.
"What we are going to try to do is have one person be
a Sender and the other a Receiver. The Sender will
concentrate on the card and try to project the symbol
to the Receiver. The Receiver will try to tune in and
connect with the projected symbol. Give it an honest
shot. You'll be surprised."
I had the guest pick one card from the shuffled pack
and hold it up. "Stare at that symbol. Really lock into
your mind. Now stare right here." I pointed at a spot
r17
in the center of my forehead just abovc the eyebrows.
"Project that image straight into my brain.
Concentrate.
"l'm getting a Square. Let's see how we did."
The guest sighed and shook his head, then turned the
card around and grinned. lt was a Square. Everyone
laughed. I handed out the other packs of cards and
had the guests pair up. Each person took a turn as a
Sender and Receiver. Some people did very well,
others less so but they had fun trying and joking with
each other about their successes or failures. lt took a
little while to get everyone focused. As one couple or
another had success, the others made a more
concerted effort. There's nothing like a room full of
Alphas to get the competitive spirit going in high
gear.
"l think our rapport is improving so it's time to turn it
up a notch and try something a bit more difficult." I
reached into the doctor's bag and brought out a stack
of envelopes. "Contained in these envelopes is one of
the oldest tools of divination. lt's something that taps
into our subconscious to channel our intuitive
abilities."
I handed an envelope to each guest.
Inside was a pendulum consisting of a l-" steel hex
nut tied to a length of white cotton string. The string
had a small loop tied with a double knot on the
opposite end. I held up an extra pendulum to
demonstrate. "Rest your elbow on the table and
extend your arm at a 45 degree angle. Now hold the
knotted part of the string between the thumb and
forefinger like this and let the weight hang down
motionless. lf it's moving around too much, try to
steady the hex nut with your other hand until it hangs
118
straig;lrt rkrwrr without any movement." This was
easier said than done with a drinl<ing crowd but we
settled down with varying degrees of success.
"Now using your mind only, think of moving the
pendulum weight left to right. Concentrate! See it
moving. Left to right. Left to right."
One by one the pendulums began to swing. One or
two began to move in wide arcs. The rest made
subtler movements but all were in a left-right
straight-line motion. Everyone was giggling or
laughing, as the pendulums seem to take on a life of
their own.
I told everyone to make their pendulum stop moving,
again using only the power of their minds. One by
one they slowed and stopped. (Actually all but one
stopped and that one reduced its swinging by a great
deal.) Then I suggested we try to make the
pendulums travel in a circular motion this time. Soon
they were all swinging in clockwise circles.
We went through a series of pendulum tests to
determine movement patterns for Yes and No
answers. Some people thought of a question silently
and had the pendulum answer it. Others were bold
enough to ask out loud.
"Am I going to make any money on that new musical
I'm producing in the spring?"
Everyone leaned in to watch the pendulum's answer.
"Uh-oh. Doesn't look too good ..."
"Aw that's not much of a prophecy. You usually lose
money on the musicals you produce!"
I could seeit was time to draw the group in before
conversations splintered off. I selected the person
with the most active pendulum. In this case it was the
1L9
Producer's wife. (Civen who was 'footing the bill this
was not a surprise.) Reaching into my pocl<et for a
handful of change, I selected a quarter and placed it
in her free hand, closing her fingers around the coin,
and turning her closed hand palm down.
"Put the pendulum directly over your closed hand.
Visualize it moving back and forth, back and forth.
With each movement of the pendulum, feel that coin
drawing in energy. lt's growing warmer. Absorbing
more and more energy. Everybody! Cather around her
in a circle. Hold out your right hand. Flat, palm down.
Focus your energy like the beam of a laser. Send that
energy into her hand and into that coin. See the
pendulum is swinging faster and faster. Can you feel
that energy pulsing? Can you feel that energy
blasting away at the quarter? Concentrate!"
I stepped back and relaxed my body. As if on cue, the
pendulum began to slow down. Everyone in the group
took a deep breath and waited. Nonverbal cues can be
as effective as words.
"slowly turn your hand over and open your fingers," I
said. The Producer's wife cautiously opened her fist.
The quarter was visibly bent in a shallow arc. She just
stared at it. One of the others finally broke the
silence. "That...is...freaky," he whispered.
"You folks are pretty good at this stuff. I've never
seen a group of beginners pull off this much. Clearly
we have the right group of people here tonight. I
think it's time to attempt to make contact."
120
4. LLNNON CALLING
We returned to the dining room where the table had
been cleared and set up for the s6ance. Four small
votive candles in red glass holders arranged in a large
square on the dining table lighted the room. Midway
between each pair of candles was blue glass votive
holder half filled with "blessed" water. A Bose
portable SoundDock connected to an iPod and a
framed 5X7 photo of John Lennon sat on the
sideboard that was otherwise clear of all objects. The
drapes on the windows had been drawn. The lighting
was dim but not fully dark.
ln the center of this arrangement of votive holders sat
my modified sand pendulum. The pendulum rig had
been removed leaving only the armature and hanging
hardware. The base held no sand. A small tinted
Moroccan tea glass with a delicate gold Moorish
design sat in the center of the base.
I led the way, carrying my small doctor's bag and sat
at the head of the table, directly behind the sand
pendulum. The others took their chairs on three sides
of the dining table. The Producer entered last, closed
the doors to the living room, and took his seat. The
abrupt shift from the brightly lit living room to the
dim flickering light of the dining room had an impact
on the group who quieted down and turned their
attention towards me.
"Tonight we will try to make contact with the spirit of
John Lennon. When the Beatles broke up, John wanted
to go far away from the world he knew so he and
Yoko moved to New York City. They settled in the
Dakota apartment building a few blocks away in
L973. John loved his new neighborhood and could be
t2t
spotted reading in Central Parl<, errjoyirrc; a slicc of
pizza on 7Znd Street, or having a glass ol' mint tea at
Caf6 Marrakesh on a quiet side street a few blocl<s
away from here.
"ln fact, when Caf6 Marrakesh closed years after
Lennon's death, I purchased one of their tea glasses.
Perhaps John drank from this very glass." I lifted the
glass from the base and tilted it above one of the
candles. The gold etching sparkled in the light' "We'll
try to use this glass to make our connection to John
Lennon."
I asked the Producer's wife to let me borrow her
pendulum, which was the most responsive one of the
evening. Using the loop at one end, I hooked the
string on the top of the Sand Pendulum armature, and
let the hex nut dangle down inside the tea glass, less
than an inch from the bottom.
"This isn't a Spook Show here tonight. We have
assembled to reach out to a soul who has crossed
over. We've established strong group energy, but
that's no guarantee that we will make contact. I'll
need you to follow some basic rules if we are going to
succeed.
"First, remove any cell phone, pager or electronic
device that you might have on your person. Take it
out and put it on the table. Now open it and turn it
off. Not just silencing the ringer, turn it completely
off. We cannot allow any electronic interference at a
critical moment.
"Next, keep your feet flat on the floor, and your hands
resting on the table. When I ask you to join hands,
please do so. We will need to create a chain of energy'
The people on the ends will need to keep their free
hand in contact with the table at all times. Under no
LZ2
circullr.,t.ur(,c5 should anyone breal< the chain or get
out of their chair no matter what happens."
There was nervous laughter around the room. One
guest cracked a joke about needing a change of
underwear.
I smiled. "You might experience a sudden change of
temperature, a tingling on the back of your neck or
even the sensation of someone standing close behind
you. On rare occasions you might notice a faint glow
around others in the s6ance circle or the movement of
a shadow in your peripheral vision. Do not worry.
Nothing can harm you if you maintain the chain of
energy.
"ln the 1-9th century, s6ance sitters began by singing
hymns. Tonight we'll begin with a different sort of
hymn. Please relax, take a deep breath and let it
slowly out."
I reached down to the doctor's bag that was resting at
the side of my chair, removed a remote control for
the sound system, and pressed the switch. The iPod
lit up and began to play. The sound of piano chords
softly filled the room.
lmagine there's no heaven....
It was the voice of John Lennon singing "lmagine"
from the 197L album. To people of a certain
generation, it's an anthem. Those who grew up
listening to the Beatles, and later the music of
Lennon, McCartney and Harrison will have a strong
emotional connection with this song. lt brings back
memories of youthful idealism, peace and love.
I could see this group was of that generation. Their
bodies relaxed and they silently drifted inward with
memories of more innocent times. The lyrics wove a
t23
 spell of dreams and peace and posslbllltles.
Even if DINC.
they hadn't heardthe song for years,
the words were
instantry familiar. Two of ih" *orun "Thank you for joining us.... Are you at peace where
crosed their eyes
and silently mouthed the lyrics. you are?
you may say I'm a dreamer.... DING.
The song ended. "prease join hands,,, "ls there any sadness or suffering?"
"Tlkg a deep breath in through your said softry.
r
nose. Slowly DrNC.....DtNG....
exhale through your mouth. Again.
Another deep "Are you alone?"
breath..."
(Long pause.) ....D1NG.....D1NG....
waited a long beat, and then spoke.
I
"we have gathered tonight to reach One of the guests whispered, "Has he run into George
out to the spirit of Harrison?" Everyone chuckled.
John Lennon. John, if you are here, can you give
sign?" us a I spoke up.'John... Have you been in contact with
Ceorge?"
Silence. We waited and focused on
the flickering (Right away.) DING.
candles and the pendulum. Nothing
'John? Can you give us a sign? We The others began asking questions. Cautiously at
want to speak with
you this evening. We come
*itf, peace and love. first, then as the group relaxed the questions became
Please give us a sign." rapid fire. I channeled the communication, selecting
Still nothing. Everyone remained motionless. only a few of all the questions that were asked. lt was
not to break the spell. Careful clear that the questions had to transmit through me
alone. After two or three, there was silence as though
'l.ohn..- (louder) lf you are with us the connection had been broken.
tonight, give us a
sign..."
'John... John, are you still there?"
Slowly, barely perceptibly, the pendulum
string began (Very long pause.) ......Din9.... (faintly.)
to move. The hex nut swayed back and
forth ,-nril ia 'John, I think our connection is getting weaker. Will
struck the side of the glass just once.
Just like a bell. you try to answer one last question if you can?"
DING.
(Very faint.) ....Din9....
I pulled my hands together, almost
in a prayer
gesture, making sure r wasn't I looked around the room, glancing at faces of those
touching itr. iior" in
any way. who asked questions that hadn't been answered. I
picked the toughest, strangest question of the bunch.
'John... John, if that's you, please ring
once for ,yes,
and twice for ,No.' Do you understand?,, 'John, did you have a premonition that you would be
shot on that winter evening in 1980?"

124 L25
 T
(Long pause) Silence.
"...John?"
The pendulum was still for a long moment. Slowly it
began to swing.
...DlNG. (Very long pause.) Then again: ...D1NC...
Everyone exchanged glances and stared at the
pendulum and the glass. The pendulum kept
swinging.
DINC....DING...DING, DING, DING!
Suddenly, the iPod lit up and the SoundDock burst out
at top volume.
MAMA DON'T GO....
Words and cries of the Lennon song "Mother" filled
the room. Lyrics borne from John's sessions of Primal
Scream Therapy with ArthurJanov in the l-970's. The
agonized screams of childhood pain and loss made it Parl2= METHODS
one of the most personal and powerful of Lennon's
solo work. The vocal was chilling. Frightening. Raw.
1. Beginning Thoughts
I reached for the remote on the table and shut off the
This piece actually evolved as I've described it.
sound system. The room was silent for a long time. Different aspects of it are not my original creations
The guests exchanged glances but no one wanted to
but were freely adapted from multiple sources to suit
speak first. I slowly leaned forward to blow out the
this particular performance. Nothing described here
candles.
was an over-the-counter commercial item.
"The s6ance is over."
Some basic observations. I've never had a situation
Just then, the framed portrait of John tipped over and performing a seance in a private home that offered
fell off the sideboard with a crash. The s6ance was the opportunity for a full blackout. Living in New York
definitely over. City where wealthy clients reside in luxury apartments
or private brownstones, there is little interest in
blocking out all the windows, sealing off all cracks
and disabling the every tiny source of light from
smoke detectors to security systems to audio-video
controls. Your client has probably spent a fortune to

1,26 L27
achieve a sophisticated lool< for their honre. The last
thing they want is you taping up cardboard and
opaque plastic sheeting around all their window
frames and doorsills.
I did design one s6ance that was performed in a
commercial theatre where we did have complete
control and could achieve a full IOO% blackout. That
possibility has never been the case for me with a
private party. (lf you find that you can get a true
blackout, grab the opportunity. There's much you can
do in pitch darkness.) My experience has taught me
not to expect a blackout and to prepare for effects
that don't require absolute darkness.
Another thing I've learned is that you are considered
to be only one part of a full evening's experience.
While you are hopefully the highlight of the evening,
this party does not revolve around you. Expect to
have very limited time to pre-rig the performance
space or arrange for anything that is time consuming.
The person writing your check has bigger concerns
than giving you unlimited access to his home. Plan
accordingly and travel light.
I knew this much going into this performance. Being
familiar with the client gave me the advantage of
knowing his temperament and his expectations. I was
familiar with the apartment so I also had some basic
ideas about what I could accomplish.
2. The Lioht S6ance
My seances have always been constructed in two
parts. The first part is the "Light S6ance." lt is built
around the goal of getting audience participation and
building group rapport. You gradually build up your
group's belief that unusual things are possible. I
L28
believc it should be limited to three or four effects at
most.
Unlike a magic show where the performer
demonstrates amazing skills, I prefer in this situation
to always put the focus of the audience members.
Teach them to be amazing. Let them do the unusual
and empower them to consider they might actually be
able to achieve the impossible and communicate with
the dead.
I start with an ESP test. I want something that gets
everybody involved right away so I bring multiple
decks of Zener testing cards. I carry enough to pair
up every guest. I bought mine through the Rhine
Research Center at Duke University in Durham, North
Carolina. (www.rhinecenter.orgi" There are multiple
sources for ESP testing cards these days. Some cards
have marked backs and are available through magic
dealers. I prefer the original Zener cards because the
card case looks real and not like a magic trick.
Whichever you choose, please avoid any card that has
a standard Bicycle back. You don't want any hint that
this could be a card trick.
I have marked several decks with my own system. I
had some leftover white transfer Iettering from a
project I worked on years ago. The font was Arial
Black, a bold square typeface. By rubbing a small
corner of a single letter to the outside border of the
card back, I could put a tiny V-shape "nick" in white
along the top left, top right, upper left side and upper
right side of the background pattern. The mark is
small but visible from a decent distance and is one I
can easily spot. Frankly that's what I came up with
using stuff I had lying around. You can invent your
own system or buy a commercially marked deck.
L29
The basic concept for this experirllent came from an
old paperbacl< bool< I found in a thrift store. lt is
Psychic and Other ESP Party Cames by David Hoy
(Funk & Wagnalls, 1965.) Even though Hoy was a
mentalist, he wrote this book for laymen.
It teaches various games based on sending and
receiving thoughts using playing cards, dice, words
from books, or hand drawn doodles. Party guests try
it for real! There is no trickery involved. (l guess in the
Sixties, ESP games were an alternative to playing
Charades or Spin The Bottle.) These parlor games are
a playful variation of the experiments testing extra
sensory perception at the Rhine lnstitute.
I know you are thinking - Where the hell is any magic
in that? Exactly. There isn't any. You are doing this for
real. Try it. You'll surprise yourself.
The purpose of this first phase is to get the guests
involved in the concept of projecting and receiving
thoughts. lt's all about them making mental
connections. lt is not about showing how clever you
(the medium) are. Let them play. By handing out
multiple decks, you are increasing your chances that
at least one couple will connect with the right guess
at any point. With four, five, or six couples at work
you are statistically increasing the chances for getting
hits. Use this to build excitement.
Think of yourself as a TV game show host and your
guests as contestants. Pump up their enthusiasm and
get them to work faster and faster.
Why then, you are wondering, do you need marked
cards? Truthfully, you don't absolutely need any
marks. (Hoy suggested using a standard deck of
playing cards.) For me it was a choice because it
offered flexibility to try other things if I found the
130
group w;rs not getting pumped up with the ESP test. I
could worl< with one guest and try matching pairs of
Zener cards. (There are many versions of this test. My
personal favorite is from Doug Dyment's Mindsights.)
Later, I could have another guest select one symbol
and have them locate it with their pendulum over a
table full of face down cards. Of course, I'd be
interpreting the movement of the pendulum and
leading them to the correct marked card. (Docc
Hilford performs a terrific variation of this as a
Living-Dead Test with business cards in his The Vault
DVD.) My point is to leave you options. lf one thing
doesn't get the crowd excited, you have the tools
available to move quickly to something else. In the
case of this performance, I was prepared to do either
or both of these effects if needed. I did not need
them.
I did use the marked back to "receive" the projected
symbol when we first began working with the decks.
It seemed like a good idea to demonstrate once how
we were going to conduct our "test." Remember these
guests had enjoyed several rounds of cocktails. lt
had to be clear and simple to understand. And it was
never about me getting the hit. I put all the success
on the Sender's ability to project a thought.
Next, we moved to pendulums. I made my own
cheaply because they were disposable and were given
away during the performance. I also wanted
something so simple in appearance that everyone
would be convinced that it was not gimmicked in any
way. Every guest got to work with a pendulum and
become familiar with it. By the time one was selected
for the Dark Seance, it was simply a tool. There was
nothing suspect about it.
L3L
Much has been written about pendulums in recent
years. They've become very popular once more. There
is such a wealth of available published material and
videos that it's hardly worth detailing the use of the
pendulum. Basically, it is a demonstration of the
ideomotor effect. This can be defined as a physical
gesture that is prompted by a subconscious response
to a stimulus. That stimulus can be as simple as a
verbal instruction ("The pendulum will begin to move.
See it moving. Concentrate. Look, it's starting to
move!") lt's the basis of hypnotic suggestibility and
NLP. The effects of automatic writing, dowsing, and
Ouija boards have been attributed to this
phenomenon.
For the purposes of the seance performance, we use
the pendulums to increase suggestibility and
compliance. Once the spectator believes the
pendulum has a power of its own, you lead them to
decide one movement pattern that means ,yes' and
another that means 'No.' You can tell a lot about your
participant by the kind of question he or she asks, as
well as how much movement their pendulum
produces. Typically, I say a straight to and fro pattern
(picture 12 o'clock to six o'clock if the clock face was
on the table) means 'Yes" since it resembles nodding
yes, up and down. A left to right pattern (three to
nine o'clock) represents 'No' since it resembles
shaking your head, no. A circular pattern means
unknown or undecided.
lndividual guests get to decide for themselves, but
most follow my suggestion.
When it comes to answering their own questions, you
are tapping into their subconscious hopes and fears.
They project their own answers of what they think will
r32
ha;r;ren. lt's part of the foundation of Rogerian
Therapy and is powerful stuff indeed.
For a more detailed look at pendulum work, I would
suggest reading two books by Richard Webster:
Pendulum Power for the Psychic Entertainer (L990)
and Pendulum Magic for Beginners (2002). The first is
one of the best books for the paranormal performer.
The latter book is a shuteye instruction book, and is
equally valuable for its insights and many variations
in uses of the pendulum.
One of my concerns that evening was maintaining
control of ten well-lubricated guests all playing with
individual pendulums. There was a danger of their
attention splintering off and losing the group focus.
That is why I brought things back together with the
final coin bend effect. lwanted to finish this part of
the Light S6ance with a physical manifestation and
reinforce the power of the group's collective energy.
I'm not much of a coin magic guy so my method was
fairly basic. I searched my pockets with both hands.
ln my right pocket I finger palmed a pre-bent quarter.
I carried some change in my left pocket and scooped
up a small handful of six or seven various coins with
my left hand. Then I poked around the loose change
with my right forefinger and pretended to pick out a
quarter. ln fact, I never picked up any coin from the
left palm; I simply slid the bent quarter between my
thumb and forefinger, which concealed most of the
coin. (lt feels like a billet move with a 25-cent piece
to me. See, I'm definitely not a coin guy.) I returned
the change in my left hand to my pocket as I
instructed the Producer's wife to open her hand.
When I put the coin in her palm, I used my free left
hand to help close her fingers and block any view of
the bent quarter. I turned her hand over so that it was
L33
 palm down. This prevented her from opening her
closed hand and exposing the coin and also showed
both of my hands as empty.
Now it was a matter of getting the group to focus
their energy on the coin. I used the same sort of
induction that was used for the pendulums,
reinforcing that the coin was absorbing the group's
energy and growing warmer. you get more excited
and enthusiastic that it is really happening and it
carries over to the others. They become convinced
they feel it too. The reveal is simple and powerful. I
always leave the coin as a souvenir.
Now we are ready to move to the second phase.
3. The Dark S6ance
Now that we've established we can do the impossible,
it's time for the "Dark Seance." ln this section, we
move to a dimly lit room and communicate with the
spirit world. There are as many different types of
s6ances as there are seance performers. Some
produce physical manifestations; others channel
voices or produce written messages. ln my case, I was
working alone and avoided any physical effects that
might typically require an assistant (hidden or a
stooge.)
I don't consider myself proficient at accents and ruled
out channeling messages in an obviously phony
dialect. Any form of spirit communication is still
something powerful. The slightest manifestation
performed dramatically still would be miraculous. I
decided to limit contact sparingly using the pendulum
r.34
and the glass as a sort of "spirit bell." The old adage
"Less is More" is never more true than in a seance.
To begin, it is a powerful gesture to move from a
well-lit room to a dark space lighted only by a few
flickering candles. I used 4 votive candles because I
want the spectators to see the pendulum and tea
glass. Surrounding the sand pendulum rig on all sides
assures this. luse tinted glass votive holders to give a
red glow to the surroundings. I set up all the props in
the dining room once the doors were closed and the
table was cleared. The candles were lighted before I
was introduced in the living room, so don't be
tempted to use cheap votive candles that might burn
out early. I don't take any chances and buy lO-hour
unscented votive candles online.
4. The Pendulum Rig
The sand pendulum rig is easily available through
new age shops or online stores like Amazon.com.
Mine was made by a company called Grand lllusions
and had a cherry finish. lt is a simple device
consisting of a circular base, an angled wooden arm,
a brass balancing piece that collars the top of the
wooden arm, and a pendulum composed of a rigid
rod with a pointed weight on the bottom. The
pendulum hooks onto the balancing piece and the
pointed weight when tipped and released makes
patterns in sand that is poured onto the base. The
first thing I did was to get rid of the sand and the
pendulum rod. I kept the base, the angled arm and
the brass balancing piece, and added a small brass s-
hook to the bottom of the balancing piece. That's all
you have to do.
L35
The tea glass sits on the circular base. llre pendulum
hangs by its top loop from the s-hool< and the weight
is centered inside the glass. Basically, it functions as
an upside down bell. When the hex nut swings, it hits
the glass and makes a sound.
Why a tea glass? After experimenting with a number
of different sizes and shapes, I found the tea glass
produced the best result for me. Wine glasses with a
long stem forced the pendulum string to be too short.
Wide mouth glasses required an awfully big swing
from the pendulum before they hit the side of the
glass. Twelve ounce water glasses had thick walls and
produced a 'clunk' rather that 'ding.' The tea glass
proved to be small (2/2" wide, 3/z" tall) and had thin
sidewalls. Of all the glasses I tested, it worked best.
You might come up with something else that works
equally well or better. I purchased mine through an
exotic aoods bazaar. They are also available online in
a variety of colors and patterns.
I have a confession to make. There was no Caf6
Marrakesh. lt never existed. John and yoko did
frequent several small caf6s on nearby side streets
but they featured ltalian or French cuisine. They've all
been gone for years so I took a chance. I made up this
part of the story simply to justify using the tea glass.
The pendulums that everyone used in the light seance
were all the same length. lt never mattered which one
was selected. They measured just long enough when
the loop was hooked over the s-hook for the hex nut
weight to be 1-" from the bottom of the base. The hex
nut was made of steel. But then I imagine you had
guessed that already.
What made the hex nut swing and the inverted tea
glass "spirit beli" ring was a magnet. A really Big
136
Magnet. The idea for this originally came from the
complete collected edition of Seance magazine
(Number 4, summer 1989). The article "PK Factor
Attachment" by Scott Davis outlined a method of
quickly attaching or removing a large magnet to the
outside of your trousers by strapping a thin metal
plate (Davis suggested the lid from a tuna fish can)
directly to your leg above the knee using an ace
bandage. The magnet wrapped in fabric could be
easily placed on top of the pant leg and stay securely
in place because it was magnetically attracted to the
metal plate underneath. I'm not sure if this concept
originated with this short article, but that's where I
first learned about it.
I made a prototype with a coffee can lid and glued felt
to both sides of the metal circle. Then I bent the
metal to conform to the shape of my left top thigh
above the knee. Modifuing the strap from another PK
effect, I added Velcro to secure the ends for a snug fit
around my leg. Since I wore a black suit, I wrapped
the magnet in black felt and stitched the cover
around all sides. The magnet was preset in a side
compartment in the doctor's bag (separated from the
ESP decks and pendulum envelopes) in an old wooden
card file box padded with a rolled up hand towel.
Once seated, I'd steal the magnet from the doctor's
bag when I reached down to get the remote for the
sound system and secure it to my left leg.
The specific neodymium magnet I used was 2" x 2" x
1" thick and was purchased through K&J Magnetics
Inc. in Jamison, PA. (www.kjmagnetics.com) lt is an
extremely powerful magnet and one you would
definitely not want to walk around with during the
course of a presentation. I snuck it on to my leg after
I was seated at the seance table and removed it
L37
before I got up following the end of the seance. I props early and not switch to something different that
would not suggest wall<ing around with it and would
be very careful to avoid extended contact with
watches, computer tablets or credit cards. The reason
I chose a magnet this big and powerful was because
the dining table was made of thick mahogany and I
wanted to be absolutely certain I could control the
hex nut on the pendulum. When I first visited the
Producer, I brought along several magnets to test out
on the table. The smaller ones were hit or miss. This
one was guaranteed to work.
Once the magnet is secured onto the left leg, the leg
is positioned directly under the base of the pendulum
rig. I raise my foot onto my toes so the magnet is
closer to the tabletop. Slight movement of the leg
gets the pendulum moving. lt is best to keep the
pendulum under your control at all times rather than
make a big gesture that might have the hex nut
swinging and striking the glass more times than you
want. This was another reason for a small glass. You
don't have to make any exaggerated movements to
make this "spirit bell" ring.
Unlike a number of spirit bells on the market that use
remote controls and batteries, this one is always
under your control and never risks mechanical failure
at a critical moment in the performance. I prefer to
keep things simple and concentrate on my
performance.
One minor point. I established the doctor's bag right
away as where I kept my tools for the sdance. lt
stored the decks of cards and the pendulum
envelopes so it had a reason to be there. When I
carried it into the s6ance room, no one paid any
attention to it. I think it's important to introduce your
138
might attract unwanted attention.
5. Spirit Communication
When communication is established with John
Lennon, it is my opinion that this segment should not
run very long. The line of questioning toJohn was
kept limited and directed only by me. While I did take
two or three questions from the guests, they were
phrased as yes or no questions and always
communicated by myself as the medium. I tried to
make spirit contact appear weak and fragile. There
would be long pauses then short bursts of
communication.
I try to end on a sensitive question. Somebody always
asks whetherJohn had any premonition that he might
be killed. lt happens five out of six times! lf they don't
bring it up, I pretend someone did and use it anyway.
It's a provocative question. The ringing "yes," then
"no," then going wild seems to pay off emotionally for
my seance and builds the moment for the final jolt of
music.
Mentalists always ask me: "WhyJohn Lennon? Why not
a different dead celebrity?"
I thinkJohn Lennon resonates with an entire
generation in a way that others don't. He died
tragically on the eve of finishing a new record album
unlike others who destroyed themselves with alcohol
and drugs. He was different and was enjoying a
renewed creative period when he died. Why shouldn't
he want to stick around? Also his music covers a huge
range of emotions and styles. This seance piece
139

"lmagine" and
'oulcl not be half as effective without
vlother."
. The Sound System
used a Bose portable SoundDock system with an
)od simply because I already owned one' There are
rther iPod speaker systems available. Any would work
.s long as they have a remote control. ln my case, I
lorrowed a duplicate control from a friend and
emoved the battery so that I had one working control
rnd one dummy. I had cleared the iPod of everything
rut the two Lennon songs on a playlist. I recorded
lmagine" at a low volume and the last section of
'Mother" at a much higher volume.
Mhen I activated the first track, the volume was set
righ enough to be heard comfortably. At the end of
:he song, I hit 'pause' instead of 'stop' and raised the
rolume as I put the remote in my side jacket pocket'
\s if changing my mind, I immediately removed the
'emote and set it on the dining table. ln my pocket, I
rad switched to the dummy remote. The remote on
the table was in view for the rest of the seance'
When the pendulum started going wild in the final
moment, I acted uneasy and was unsure of what was
going on. I leaned away from the edge of the table
and brought my hands down as though I was trying to
distance myself from the pendulum activity. This gave
me a chance to reach into my jacket pocket and
activate the functioning remote to the next track' I
had placed a small square of black gaffer tape on the
button so that I could feel where to press' Between
the raised volume and the louder recording, "Mother"
140
came out as a suclclen jolt of sound. John's vocals dicl
the rest.
This could be done without using a dummy remote as
you could trigger the remote from your pocket or
your lap. I prefer having the remote visible at all times
iwell, almost) so there is no hint that I'm involved in
any funny business.
7. Scryer weighs in
When I went through this piece with Neal Scryer in
preparation for the book, he offered a few
suggestions of his own. That guy's mind never shuts
down.
"What if you eliminated the whole pendulum rig and
the magnet, and just did it with your own pendulum
and the glass? Get a fancy crystal pendulum that
looks like it's specially tuned. Hold it over the glass
and ask the questions. Or forget the glass and use a
pendulum board with 'yes' and 'no' markers' You
could perform this piece without any gimmicked
stuff."
"That's not how I did it," I said. "But it's certainly
possible."
,,you could even have the most responsive spectators
hold the pendulum and get an answer' Give them a
question where the answer is obvious and they'll do it
all by themselves!"
I felt uneasy. "That's a big gamble. I don't know if I
have audience management skills that strong' And
I'm not sure about allowing others to act as mediums.
But I guess it's Possible."
L4L
Scryer gave me tlrat sneal<y lool< out ol the corner of
his eyes and smiled. "l could mal<e it worl< ..."
He probably could.
8. One More Thing
Iforgot to mention the framed picture of John that
fell over. There are a number of ways to pull off this
effect. Cimmicked electronic frames. Threadwork. I effect - the impression that it leaves on an audience'
didn't use any of them. ln fact, I never planned for the
picture to tip over and fall. lt just fell on its own at
that precise moment. A skeptic would offer a logical
explanation. A believer would say it was paranormal.
I'm not sure what to say other than it was perfect
timing.
Go figure.
142
AWWBPT$JT.OPTD
As I'm sure you're already discovered, the book you've
just read (along with Neal's previous works) contains
some of the most elegantly simple, direct, and
powerful mentalism that has appeared in print since
the golden days of Bascom Jones's Magick.
Neal has a way of cutting directly to the essence of an
Don't be put off by the fact that some of his methods
are incredibly simple. Remember, instead, that they
are extremely deceptive because of the context in
which he has employed them.
Far too many "new" effects in mentalism have focused
on method rather than effect' lt is very important, I
think, for mentalists to follow Neal's example and
focus on creating a persona that people will always
remember. That's the thing I admire most in Neal.
Once you've met him, you can never forget him.
Knowing how to do that is the real key to success in
this business. ln this book you've been given a
wonderful set of tools and concepts that will enable
you to entertain with mentalism almost anywhere and
at any time. And, more important, they will make
people remember you.
With what Neal has given you here, you literally have
at your fingertips all you will ever need to continually
and effectively reinforce your image as a mentalist (or
whatever persona you have chosen to adopt). But
tools are meaningless unless you actually go out and
build something with them.
L43
So take what you've learned here out into the real
world and do as Neal has so effectively done -
entertain, mystify and bring wonder into the lives of
all you meet.

Be unforgettable.

Good thoughts,

Bob Cassidy
Seattle, WA