Académique Documents
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SUPPLEMENT
* Caffeine-Free
* PRISM
* Phedon’s Journeys
* Phedon’s Lines
* Delphi Structures
Phedon Bilek
Copyright © 2018 by Phedon Bilek
All rights reserved. This e-book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or
used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the
phedonbilek@hotmail.com
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“No matter how bedazzled they are by your presentation of a
about them”
- Bruce BERNSTEIN -
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- TAKEL. For always being there. You helped more than you imagine.
- CHRISTOPHE AMBRE. Thank you for always being honest and true to your
word. You earned my deepest respect as a performer and a professional. You
- JAMES SCOTT. For being always ready to help and to listen. For road-
testing PRISM for months. For being such a beautiful person. For everything
- FRANCIS GIROLA. You have always been there to listen and your opinions
have helped this project mature. Merci Francis.
Thank you my African brother for everything and keep your juices flowing…
You rock.
- MILLARD LONGMAN. For being a gentleman. And for coming up with the
best peek in the universe.
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Welcome to Sibyl’s Supplement. Between the DVD and this PDF you must feel
bombarded with information. I reassure you: it’s not an impression. You’re not crazy.
The material contained here should get you occupied for a –long- moment, and is
aimed at serious and dedicated performers only. But this is the price to pay for
freedom. For being able to look, feel, even BE real, anytime, anywhere, with nothing.
Our inventions mirroring our secret wishes, I have designed ideas and techniques that
will leave no room for your audiences to doubt they’ve met a real psychic. So if you’re
into disclaimers…
I wanted you to get the maximum possible, and that is the reason why I decided to
include this booklet, which recaps what I feel is important and brings further details
on certain ideas, techniques and routines that I could have never fully explored in a
DVD. For instance I provide here a journey for each category on S.C.R.E.W.E.D., that
you can use as stock should you choose to. I tried to leave no stone unturned, and in
the event I failed covering something please never hesitate reaching out to me, either
personally replied –and still do- every single message I have received from people all
over the world, be it for PROTEUS or other routines and ideas either published or just
Last, but not least. I decided to retail this at $50, against the opinion of everyone
involved in or in the know of this project. I deeply believe in my heart of hearts that
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this should be the price for each routine alone. But when it comes to Magic (in its
broader definition), money was never my motivation. I am offering you these ideas
not because I want to see your hard-earned shekels into my account, but because I
am hoping you will like them, adopt them, adapt them to suit your style, amaze your
audiences, and maybe take them somewhere else, as I have done it myself with the
original ideas or concepts that gave birth to what you are holding right now. THAT
Again, thank you for your trust. And never forget: Minimalism is the tool that will set
you free.
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CAFFEINE-FREE READING
I named this the Caffeine-Free Reading for a simple reason. Here in Greece Coffee
Reading is extremely popular. Greek coffee is, unlike filter coffee, espresso, etc.,
brewed INSIDE the very water you’re drinking. Therefore, before drinking it one has
Once drunk, the eventual sitter turns her cup down, allowing those solids to slowly
fall, smearing the cup’s walls and leaving an intricate network of lines, shapes, designs
that make no sense at all but to the reader, who can decipher them.
Growing up I witnessed countless readings, and I can tell you that if you think you’re
a good reader, you stand no chance facing a Greek grandma, should she be a coffee
reader. It’s with coffee reading that I realized the power of using a SYSTEM, the reader
being but a mere interpreter that cannot be blamed for misinterpreting something
I always wanted to create a system replicating this. And one day it dawned upon me
looking at a crumpled sheet of paper. What I saw was an intricate network of lines,
shapes, designs, that made no sense at all. And all I needed was… a piece of paper
mysterious experience that every sitter would enjoy and accept. I later on added an
extra dimension to the mix, asking the sitter to write their name. This enabled another
layer of analysis to be carried out using something that most lay people consider to
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STEPS
1. CRUMPLE
2. UN-CRUMPLE
7. INTERPRETATION
QUADRANTS
INTERPRETATION
During all the process be very attentive and notice EVERYTHING in their attitude,
their reactions, their actions… Every single detail is important and will be subject to
interpretation later on. And there is nothing to reject here: they DID smile when
grabbing the paper. They DID ask confirmation. And EVERY SINGLE ACTION has a
meaning.
1. Attitude when told to crumple the paper: Suspicion? Amusement? Need for
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2. Crumple: HOW? 2-hands (Thorough. Focused. Efficient)? 1-hand? (Confidence.
Multi-tasking. BUT sometimes Superficial). Lightly? With strength? Taking time and
towards DEDICATION
damages of their mistake) or Fast (Tends to give little importance, rather focusing on
the future)? Taking care of the paper (Respect towards the mistakes, as lessons taken)
or not (Will to put the past behind)? Tears (rejection) or not? Trying to make it perfectly
straight (search for harmony between past and present, or will to erase the mistake
4. TOP: Which side is chosen? Width (Conventional thinker. Follow rules. Organized.
challenge authority not seen as legitimate. Wants to be the one setting the rules. BUT
5. Attitude while following the instructions about choosing TOP: Hesitant and
DECISIONS IN LIFE
6. Amount of crumples
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9. Notion of RELATIVITY between the quadrants (Top ≠ Bottom and Left ≠ Right)
10. Name:
Body≠Mind).
INDICATORS
* Straight Lines: Continuing event, in time or across Body/Mind areas. SIZE of the
(negative)?
timeline)
timeline)
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* Triangles: Danger!
* Letters: Initials of persons who played /are playing / will play an important part
in sitter's life
As you can see there is an awful lot to look at, to analyze and to say, depending on
the time we want to allocate to that reading. It can take 3 minutes, it can take 20
minutes. That is the beauty. And what is very interesting is that it allows you to make
the sitter participate fully, and make HER reveal what SHE thinks this hill or that valley
represents. DO NOT FORGET you’re but a mere interpreter, and that YOU, as
opposed to the system, are the fallible component. YOU need help. Asking “Er…
Here there is a clear indication of an event that had a NEGATIVE impact on your
mind. Look at the depth of this valley. It’s right on TOP in the distant past, so it is not
affecting your body. What happened here Jane…?” Let Jane clarify this. At the end
you’ll be credited to have seen her depression that followed her divorce. That’s just
how our brain works. But feel free to help it by ‘painting everything gold’ when
recapping.
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GRAPHOLOGY TIPS
* Large: Extrovert
* Left: CAUTIOUS.
- SHAPE OF LETTERS
* Angular: Analytical
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- PRINTERS AND PRINT SCRIPTERS
PASSING INFORMATION
- CAPITAL LETTERS
- i . t SYSTEM
* If they take the time to dot the "i"s and cross the "t"s: Attention
to details. Are the dots right ABOVE the "i"s? Are crosses ON the "t"s?
* If the "T" crosses are long and sharp: Ruthless with their enemies,
- OTHER DETAILS
• Short Name (Jon for Jonathan): Doesn’t take themselves too seriously. Or feel
• Name + LAST NAME: Importance of their origin. Pride. Part of their identity
• Symbols (Flower, Heart, Star…): Need for attention, will to share, idealistic
achievements, spiritual…
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You have now in hand everything you need. Add to that
- YOUR personal input based on your imagination and on what you discern
- THEIR input
and you find yourself with something solid, fun, conversational, interesting,
mysterious and very engaging that you can do anytime, anywhere, for anyone, with
absolute confidence. The system is covering you from all angles and allows you an
them graphology is an exact science and this adds an extra layer of legitimacy and
To RECAP
The process the way I perform it goes like this (but feel free to modify it to suit your
style)
- Crumple
- Un-crumple
- Determine TOP
- Determine SIDE
- Mark the final Orientation (sometimes I do NOT do this, as I’m asking them
- Writing of NAME
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- Interpretation
• about how their attitude crumpling / un-crumpling and the meaning, about the orientation
they chose
• Place of their name in the Matrix both from a Timeline point of view and a body/mind one
• Joint discussion of the patterns on the sheet, with active participation from the sitter who’s
FINAL TIPS
- You are a mere interpreter. You’re trying to make sense of the indicators you’re
seeing
- A very important point taken directly from Rudy: Don’t be all sugar and spice.
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PHEDON’S LINES
"I see... a change in your environment. That can be moving houses, changing jobs
or even a significant trip to come. Also, I feel some level of stress owed to pressure
Finally, I see an ongoing conflict with someone, not family but possibly a close
The lines must be delivered FAST, with NO PAUSE, eyes closed, holding their
hands or the Blank Piece of the billet or any personal object. When done, let it sink
* which one they're feeling to be the priority right now if the lines are
Even if we hit on ONE line this is the one they will mention, and to the audience
watching we hit on EACH line, they’re just mentioning this one because it is their
PRIORITY
* if they know the person well enough to be AWARE of those issues (what I call
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SUBTLETY: We are NOT asking if we hit!!
We IMPLY WE HIT EVERYWHERE, we’re just asking what is the MOST IMPORTANT!
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DISTAZO LINE (The DOUBT: for a person thought-off)
"Despite appearances and what you might be thinking this is a person who doubts
themselves quite often, and secretly questions the wisdom of their choices and
decisions in life. I picture them sitting on the edge of their bed, wondering where
they would be right now should they have taken a different path at some point in
their life... “
again. Even if they don't agree, and even if they express it, WE HAVE FORESEEN it
and WARNED THEM. We KNEW they’d disagree, hence the introductory line. We
can add that this person feels that showing doubts is a weakness, and chose to
appear very confident. It’s a proud person, and we can even tell the sitter “and you
- When possible finish this with the GENDER CONFIRMATION (we know the gender
of the thought-off person because at this point we have peeked the name): “By the
energy I'm getting here... I'm not asking you, I am TELLING you with 100%
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HUBRIS LINE (The EGO: Flattery)
“You have a sharp intellect but what really stands out is your inborn tendency to
instantly understand some situations without the need to mentally process them.
You are truly gifted with what is commonly referred to as ‘Intuition’. And I can sense
you’re fully aware of this. For example you’re the kind of person to pay close
attention to first impressions when meeting someone, and TRUST this highly
misunderstood and controversial feeling. You have noticed that your... ‘hunches’
have more than often proved to be so accurate that they border Premonition. Yes, a
by choosing to trust it. Because let's be honest: we all are heavily influenced by our
sitter. The reasons are the following: first, choosing external looks or intelligence
would be too obvious, as these are the eternal compliments everyone receives. So,
should we use any of these words the sitter's BS detector will go crazy and we're
uncovered. Second, intuition is a compliment they NEVER heard before. So, it does
NOT sound as one. Their BS detector remains therefore silent. Also, it throws them
off. And the beauty of this particular one is that it implies other things, like...
INTELLIGENCE, WISDOM. Think about it: can you imagine an intuitive person
being stupid? I personally think it's possible, but it's not what comes to mind. By
throwing this at them we take them off the beaten path, and flatter their ego in a
“I’m experiencing difficulties to read you, and that’s quite unusual and disturbing... I
am doubting you’re aware of this but it seems you have unconsciously erected
you trusted...”
barriers: This covers us fully again in case of disagreement. Even if they are reluctant
we can point out we knew they would doubt it, hence the “unconsciously” and the
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AGAPE LINE (The Pure LOVE)
"The Greeks have different words to describe the multiple forms LOVE can take...
EROS is the feeling one would develop for a lover, a sexual partner. Very strong,
passionate, but easily lost. AGAPE, on the other hand, is the PUREST form of love.
It is all about Protecting, Caring, Sharing. It’s all about SELFLESSNESS. That, for
instance, is the love of a mother for her child. And AGAPE is how I would explain
what I am sensing right now holding this. Tell me.... who used to own this ring?"
SUBTLETY: If MOTHER or
mother thing was just to illustrate, and the first owner will be credited for having
If using the AGAPE LINE after we have established the spec is thinking of a
MATURE WOMAN we can finish with the following: "... And AGAPE is how I would
This is what I do in the performances you saw. I used this after having ascertained
the age of the person they were thinking of (with the innocent question at the
beginning “about what age is this person…?) AND the gender (via the peek).
HIT! If they say 1 it's still a hit, and we can inquire whether she lost one, like a
miscarriage. No kids? No problem! It's a shame, as she was meant to have some
"I will tell you what you're projecting. First, I feel DISAPPOINTMENT. Possibly an
open conflict. Second, a clear sense of EXPECTATION. One that you've been
having for some time now, but which kind of grew stronger lately...
…The vibrations I'm getting suggest otherwise but I feel this is material. Like a
…The bitterness I feel here goes beyond the simple disappointment. I feel close
proximity with the person involved. Who is this person? It’s not family… is it??”
STRUCTURE: The first (disappointment) covers a very large spectrum from simple
that fits here. About the Proximity, every conflict is with people close enough to us
The second (expectation) relates to everyone. All human beings have goals in life.
And having goals we all have expectations. And all of those grow stronger with time
* Mature Man: Buy a house, create his own business, get a promotion
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The THREE-PART GUESS at the end finds here a perfect use, as ANY of the options
(even ANY other MATERIAL one) will be a HIT! Even NON-MATERIAL options will
hit, as we can back-pedal and say that I should have stuck with what the vibes were
Shoot, shoot, shoot. Deliver the lines without letting the sitter analyze them too
much. "Allow" her to talk ONLY when asking her a direct question. Be very
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LOST RING LINE (When we KNOW it's a WOMAN, but
UNDER the required age to "apply" for the AGAPE LINE. This is to Confirm
GENDER)
"The person you have in mind recently lost something. Or rather misplaced it. I can
feel their anxiousness, and by the strength of this feeling I suspect this was a gift.
The object was a Ring. Or an Earring maybe... When you speak to this lady again -
because by the nature of the object it definitely IS a woman- ask her whether she
found it or not"
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PRISM
accomplishes this by
• Shifting the focus from a FALLIBLE source (the sitter) to one we fully master:
US. That is to say that we are NOT addressing the sitter BUT... OURSELVES.
• Shifting the focus from FACTS to FEELINGS. We are not trying to 'find' where,
when, who, but rather the precise emotional state they experienced
defenses
By its very nature PRISM is ideal when DEALING WITH APPROXIMATES. As explained
in the section ON BEING REAL of the DVD I prefer vague questions to accurate ones.
No need to explain the reasons again, but here this concept makes full sense.
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PRISM is based on a simple postulate:
CONNECTION is established
MEANING:
If we KNOW our sitter's current EMOTIONAL STATE it's very simple to make up
(or simply TELL if there is an actual one) a personal story CONVEYING THE
MATCHING FEELING.
And we all know that once on an EMOTIONAL level our brain works differently and
MOREOVER: The fact that the story is the MEDIUM'S PERSONAL ONE makes it
IMMUNE TO REJECTION by the sitter as it's out of the latter's control. The sitter will
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In this approach the Performer is the medium. He's channeling the emotions felt and
interprets them the way he feels them through his personal bias, or PRISM. He relies
on past experiences that made him feel the very sensations and vibes he's receiving
Let's assume their category is HEALTH (and that we have ascertained it’s not about
the sitter herself but a person close to her via the Vanishing Negative question)
"We’re all like a prism. A ray of light enters it and the outcome is something totally
different. If the papers read tomorrow that Bill Gates lost his fortune one person might
feel happy, because Bill Gates was a filthy rich and this person is jealous. Another
might feel sorry for the poor guy who worked his ass off and lost everything. They all
received the same piece of information, but their resulting individual feeling is the
outcome of their own personal bias and are here complete opposites! SAME piece
of information, OPPOSITE feelings…! (Now we grab the object). This object conveys
VIBES... ENERGY that will be translated through my own PRISM, and interpreted by
my own personal bias. It CANNOT give me NAMES, EVENTS, DATES.... Just resulting
FEELINGS I will try to express... (Now we hold their hand and close our eyes) ... what
I feel here is... what I usually feel as a father when it is about my child... As a son when
But there is Hope as well in this mix. The last time I remember feeling this is when I
arrived in Rhodes to learn my grandma was in a hospital. That very feeling irradiated
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The PRISM principle can be incorporated in any reading-related routine or technique
that appeals to interpretation and emotions. It's fully used in my De Profundis routine,
KEYWORDS. Then just proceed with a personal story that conveys the relevant
feelings!
Our story: "This sense of… ANXIETY… But mixed with HOPE… This is a feeling all
but too familiar... It used to tie a KNOT here (showing chest), and usually came at
night, once I switched off the light. More than once it prevented me from falling
asleep, as it kept my mind running while doubt tortured me endlessly... Back then I
was dealing with uncertainty when it came to my future, and this very feeling I get
now holding your piece of paper was the very one I had then, this mix of fear of
tomorrow with this hope that kept me going... I was so scared not to find the right
life that make or literally break one’s existence... PAUSE… The very fact I got these
vibrations means that our paths are similar, and I want to reassure you. Like I did,
sooner than you think you WILL meet the person you have been waiting for… "
"Your mind is now bombarded with thoughts and ideas, and what I want you to do is
organize them a bit... Let's try this simple mental exercise: consider your thought. The
whole experience. Visualize, feel everything, re-live it! Get its VERY ESSENCE, and
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CONCENTRATE the whole thing into ONE SINGLE WORD. A word that would sum
everything up to anyone hearing or reading it... You have such a word? Good... In
doing this you forced yourself into re-considering this experience from a multitude of
angles, thus immersing yourself completely. Now, since I need something PHYSICAL
ADVANTAGES:
* Gives the performer incredible freedom, as it relates to HIMSELF and NOT the
sitter! Whatever the story, the sitter will only retain the EMOTION and FEELINGS
experienced by the performer while holding their hand/object. And this will ALWAYS
hit!
* Enables the performer to BE REAL! Like in movies where the psychic receives an
IMPRESSION and tries to connect the dots, here the IMPRESSION IS THE
is the Performer's, and there is no way anyone can deny it. The sitter WILL then
connect the dots and relate to their own experience, to an extent that will surprise
you.
* Discharges the performer from needing to provide risky details to make the sitter
* Built-in No-Risk DR. The onlookers will truly believe that the story narrated is
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* "Teaches" the sitter something about how the human mind, psychometry, or
whatever the Mentalist wants to convey, works. It's felt as a little free lesson they will
remember forever
* Very effective way for a performer to enter the realm of readings and gain
TIPS
WHERE the feeling occurred, where the KNOT is when this feeling happens or
situation. Then we segue into a PERSONAL Story that generated those very
remember this feeling... I still was a student in Oxford, but already I woke up
Let’s imagine you just met someone. A woman preferably, although this is NOT an
• Her GENDER
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Think DYNAMITE MENTALISM. Nothing complicated, please don’t even think about
learning the categories George Anderson is detailing. Just consider this woman, her
age, and quickly think of a stage of life she must have been through. A common
experience pertaining to her ‘category’. Think of women around you, like your
So, bear with me for a second. Imagine that when shaking her hand you change your
attitude, look puzzled, and show awkwardness. Let her take the bait, then explain that
you are, with certain people, getting vibrations. Vibrations that your mind translates,
after being processed, into feelings. And tell her SHE is giving away strong vibes.
Explain that we all are like a PRISM (PRISM Script here). And go on telling her that the
very feeling you are having right now is all but too familiar… (Two Keywords here).
And go on into your “personal” experience, detailing the period, place, situation,
After you’re done just ask her what exactly is the situation that makes her feel that
Finish normally with giving good advice, be fully empathetic, and don’t forget to
recap “reprising everything in gold”. Make no mistake: she will remember that you
saw EVERYTHING SHE told you and that’s exactly what she will be telling everyone.
Don’t forget: YOU CAN NEVER BE WRONG! That’s YOUR own experience! And you
are just interpreting what SHE is projecting! Let’s say you are ALL wrong! Let’s say
……. Nothing! That is what SHE is giving away! That’s the story HER vibes are telling.
Your INTERPRETATION must be off. That’s all. Hence the necessity to always use a
SYSTEM, a METHOD. And here, PRISM is your method. You’re covered. Go and try
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PHEDON’S JOURNEYS
Taking your sitter into a Journey guarantees she will be deeply affected. If your
Journey is well designed, I mean by that that its interpretation and deeper meaning
Its power comes from the shroud of mystery surrounding it. I wish you could stop, for
a moment, thinking like a mentalist and be a layperson again. Imagine you are
thinking of a past experience that hurt you, you wrote nothing down (if you want to
do this prop-less) and this guy holds your hand, warns you he will tell you what he
sees, with no filter, and that it will most likely make no sense at all to you, maybe not
to him as well. He closes his eyes and starts describing a metaphorical scene whose
interpretation at the end describes exactly not only your experience, but your state
of mind at the time, your lover’s attitude towards you, the lessons to be learned from
this, and so many other things you had buried deep into your heart. All this by…
Face it. It’s insane. And that is the very reason it is so potent. It throws everybody off,
and combined to the emotional charge inherent to it the Journey will always be an
Of course, I encourage you to make up your own journeys. In that case you will be
totally in phase with what you’re saying, and the journey will be tailor-made for the
client facing you. But I am aware this is new for you, and making up an allegory with
symbols that will suit the person in front of you and waiting for you to speak is not
that easy at first. So, for you not to give up on this I am providing you with examples
I have used in the past. Read them, so you understand the “philosophy” behind them.
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I can assure you that, should you give it a go, soon enough you will be making your
own journeys and the pleasure you will get seeing your sitter being deeply touched
• Self-explanatory, which make sense to the sitter while I’m telling the story
• Mysterious, which will only make sense during the interpretation phase
Also: once you’ve done the journey, open your eyes, stare at them for some time and
ask them whether they can make any sense of this. Let them talk, explain what they
can. Just listen, nod, smile. When they are done and only then, propose to give YOUR
take on this, as you have ‘some’ experience with these visions now…
Because it is dealing with a negative feeling I strongly advise to end with a good
word, offering them some relief. Be aware that the simple fact of opening up to you
will have already made this happen, and they will feel this burden to be lighter. Many
times I hug them, and should you do so I can assure you that very often they simply
The following examples are briefly summed up. You will decide of the time, of what
be mysterious.
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o SELFISHNESS Mysterious
I see you… You're in a strange place, calm. The environment you're in must be a
familiar one though, since you're feeling perfectly fine and confortable. There is a
light music playing, nothing too noisy, more like a distant background melody.
Someone appears in the picture... A man… By the way you’re looking at him and by
the smile he has, you two are intimate. This is your lover.
Short after his coming to you and after having exchanged a few words he finally shows
you what he's been holding in the hand he's been hiding behind his back: a bouquet
of DAFFODILS. Beautiful YELLOW DAFFODILS... They truly are wonderful. There are
too many to count. You look so surprised, so happy, you extend your arms and grab
the bouquet, that you press against your chest, closing your eyes.
When you open them a moment later the man is gone. You're back to being alone.
You place the daffodils in a vase that's on a table in the middle of the picture. No one
could miss this explosion of YELLOW if they passed by. You are still here, silent,
contemplating it, pondering on the reasons why the man who offered them to you
disappeared so suddenly...
INTERPRETATION:
experience?
- The DAFFODILS. This shows the erotic nature of the relationship. The person
figuring here is your lover. These particular flowers, the Daffodils -or Jonquils or even
Lent Lilies in the UK- are a symbol of REBIRTH and GOOD LUCK. That's their positive
attributes. But here we're dealing with pain. With negativity. And on the dark side
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Daffodils symbolize EGOTISM (we avoid the term 'Selfishness' as it was the one used
to name the Cause). You know that Daffodils are part of the NARCISSUS family? You
know who Narcissus was in the Greek mythology? He loved HIMSELF more than he'd
love ANYBODY........... (Tell the story and take time. Tell about how Narcissus loved
himself above all, and that this was his demise, as wanting to see his reflection in the
- The color YELLOW. This color is associated with OPTIMISM, LIFE. But here we're
dealing with NEGATIVE feelings, again. Therefore we must consider the DARKER side
of this color. Do you know what this color stands for in its negative side? No...? Well,
COWARDICE. Obviously this man gave you flowers, a symbol of sharing, but
perverted and corrupted by this color. Does that make sense? Because telling you “I
the LESSON learned. You placed this vase in the center of the picture because you
do NOT want to forget this episode, despite what you might think. This is here to
remind you.
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o SELFISHNESS Self-Explanatory
You're on a road. It's empty. There is nobody but someone appears in the picture...
A man…
Thing is: at the end of this road you both stop in front of a house. By the way you
both stand, talk, I can see your relationship is an intimate one. And it appears to me
that this is the end of a long trip, as you both look exhausted, hungry and thirsty. The
He finally decides to push the door open, and you both enter the house. The interior
is quite rustic, there is no need to describe it. The only thing that stands out is the
table at the center of the room, on which lies a plate with two large red apples.
Despite your exhaustion and hunger and thirst you decide to explore this new
After having had a look at every room and place in this house you return to the main
room to find that your companion has eaten both the apples, and is now sitting there,
INTERPRETATION:
1. Entering the house. Symbolizes one's inner self. By entering the door HE pushed
you entered his world. You got a glimpse at his innermost self
2. The fruits on the table. Fruits are food. Food symbolizes sharing. In all culture food
is offered, and moments shared around a table. The food lying there is to give you
the opportunity to share. On top of that, there are TWO apples, one for EACH of you,
making the act of sharing easy. Furthermore, the table is at the CENTRE of the room:
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this shows that all this is about what's going to happen here, with this table, with
these apples.
3. The fact the fruits are APPLES. We all know the symbolism of apples. I do believe
this tells you that when submitted to temptation this man will not consider anyone
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o COMMUNICATION self-explanatory
I see you… You're in a strange place, calm, with a person. You're facing each other.
This person I see here with you is intimate. It is your lover. You're facing each other,
You are captivated by this person, and pay no attention to your surroundings. When
you finally do, you realize you're surrounded by a silent crowd, coming and going. A
couple of passer-byes stops and talks to you, to whom you reply before they take
their leave. You notice the same is happening to your partner. He answers the
questions, exchanges with the people talking to him, before letting them go.
When alone you return to looking at each other, smiling. You look happy, like you
haven't seen each other for a long time. Finally he makes the first move and talks to
you. But you hear nothing. It's exactly like you watched an actor on your TV screen
talking to the camera while muted. You hear the light sound of the crowd, and
background noises. Your hearing is just fine. No, you are not the problem. You ask
him to repeat, but he does nothing. You repeat your request and you realize he's
paying attention to your mouth, in an attempt to lip-read you. He talks again, but still,
You try to reach him and your hand meets an invisible barrier. Invisible but solid as
rock. Like a glass barrier between you and him. When he realizes this his hands try to
reach out to you, but bump on this invisible obstacle. You see him scream, yet you
hear nothing. You feel desperate, and you understand the feeling is mutual.
You turn around to seek help among the people around you, shouting in panic. They
hear you and start gathering. Before you attempt to explain you realize there is
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INTERPRETATION:
This one is quite obvious. Both here have no communication issues per se since they
are talking to strangers but cannot FULLY interact with each other. There IS SOME
communication, as they can see one another, and to some extent try to understand
each other. But the main communication medium (speech) is clearly problematic,
suggesting a major problem, despite the attempts from both sides. The glass wall is
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o RELIGION (VALUES) Mysterious
I see you clearly. You're in a busy place, people walking around. Picture a busy street,
or even avenue. And you're not alone. You're walking alongside a man, who is on
your right. This man is your companion, as you are holding hands.
You look happy. You're well dressed, you're wearing fine jewelry, and I can tell you
both compliment each other, as he is dressed for success himself. I cannot tell what's
Suddenly you see something on your right. Next to the wall, sitting on the sidewalk,
is a man. He's old and dirty, and he's holding a pail where lie a few coins of lower
value. This sight disturbs you, and the contrast between this man and yourself
instantly brings a sense of guilt that you cannot hide. Your companion notices it at
once, and realizes that the shadow sitting on his right is the origin of your sudden
change of mood.
As a result he puts on a smile, turns to the man and kicks the pail, making the few
coins fall on the floor and roll. As a result you instantly try to catch a couple of them
landing in front of you, while you realize that this was a deliberate action. You turn
and look up to your companion, to realize he's laughing and mocking both the
beggar and yourself. After the coins have been gathered and placed back into the
pail, he grabs you by the hand telling you to hurry, that you've lost enough time with
futilities.
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INTERPRETATION:
1. Well-dressed, jewelry, happy. This must mean you're feeling complete. Doing your
best also to match the person next to you, or to honor him. You make all the efforts
2. You both are walking together. This means that at this point you both had a
common objective, a common goal, and both of you are going towards it. For now
3. The beggar is here I believe to appeal to one's deeper feelings. This is here to test
that your compatibility goes beyond the material goals in your respective lives. And
what happens is very interesting, as the very presence of this person begging for help
brings out different, or rather, opposite feelings. In your case it brought compassion,
whereas in your companion's case it brought... well. Something you ignored about
him, and that deeply affected you. This incident shone him under a new light for you,
and you found out that you shared much less than you first believed. Enthusiasm,
happiness, maybe material blinded you, before you opened your eyes and saw the
light.
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o WHINING Mysterious
I see you clearly. You're in a room. Imagine something very simple. You are sitting
across a man. You are facing each other. This person must be your lover, hence his
presence here in the picture. You are looking at him, both your elbows on the table,
your hands holding your head. He is looking back at you, with a stern attitude, and
he is talking to you. I cannot hear what this is about. But I do see that he takes very
On the center of the table lies... a crown of flowers. Deep purple flowers, like little
trumpets... No doubt, these are petunias. Purple ones, arranged in a perfect circle,
Your eyes are closing. I see you're trying to escape this. I have no clue on the issue
here, but it makes no doubt this moment is not a pleasant one for you. You stay a
long moment in this alternate world you jumped into. The man's attitude seems not
to be influenced by this, as he's going on and on, talking in what looks like a never-
ending litany...
When you open your eyes you realize the chair facing you is empty. The man is gone.
You stay a moment like this, trying to realize what happened, before placing your
hands on the table and starting staring at the floral arrangement that has been lying
there all the time as a witness to what happened earlier, maybe in an attempt to
understand...
INTERPRETATION:
3. The fact she's holding her head with both of hand à resignation
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4. The crown: circle à Repetition
Example of interpretation:
"What I am making of this very strange vision is this... I'm warning you, it might be
completely irrelevant... first, you are sitting across your lover, which is odd. Sitting
situation. Furthermore, I saw you elbows on the table, holding your head. This is very
revealing regarding your state of mind. This posture screams resignation. And it is
obvious this is a direct result of this man's words and demeanor, which is, if you
remember, stern. You're reminding me of a little girl who waits for the storm to pass.
Now, something that made no sense at all until a moment ago is starting making
sense to me... The flowers. Let me explain: usually flowers come in bouquets. But
here, WHY a crown? And why Petunias, and not a more... ‘usual’ choice? Well... Listen
to me and let me know whether this is relevant or not, as there MUST be a reason to
this detail. It is a crown because a crown is CIRCULAR. And circles are symbolizing
REPETITION. Usually it's a wheel that embodies the cyclical nature of time. This shape
is telling me that this situation is RECURRING. And the repetitive nature of this is a
direct cause of your feeling. Does that make any sense? And WAIT! Again, why
Petunias? Petunias are beautiful flowers. Their symbolism however is less exciting.
They represent RESENTMENT and anger. I don't know if you understand but to me
it is now crystal clear. I have no idea about the cause of your break-up, but this vision
is telling me in a very mysterious way that the repetition of a situation led you to
resentment and sometimes anger, and that at some point you were just about to give
up until you thought about it and realized where this was leading your life..... I think
you were so right to take this decision 'Maria', because this man's constant negative
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o ENVY (JEALOUSY) Self-Explanatory
You are with a man, who seems to be your lover by the way you both feel confortable
together, in a familiar environment. You feel HOME. Everything goes fine, there is
harmony here.
At one moment you disappear, leaving your companion alone. He's calling you, many
times, and when he's about to come looking for you, you re-appear. He just freezes,
looking at you... You just appeared with a red dress that compliments your body, and
heels. You just look stunning, and you know it. And by the look at his face, he seems
to agree.
However, passed this moment the situation unfolds in a way you would have never
predicted. When you expected compliments, interests, even desire, what you see is
him becoming overly serious, with his gaze becoming even… judgmental. You feel
so awkward at this moment. You feel guilty, although you know there is no reason for
this. You clearly feel aggressiveness from his side, and understand he wants you to
remove this dress immediately. Even more, you understand he wants you NEVER to
wear it again. He doesn't say so, but you KNOW. His eyes are telling you.
You go back inside the room and remove the dress that you carefully hang in your
closet. You then leave the picture, I cannot see you. Maybe you went out for a walk
… You're back. You entered the very room you got undressed in, and immediately
recognize your dress, crumpled into a ball, in the corner. You run, grab it to un-wrinkle
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INTERPRETATION:
… Personally, I believe that there is more to it. Beyond the obvious there is
1. The Dress. This dress is your personality. It's YOU. And forbidding you to wear it
was not enough here. When you turned your back he destroyed it, and threw it away
in a corner. The symbolism is very revealing. It's not that he wants you for himself
only. It's that he wants to make you HIS, depriving you from your choices and will.
Destroying whatever tries to stand up is his strategy. Even if it costs you a piece of
2. He did it when your BACK WAS TURNED. This is also something that struck me.
He could have done it in front of you, in anger, or as it is sometimes the case, in rage.
But here it was when you left. In your back. Silently. And I find this very disturbing...
It feels like a cold, premeditated act. This person is well aware of everything he’s
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o DECEPTION Mysterious
I see you… You're in a strange place, calm. The environment you're in must be a
familiar one though, since you're feeling perfectly fine and confortable. There is a
light music playing, nothing too noisy, more like a distant background melody.
Someone appears in the picture. By the way you’re looking at him and by the smile
Short after his coming to you and after having exchanged a few words he finally shows
you what he's been holding in the hand he's been hiding behind his back: a bouquet
of YELLOW ROSES. They are wonderful. There are too many to count. You look so
surprised, so happy, you extend your arms and grab the bouquet that you
immediately press against your chest. You then realize that you're bleeding, as you
feel a drop of blood going down your hand to your forearm. You realize your poked
your thumb with a thorn, and owing to your excitement you didn't feel a thing.
By the time you wipe off the few red drops on your hand you realize you're alone.
I've lost the man. You have gathered the flowers, and have placed them in a vase
that's on a table in the middle of the picture. No one could miss this explosion of
YELLOW if they passed by. You take a couple of steps back, and stay there, still,
contemplating the bouquet, as if you were hypnotized, your gaze seemingly being
on something BEYOND the colorful vase, while gently massaging your sore thumb,
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INTERPRETATION:
1. The ROSES. This shows the erotic nature of the relationship. The person figuring
here is your lover. Their number indicates deep feelings. 'Intense' may be the word.
2. The color YELLOW. This color is associated with OPTIMISM, LIFE. But here we're
dealing with NEGATIVE feelings, therefore we must consider the DARKER side of this
color. Do you know what yellow stands for in its negative side? No...? Well, YELLOW
this man gave you flowers, a symbol of sharing, but corrupted by this color. Does that
make sense? Here your lover made you a gift, but one that carried the seed of
treason. A perverted present. As if to subtly warn you.... This now indicates that there
3. The WOUND. As if the Yellow was not enough, the fact the rose poked your finger
is just another warning. The rose symbolizes the feeling you were sharing, but it is the
very same thing that hurt you, that caused BLOOD to "spill". And you understand
the symbolism of blood here. it is PAIN at the deepest level. Current or to come. As
you can clearly see, the VERY thing that made you happy carries the seed of pain...
Also, notice that at the time this rose hurt you, you felt nothing, carried away by your
enthusiasm and happiness. You decided to ignore this warning. Think about it now…
You DO know that many times you had signs telling you to be careful, but YOU
4. The CENTRAL POSITION of the vase, to be seen. I do believe this pertains to the
LESSON learned. You placed this vase in the center of the picture because you do
NOT want to forget this episode, despite what you might think. This is here to remind
you. You're looking beyond, as lost, because you're looking way FURTHER than this
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now. Was the lesson useful...? And notice you're massaging the pain away while
looking beyond... You're trying to literally tend your wounds, and move forward....
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o UNAPPRECIATED Mysterious
I picture you in a beautiful scenery. Colors. Everywhere. Let me explain: I see you in
a valley. You're walking into an explosion of colors. It's like you and… another
I'm focusing on you now. And what's striking me is the fact that although you're in
this paradise your face betrays hard feelings. You smile, but your eyes are telling
another story. Something inside is ruining everything. And I am not the only one to
notice. The boy next to you not only sees it, but seems to KNOW the very reason of
your sorrow. He looks around, and suddenly realizes he's walking into a 1000 ways to
Around you I can clearly see poppies, painting the whole picture with a deep red. I
see daisies as well, like little white dashes. I see carnations too, white and yellow and
red and pink. He bends over and starts picking flowers. He chooses them with
When he's done he stands up, and with a sense of pride he gives you a bouquet of
You instinctively reach out to them, grab them, and press them against your chest,
When you open your eyes you're alone. He's vanished. I lost him. You're there,
standing, holding your flowers. And by the way you're gazing at the horizon you are
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INTERPRETATION: (after we asked them what they make of all this)
- Diversity in colors: You're walking on it. This represents the POTENTIAL for
happiness. You have everything you need here. There is a sense of abundance. You
- The offering: This shows there are feelings involved, and compassion. This gesture
here is a direct result of him perceiving your sorrow. Although your state of mind
- The YELLOW carnations: Now THIS is -to me- the interesting and revealing bit of
this.... This person had the choice among many flowers. But instead of picking a
variety of flowers to make a colorful bouquet he singled out the carnations. And he
didn't pick different colors of carnations. No. JUST the YELLOW ones.... WHY? ...
(Have her talk). Well... Do you know the meaning of this particular flower? The RED
carnations are a symbol of admiration and friendship. The pink ones represent
undying love, pure, like a mother's to her child. The YELLOW one, however, is the
only carnation having a negative meaning. I don't know whether this is relevant here,
but this particular flower has always been sent to person we want to express our
DISDAIN, sometimes REJECTION. Yes, he gave you flowers. Fooled you first at
making you feel you were special. But you soon realized that it was all superficial.
That this man was not giving you the place you feel you deserved.
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S.C.R.E.W.E.D. : BILLET VERSION
Like in the De Profundis performance you’ve watched in the video, and as stated in
the explanations you can choose NOT to go prop-less with S.C.R.E.W.E.D., and use
a billet. Of course, although not prop-less you remain minimalistic, and have an extra
kick at the end that’s well worth the effort (if we can call it this “an effort”)
You can see the steps watching the De Profundis part with the billet, but below is a
quick overview:
1. Ask sitter to think of a relationship she ended. A break-up that cost her. And
3. “Do you happen to carry with you an object that belonged to this man...?”.
She will say NO and you explain you need something physical to work with.
Hesitate, have your Eureka moment, and fetch that business card…
4. Have her write, then execute the Blank Piece Disconnect process. Now you
5. Have her squeeze the Blank Piece in her hand so she can “charge” it with this
man’s energy. Make her do the whole process with this paper (either hand
6. When done have her give you the blank piece, and do your journey holding
the piece in the clenched fist of one hand and holding her hand with your other
7. Your journey here starts like this: “I see you. You’re in a familiar environment.
You’re calm and relaxed. And… You’re not alone. A man is facing you… For a
reason I cannot fathom this man I’m seeing with you is a friend I used to have,
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over 20 years ago, back in university. It’s clearly him, and here, in my vision,
he’s clearly your lover. It makes no doubt by the way you both are looking at
each other. But why him? With you…? …. (Pause) I hope I can make sense of
it later, as this completely eludes me right now. Let’s move on… I can
see……….”
9. To reveal you wait the VERY END, when everything is said and analyzed. You
are waiting for HER to make the move and ask you. If she doesn’t, provoke it.
“What I don’t get though is the reason why I saw THIS particular guy with
you…!” As long as SHE hasn’t asked for the name, try to find a reason. Like
“Was your boyfriend from France? No? Because my friend was French… There
MUST be a connection…!” Doing this you are making her look for clues, and
she will at some point ask you the name of this person. Then, casually reveal
it, like “David Fournier… Why??” giving the last name as well as a subtlety to
10. Let her scream. And act a little. Have fun. That’s a miracle.
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FINAL WORD ON JOURNEYS
I want you to know that S.C.R.E.W.E.D. is –by far- the most emotional, hard-hitting
routine in my repertoire, should I of course perform for the right sitter. And I would
like you to keep in mind that 99% of the time I perform it on a one-on-one situation.
look as your face might give you away” subtlety with the Gypsy Peek discussed in the
video. But these are exceptional, as even when choosing a sitter among a group I
So, when designing this method I did so for such performing environments: one-on-
one. And that made me miss a point that holds enormous potential. A point I came
to discover one day when performing S.C.R.E.W.E.D. in front of a group, and that
As a side note, Christophe is a very busy performer living in Switzerland, and never
have I crossed someone THIS demanding regarding the quality of what he chooses
to perform. But considering the brands he works for, it makes total sense. Moreover,
he’s well-known for being very severe and honest when asked about a routine or a
technique. His PC-filter is turned off, and he expresses himself the way he feels. And
that is the reason he’s been banned from many forums. But that’s another story. Thing
is: from the very start Christophe has been fascinated by this routine, and he has
is that many times the sitter cries. And it’s not much to his liking. But to me it is proof
of its potency, and gives room for the cathartic and final phase that gives this routine
So: Christophe was asked to perform on a TV Channel of the Swiss cable. And he
and the Name of the man his –female- sitter had dumped (and that’s what he did),
and on camera he had nothing to do, just concentrate on presentation and deliver
the Journey.
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The Category was VALUES (Religion), and the Journey Christophe delivered was the
very one you have above. After the Pre-Show phase he had plenty of time reading it
a couple of times and be prepared. He used my “This man I see with you is, for a
reason unknown to me, a cousin of mine” gambit, and at the end he very easily had
her ASK for the name of his cousin, as they were both “trying” to figure out the reason
the poor devil (his cousin) was part of this vision. Needless to say that this whole thing
killed, and left both the sitter and the host in deep shock.
Now, HERE IS THE THING I didn’t see at first when designing this: the BUILT-IN
DUAL REALITY of this method. Both in my case when performing for the group and
for example, the sitter perfectly got the metaphorical nature of the Journey. She did
exactly what I, when designing S.C.R.E.W.E.D, expected her to do. BUT AFTER THE
SHOW the host approached Christophe as well and, totally floored still, asked him
HOW could he have seen this PAST EXPERIENCE? He said “From the description of
the scene I believe that it happened somewhere in a North-African souk… HOW did
you know that? And HOW the hell did you see what happened with this beggar??
Take a moment here and think. The host truly believed that Christophe was narrating
a REAL event. NOT an allegory. And I had a similar experience with the group of
friends I’m referring to above. I noticed that SOME in the group truly believed I saw
an ACTUAL scene. And that got me thinking a lot once back at home that day. After
a long discussion over Skype with Christophe, I have to say his idea is well worth
METAPHORICAL AND REALISTIC. I explain myself: a Journey like the VALUES one
On the other hand one like the COMMUNICATION one would not. It would be hard
to live a real situation where your lover and yourself would be in a crowded place,
two. And for those of you who like Christophe perform in front of audiences and
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would like to take advantage of this aspect of S.C.R.E.W.E.D, you could analyze each
LAST BUT NOT LEAST: Since we’ve come that far… why not adding some further
details into the picture? We’re describing a scene, so let’s make it interesting. Let’s
be accurate. To take the Souk scenario above: if Christophe had said while
delivering the Journey “You’re walking, dressed with ample and colorful clothes…
o The result for the SITTER would be the same: these details make no change
optimism”
o The result for the AUDIENCE, on the other hand, would be an even
stronger performance, as the performer has even been able to SEE such
Again. I am not saying that the whole audience will see that. I believe the vast majority
will understand the metaphorical nature of the journey, as per your introductory
script. And that’s just perfect, that’s exactly the goal here. BUT by ensuring the
journeys are plausible –yet strongly metaphorical- SOME of the onlookers will truly
live another reality, which is as strong and which will give your performance another
dimension. Especially when all these people then talk about what happened to
others.
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DELPHI STRUCTURES
Delphi, as you came to realize, is my Name Reveal of choice. It’s extremely versatile,
and allows you to really jazz depending on the person facing you AND the information
you have on the person she is thinking of (Approximate age you know after having
casually asked at the very beginning of the routine and the Gender you know after
the peek).
The structures I used in the performances are the following. They’re just here as an
example. If you have any difficulty with the terminology please refer to both the LINES
2. ASPIS Line
6. Reveal
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o WTF APPROACH
In this version I wanted to maximize the number of hits before anything was written
down. The idea is that by the time you ask them to write down the name you have
established yourself and lessened even more the importance of the writing/billet.
1. HUBRIS Line
2. EPAPHE Line
4. DISTAZO Line
6. Gender Confirmation: “I’d usually ask the gender of the person you’re thinking of
8. Reveal
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