Intimum Sacrarium Andreu All rights reserved Copyright © 2016
Intimum Sacrarium is proudly edited and printed in Colombia; the world’s finest country to drink the best quality coffee, eat bandeja paisa and ajiaco, travel through mindblowing landscapes of nature and weather (we (we don’t have seasons!), and meet the most amazing people. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including scanning, photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written wri tten permission from the publisher. Commercial manufacturing rights for all content herein are reserved by Andreu TV Performing Rights for all the herein effects are reserved by Andreu and will only be granted with written permission from the author.
Welcome to Intimum Sacrarium, take the hermetic oath:
I would like to dedicate this book to my family, friends, readers, fans and supporters, as well as those not so fond of me or my ideas. It’s been a long road to get here … without you, this book wouldn’t be a reality, and I wouldn’t be so g rateful, persistent, stronger and wiser than I was w as before.
Gutta cavat lapidem, non vi, sed saepe cadendo
Welcome to Intimum Sacrarium. The material presented herein has been created with the professional performer in mind, making sure that the effects are not only practical, strong and innovative but also inspiring and entertaining. Most of this material can be performed in AAA (anytime, anywhere, for anyone) conditions as it has been designed with the ‘impromptu’ premise in mind – from minimal to zero preparation whatsoever. For some of the effects, setup may be required only once from your part. You will find contributions from several authors such as Steve Drury, Niels Krøjgaard, Christopher Taylor and more. In case you’re wondering what the title of this book means, it’s Latin for Secret Sanctuary: a mystical place where the valuable wisdom is kept in secrecy. So right now, forget about everything else; open your mind and let’s embark into this fascinating journey of secrets and mystery. Follow me downstairs, into the mysterious pathways of this Intimum Sacrarium… Sacrarium…
The mindreader hands a drawing to a person in the audience, instructing him to keep it safely concealed. A participant is randomly selected and asked to think of a figure in his mind, focusing on any of its letters. Now, he’s asked to form another mental image with the letter he or she selected. The drawing is finally shown… it describes the exact image the spectator thought about!
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. Albert Einstein
Let’s play a mind game… close your eyes for a moment and take a deep breath… relax. breath… relax. Imagine that you’re 3 years old. You like to play games and of course, you like to draw. Now, think of a geometrical figure you would draw at this age. It should be a figure you can trace easily, not something elaborated or complex like a star, pentagon or any 3D figures. Everyone, please open your eyes. The mindreader addresses a lady in the audience. You seem to be perfect for this. I think you have something in mind. In a moment, I’m going to ask you to think of a letter of this figure. Can you please join me for one moment? Please give her a round of applause! The spectator joins the mindreader onstage. So, I told you to think of any figure and to think of one of its letters. Please imagine an animal that starts with this letter. The first animal that comes to mind, ok? This is just a small exercise that will hopefully tell me more about your way of thinking. For the first time, what animal did you think of? - An eagle. T his his tells me you’re really creative, but oddly enough it also tells me you’re rather suggestible. T here’s here’s a drawing right inside this envelope which has been in full view the entire time. And, as you may notice it’s precisely… precisely… an EAGLE! EAGLE! The spectator reacts and the audience applauds!
The secret relies on several principles:
An ingenious psychological psychological force, based on Banachek’s Circle and the Triangle effect Triangle effect of his mentalism cult book, Psychological Subtleties (1998).
Dunninger’s ploy. p loy.
A clever artwork / design which provides 2 outs (which was sent via email when you purchased this book).
Let’s review each one of these. The initial choice is based on the amazing psychological force explained by Banachek. I have further restricted it, as the participant imagines that he (or she) is only 3 years old. This will reassure they w on’t bring up any complicated figures. Once, someone told me something along these lines: “Oh I just imagined a very simple dodecahedron”, dodecahedron ”, which is an interesting choice but not so simple after all (it was for her though)! For the second part; when the spectator is asked to join the performer upstage and under the disguise of the applause, he simply asks her to think of the final letter of her figure. This is covered by this part of the script: I told you to think of any figure and to think of one of its letters. Which imples like she’s given a free choice of letter, but the brief dialog is actually used to ask her to think of the last letter of her figure, which will be an ‘E’ in case she chooses Line, Square, Circle, Triangle, Rectangle or Ellipse.
It won’t work with other figures such as star (discarded by being mentioned overtly during your script), oval, rhombus, pentagon, hexagon, etc., which shouldn’t be a concern as the performer clearly states that the figure must be so simple that a child could draw it.
Then, openly ask the spectator to think of an animal that starts with this letter. The two popular choices are those shown in the provided artwork: an eagle and… a ‘baby’ ‘baby’ elephant – yes, frame it like elephant. it’s a younger elephant. This can be done depending on how you flip the provided picture (as seen below). You may print EEL behind the picture – a third, less common choice. Now you are all set.
Diabolical, right? There are two versions of this image; one is more suited to be printed for close-up and the other one for stage performances. But what if the participant thinks of an oval and a lion, a parallelogram and a mouse or a hexagon and a nightingale? You tell her that she has a fantastic imagination and invite her to participate on your next mental experiment. She never has to know there is a prediction in the first place and you never fail unless you clearly state it.
I would like to credit the following authors and performers as inspirations for this effect. Annemann Banachek Max Maven
Proposing an experiment on color psychology and influence, the performer addresses a participant and displays an envelope and three cards, printed with different colors. The participant is asked to think of two of them and the cards are shuffled. Now, a new color is formed inside the spectator’s mind, by combining those that were initially chosen. The mindreader now proceeds to look at the eyes of the participant, giving an accurate personality reading and divining the exact color! Finally, the mentalist hands the envelope to the participant… he has influenced the exact choice!
There is no truth. There is only perception. Gustave Flaubert
My name is Andreu and I’m a Mentalist. a Mentalist. I define Mentalism as the art of presenting mysteries of the mind and the paranormal. Mixing fascinating subjects such as psychology, mind control, NLP, hypnosis, suggestion, telepathy, divination, precognition, clairvoyance, ESP, psychokinesis and memory feats, we alter people’s perceptions perceptions of their own realities, thus allowing them to discover the secrets of the mind! As you may notice, this is an art which requires human interaction in order to work properly. While a lecturer or standup comedian may simply tell his jokes without really involving anyone, we always require active participation from the audience. Now let me clarify something. This is not like someone tells me to read his or her mind and I just do it. I need something to work with! It’s never the the same when you think of any random word and ask me to read your mind than taking the time to write and visualize something which associates to you and feeling a related emotion. All these small details make a huge difference for me and allow me to read people better. Now, allow me to ask you something: have you ever seen an actor fail on his script delivery, either on TV or a movie? Never. Well, some of us can actually fail from time to time and that’s ok; as you know the human mind and behavior add a lot of complexity and unpredictability to everything we do. As mentalists, we have different sets of skills that range from reading people to influencing some of their basic basic choices.
Others are advanced in inducing hypnotic phenomena, altering people’s people’s realities and perceptions of everyone and everything around them. In general, you could say that we love to play with people’s minds, and we use our powers for good, or at least I always al ways do! You may have noticed I briefly mentioned suggestion; let’s talk about an element of this: color. Did you know that something as simple as color can seriously influence people’s choices? This is a fact that marketers will take advantage of, and the reason why companies spend abundant amounts of time and money designing their logos, brandmarks and products in a very specific manner: everything is made in order to influence people’s people’s choices. Right now, I wll ask you to make a choice. Be aware that I don’t want you to just to just pick your favorite color but the t he one that would best represent your personality. In a psychological study, purple was seen as an ambiguous color. For most though, it represented ego and vanity. Orange, was seen as a warm color, chosen by those who were positive and sociable under all circumstances. Green was seen as the color of nature, but at the same time it was chosen by individuals with empathy, that placed others in front f ront of them. I will give you three seconds to choose the color which would suit your personality best. 1… 2… 3. Good! Please remember your color. As you may have noticed, I have laid out three different colors on the table.
When combined, two of them will create the color you’re thinking of.
Remember that purple is made by combining blue and red, green is made by combining yellow and blue and orange is made by combining red and yellow.
Please rearrange the three color cards in any order you wish, as long as you leave them side by side. side . The participant freely rearranges the colors. Please take a look at the two colors that form the one you chose from the start. Remember where they are, as I’m going to turn all cards face down next. As soon as I’m facing away, place your index fingers on top of the two colors and switch their positions.
The performer turns the three colors face down and looks away, while the spectator puts his fingers on two of the colors and switches their positions. Excellent. I will turn back again in a few seconds… so just make sure the cards are properly aligned, side by side. The mindreader turns to face the participant again. As you may notice, the cards are brand new and blank, so there’s no way to know which ones you changed. Now, place both of your index fingers in any of these cards again, and switch them. Good. Please switch other two again just to make sure they’re mixed… very good! Would you like to switch again? As you may notice, by this point it’s impossible to even tell where your chosen colors are. The participant decides to stop switching. Please focus for a moment on these two colors. Just picture them in your mind. Now think of the initial color you chose… as well as shape and forms that could have this color. Ok, now just say the three colors out loud, like this, “ Purple, green, orange”. - Purple, green, orange. Good, now just say “Red, blue, yellow” - Red, blue, yellow. I definitely noticed something in your voice tone in there… this is interesting and I think I may be right. Let me try this out.
The mentalist holds back the cards and takes two of them. For the first time, what mixed colors you were thinking t hinking of? - Yellow and blue. The performer shows that he’s holding the yellow and blue cards. But, now let me show you something curious. Remember that I told you that colors were meant to influence people? This envelope has been all the time in my shirt pocket and as you can see I don’t have any more envelopes with me. The performer hands the envelope to the participant, who is asked to open it and read its contents out loud:
Color Vision’s methodology is based on a concept I read about on Magical Mathematics by Persi Diaconis and Ron Graham, which was grounded on a principle by Bob Hummer.
After experimenting with it, I realized that altering its presentation allowed me to justify every action of the original effect, as well as allowed for a more interesting premise that mixed psychology with mindreading / precognition. So without further due, let’s see how you’re able to deduce and predict the correct combination of colors everytime.
For the setup, just write (or print) the following words on one of your business cards. YOU’RE THE TYPE OF PERSON THAT HAS ENOUGH EMPATHY TO CHOOSE GREEN! YOU’RE AWESOME. HAVE A GREAT DAY!
Fold the paper and place it inside the envelope. Finally, get three business (or blank) cards and a pen or marker. If you choose a marker, make sure the ink won’t bleed through the back of the cards when something is written down.
1. Ask the spectator to think of either purple, orange or green, according to their personality.
As you may have noticed, the provided script is oriented to suggest – not force – the participant to choose Green. Of course, you may change the “results of the psychological study” in order to influence their choice. Orange would be the second most popular choice, and Purple would be rarely chosen as the wording would imply that they’re very egocentric (something they wouldn’t like others to think, even if it’s true).
2. Write down RED, BLUE and YELLOW in the blank cards.
Allow the spectator to rearrange these cards in any order they wish, leaving them side by side as shown below. For explanation purposes, imagine this to be the starting order:
3. Ask the spectator to remember the position of the (two) colors that form the one they’re thinking of .
4. Put all three cards face down, but make sure to memorize the color in the center position. So, let’s pretend that before turning them face down, the initial position was RED, BLUE, YELLOW. For this instance, you need to memorize BLUE. 5. While you look away, ask the spectator to place their index fingers on top of the cards to “mix” and “mix” and to switch their positions.
E.g. If they think of RED and YELLOW (given the initial position) and switch them, the new order will be: YELLOW, BLUE, RED. Or, if they think (from the starting position) of BLUE and YELLOW, the new order will be: RED, YELLOW, BLUE. Of course, you won’t be able to see the names of the colors after they switch them (as they are face down), but you already know what color was in the middle and this will be enough to figure everything out! 6. Turn back to face the participant. Allow him or her to point at two of the papers and switch them. Make sure to always keep track of where the center paper is (as well as the color you memorized). Don’t lose track of this center paper or the effect won’t w on’t work.
A good idea is to repeat (mentally, of course) the color and position where it has been moved after a switch, for example: “Blue left…” or “Blue center …”, …”, etc. Repeat the switching process several times until the spectator is comfortable, but keep track of where the center paper is being moved as well as its color. This is the key.
Finally, “shuffle” all of them yourself as long as you keep visual track of that ‘key’ card. Show the cards to be on top of the other! The messier, the most convincing it looks at this point as it destroys the idea of the initial order being important to the methodology itself. 7. Turn each card face up and follow the 2 rules.
When you turn face up each of the cards. Notice the color of the paper you tracked down (the one which was initially on the center), and apply these 2 rules:
If the color is the same one you memorized, the spectator chose the other two colors.
If the color is different to the one you memorized, the spectator chose the one you memorized and the one you saw when you uncovered the card.
Note: When you have practiced more, you may just hold the three cards in your hand. As long as you keep track of the final position of the ‘key’ card, you can pretty much do anything by this point. You may also consider showing them each of the cards and watchin g how they “react”, as if you’re reading their body language to figure it out. 8. Give an accurate reading depending on the choice. Hold the two correct colors in your hands and ask the spectator to name them out loud.
Reveal them to be accurate and end the effect in case the participant didn’t choose GREEN. In case they chose GREEN, reveal both colors to be accurate and finally hand the envelope with the prediction inside!
Suppose the spectator arranges the cards like this:
Once you see this, memorize the color that is in the center: “Blue Center” Center” and turn the cards face down. Now, let’s say the spectator thinks of RED and YELLOW and switches these cards while your back is turned. Once you turn back to face the spectator, you will just see the back blank of the cards.
Keep assuming though, that the one in the center is Blue (which might not always happen though). Now, the spectator points at the cards on the left and right (not the center one), requesting to switch them. Do it, while you still assume that the center one is still “Blue” Blue”, as it wasn’t switched.
At this point, the spectator points at the center and right cards and switches. Keep track of the center one, which is now on the right position. Now, you need to assume that “Blue” Blue” is on the right: “Blue “Blue right”. right”. Let’s suppose the spectator doesn’t want to switch anymore. At this point you may shuffle them, showing them completely messy, but keeping visual track of where that important piece is. Now, start turning face up the cards, one by one. As soon as you turn face up the ‘key’ card (which was initially the “center” one and is now the one in the right), you notice that the card you memorized is effectively… Blue. According to the rules:
If the color is the same one you memorized, the spectator chose the other two colors.
This scenario describes the first rule as the color is the same one you memorized. This means the spectator thought of Yellow and Red. So, just give a reading to the participant related to Orange and reveal the correct combination of colors. Let’s review another quick example. The spectator asks you to do a lot of switches and you’re keeping track of Blue (because it was in the center when you first glanced), and which you assume after several switching steps to be on the left. No more switches are requested. When you uncover the left card (the one that you expected to be Blue), you see Red instead. What does this mean?
This scenario describes the second rule as the color you uncovered is different to the one you memorized :
If the color is different to the one you memorized, the spectator chose the one you memorized and the one you saw when you uncovered the card.
In other words, this implies that - for this example - the spectator is thinking of Blue (the same one you memorized) and Red (the one you saw as soon as you uncovered the “key” card you tracked down). Make sure to practice several times and you will finally figure this out easily. Let’s carry on with one more effect before rolling the closing thoughts and credits.
Take 3 blank cards and ask your participant to write down one word that describes a personal memory on each one of them. The 1st card should contain a happy memory along with a smiley face; the 2nd card, a sad memory and a sad face. The 3rd one, an exciting memory (no faces, just the word). Guide them - with a line - to write horizontally, always on the center. Instruct to place all cards face down so you can’t see the writing. Fold the 1st one in quarters, perfectly centered. Fold the 2nd horizontally and, when you fold vertically, make sure this fold is a bit off centered 1. This will ‘mark ’ the second card. Fold the 3rd one in quarters, just as the 1 st one, properly centered. Look away as you ask them to do this: Place your hand on top of one of them; and for the moment, switch the other two, ready? Later we will keep switching, but for now, read mentally the one you selected. Fold it again and place it where it was. Switch twice or more without looking at the cards; keep track of the underfolded one. Now, you will tear all three cards!
If the card you hold is the underfolded one, it’s the it’s the memory they thought of. Apply a CENTER TEAR to this one, tear others!
If the card you hold is not the underfolded one, then it’ it ’s not this one, neither the underfolded one they thought about. Rip both of them apart (the one you’re holding and the underfolded one); apply a CENTER TEAR to the other one!
Finally, reveal the memory with your best cold reading skills! 1
Such as in Millard Longman’s Acidus Novus, published on 1979 by Al Mann.
I have to say I feel excited with what I achieved by trying to further develop this principle. This is one of those ideas that even when you know its secret can still fool you! The subtlety of using this concept along with a center tear is something very valuable, that can really take the effect to the next level. Even the most influential performers of our times can attest to the incredible reactions you can usually get with a well executed center tear. Once you understand the principle and practice, it will become second nature. Remember that you can apply this to virtually anything you can think of, such as names, words, places, movies, emotions, zodiac signs, personality traits, phone numbers, among many others!
I would like to credit the following authors and performers as inspirations for this effect. Bob Hummer Persi Diaconis Richard Osterlind Ron Graham
The mentalist proposes a mind suggestion experiment, drawing attention to an envelope and claiming it to be important for the end result of the demonstration. Handing a matchbox to the spectator, a random number of matches is taken and concealed in each hand. The spectator is asked to freely transfer some of the matches from one hand to the other. The participant keeps making several free choices, without giving anything away. To end the experiment, the spectator is asked to hold all the matches in one hand. Without knowing any of the choices the participant made, the mentalist is able to divine in which hand the matches are being concealed! Finally, the mindreader opens the envelope and asks the spectator to read its contents out loud. Surprisingly, the mindreader is able to predict not only the correct hand but also the exact number of hidden matches!
‘There is
nothing more deceptive than an obvious Sherlock Holmes / A.C Doyle
fact.’
The mentalist asks a female spectator to join him upstage. Hello, I’m Andreu. And your name your name is… - Elizabeth. I’m very pleased to meet you. Let me ask you a question: do you believe in mind control? Do you think it’s possible for a person to take total control over someone’s mind , to the point where they no longer have free will to act or think? The spectator replies to the question. That’s interesting. interesting. Some as myself, could even argue that society is the perfect example of mass mind control. Are your thoughts your own? Curiously, some people catalog some of my experiments as mind control. Although I disagree with them, I would like to show you something right now which which is pretty interesting. As you may notice; there’s an envelope on the table. This will be important in just a moment, but for the time being, please hold this matchbox. Please think of the first number that comes to your mind from 5 to 10. Please follow your instinct and go with the first number you thought of. I want you to take this number of matches from the matchbox, and place it in each of your hands.
For example, if you thought of five, just place five matches in your left hand and five matches in your y our right hand. Once you’re done , just , just say “I’m ready”. The spectator takes the same amount of matches she mentally chose and conceals them in each hand. - I’m ready. This was a free choice, unknown to me and now you have the same number of matches in each hand. hand. In order to make this really random, just think of two or three. Transfer this number of matches from one hand to the other; don’t tell me if you transfer them from your right to your left hand or viceversa, just do this now as I look l ook away. - Ok , I’m ready! Excellent. Now I want to give you three options to choose from, so please pick only one of them in your mind and proceed to do it. Option one, is to take one more match with each of your hands. Option two, is to throw away one match from each of your hands. Option three, is to stay st ay exactly the same as you are right now. Choose only one option, and proceed to do it now while I’m not looking. - Ready. Ok, now just take a look at both of your hands and notice which one has fewer matches.
I want you to completely empty this hand of all matches, but make sure to remember how many you throw away. This hand must be left completely empty, ok? And I just want you to remember how many you throw throw away… good. Now, throw the same number of matches from the hand that still has some of them. For example, if you threw five matches from one hand to empty it, please throw five from your other hand too. Please say ‘ok’ when you’re done. done. - Ok. Just count all the matches you have left. Do this now and don’t tell me how many you have. Think if this is an even or odd number… if it’s an even number, conceal all of the matches in your right hand and if it’s odd, just conceal them all in your left hand. Please extend both of your hands with closed fists, so it’s impossible for me to know where the matches are being hidden. The spectator places both closed hands in front. Perfect. I’m turning back now. now. Please look at your left hand. Good. Now look at your right hand. Interesting. Open this hand… The performer gestures to the right hand of the participant while saying this. Excellent! So the matches are in this hand… just hand… just as I thought.
But now, let’s take this one step further… you have four matches in your right hand, correct?
- That’s correct. It’s a fact that you never you never told me how many matches you took from the start. Also, you never gave away how many you decided to transfer, take or discard as later choices… choices … they were free decisions from your side. However, I would like to remind you about the envelope I showed you from the start. It is time to open this and read its contents out loud… loud… can c an you please help me to do so?
The spectator reads the paper out loud as the audience gasps and bursts into thunderous applause!
The secret for A Handful of Miracles relies on an ingenious and underused mathematical principle, along with several psychological subtleties which act as very powerful convincers. The concept for this effect was first presented to me in a book called “In the realm of intelligence” by I.E. Ignatiev, a Russian mathematician. As soon as I read the concept, I thought it was a very neat idea with a lot of potential, which could be used in hundreds of effects and applications. This is a perfect routine to establish that you really can influence someone’s train of thought. It’s very simple to perform and the material you need is minimal; not to mention it can be adapted for two spectators and a myriad of different presentations. Now that I may have aroused your curiosity, let’s take a look at the detailed procedure to make this mind experiment work.
Write (print) these “predictions” in suitable paper and size. Prediction # 1:
Prediction # 2:
Fold both in quarters and conceal Prediction # 1 inside an envelope. Prediction # 2 goes inside any pocket. Get a matchbox with 20 matches. You may use 20 marbles inside a bag, or any other items that fit comfortably inside the participant’s hand.
Propose a suggestion experiment. Call brief attention to the envelope with Prediction # 1 inside. Ask the spectator to… 1. Think of a number from 5 to 10.
Now, hand them the matchbox and instruct to take the same number of matches, and conceal this amount in each hand. For example, if six is chosen, then six matches must be concealed in the left hand and six in the right hand. Emphasize this several times, to make sure the spectator understands that he must have the same quantity inside each hand. 2. Pass two or three matches from one hand to the other.
This is the key part that makes everything work and it must be done without any guilt whatsoever as you’re simply “making sure everything’s random and that they don’t have the same number of matches anymore”. Herein lies the secret principle: the ending result will always be the number of matches they pass from one hand to the other, multiplied by two. As you’re telling them to transfer two or three matches from one hand to the other, the final number of matches will always be four or six (provided they follow your instructions). 3. Choose from three possible actions. i) Each hand takes one more match. ii) Each hand throws one match away. iii) Everything stays the same.
Allow the spectator to follow only one of these choices, in silence. This step is meant to act as a distractor and won’t change the end result of the experiment at all. Note: The spectator may take more or less than one match as long as it’s the same amount in each hand (and obviously less than those they hold). I like to keep things simple though, so doing it with one match seems fair enough for me. This step step may also be done before step 2, feel free to experiment. 4. Empty the hand with fewer matches, remembering how many were discarded. Now, discard the same number of matches from the other hand.
Follow the provided script beforehand in order to do this. 5. Conceal the remaining matches inside the right hand (if it’s an even number) or the left hand (if it’s an odd number).
At this point just tell them to count the total number of matches they have and follow the provided script. Although this is always an even amount, the entire effect is designed to lead the participant to believe this number could actually be any one. Of course, knowing this beforehand makes it easy for the mentalist to force in which hand you want them to conceal the matches, and thus you will be able to predict the correct hand with the prediction. 6. Gesture to the right hand and tell them to open it.
If your spectator is clever and you were absolutely clear in your instructions, the matches will be in this hand. Quickly glance if they’re holding four or six matches.
7. Reveal…
Complete your script, according to what you see and show the correct prediction: Excellent! So just as I thought…
You have four matches in your right hand! You have six matches in your right hand! It’s empty!
Depending if they have 4 or 6, hold Prediction # 1 with your right or left thumb covering the other number, and showing that you have predicted the exact amount, as shown below:
Ask any other spectator to quickly read what it says. D on’t hand them the paper, they shouldn’t ask for it anyway. If you don’t feel comfortable with this handling, you can carry an extra prediction which says “I will influence you to place 6 matches in your right hand”. I personally feel this is unnecessary as one prediction does all the work for you in here. If the right hand is empty, it’s very important to relax and never portray any disappointment. Either the spectator did something wrong during the process or he’s a smartass. In this case, immediately state… “Just as I thought, it’s empty. empty . Remember what I told you about mind control at the start of this experiment? Here, please read this paper out loud…” As you say this, take Prediction # 1 from the table, switch it for Prediction # 2 and hand it to the participant to read it out loud. While this is the weakest “out”, it guarantees you won’t fail, no matter what. Bear in mind this scenario shouldn’t ever happen happen if you were clear on your instructions; i t’s an “emergency exit”. If you need to learn how to switch billets effectively, I recommend the following material with my eyes closed.
Allen Zingg – Zingg – Master Master Billet Course (4 – DVD DVD Set)
Annemann – Annemann – Practical Practical Mental Effects
Corinda and Ralph W. Read – The Complete Guide to Billet Switching
Elliot Bresler – Bresler – Switchcraft Switchcraft
Richard Osterlind – Osterlind – 13 13 Steps to Mentalism (6 – DVD DVD Set)
This variation is oriented towards the classic truth teller and liar plot. I personally prefer the suggestion version explained beforehand, but I will also explain this one just in case you’re a fan of this idea.
Print the following predictions:
When you’re doing Step 2 of the process, ask them to transfer one match from one hand to the other. This effectively forces the result to be two matches in the right hand.
Now, allow the spectator to tell you the truth or lie if they want. Ask the spectator: “Are the matches in your right hand?” Wait until he or she answers and then proceed to ask the same question about the left hand. Don’t say anything just yet. Gesture to the right hand, telling them to open it: “Please open this hand…” hand…”, and complete the sentence, according to what you see in the hand. Excellent, just Excellent, just as I thought… thought…
You were telling the truth! You were lying! It’s empty! empty!
Proceed to show the correct prediction and it will seem like you predicted the outcome of the experiment. As you can see, the only thing that changes is the initial part of the prediction - which is the only real choice they have whether they tell the truth or lie to you. This is a very strong psychological convincer that will baffle even the most skeptic of spectators; they will be amazed to see that you really anticipated everything just as if you read and controlled their minds.
If you want to use only one prediction, just print one that reads:
If they decided to tell you the truth, you can always say: “Excellent. So you told me the truth as your lying skills may not be so advanced. Bad liars always tell the truth. Can you please read out loud what the the paper says?” says?”
If they decided to lie, you can state: “Excellent. So even though you wanted to lie, you’re not so good at it after all… b all… bad ad liars always end up telling the truth”.
The ambiguity will cover both outs perfectly. I would like to credit a similar scripting used in Tequila Hustler by Mark Elsdon. In A Handful of Miracles, you’re always able to discern if the spectator is really lying or telling the truth.
You may want to perform A Handful of Miracles for two spectators. For explanation purposes, let’s suppose your spectators are named John and Mary. M ary. Instruct both to agree on a number from 5 to 10 and to conceal this same number of matches (marbles, or any other items which they can hold in their hands). Now, instruct them to hand “a pair” of matches (it doesn’t matter if John gives them to Mary or viceversa). This, apparently to “make sure it’s fair and guarantee they don’t have the same amount”. As explained before, this will lead to the final result of four matches (so this will be mentioned by your prediction). Now, proceed to give them the usual choices.
John and Mary take one more match. John and Mary both throw one match away. John and Mary stay the same.
At this point, tell them to check which of them has fewer matches - without letting you know. This person must discard all of them and whisper to the other participant how many were discarded. The other spectator finally discards the same number of matches and the process is finished.
Carry on with a final instruction: “Please count all the remaining matches. If this number is even; hand them all to Mary. If it’s odd , hand them all to John”. John ”. “I will ask each one of you, ‘do you have the matches? “You can either tell the truth or lie to me… me… as I will try to read your body language”.
At this point, you can deduce who’s holding the matches (hey, you already know what the truth is), their quantity and the hand that holds them. Here’s a nice touch if you also want to predict the name of one of your participants. During preshow, find out the name of a woman that will participate in the effect with no questions. In order to do this, you may use Legion, my name divination mobile app. Legion, available via Play Store (Android) and App Store (iOS), allows you to divine virtually any name (and birth date) and provides your participant with a numerology reading!
Anyway, going back to the effect; once you know the name of the participant (let’s say you found out her name is Christine), write down two predictions for your setup.
__
How do you also ‘predict’ in which hand they will be hidden? Ask each participant if they’re holding the matches . Allow them to respond with the truth or to lie. Focus on her response. If she replies NO to this first question, she’s obviously and cynically lying. Ask her to “tell the truth again in case she told the truth the first time and to lie again in case she lied the first time”. Then, ask her if the matches are on the right hand. If she replies NO to this second question, reveal that she’s she’s lying and holding 4 matches in the right hand . Hand her the correct prediction.
However, if she replies YES to the first question, the matches are inside her left hand. In order to reposition them, ask her to “place both hands behind her back and switch all matches from one hand to the other ”. With this, you will make sure that she transfers all matches to the RIGHT hand. Switch the prediction for the correct one and hand it to her. She will be shocked to see that you divined her name (without questions), the fact that she told the truth or lied, the exact number of matches and the correct hand!
In this section I will explain my three-round version of “which hand”, Hailed Nostrum. Most versions of this effect always use a coin and the performer just finds out where it is hidden and that’s it. I wanted to create something that took the presentation further and allowed me to orient it towards suggestion / influence as well as human neurology and psychology. This is the end result. Round 1 – 1 – Impossible Impossible Revelation
For the first phase, you hand a crumbled piece of paper to the spectator to hold in either hand. Now, claim you will influence their actions (do not state that you will try to find where the paper is - this is very important). Ask the spectator to hold the paper on either hand and to put both hands in front with closed fists.
Now, point to the right hand and instruct: “Please put this hand down”. Now, there’s only one hand still in front (left). Ask the spectator to open this hand.
If this hand has the piece of paper, explain how you wanted to influence them to hold the paper in that hand! If not, just say: “I have perfectly influenced infl uenced you to keep it in the right hand, can you please open the crumbled piece of paper?” Once the spectator opens this paper, it will read:
Note: It is possible to perform 2 rounds in here!
If, during the first round, you find the paper in the right hand, take it as a direct hit! If not, just follow the explained procedure and don’t do a second round with this same methodology (instead, go to the second round, Unconscious Choice). If you took the first round as a hit (which happens a lot of times), before doing the second round, overtly state: “Ok, let’s try something a little bit different for this round”, then hand the spectator another crumbled piece of paper (it can be a different color one) but it must contain the same message as the first one (and shown beforehand). The script implies to the spectator that you could influence them a second time, just in a very different and clever manner!
Round 2 – 2 – Unconscious Unconscious Choice
This round deals with brain hemispheres. You need eight blank (or business) cards. The following explanation is for blank ones. Print down the following words in each one:
You may perform with more than eight cards (or less).
Place all cards each on top of the other with the same orientation of the words (as shown). The order doesn’t matter. Once you place them like this, draw a small pencil dot on the upper right side corner of the back of each card, so you will know their orientation. You’re ready. Instruct the spectator to shuffle the cards with an overhand shuffle. While all of this happens, explain how the brain is divided into the left and right hemispheres; the former oriented towards rational processes and the latter towards more emotional ones. Fanning the words out, state: Please select one of these words randomly. Remember it, as well as the brain side to which it corresponds. Allow your spectator to read the selected word / hemisphere, and memorize it. When you take the card back, place it inside the rest of the cards, making sure to place it in the opposite orientation: use the markings you made beforehand. This is a very old (and effective) handling used in Encyclopedia of Card Tricks by Jeah Hugard based on one-way back design cards. Once the card is returned to the pack, do a casual overhand shuffle with the words facing you. During this process, peek at the only card with a different orientation to know what their word is. Once you peek, place all the cards in your pocket.
Now, ask the spectator to conceal a coin inside their right hand if the word they thought of was a “right brain” one, or to conceal it in their left hand if the word was a “left brain” one. At this point, you may ask them if the coin is in either hand, allowing them to lie or tell the truth… it does n’t matter what they choose as you already know everything you need to know. They can even change answers if they want, for example lie first then tell the truth, it doesn’t matter ! Pretend you read their body language and divine where the coin is being hidden. Round 3 – 3 – Conscious Conscious choice
For the final round, take the cards and allow the participant to read each one as you show them. This allows you to place the previous selected card in the correct orientation. Now, ask the participant to make a conscious choice: leave all the cards face up and ask him (or her) to place all other cards in a pile and turn it face down once a word is chosen. As usual, take it back, insert it in the opposite direction to the rest of the pack and do an overhand shuffle to peek. Again, ask the spectator to read out loud every card. Interesting. I noticed you changed your tone of voice when you read some of them. Let’s L et’s try this out with the coin, just to reconfirm my suspicions. suspicions.
Allow them to conceal it on either hand (as in the previous round). Divine where the coin is as well as the exact word! For a fourth round, you may perform A Handful of Miracles.
Is there a way to make the typical which hand effect more personal? Sure. Why not using it to figure out someone’s personality traits? After all, the more personal an effect is, the more interesting it becomes for us as performers and for our spectators. Here are a couple of ideas to make it way more personal:
Use positive and negative personality traits!
Ask the participant to place the coin in their right hand if she considers herself an extrovert, left one if she considers herself an introvert. You may let them choose from positive, negative and neutral traits, which are represented by their right hand, left hand and pocket (such as in several MindSight effects). Active / Inactive Adventurous / Cautious Friendly / Aloof Amused / Bored Brave / Cowardly Calm / Nervous Cheerful / Gloomy Conservative / Liberal Original / Conventional Gullible / Cynical Fearless / Fearful
Good / Evil Hardworking / Lazy Helpless / Self-Reliant Extrovert / Introvert Kind / Cruel Laid Back / Ambitious Naughty / Well behaved Passive / Aggressive Sincere / Deceitful Sociable / Loner Zany / Sober
Use it with “The Cube” to Cube” to cold read the spectator.
If the “cube” is big, ask them to place an object in the left hand. If not, the right hand. Apply the same for the position of the ladder and the rest of the suitable choices. Then, provide an impressive reading! If you’re not familiar with The Cube, I recommend reading Docc Hilford’s System 88.
A Handful of Miracles is a wonderful effect which you can perform in AAA conditions. I’m very proud to present it to the mentalism world for the first time. After years of obsesssion with “which hand”, I decided it was time for an evolution that allowed for more revelations as well as being independent of the truth-teller / liar plot. The effect may be played out as a reading, psychological or suggestion type of effect (my personal favorite). It’s self-working as long as you’re clear on the instructions so the spectator follows the process.
While on previous “which hand” effects you just divined the correct hand several times and that was it, in here you go deeper inside the spectator ’s mind. Combine it with the fact that you don’t need any gimmicks or electronics and you have an impromptu gem. I expect the reader to perform the effect before drawing any conclusions. Secrets are only obvious after you unveil them. For those interested in more approaches to “which hand”, support me by acquiring Mindsight at your favorite dealer. Since its release, a lot of “which hand” effects started getting released. Coincidence? Well, as a mentalist, I rarely believe in coincidences. Inspiring (influencing) others has always been my aim, and so it seems like I ’ve succeeded. Anyway, if you plan on using any of these principles for publishing a routine, I would definitely appreciate if you contact me first and give me credit. This piece is hidden in the Intimum Sacrarium for a reason, so keep it secret – shh...
I would like to credit Primo Blass-Tchang for his help as well as the following authors / performers as an important source of inspiration and as contributors to our art with their ingenious approaches to the “which hand” effect. Banachek Barry Richardson Ben Blau Bryn Renolds Charles Gauci Darryl Davis & Daryl Williams Derren Brown E.I. Ignatiev Ever Elizalde Gerald Kosky Leo Boudreau Manos Kartsakis Mark Elsdon Patrick Redford R.B. Costley (RedDevil) Rick Maue
Ryan Frame
The mentalist selects a female spectator from the audience and hands her a sealed envelope. Next, he displays a list of around 20 words (objects), instructing the woman to mentally choose thee of them, by imagining that she holds two of them while the other one is discarded on the floor (this is an entirely free choice). The participant is asked a question to which she responds mentally – never never verbally. Now, she’s asked to make several random decisions with each of the objects. The entire process is done in the spectator’s mind and nothing is ever written down.
To end the experiment, the mind reader asks the participant to reveal her final actions with each of the objects. Finally, she’s prompted to open the envelope… there’s a prediction inside: it matches the exact actions she made with every object!
Whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value. Hermann Hesse (Siddhartha ( Siddhartha))
The mind reader invites a female spectator to join him onstage. Madame; I think you will be perfect for this. Your name is? - Johanna. Johanna; pleased to meet you. Sometimes, the world can be a strange place full of bizarre coincidences. Imagine for a moment a woman travelling on an airplane. Everything’s going Everything’s going fine. But suddenly, in the middle of the flight, she starts suffering from severe chest pain… pain… she’s actually having a heart attack. There are 15 more passengers aboard. What are the chances that all of them are cardiologists, who help her to recover, allowing her to reach her destiny safely? This actually happened to a woman named Dorothy Fletcher, when she was flying from Liverpool to Florida for her daughter’s wedding! In Nebraska, there were six choir singers who always used to arrive to the choir class at 7:20 pm, or even earlier, at 7:15 pm. Strangely, one day they all arrived late. One of them was called to run a last-minute errand, two girls wanted to hear the end of a radio program, two sisters couldn’t leave their house as their car wouldn’t start and they asked for a lift to another member of the group that was finishing a geometry homework.
T he he reverend and his family didn’t arrive on time either because his daughter had to iron her dress. They all had something that t hat came up on the last minute and caused them to get late. You may be wondering why this detail was so important for that story. When they finally arrived to the church, they noticed it was set on fire; the furnace of the place had been completely ignited by a leak of natural gas. If it hadn’t been for that twist of fate, they would have all died in the explosion; this is actually a real story! A psychologist named Carl Jung defined these coincidences as synchronicity: the happening of two or more events without any apparent cause, yet significantly relevant for the person that experienced them. These surprising stories lead us to consider how our conscious or unconscious decisions can affect our lives in significant ways, even without us realizing. So, speaking of choices, why not trying out a very simple experiment which relies on them? t hem? The mentalist displays a list of several items on a big notepad. In a moment, I’m going to ask Johanna ask Johanna to take a look at these items and make a decision based on her free will. The performer turns around to show the list to the spectator. I’m going to ask you to follow several choices, it’s important that you never speak unless instructed, ok? - Ok.
You just spoke! I’m kidding. Johanna, just imagine you pick two of these items and hold one in each of your hands, while you leave any other one on the floor. So, just to make myself clear, you’re going to visualize yourself with two items, one in your left hand, one in your right hand and the other one will be left on the floor. Imagine this now and remember exactly what hand is holding which object and which one lies li es on the floor. Alternatively, the performer may use business cards in order for her to write and visualize her objects, but this is not mandatory. Perfect; now I want you to think about the weights of these objects, just think which one is lighter, which one is heavier and which one would be in the middle, ok? - Ok. Based on this, I’m going to ask you a simple yes / no question and you’re going to answer mentally. This may not work if you don’t respond correctly, so please focus. please focus. Let me ask you this: are this: are you holding at least one object in your hands which is lighter than the one on the floor? If there’s at least one object in any of your hands, which is lighter – or or less heavy – heavy – than than the one on the floor, mentally answer yes. If none of the objects you’re holding is lighter than the one on the floor, mentally answer no. Please answer now in your mind and just say “o “ok” k” when you have a very clear answer in your head… take your time, but do it properly. - Ok.
Very good! In this moment you have a YES or YES or a NO in NO in mind. If it’s a YES , think of the lightest object you’re holding in your hands, and change it for the one that is lying on the floor. If it’s a NO , just exchange your objects from one hand to the other. Place the object that is in your right to your left and viceversa. viceversa. You’re free to do this as many times as you wish until you’re happy. Please take the corresponding mental choice according to your answer, don’t say anything, just j ust do it now. Let me know if you want me to repeat this, otherwise otherwise just say “ok” if you have done this already. - Ok. So, you made several choices and all of them were random. I don’t really don’t really know what your exact choices choices were, right? - Indeed. Good, so let’s let’s proceed. I have only one final question for you. Answer this one verbally… where where is the lightest object right now, in your left or in your right hand? Please only compare both of your hands right now and tell me which one is holding a lighter object, the left or the t he right? - The right hand. Ok, please picture the object on the floor and imagine you simply light a match and throw it i t on top of this object. The fire expands and consumes every part of it, until it’s reduced to ashes.
Now, you walk until you see a large river. Toss the object in your right hand into the water; watch it i t as it flows down the stream to never come back. Finally, picture yourself walking away from this place with the remaining object. You just took all of these choices in your mind, so please be honest… what happened at happened at the end to each the objects you chose? - Ok, so I burnt the letter, then I threw the cellphone into the river and finally took the bottle of wine with me. That’s pretty interesting , although I didn’t even know your initial choices I would like to show you this envelope which has been all the time in my shirt pocket. The mentalist hands an envelope that has been in his shirt pocket the entire time and the participant reads its contents:
With the letter, the cellphone and the bottle of wine in mind, you will make some very interesting choices indeed. That cellphone you threw away… it was a brand new iPhone! And that letter you burnt, was a 1-million-dollar check! Well, at least you took the bottle of wine with you; it’s still sealed. You may open it and drink your sorrows away! Andreu The mind reader gives the spectator a real bottle of wine. The participant laughs histerically, leaves with the bottle and the audience bursts into thunderous applause!
The secret is a bit of dual reality combined with a killer script. The dual reality component is optional but ideal for stage. For stage, I fully recommend using the Banachek’s Psychic Pad Folio, an amazing tool for switching writing pads, envelopes, etc. In general, a very useful item. I want to thank Banachek for for giving written permission to mention the use of his device. But wait, does this imply the effect is not impromptu? Hell no! In fact, you may use any switch for the effect to work; but I strongly recommend Banachek’s switching padfolio as it’s idoneus for stage. On the first page of the front compartment, write down a list of around 15 to 20 random objects in bold letters; include: LETTER, CELLPHONE and WINE BOTTLE. On the first page of the second (“force”) compartment, write down only three objects, as shown below: CELLPHONE WINE BOTTLE LETTER
This will allow you to switch between the full list of objects and those three ones. If you really want to get a killer reaction, get a real bottle of tasty wine and you’re ready to go.
The second part always leads the spectator to burn the letter, throw the cellphone to the river and leave with the wine bottle as far as they follow your instructions. You don’t need multiple outs as the script contains all the subtleties imbedded. The spectator will be concentrated on taking a specific decision and won’t pay attention to the other ones. Let’s review the script and explain how the dual reality works. The mentalist displays a list of several items on a big notepad.
For this part, you will show the front compartment (the one with around 15 to 20 objects) to the audience and not to the spectator, while you say: In a moment, I’m going to ask Johanna to take a look at these items and make a decision based on her free will.
This is a false statement, as you’re going to actually show her the second compartment with 3 objects. Before turning around, briefly close the padfolio and switch it to the secret compartment, in order to show her the “force” words. Visualize yourself with two items; one in your left hand, one in your right hand and the other one will be left on the floor. Imagine this now and remember exactly what hand is holding which object and which one lies on the floor . floor .
Notice how the script covers the dual reality perfectly. The audience will think that you’re asking the spectator to choose from around 15 to 20 items, while the spectator will only choose from three.
This will make the entire audience perceive that in the end you were not only able to deduce specific choices but also influenced the spectator to choose the objects you wanted! Proceed to tell them what to do according to their mental answer to this question: Are you holding at least one object in your hands which is lighter than the one on the floor?
If it’s a YES , think of the lightest object you’re holding in your hands, and change it for the one that is lying on the floor.
If it’s a NO , exchange your objects from one hand to t o the other. Place the object that is in your right to your left and viceversa. Do this as many times as you wish.
Now, for the final question… Take a look at both hands, which one is holding the lightest object, the left or the right hand? It’s important to end up with the correct script depending on their answer to this question.
If they answer “right hand” hand”, make them toss the object of the right hand into the river . The object on the floor burns and they take the remaining object with them.
if they answer “left hand”. make them toss the object of “left hand”. the left hand into the river . The object on the floor burns and they take the remaining object with them.
If they follow your instructions, they will always end up burning the letter, throwing the cellphone into the river and leaving with the bottle of wine!
The Fortune Teller is my version of Free Will by Deddy Corbuzier.
Creating this effect was a huge challenge for me. This is the end result after countless months of refining. This is a powerful, impromptu piece which is always ready to go; you don’t need to carry absolutely anything (well, just a prediction and a bottle of wine if you really want to kill it) in order to perform this stunning demonstration of precognition. As long as you follow the exact scripting I have provided, it’s entirely self-working. Providing three papers to write their objects facilitates the process, as they have a visual way of imagining everything. If you’re onstage, you may be tempted to include the dual realty part as well as the kicker ending where you give a bottle of wine to the participant. It’s not only a killer surprise but also an amazing souvenir, one which will surely make them remember you forever. For a “one on one” performance, it may be better to write 3 different objects in different cards and simply force the key card that contains the three key objects.
Want to perform it over the phone? Sure! Enjoy!
I would like to credit the following authors, creators and performers as an important source of inspiration.
Banachek D. Corbuzier
A participant is asked to think of a color of their preference, a country they would like to visit and a famous celebrity. All choices are written in a piece of paper, folded in quarters and concealed inside an envelope, left in full view. After some moments of concentration, the mindreader takes three business cards and starts writing mental impressions he picks up from the participant’s thoughts . The participant is asked to reveal the choices. ‘Colombia’ and ‘Madonna’ are named out loud.
‘Blue,
The mentalist shows what his impressions were, by revealing what he wrote in each card: Blue, Colombia and Barack Obama. It seems like he has failed! But then, the third card is turned around and read out loud: “I was just kidding about kidding about Obama; I believe you will think of the queen of Pop, Madonna!”
Everyone tells you what's good for you. They don't want you to find your own answers. they want you to believe theirs. Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior
I decided to leave the presentation out of this effect as you can really adapt it as you wish; it may be presented as direct telepathy or even as an entire 4DT effect based on this outstanding principle. If you’re unfamiliar with 4DT (4 th Dimensional Telepathy) I recommend to review the following material:
Annemann – Annemann – The The Life and Times of a Legend (M. Abrams)
Allen Zingg – Zingg – Master Master Billet Course
Bob Cassidy – Cassidy – Mental Mental Miracles
Is this effect as impromptu as previous ones? No, and… yes! I have decided to include it because of 2 reasons: i) It’s a great effect with very big impact and,
ii) Once you set everything up (which is done only once), you can repeat the effect as many times as you wish and the preparation time for the second, third or nth performance will be zero, thus becoming in this way, impromptu! So, in few words, only the first time you perform it, it’s not impromptu. After that, it will be.
This effect is achieved with what I call the I (Insight) Envelope. The I Envelope will allow you to secretly take a peek of everything that is concealed inside of it. Take a look at these envelopes:
The one on the left is the I Envelope. Do you notice anything different? As you can see there isn’t anything strange or particular about it; it looks just like any other regular envelope out there.
To perform the routine, you need to prepare an I Envelope and fold a billet in quarters, which will be used by the participant to write. Make sure to fold the billet strongly so it’s flat. Materials
These are the materials you need to construct an I Envelope:
Envelopes
What a surprise right? You actually need envelopes! The ones I use are:
You can get 500 of them via Amazon.
Magnets
You will need 4 small magnets. Through the Supermagnetman website, you can purchase N50 Neodymium magnets with 0.43’’ (11mm) of diameter x 0.029’’ (0.75 mm) of thickness. You may want to try different strengths to see which suits you best.
Pencil Obsolete license driver or plastic document Exacto knife and scissors Thick cardboard Superglue Scotch Magic Tape
Now that you have the necessary materials, let’s get started. Please be careful as you will use the exacto knife and scissors and I don’t want you to injure yourself. Work on a table, slowly.
Cut enough of the cardboard (with the scissors) so it will fit nicely inside the envelope, filling it entirely. Our aim is to cut the center seam. With the exacto knife, cut only the right bottom part by sliding it a bit down, as shown below.
Now place the old license driver (or ruler) on top of the envelope and just below the center seam; it will help you to cut easier. Make sure the cardboard is still inside. Start opening a slit with the exacto knife from one side to the other, do this slowly but firmly.
To cut the left part of the envelope, turn the envelope upside down, making sure you hold it tight with your left hand so the cardboard won’t move while you cut. Trim by sliding the exacto knife upwards.
Open the center flat entirely.
With the superglue, you need to paste the magnets as shown below. Make sure to check their polarity as you obviously want them to attract together (not to repel). Trace circles with the pencil as a guide to know where to apply superglue. After you’re done pasting them to the envelope, add a layer of Scotch magic tape on top of th em. If you don’t do this, they might get stuck later and you want to avoid this.
Finally, paste the 2 remaining magnets just above the ones you just pasted with the correct polarity. Apply scotch magic tape over them too. Take a look at how innocent it seems!
Congratulations, you have made it!
Hold the envelope like shown in the picture.
With your thumb just open the flap, as shown in the images. The pinky finger gives stability and avoids cards from falling completely of your hand when you peek them.
Allow the spectator to write the three thoughts on your billet (color, city and celebrity) and re-fold it.
Insert the billet sideways almost all the way down.
At this point the participant sees how the billet gets cleanly concealed inside the envelope without any funny business. While you’re holding the envelope with your right hand on the top and the left hand on the bottom, open the secret flap with your left thumb and press both sides of the envelope with the right. This will cause the billet to fall in the palm of your left hand. See the images below for clarification.
With your right hand, place the empty envelope on a table (or inner vest pocket) while your left hand secretly finger palms the billet with their thoughts and pushes the center seam back in place. Conceal this billet billet inside your pocket, where the the rest of your blank or business cards are.
This entire process is done in few seconds. Unfold their billet inside of your pocket and take it out along with several blank billets; they will provide perfect cover to peek.
Apparently read the participant’s thoughts while you ask them to concentrate. Start writing your impressions on three blank or business cards.
For the final billet, write a funny mistake or ‘blooper ’. Then turn it around and secretly write the correct thought. For example, if they thought of Michael Jackson, write down Madonna on the front and then on the back write down: “I was just kidding kidding about Madonna! I believe you will think of Michael Jackson!” I would like to credit Max Maven for this amazing presentation subtlety, which I first read on his fantastic book, PRISM.
Ask the spectator to name out loud the first thought. Now, hand him the first prediction which you wrote and wait until it’s read out loud. Get a nice round of applause. For the second thought, repeat the same process. For the final thought, allow the participant to read the mistake and finally, the text on the back that clarifies everything! While the participant is reading each prediction, you will have plenty of time to re-fold the original billet (the one in which he wrote his thoughts) into quarters and place it inside the envelope again. Open the envelope and hand the billet back to the spectator as a souvenir!
The I Envelope allows you to peek unfolded cards / billets in a very simple way. Simply write down what you want the spectator to think about as well as the line to write (see image below).
Mark the card on the back with a nail nick or small dot on the top right, so you know the orientation of the card when you’re inserting it inside of the envelope. You obviously do this as you want the name to be shown at the sweet spot as seen below.
This is what the spectator would see as you insert the card inside: THINK OF THE NAME OF SOMEONE
Once the card is inside, turn it with the secret opening towards yourself (as shown below). Press the the sides of with the right hand so the card falls and allows you to glimpse. All of this should be done in a matter of seconds, while you’re taking the envelope into your pocket or leaving it on the table. Reveal in a dramatical way, making sure to do some cold reading first to really give the spectator a huge impact!
The I Envelope also allows you to peek any card that goes inside of it; for example, ESP Cards:
As you may have noticed, you can really get very creative with this amazing tool, the sky is the limit. The effectiveness of a peek is vastly improved with the use of cold reading: combine these two skills and you will convince your participants that you’r e reading their minds for real!
Insight is one of the best pieces you can perform for anyone out there. It’s a direct and effective demonstration of mindreading. The construction of the envelope may not take you longer than 10 minutes and the end result will be worth it. As you can notice from the pictures it looks completely innocent and inconspicuous. As a safety tip, please avoid the envelope from getting close to any magnetic sources out there like rings, metal tables, etc. If the spectator isn’t wearing any rings, you can even ask him / her to hold the envelope with both hands. Insight fits the impromptu premise once the setup is done, and after this all you need to carry are several extra envelopes, a pen or marker and a set of blank (or business) cards. Presentionally speaking there’s a lot to play with : be creative and send me an email to let me know what you thought about. If you’re a fan of effects like Confabulation, this envelope can help you to load and reveal sealed thoughts in a very simple way.
Bryn Renolds wrote about a similar concept on his manuscript “The Safwan Papers” which I found out after creating the Insight envelope. Great minds think alike!
I feel my version provides the envelope with more stability and freedom to be inspected, and, i t’s an independent improvement I came with. Additional credits to: Allen Zingg Annemann Bob Cassidy Corinda Max Maven Richard Osterlind
The mentalist shows up a set of ESP symbols. He allows the spectator to mix them freely to make sure they aren’t ordered in any way. Now, the performer starts making several random piles. The participant is asked to discard several of them, leaving only one of them. These decisions are 100% hands off and made by the spectator. The participant is asked to look at the card below the final pile… then, the mentalist reads his mind, divining the exact ESP symbol!
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Carl Sagan
For this effect you will make use of a marked ESP deck with 20 cards (5 ESP symbols repeated four times). Ask the spectator to shuffle them until he or she is satisfied. Take the cards back and deal four piles. “I will will start dealing randomly, please bear with me for some seconds”. seconds”.
The spectator should see this as a random process, but in fact you will use the markings of the cards. 1) As soon as you deal the first card face down, notice the marking and notice how many cards you need to complete 5. Now, deal this number of cards on top of the card you just dealt. Let’s take a closer look at this.
Follow the usual number correspondence for ESP Cards:
For example, if you deal the circle first, you will see its corresponding marking (1). This means, you need to deal 4 more cards on top of it, as four is the number needed to complete 5 cards in total. This forms up one of the piles, and you need to repeat this process until you get 4 piles in total. As another example, if you deal the wavy lines (3) first, then you need to lay 2 more cards on top of it, as you need to complete 5 for each of the piles to be complete. Proceed to deal the rest of the cards in the same way to form the piles. I like to make 4 piles as it makes the effect really simple to do. Once you finish dealing them, put the remaining (discarded) cards inside your pocket.
Take your time to deal the piles slowly.
Setup a slow, calm pace. If you put more or less cards on top of the initial card of either one of your piles, the effect won’t work!
Avoid making piles of only 2 cards (or less!).
Try to make piles with at least 3 cards. Less cards may look odd. If it’s just one pile of 2 cards, it’s fine though.
You can’t make a pile with just a star, and it can never be on the bottom of any pile.
If the symbol is a star (5), the pile of five is already “complete”, so you can’t really deal jus t this card as it would look strange (you said you were forming piles!). In case you see the marking of the star, keep passing cards from one hand to the other and look at the marking of the next one. If you notice it’s at least the marking of a three - wavy lines (3), then place this card on the table, then put the star you saw - as well as any other random card - on top of the wavy lines! This will guarantee that you have at least 3 cards on this pile and that you used that star successfully. If you see that the next marking is a Circle (1) or a Cross (2), even better. You will be able to place that star on top, as well as the cards you need to complete five in total. Make sure to place them in the correct order (the star can never, ever go at the bottom).
When you’re almost done done dealing, sometimes the cards remaining in your hand are not enough to complete five. If this is the case, discard them.
Let’s say you’re feeling adventurous and trying to make 6 piles (I personally like to keep things simple with just 4 piles, but you’re welcome to experiment). So, let’s pretend you only have three remaining cards to deal, and then you deal a Circle (1). This imples that you now need 4 more cards to deal on top to get to five and you don’t have enough left.
In this case, just discard all four cards and say out loud: “Ok I think we have enough, we don’t need to use all of them”. Now that you’re a master at dealing cards, let’s proceed with the next step.
2) Ask the spectator to place the hand on top of any pile. Explain that this pile will be discarded.
Look away while you do this and say you will count to three to let the spectator decide. This will actually give you time to secretly count with your thumb the cards that were discarded in your pocket: memorize this number. To count them, I just feel one by one as I slide them with my thumb: practice this! Turn to face the spectator again and instruct him or her to hand you the pile which he discarded. Once you take it, pretend you’re aligning the packet before placing it in your pocket: peek at the bottom card. Remember the following “inverse” equivalence and sum the corresponding value to that one you counted:
These values are obtained by subtracting 6 from each original value. So, you can memorize these inverse values, or, everytime you see a symbol, count how many units you need to get to six. E.g. You see the circle, so you need 5 units to get to six: therefore, the value of the circle is 5, etc.
3) Ask the spectator to turn two of the piles face up.
Allow the spectator to turn two of the piles face up. Notice the cards and mentally add 2 to their corresponding values. Remember this result. Finally, to calculate the card below the remaining (face down) pile, subtract this final result from the one you initially calculated (number of discarded cards). If you’re not following me here yet, don’t worry. It will all be explained in the following example.
The performer finishes dealing several “random” piles and counts 6 discarded cards inside his h is pocket. Now, the spectator freely discards a pile and hands it to the performer, who glances at the bottom card before placing it inside his pocket. It’s the square.
For showmanship purposes, the mindreader now displays the cards in a triangular layout (as shown below):
Finally, the spectator is asked to turn face up two of the piles. He proceeds to turn face up the two bottom piles. This is the situation after such event:
The mindreader proceeds to make a drawing that will hopefully match the entire display! What figure should the performer draw on his board? Don’t read any further, try to think of the correct answer! …
If you thought of the CIRCLE, congratulations! You’re on your way to mastering this effect! This should be the drawing on the mindreader’s board:
Why? 6 (Inside Pocket) + 2 (Square) = 8 (Total of discarded cards)
Now, get the second value, by adding 2 to the face up cards: 2 (Constant) + 3 (Wavy Lines) + 2 (Cross) = 7
Finally, subtract the second value from the first one: 8 – 7 7 = 1 (Circle)
This is a superb effect which you can perform anytime and anywhere. After I saw Brian Bushwood using a similar concept with playing cards, I thought that ESP symbols could make everything more convincing, powerful and mysterious. Extraordinary Perception can be played out as telepathy. After you tell the spectator to look at the card below the final pile, proceed to read their minds!
Here are some final points to consider:
If you decide to use 25 cards… cards… Deal 5 piles (or more). As explained before, everytime you get a discarded pile, add the “inverse” corresponding value of the bottom card to the number of discarded cards, and finally add 7 to the two face-up cards. Then, do the subtraction and it will work!
Want to perform this one completely impromptu? Sure, Mr. Sherlock! You will still need an unmarked ESP deck (or make one, hey it ain’t that hard to draw). Peek at the top and bottom card as you overhand shuffle and use the one which suits you best to deal a pile. To peek the top card, pull it with your thumb for few seconds. If you notice the bottom card is good, overhand shuffle all other cards on top of the bottom one (until it becomes the top card) and then casually deal the pile … voilà!
Practice well before performing – it’s very direct and entirely self-working. I have fooled very knowledgeable full – time – time performers with this one. Bonne chance!
The following pages include several contributions that were kindly sent to me by different authors who I’d like to thank for their trust, kindness and support! I really hope you will enjoy them.
In The ‘Coldly’ Grail, Niels (from LabcoMagic) explains the magnificent way in which he’s able to read someone’s mind as well as provide them with an amazing reading that leaves them speechless. You will be taught one of his secret mentalism weapons which gets huge reactions, as well as the psychological subtleties that sell it as a real mindreading effect.
With the right presentation, "The Thought Transmitter" by John Cornelius can be the closest you can get to perform a true miracle. The effect cannot be compared with other mental effects on the market. I have seen spectators run away screaming, others
completely dazed in utter silence, while others so affected and moved, with tears streaming down their face. Many times, I had the pleasure of hearing the audience’s feedback, saying this was the wildest thing they ever experienced. Am I overhyping the product? Maybe! But "The Thought Transmitter" is by far the best mental effect I've ever bought! Briefly, it’s a small black cardholder in which a post-it note rests. Away from the performer - and audience – the the spectator writes down a personal thought on the note and closes the cardholder, which is then sealed with a rubber band.
Now, the performer can obtain the written information without the audience noticing absolutely anything. This effect can be compared to the classic "Center Tear”, but can be made without the need for manual dexterity - at all! The secret built within the cardholder – although not exposed in here – is is very simple to do, yet scarily effective. The transmitter really opens the opportunity to make this effect so strong that it may seem daunting to most laymen. When an audience sees a magician working with cards, coins or boxes, they know intuitively that there is either gimmicks, manual dexterity or cheating in a way or another. When the illusion is created inside the head of your spectator, you will get your audience to confidently believe that you really possess a sixth sense. A solid performance of this effect, can lead them them to think that you ’re looking directly into their consciousness and reading their thoughts!
My routine is as follows. I invite a female spectator upstage and ask her to write the name of someone who means a lot to her, and a date when something special occurred: an event with personal significance to her. Remember that she must not write just any random name and date; it is important that both the name and date have special importance for her. Because of the specific way the “Transmitter” works, it only allows you to peek a specific area in the milddle. Thus, it’s important to direct her to write the information therein. In order to do this, I use a short story, which reads as follows: "You've probably seen cartoons of fortune tellers where they have a crystal ball to see into the future" - at this point I draw a circle on the “peek” area.
Now I proceed: "But as you probably know, your future takes shape after challenging yourself and your surroundings. In short, you can decide how your future will look like. But I think that we clearly agree that your past cannot be changed, right?" To this, she will obviously reply in an affirmative way. "Therefore, it is far more interesting to me as a mind reader, to focus on your past. Inside of this crystal ball, please write the name of a person who means a lot to you and a date - day, month and year when something really special happened… something that has has great importance to you.
“Once you’re done , sign it with your name and then seal the notebook with this rubber band".
At this point, I hand her the cardholder, a pen (preferably 0.5 to 1.0 mm black ink point size), and a rubber band. She writes the name and date. As soon as I take the cardholder again, I glimpse the information secretly.
"Please imagine this person vividly… vividly … I’m trying to focus on the gender of this person...”. person... ”. Make silence for some seconds while you concentrate… “I see a man." She will reply positively.
"Now I’m trying to feel the relationship that you have with this person… I feel very very strong ties, a big connection with him".
This should work fine, as we previously gave her the instruction to write the name of someone who means a lot to her. Now I start to “cold read” her - that is, I start telling a lot of facts about her that she has never been told about before. My aim is to be able to divine who this person is and what happened on the written date.
It may seem difficult and may not be 100% surefire, but most often you will hit the mark, and remember - no matter what happens, you have two crushing strong outs to end with - the right name and date!
Let's imagine that she wrote “Per “ Per" and "04/04/88". When a woman writes a man’s name, it will typically be, depending on her age and the date she wrote, a husband / boyfriend or a brother / father or friend. We will soon find out. The vast majority of women who have given birth to a child, will either write the child's name or the name of her husband. If the date is no more than a few years old, it’s possible that she wrote the name of her son / daughter as well as the corresponding date of birth. With some practice, you can look at any woman and easily tell if she has had any children. Check out for traces in her hips, neck or chest. Also, check if she wears a ring (husband). "Strong emotional ties, you are actually closer to this person than some of your closest family".
If she quickly replies " yes" then it’s highly likely that it is her husband or boyfriend. If she’s a bit dismissive, it's a person to whom she is related (family). This reading fits virtually all women who have children, and in 9 out of 10 cases the person they think of, is her husband or boyfriend. If the written name is a female name, it will typically be either her mother or new best friend. Find it out with the same procedure. Once you find out what the relationship is, don’t reveal the name just yet! Save it for the ending. For now, go forward with the date.
"Imagine you are standing in a timeline. You start today and move back in time. When I say START, you begin to see your time line as you move back in time, and you say STOP when you reach the date you are thinking of. "
Now create the illusion that you are actually reading the timeline she’s standing on and imagining this in your head. "We need to go back in time. Not just some years, specifically, around 15 to 20 years. Forget the year and go directly to the month and date. Also, think about what happened on this day” day”.
In fact, there are typically 3 dates that a woman will remember the most as they have personal significance: a private birthday, a wedding or the day when she gave birth to a child. If she gave birth to more children, it’s very typical she will write the date of the first-born child. If she’s a teenager, she will likely think of her birthday. If she is 40 to 50 years old, it will most likely be her wedding day or child’s birthday. For this you need to assess the woman's age, and typically women in this age get married before they began to have children.
Proceed: "Now, you are standing on the exact date. I will ask you to use all your senses and feel what is happening around you ". "I feel the sunset, some flowers … I sense we’re we ’re on either on either April or May – May – is is this right ?" ?" She replies affirmatively - "More specifically, April."
With these verbal touches, you are creating the illusion that you can not only read her thoughts, but also feel the mood, environment, etc. If you sense that the name is the one of her husband, try to see if the name and date have a relationship between them, with this script: "I have have a feeling that the person you’re thinking of, has something to do with this date." If she responds "yes" then you can be sure that she was married to him on this date! After this, my closer will be: "I sense that you are thinking of your wedding day, April 4, 1988 - the day you were married to … Pat". This is something very common when a 40 to 50-year-old woman is chosen.
If the person and the date have nothing to do with each other, I finish my cold reading at that point and thank her for the help. When she’s returning to the audience I say: "By the way – way – say say hi to Per". This works even better if you tell her the exact relationship such as in: “By the way – say say hello to your father father / brother Per”.
Don’t be afraid to be a little off as a cold reader. You will find that not having a 100% rate all the time, will actually enhance this experience. If you reveal the name and date just after they are peeked, it will inevitably lead the audience to think that you cheated somehow, since it’s the only possible explanation. By doing the entire process, you justify how you’re able to divine all this information. Being wrong in some details will actually make it all seem more believable and also give them the impression that you’re either a formidable body language expert or a true mind reader.
If you want to learn more about cold reading, I recommend you order the following books by Herb Dewey: "Mindblowing Psychic Readings", "Red Hot Cold Reading". "King of The Cold Readers" and "Psycho-Babble" The price for a genuine "Thought Transmitter" by John Cornelius is very low considering the opportunities it opens for you. Be careful of cheap ripoffs. If you acquire it, make sure to practice a fair share of cold reading with several friends and acquaintances before attempting to “cold read” a real-world audience. Good luck!
‘Efflorescence’ is an intimate origami act which connects and enchants. The beauty lies in its simplicity.
You will always receive a smile or comment of appreciation, and easily gain enough of an inner rapport to end with a final reading should it be appropriate.
To see a World in grain of sand, And Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand and Eternity in an hour. William Blake.
The performer produces a folded sheet of plain red paper from his jacket pocket and proceeds to slowly unfold it. I expect most of you have heard of, or are familiar with the wonderful art of origami. Just by taking a small piece of paper such as this, the artist is able to create so much more potential from something that seems as an everyday object. Instantly you start to think differently about paper. Just imagine, even with limited skills what I could make with this now. But origami is more than just folding paper. Let me demonstrate something with one of you. The performer next turns and directly addresses an individual female spectator in the group and continues his delivery with a softer vocal tone, providing greater focus. Now as I look at this sheet of paper I see many opportunities of what it could become when I fold it. The performer begins to make the first preparatory folds across the paper. [Don’t [Don’t rush this… but do give primarily attention to the spectator, as you continue]. But watching me fold the paper is not such an exciting suggestion for you to follow. So let’s take a journey journey through your beautiful mind mind whilst whilst I continue. continue. There’s no need need for you to do anything other than to imagine everything I describe… and only answer as I request. Is that ok? [I think especially in intimate performances, asking for any ‘permission’ helps seal an unspoken contract of respect and quickly achieve rapport. You should steadily continue to
address the spectator, but be aware of your control of the flow and delivery of the wording]. I’d like you to imagine… pretend if you will… you are back in your mind as a child…. because that’s when you first learnt to feel happy… happy… you you know, really really happy… and I’d like you to recall that feeling… feeling… that feeling of excitement you seemed you seemed to get as a child… and notice how you feel inside now. That’s right, it’s ok to smile… some say that peace begins with a smile”. [Pause – [Pause – but but slowly continue to fold the paper whilst they internalise this thought]. So now you are all set… and in the t he right frame of mind to imagine... a mental journey… of discovery… to a land of beauty, that only only you could know know or dream about. Picture it, now… No, don’t tell me anything yet, this is your journey. The performer has now reached a point in the folding whereby this is the view seen by the spectator before closing her eyes: In this place I want you to now picture a grand house… maybe even a castle… castle… with beautiful extensive gardens. Now close your eyes and make this picture more vivid. [Wait for the spectator to respond to the ‘Now close your eyes’ command, before proceeding with folding any further]. f urther]. Make Make the colours louder. The colour of the sky… the perfect weather. Imagine the sounds… the sounds… the feel of the air. See yourself looking at the borders of the garden… garden … see a mass of colour... and take a step closer.
[You are now linguistically setting the scene and leading the spectator to think of flowers, but don’t give them the chance to say that or think anything otherwise! Continue by simply stating what they are thinking as if it’s a fact - which outwardly appears like you know what they are thinking]. Now think of that flower – flower – what what is it a rose, a lily, a tulip?
Await their reply of which flower from the choice you have surrepticiously forced on them - If a Rose is said, continue by simply folding the end of each ‘petal’ over (see image); otherwise, the flower can remain as is! [From experience, it will rarely be any other reply, as they have demonstrated compliance by smiling and then closing their eyes. The colour of the paper may have also influenced them into saying a Rose]. [If ‘Rose’ is selected simply fold down the end of each ‘petal’ ]. With your eyes still remaining closed… closed … I want you to hold hold out either one of your hands… hands … but with your mind, picture yourself moving closer to that flower … and finding that you can easily pick it… it… and you see it in your hand… and you can feel your hand tingle as you feel it. [At the same moment you say the word ‘tingle’ - you gently place the folded flower into their hand]. And now place your other hand gently over the top of the precious flower, and just relax now. Become aware of your breathing and enjoy this moment.
[Pause a short while]. Now you a re ready to return to this room… I room… I would like you to quickly run through in your mind what has just happened… happened … or you may decide to forget... now… but either way you will be better for it. Open your eyes now. And within your hands is the t he symbol for your smile; it i t is my gift to you, and to thank you for assisting me. The spectator will certainly smile.
For this routine you will just need a sheet of paper of 20 cm. I usually use red to influence the spectator’s choice but you can use napkins, printed brochures, newspapers, magazines pages (or covers), paper grocery bags and even palm tree fronds or other larger leaves. Whichever material will work, however you will require it to be a square. Once you learn how to create the rose, you will be able to do this routine in an impromptu way. Andreu has outlined the following steps of a very basic rose that will hopefully help: Step 1 – 1 – Do Do the preparatory diagonal folds.
Fold the paper along the first diagonal. Reopen the paper and fold it along the second diagonal, as shown in the traces below. Reopen it again.
Step 2 – 2 – Fold Fold all corners towards the center.
Step 2.1 – 2.1 – Fold Fold all “new” corners towards the center.
Step 2.2 – 2.2 – Fold Fold all “new” corners towards the center.
Step 3 – Turn the paper on its back. Now fold all corners and then just fold back each of the tips a little bit.
Turn the card to the front again, It should look like the image.
Step 4 – Now simply start folding outwards the internal petals and giving form to the rose with your fingers. fingers. Always start on outer layers and then open the internal ones.
This explained version is a basic one, if you want to do a more advanced one, please follow the steps of any of these videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= _6LARdVVFWg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= zL8L2oNcW-s You may need origami paper to do this version. If you try a very thick paper, it might easily break. Bending the tips of the ‘petals’ further makes for a passable ‘rose too’, either of which flowers you verbally restrict the spectators choice down to – and and then present it as their flower! This is not only done by verbally setting the scene - but also based on incorporating priming data (as stated in Jon Thompson’s excellent, ‘Naked Mentalism’ series) as being the most common flowers likely to be said. Your ‘out’ is that it doesn’t really matter if they don’t mention any of the flowers you suggest - as you give them permission ‘to forget’ what has happened at the end. Andreu’s Note: You might as well ignore their reply (if it’s it’s not Rose), after all, it’s supposed to be their very own “private mental journey” journey”. The gift will always be what is remembered. It’s a symbol of the entire experience.
On one occasion a spectator asked me about readings after being presented with the flower… which got me thinking about how I might further also use this for an apparent ‘clairsentience’ sitting. Whilst I have been unable to find any direct information on origami flower readings; flower or flora readings (i.e. with all types of plants) is a very old concept, people of all cultures have interpreted messages in flowers and connected with them to bring joy, healing, guidance and to understand what was happening around them for centuries. My research led me to understand that in the 1600's, Lady Mary Wortley was pivotal in bringing flowers and meanings to the public attention, this became popularised by mediums in the Victorian period. Prior to her research and observations, the symbolism of flowers was quite esoteric and has led to many further independent ideas and interpretations. It is no secret that we have become disconnected with nature and shamefully focused on technology these days. Traditionally the reader would ask the sitter to bring along a flower then interpret it as a symbol for the personality and life of the owner. However, by restricting the choice of flower in this routine you have made your work far easier. So technically what you are now about to do is ‘scrying’ with the flower. (You can ‘scry’ with anything as long as the person you are reading for picks up and touches the object.) If you are happy to listen to your intuition and give a reading on what you feel inspired to say, you probably need not read any further, however if you would like some guidance, read on…
As the spectator looks at the flower: Have you heard of flower clairsentience – it is a beautiful method of personality reading. Flowers are so sensitive, that they easily absorb, and are impressed with, the energies of the individual handling or possessing them.
Gesture to have the flower returned to you. Once you have it back… And something known as energy impressions are left upon the flower and from your already subtle holding of the flower I can sense energy, different different from that of my own when folding. folding. Now some people resonate more with one flower than another. We are drawn to certain flowers and their colours and other qualities at certain points in our life – life – so so whether you realise it or not, the flower you thought of is going to have some strong symbolic significance in your life… and you w ill now have imprinted that upon this flower.
So here are some loose interpretations I have used, and some which I am including after consulting with a medium friend. It is worth pointing out that the two predominant flowers often suggested – rose and lily – are both highly symbolic too, so enable you to be quite creative in your reading. I have added interpretations for the third ‘force’ flower tulip too. Invariably factoring in colour can greatly enhance a reading, so I will start with a loose interpretation of the forced colour, to weave in.
Red
Energy, activity, thoughtful, passionate, emotional and daring. Sometimes careless.
Rose
Love, Honour, Faith, Beauty, Balance, Passion, Wisdom, Intrigue, Devotion, Sensuality, Timelessness Traditionally rose meanings vary according to colour. On the whole, roses are symbolic of deep love, concentration, intelligence, balance, and passion. They are also sometimes seen as a message for healing, revitalization, rejuvenation rejuvenation and courage. Roses are very complex in their features, and so can have complex meanings. More than just Valentine's Day favourites, roses bear the mark of honour, devotion and intense commitment on many levels.
Lily
Development, Progress, Growth, Freedom, Hope, Faith, Birth, Renewal, Promise, Fertility, Motherhood, Transitioning. The Lily is seen as being linked to a female, usually someone who is solitary, independent and powerful. It can also be indicative of a message of encouragement encouragement and success in a venture or a sign of a successful business woman, someone highly respected by others. It’s a sign of seeking rest / peace.
Tulip
Tulips are insatiable sun seekers and will sway their heads in crazy contortions seeking out the best angle for light – this makes them a flower of spiritual attainment, flexibility, adjustment, advancement, and aspiration. They are also symbolic symbolic of good good luck, wealth and ambition.
For those acquainted with the excellent Astrogem Geomancy system by Les Cross - I would like to share my thoughts on incorporating the flower with this more advanced method.
Utilising the ‘Four Level Method’
A question is asked. The reader simply and lightly throws the rose in the air, and by noting which way it lands ('upside down' or 'right way up') could represent one or two taps, thus determining the geome. Alternatively, a geome could then be built up from four 'shakes' in the performer’s double cupped hands to reveal petals up or petals down. It just so happens that the flower incorporates 12 petals too! There are eight petals on the outside and four in the core. So in terms of getting the houses it should be fairly simple and still 'organic'. Either mark out simply, or just visualise, a clock-face. The flower could be placed on the table and the sitter holds a pendulum above the flower and whichever petal is touched denotes a house. Les Cross further adds that each of the petals of the rose could be numbered and simply rotated in the performers hands until told to stop. This would then then give the house.
I suggest using red, white or yellow paper to help limit the flowers named/forced. The colour in itself is a subliminal force. You could also use a very subtle flower essence - such as adding a small drop of rose water on the paper, if you wanted to enhance the sensory possibilities with this routine. (Jeannette Haviland-Jones, of Rutgers University in New Jersey recently stated to LiveScience magazine that “floral odours can make you happy, promote social interaction and social approach kinds of behaviours,"2) Invariably there are many folded flowers, animals or shapes that can easily be learnt and mastered for a different approach to this effect – and any subsequent symbol based readings if given. I have simply found origami an enjoyable and unexpected tool by many spectators to have in my performance arsenal.
2 http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/scientists-say-smelling-
flowers-can-make-you-friendlier#ixzz3FlLNQHxc
Jon Thompson with ‘Naked Mentalism’. Ed Solomon, Roni Shachnaey, Docc Hilford, Neal Scryer, Richard Webster, Jerome Finley, Luke Jermay and Bill Montana for their generic influential approaches to both performance and reading, plus Les Cross for his inspired Astrogem Geomancy system and additional input.
Last but not least, Kenton Knepper for pushing me back down the rabbit hole…
The performer shows up a tarot deck and proceeds to shuffle it. The spectator is asked to think of her age and take that number of cards. Then, s he’s asked to visualize one of the cards from the pack he selected while the perfomer looks away. It’s a Major Arcana: The Magician. The mystery performer waves a pendulum over the cards while he tells the spectator to focus. The pendulum starts moving differently as it’s close to ‘The Magician’… the participant confirms this was the exact card she thought about. Finally, the mystery performer opens his wallet… inside, a picture of The Magician is found!
Set up your tarot deck so the 19 th card from the top is a Major Arcana card you know, such as The Magician. Randomly setup different Major Arcana cards here and there, so it doesn’t really look like th e cards are ordered in any specific way. Now, proceed to false-cut the deck so it seems like it’s entire order has changed. In order to do this, hold the deck face down in dealing position and: i) Cut about a third of the deck and place this first pack on the table (to your left). ii) Cut about half of the remaining deck and place it to the right of the first pack. iii) Take the remaining packet and place it to the right of the first two packs. iv) Finally, take the packet on the left and place it on top of the middle one. Take this combined packet and place it on top of the right one. It will look like you mixed up all of the cards by casually cutting them, but in fact all of them are in the same exact order. Now, ask the spectator to think of her age. If this is a number between 20 and 29 the effect will always work (your spectator’s age is easy to figure out just by looking at them). If not, just tell them to think of something important that happened when they were 20 - 29 years old, and to remember the exact age they had when this happened.
Instruct the spectator to take this number of cards from the top of the deck ; it’s important that they don’t change the ir order. [In the original effect, you ask them to cut the deck “in half” and verify if they have a range of 20 to 29 cards]. Then, ask them to add both digits of their number (in their mind), and to look at the card in this position, counting from the bottom card of the pack she took. Once the spectator takes a look at the card, s he’s instructed to place the pack of cards she removed on top of the rest of the deck. The card is lost now. Right? At this point, the performer spreads the cards and starts waving the pendulum over them… until it mysteriously stops! Is there any secret to know where to stop or are you supposed to have real ESP powers? Well, you don’t need them – although the spectator may think you have them. Stop at the 19 th card from top to bottom and this will always be their selected card! Let’s take a look at a quick example.
The perfomer sets up The Magician as the 19 th card (and sets up a prediction with this card). Then, he “shuffles” the deck. Angie is 25 years old (unknown to the performer). So she takes 25 cards from the top of the Tarot deck. Mentally, she adds up both digits of her number, 2 and 5. This means, s he’s to look at the seventh card (counting seven cards from the bottom of the pack she selected) and remember it. Now, the mystery performer finds it, by spreading the cards and waving a pendulum over them (until he stops at the 19 th card). Finally, he’s even able to predict that she would choose this exact card!
Nox Arcana is based on “La Mente Tiene el Poder”, a wonderful, impromptu effect released in Cartomagia (2001) by Primo Blass-Tchang, a professional magician from Mexico. Cartomagia is a terrific book which got me very interested in magic when I read it, years ago.
After reading the original effect, I thought it could be performed with a more esoteric background, and transformed it into Nox Arcana with Primo’s blessing. Here are some more ideas to play with:
You don’t need 78 cards to do it. Use less cards if you want to, experiment with what makes you feel comfortable. For me, forty cards are fine.
Proceed to do a reading! Give a positive reading to your participant if you already know the card! This is the perfect effect which allows you to go straight into a reading that makes them feel great!
The prediction may be inside your pendulum. Some pendulums allow you to place folded billets inside. So, after you stop, simply reveal that inside the pendulum is the correct prediction! …
Thank you so much Primo, you have been a very important mentor during this journey, I’m very happy to call you one of my friends!
The performer places a prediction down on the table and then the spectator chooses any card: your prediction and their card matches! Allow the spectator to freely shuffle the cards. Openly spread the deck facing up and in doing so, peek at the top card. Square the deck back up and do a dribble move. The spectators can legitimately call stop anytime they please. When they do so, stick their card out just slightly when you square the deck back up. You are holding the deck in a dealer’s grip with a squared up deck with their selection sticking out slightly, such as in the “rising card” effect. Make the motion of grabbing the middle card but grab the top card. Push the middle card in at the same time. When these two actions are done at the same time, it looks like you are casually taking the middle card. But you are pushing the middle card in and simultaneously grabbing the top card! Place that card face down on the table. The spectator doesn't know what card it is. Then show your prediction and ask them to turn over their card which you just placed face down. They will always match!
The Mage discusses the value of having a personal place of peace and solitude where we can go to refresh and quiet our minds. He explains the real power of these places lies in the visitor believing it is real and places a folded piece of paper on the table. During a guided visualization, the participant is asked to imagine this comforting place as well as the number of times an imaginary bell rings. After the participant opens his eyes, he describes that in his mind, the bell rang five times. Surprisingly, when the paper is opened there is a description with the bell ringing this same number of times!
There are places that bring us comfort and relaxation in our minds. The performer places a folded paper on the table. Close your eyes for a moment… breathe deeply and relax. Picture yourself at the entrance of a beautiful and ancient sanctuary. Hear the birds chirping and whistling. The wind blows as the leaves fall into the grass. It’s a quiet and peaceful evening. Now… notice Now… notice a very antique bell tower, with and old brass bell. As soon as you notice it, you see an old bell-ringer at its side. The sun starts to set, as the bell-ringer chimes the bell once… twice… keep hearing the bell in your mind and imagine how many times it chimes until it stops… stops… as it indicates a time during this afternoon, just tell me what this hour is … - Six o’clock. o’clock. Now, the the bell ringer leaves and you’re left to enjoy the sounds of nature. Take a breath and calmly return to this place. Whenever you wish to retreat to this comfort, just imagine the place and the bell ringing six times… times… I have something to remind you that it is a very real place. The Mage picks up the paper from the table and gives it to the participant. It reads as follows:
This effect is done with Christopher Taylor’s Annemann Pocket Index, available at:
Expanded
http://www.taylorimagineering.com/products/annemann.php Print the 12 outs artwork (provided via email) and cut them. Place them in your index and then conceal it in your back pocket as shown below.
The method for this effect is, of course, quite self-evident; always have the “6” billet on the table as participants will stop on that time more often than any other: you’re mentioning an hour during the afternoon, at which the sun sets (and, at least in my city that would be 6 p.m.). If the spectator names out loud “six” the effect is over. Get him (or her) to open the folded paper and you’re ready. If he says any other time, you have more than enough time to select the correct billet, switch it for the one on the table and hand it to the participant!
I would like to thank those who in one way or another supported and encouraged me to make this dream become a reality: Banachek, Cedric Taylor, Chris Philpott, Christopher Taylor, Dan Cain, Ever Elizalde, Federico Sadocco, Jan Forster, John C. Moore (J.c Mooreni), Marc Salem, Matt Mello, Max Maven, Niels Krojgaard, Patrick Wolford, Primo Blass-Tchang, Richard Osterlind, Steve Drury.
Special thanks to my amazing cover designer Blanka Basto, an expert at the moment of creating the best book covers and fabulous artwork at very affordable prices. Contact her at:
[email protected]
Releasing Intimum Sacrarium has been a huge achievement for me. After several years in the making, I have to say it feels very rewarding to finally publish it. I sincerely hope my reader will enjoy these amazing effects and hopefully include some of them on his or her repertoire! If you plan on using of any of the principles, ideas or subtleties explained on this book to release any effects of your own, please contact me first and after we get to an arrangement, credit me. The only way in which our art advances is by sharing concepts that help it to grow further, but it’s always important to give credits where it’s due. Even if I just encourage you to create something new, heck, drop me a line and let me know! Please give Intimum Sacrarium the respect it deserves by not sharing its material by any means; you have trusted in me by investing in this book and so I expect I can trust you back. I want to thank everyone involved in this project from the bottom of my heart. Finally, here are some amazing words from artist Heath Padgett as well as writer Kokil Sharma, about being a true artist. I have decided to include their inspiring message with their written permission.
An artist pursues work that can be shared with the world. From my own experience, art comes from chasing after a passion or love to make the world a better place. A place that is happier, brighter, and has more meaning because the artist created something that left a beautiful, profound mark on it. They run their own race and believe in healthy competition. They are always aware of what’s going on around them, but their focus is only on their own path. They are confident about their art, generous at heart and free of ego. Art connects people to their soul, which makes a true artist humble and grounded. A truly successful artist will never put others down. True artists are surely proud of their work, but they never underestimate others. An artist always walks on the path of self-development and keeps up with the changing times. They are learners for life; they believe in growth and are always focused on improving their craft.
Art exposes the parts of us that we don’t want others to see, because we’re scared of what they might think. We don’t want people to know that we’re really insecure at times or that we have faults and fears, because then they will see we are weak. But the truth is, it’s the artist’s most vulnerable moments that truly express and provide the world with exactly what it needs – hope. Hope that we are not alone in our worries and fears, hope that someone understands our heart, and most of all, hope that we could possibly one day too create something worthwhile. worthwhile.
It’s easy to show up for a job where you don’t have to spill your heart or “let people in.” But real art is fearless. It is what we do when we aren’t scared of letting people in and being hurt. Actually, I take that back. Art is what we do when we are scared, scared, but we have the courage courage to let people in.
Art is the work that we complete after facing hardship and obstacles in our path. Art means facing resistance, overcoming the resistance and still making something worthwhile to share with the world. Art isn’t easy and wasn’t made to be, it’s what comes after exhausting ourself for a fight we believe in.
True artists do not believe in selling their image through tweets, posts and selfies. They believe in selling their ideas and understand the difference between selling and sharing. True artists have a gift that they “share” with the world and inspire people people through their work.
As an artist, you “create” a piece with love, confidence and belief in yourself. You do whatever you do for the sake of the task at hand without caring so much about the results. Money just flows in naturally. When an artist's intentions are pure and simple, success follows wherever he or she goes. Work is play for true artists. They fulfill their dreams through art and never have to “work” a day in their life. They do not work for money, power or fame, only for the love and passion for evolving their craft. cra ft. A true artist’s work reflects his or her life and thoughts. thoughts. When a true artist is i s creating a piece of art, ar t, there is nothing else on his or her mind; it is an escape from the real world. I’m a writer a writer because I wake up everyday and write. I’m an artist because I strive to be humble, helpful, and honest in everything I publish. At the end of the day I would rather create something half as beautiful, but twice as honest. I want the world to know the real me. I want to have lived a life authentic to myself. A happy life that was spent making art. What art are you going to give to the world? world?
Now that you read what being a real artist is, it should be easier to know which of the “ big names” in our community are not really interested in this endeavor, but rather worried about selling every single one of ther ideas, regardless of quality. Are they real artists or hype marketing agents? I vote for the latter. Props to those that feel a real passion to create and give something new to our art; for they keep improving it every day! Mentalism is one of the most fascinating, mysterious and compelling art of all times; let’s keep it as such! Again, thank you for your trust, investment and support. Will Intimum Sacrarium be the book of the year? I don’t really know, but as long as you have taken something useful from it, then I’m more than happy! Until a next time,
Andreu
A beautiful body perishes, perishes, but a work of art dies not. Leonardo da Vinci
Intimum Sacrarium Andreu All rights reserved Copyright © 2016
Intimum Sacrarium is proudly edited and printed in Colombia; the world’s finest country to drink the best quality coffee, eat bandeja paisa and ajiaco, travel through mindblowing landscapes of nature and weather (we (we don’t have seasons!), and meet the most amazing people. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including scanning, photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without withou t written permission from the publisher. Commercial manufacturing rights for all content herein are reserved by Andreu TV Performing Rights for all the herein effects are reserved by Andreu and will only be granted with written permission from the author.
