Star Sign Effect: The spectator is asked to concentrate on his/her star sign. Using no props or physical aids whatsoever, the performer slowly reveals the spectators’ birth sign letter by letter. The above description reveals nothing of the devastating impact that this effect has upon a spectator. This is as close to genuine mind reading as one can possibly get. There is nothing written down and the only line of communication between yourself and the spectator is apparently one of concentration and imagination. Once learned, this effect can be carried around with you ready to be performed anywhere and at any time. Never again will you be asked to perform something and have to decline because you have forgotten your cards!!! Procedure: The whole thing is based upon a branching anagram procedure. There has been much work published on branching anagrams, most notably by Max Maven and Sam Schwartz (see ‘Credits’) and my approach offers nothing new concerning the mechanics of the anagram. What I offer in this booklet is a specific procedure for learning the anagram itself. Using the memory techniques described below, you should have no problem in learning the anagram in no more than an hour. Once learned in this manner, the procedure becomes easy and in fact, hard to forget! The branching anagram for the twelve birth signs that is provided was generated using Peter Lipp’s anagram software program. This, in itself was based upon the notion designed by Max Maven in his Mind Game videos. The letters on the anagram sheet provided, are colour coded to match this instruction document. This was in order to make the instructions easier to follow. The system works by asking the spectator to concentrate on his/her birth sign and to visualise the word itself. Using the branching anagram you are going to reveal the birth sign letter by letter. The anagram is designed so that you have the least amount of wrong answers as possible. However, using the correct patter and approach, it will seem that you do not get any of the letters wrong. Firstly, let me explain how the anagram itself works from a mechanical perspective and then I will proceed to describe the memory aids for learning the pumping procedure.
I R A S U T.
The left hand vertical column consists of large blue letters: The letter I is always the starting point and the first letter that you reveal. From then on, for each correct answer you continue to reveal large blue letters, the next being the R and then the A and so on down the left hand column. It is only if you receive a negative response to one of the blue letters that you move to the right and reveal one of the smaller red letters. The rule is: each time you get a positive response you move down the list, with a negative response you move across the list to the right.
Example: Suppose the spectator is thinking of the sign Virgo. You begin by naming the first large blue letter from the left hand column: I the spectator says yes so you move down to the R (yes) then to the A (no). The A gets a negative response so you move to the right and reveal the red letter G. If the response is negative you move to the right and the sign would be Scorpio. In our example the spectators’ sign is Virgo, this would have brought a positive response to the G and so you would follow the rule and move down to the reveal the sign of Virgo. This might sound a little confusing at first but a few trials will reveal the simplicity of the procedure. The only difficulty lies in remembering the sequence for naming the letters. However, using traditional memory techniques the sequence becomes simple and fun to learn. The first step is to remember the main blue letters of the left hand column :
IRASUT This is a simple matter of memorising the following sentence:
I Ran And Stumbled Upon a Tree. Next we require a method of linking the small red letters A & C to the main letter I and also a way of linking the words Leo, Taurus and Cancer to the main letter I. A traditional memory technique involves imagining a series of unusual images and linking these images together in some amusing or ridiculous fashion in your mind. The more unusual and ridiculous the better the process works. To link the letter I to the letters A & C remember the sentence:
Eye A Crab I think of the letter I in the sentence as being a human eye instead of the letter I. Now to link the signs to the main letter I, imagine peering through a giant glass eye at Leo the lion having sex with Taurus the bull while standing inside the shell of a giant Cancer the crab!! Remember, the more ridiculous and amusing you can imagine the image the easier it will be to remember. To get the sequence correct, you must imagine the eye first, then the lion, then the bull and lastly the crab. Try to hear the sound of the lion roaring and biting at the neck of the bull. Picture the bull with a huge pair of horns which are poking up and breaking through the shell of the crab from the inside. Using this sequence as an example, let’s imagine the spectator is thinking of the sign Cancer. You name the letter I to which you receive a negative response. Following the rule you move right to the small letter A which you know because of the sentence Eye A Crab. Naming the letter A you receive a positive response and so move down
and name the letter C (C for Crab in your sentence). You receive a positive response and follow the rule by moving down, there are no more small letters so you know the spectator’s sign is Cancer. Using this technique will construct memory aids to link the small red letters to the main blue letters and also to the star signs themselves. Gemini & Pisces To associate the main letter R with the S I simply remember the words:
Ran Straight To associate the signs of Gemini and Pisces to the word Straight imagine your partner or friend has a twin (Gemini). They are joined at the hip running a threelegged straight line race. The other competitors in the race are fish (Pisces). Example for Gemini – You begin by naming the I (yes), move down and name the R (no) moving right you imagine the above scenario and name the S (straight) you get a negative and so move right and name Gemini. Scorpio & Virgo The main letter A in the sentence represents the word and. It is difficult to use this word, so to associate the main letter A with the G, I simply remember the word:
AGony To associate the signs of Scorpio and Virgo to the word Agony: Imagine a crowd are in Agony with fits of laughter, at the sight of a huge scorpion (Scorpio) suffering from vertigo (Virgo) whilst swinging on a flying trapeze above a circus crowd. The scorpion is hanging onto the trapeze by its’ tail becoming very dizzy. Example for Virgo – You begin by naming the I (yes) then the R (yes) then the A (no), you move right and imagine the above scenario and name the letter G (yes). There are no more small letters so you know the sign is Virgo. Libra & Capricorn The main letter S represents the word stumbled. To associate the main letter S with the C, I remember the words:
Stumbled Cold To associate the signs of Libra (the scales) and Capricorn (the goat) to the letter C, imagine stumbling upon a huge block of cold ice which is balancing on a set of scales (libra). The other side of the scales has a goat (Capricorn) on them The scales are tipping one way and then the other as the ice block begins to melt.
Example for Libra – You begin by naming the letter I (yes) then the R (yes) then the A (yes) then the S (no) so you move right and imagine the above scenario and name the letter C (no). You move right and know the sign must be Libra. Aries To associate the letter U with the sign of Aries (the ram) remember that the main letter U represents the word:
Upon Imagine yourself riding upon a ram travelling at great speed around a formula one race track. Picture yourself overtaking Damon Hill as you cross the winning line. Example for Aries – You name the main letters I, R, A, S, which get positive responses until naming the U which gets a negative response. You move right and imagine the above scenario, there are no small letters to deal with and so you name the sign of Aries. Aquarius & Sagittarius To associate the main letter T with the signs of Aquarius (the water carrier) and Sagittarius (the archer) remember that the main letter T represents the word:
Tree Then, imagine your wife balancing a large teapot on her head (water carrier) whilst sitting in a tree. She is being fired at by the archer as in the William Tell story. The arrow hits the teapot and breaks it covering your wife with ice tea. Example for Sagittarius – You get a positive response from all of the main letters! (terrific). Moving down the list all of the way to the bottom you can only name the sign of Sagittarius. Had the example been Aquarius, you would receive a negative response for the letter T and so, move to the right. Moving right you would picture the above scenario and recall the sign of Aquarius. How to deal with a negative response. Unfortunately, the anagram procedure requires certain negative responses in order clue you as to which birth sign is being thought of. Thankfully, the branching anagram system is designed specifically to generate the least amount of negative responses. The maximum amount of negative responses one can obtain is only two. How can we convince the spectator that we do not actually receive a negative response? Firstly, we can adopt a strategy used by the superb magician – Gary Kurtz. The strategy is a little abstract and therefore difficult to describe. It becomes easier after experience and performing the anagram for ‘real’ people. For example, suppose
after naming the first letter I you receive a negative response. With experience, you will be able to stop the spectator before the response is made. In other words, you interrupt the spectator before he/she has time to reply and say something like “No it’s not an I”, “It’s more curly than an I” (as you draw the shape of an imaginary letter A), “It’s more like the letter A”. By doing this you are attempting to second-guess the spectator. You can understand why this is a little abstract, the response you give before the spectator can reply with a negative is a personal thing. Another strategy to use is in the situation of a double negative response. If you sense that the spectator is about to make another negative response you will now know which sign is being thought of. However, instead of using the strategy described above for a second time, you stop the spectator before he/she can make a reply and say “Let’s forget imagining the letters”, “I want you to concentrate on the actual birth sign itself”. Of course, you already know the sign and can now reveal it in your most effective manner. These strategies are both designed to stop the spectator before he/she can actually make a negative response. In essence, you are interrupting the spectator before he/she can reply to your statements. Using these techniques may seem very strange at first especially, if you have not tried these methods before. The beauty of learning in this fashion is that, once learned, you will always remember the sequence. I know of people who have learned branching anagrams or memorised decks who will totally forget the system or sequence unless it is in constant use. Using memory techniques that have been around for thousands of years, you will always remember the sequence. The great thing is that you can practise it by yourself or upon anyone you meet. Credits: The Progressive/Branching Anagram principle was first used by Stanley Collins in 1920. Further work on this principle has been done by Stewart James, Sam Schwartz, T.A. Waters, Phil Goldstein, Ray Grismer, Terri Rogers, Bob Farmer, Mark Elsdon and Alan Nu. The latter is worth particular mention since he has devised an anagram that relies on the mental image of the astrological sign rather than the word itself. The interested student may find his work (The Looking Glass - Summer 1996, pp97-100) of value.
