Inspired by Philemon Vanderbeck Developed by P. Craig Browning

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COPYRIGHT © Craig Browning 2014

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For more information, contact:

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Much Thanks There are many in our world that believe that they, as an individual,

make things happen, be it running a small business or writing a book of

poetry. The truth is, however, it takes the time and influence of others

in order to bring about any sort of manifestation, this book being no

different. I’m not talking about the fact that I’ve taken an idea that

originated with an associate and ran with it, but the fact that I’ve

massaged around an old chestnut and given birth to something totally

unique THANKS TO the contributions and insights of others, with Jon

Racherbaumer standing at the fore, his research and understanding of

this base effect breathing new life and light into the thing that Philemon

Vanderbeck and I originally saw as a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun. But

there are a few others to thank, such as my longtime supporter and

chief publisher Loren Tindall and my first mentor in Mentalism, the

great Millard Longman.

I also want to thank you, dear reader, for it is what you do with this

system that will make all the difference, in that most of you will

understand that this is a tool via which a serious sense of income and

reputation can be established; it’s not some cheap trick that you mix in

with a Twisting Aces or Ambitious Card set. So, thank you! Thank you

for respecting this piece, protecting it, and keeping its secrets with you

so that all will be able to benefit in the long run.

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Introduction You invite a patron to take up a pack of the Major Arcana and spread it

out in a series of 3 rows with 7 cards in each row. From this they are to

find the one card they are most drawn toward and only think of it,

retaining their focus the entire time, but never naming it until the

conclusion of the 3 chief spreads involved with the session. As the

mystic, you offer an overview of each spread, filling out papers that

allow the client to review your words and discoveries long after the

session has concluded.

Three total spreads are made – three separate Readings dealing with

the past, present & future – all stemming from the energy associated

with the client’s “Significator”, the card they focused on from the start,

and the very card that you reveal to them at the conclusion of the

Reading as being the key upon which they should meditate or, should

they choose to continue their session, it would become the primary

Significator used in a more traditional spread that uses the entire deck.

If this sounds familiar to you, well, it should. It is the 21 Card Trick with a

Tarot Reading veneer, a concept first introduced in Vol. 3, Issue 4 of the

OORT newsletter, a guide written by Cold Readers for those that

worked as Readers as well as entertainers. The twisted mind that came

up with the concept was Seattle’s Philemon Vanderbeck, but it was I

that gave it the added twist and turns that transformed it from being a

clever “quickie” type Reading to something a bit more in-depth,

including the layering of paperwork stemming from ideas shared by

Herb Dewey and others, as a marketing tool that Readers all too

frequently ignore. Giving your patron a booklet or brochure that has

your contact details, as well as an outline pertaining to the Reading

itself, is one of the most assured ways of generating that all-important

return patron . . . not to mention, the positive word of mouth that can

make or break any business.

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As is my nature, I like to educate my Mentalism clients nearly as much

as I do my shut-eye patrons that come in for a Reading, but where does

one go to find out the history of the 21 Card Trick?

The Answer: Jon Racherbaumer

Jon’s amazing 7*7*7 is a “must have” for anyone that enjoys this

unusual puzzle and would like to be able to turn it on its ear whenever

confronted by that pesky amateur that has become an energy vampire,

draining you of your good manners and life essence. That said, I give

you the actual introduction to Jon’s book in that it gives you the historic

overview I was looking for and, more importantly, it will give you a

reason to go out and buy yet another book on dumb card tricks. . .

INTRODUCTION to 7*7*7 by Jon Racherbaumer

“Arguably The Most Famous ‘Dealing And

Counting Trick’ That Is Better Than Its Reputation.”

- Roberto Giobbi, alluding to the 21-Card Trick in his list of the 100 great Themes, Effects, and Tricks in Card Magic (Genii

magazine: September and November, 2006).

Is this book necessary?

Not likely.

Devoting 195 pages to a card trick most magicians have abandoned or

discounted is a dubious enterprise. This e-book is not a hard-cover

volume, and those deeming it useful enough to download will be its

consumers and progenitors—a minority at best. If anything, this

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manuscript then may rank as the longest, most detailed footnote in the

history of semi-automatic card tricks.

Time will tell.

The 21-Card Trick is probably the world’s best known, stereotypical card

trick. This may be its good and bad features. Nevertheless, it’s been

around for over 400 years, making it a stable meme—passed from

person to person, generation to generation, and usually learned vis-à-

vis in drawing rooms, backrooms, and barrooms.

Everyone agrees that this ancient puzzler is freighted with negative

associations. As far as the cognoscenti are concerned, it is a tired trick

that lacks elegance and class. Its action procedure is repetitious and

banal and why it is often branded as being the classic “hemorrhoid

trick” (with its “piles” and recurrent dealing). Also, its outcome is clearly

calculated and calculable. Although its semi-automatic nature may

arouse curiosity about how it works, those taught how to do it seldom

care about why it works. They are content to happily perform it when

circumstances warrant. Maybe this is the primary reason it has survived

so long?

Harold Cataquet, a man well-versed in mathematical matters, writes:

“Self-working mathematical tricks have a great appeal

to the wannabes who aren’t magicians, but dabble with

a few tricks. I’m surprised that some of the easier and

more direct effects such as Fulves’ Gemini Twins, Daryl’s

Bermuda, and Chad Long’s Shuffling Lesson haven’t

filtered down into the layperson’s domain. I think the

real success of the 21-Card Trick is the obtuseness (?) of

its method. The other trick I mentioned could probably

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be explained by observant spectators, but this one is not

readily cracked. In fact, I think that most people who

perform it view the method as being akin to one of

Newton’s laws of physics. It just seems to happen.”

Although we can agree that the trick is interesting, I ask: Why write a

lengthy treatise about a hoary, outdated, over-exposed, and often

ridiculed puzzler? Even the legendary Ed Marlo, who called it an “old

chestnut,” wrote:

“Frankly, we have never particularly liked the trick, let alone the old method where numerous deals are necessary to arrive at the thought-of card.”

Isn’t it antiquated? Why bother? Actually, to be precise, the word

“antiquated” does not apply. The trick (plot) is not “obsolete” nor has it

been “replaced.” So, despite being shop-worn and over-exposed, the

21-Card Trick is alive and well, refusing to die and disappear—an

undeniable testament to its hardiness.

Although unimpressed with the effect, Marlo was affected in a different

way. After he learned how to perform it as a lad, he wanted to know

why it worked. He thought that if he understood its mechanics, he could

improve it—which he eventually did. His streamlined version was

eventually explained in The Cardician (1953), although he confessed at

the time that it was “devised in self-defense against those individuals

who, after seeing someone do card tricks, invariably said: ‘Have you

ever seen this one?’ and then without fail dealt out the familiar three

rows of cards.”

Marlo’s reactionary version stirred insiders back in the 50s. As he put it:

“Combining common sense, observation, psychological principles, a bit of audacity, the

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Twenty-One Card Trick can become a trick that at times will floor even the hardboiled…”

This motivated cardmen to think about the effect and figure out better

methods. Besides, who doesn’t want to fool fast company?

Long before any of us were born, the 21-Card Trick was performed with

15 or 27 cards. Exact provenance of the trick; however, has not been

officially tracked. Stephen Minch, writing in From Witchcraft to Card

Tricks (1991), cited Récréations Mathematiques et Physiques (1693) as

an early source of the trick, but perhaps the earliest version was

ferreted out by Reinhard Mueller. Dated 1593, it is credited to Horation

Galasso d’Arienzo.

Three-hundred and fifty-nine years later, Martin Gardner wrote about

the underlying mathematics of this puzzler in Mathematics, Magic, and

Mystery (1956), reporting that this ancient trick aroused the interest of

mathematicians. Joseph Diez Gergonne, a French mathematician,

extensively analyzed it in 1813 and the “trick” was dubbed Gergonne’s

Pile Problem—a trick closely examined in mathematical recreations

literature.

Gardner wrote:

The working principles have been generalized to apply to any given number of cards (see Ball’s Mathematical Recreations, 1947 revised edition, p. 316). In the literature of magic the trick may be found in Professor Louis Hoffmann’s More Magic, p. 32, and many earlier books on conjuring. In recent years, however, several new aspects of the trick have been developed by magicians—aspects that have not yet found their way into the literature of either conjuring or mathematical amusements.

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Gergonne’s Pile Problem is currently explained on various Websites

(usually called Gergonne’s Magic Trick). However, instead of using

playing cards, a user’s computer screen displays 27 numbers.

Otherwise, the procedure is the same with one exception. Since the user

is only asked to select a row, the order of numbers in that row is of no

consequence. However, it is a simple task for a computer to reshuffle

numbers in every row, which makes the trick appear more complicated

than it really is.

W. W. Rouse Ball and H. S. M. Coxeter, writing in Mathematical

Recreations and Essays (Dover, 1987), mentions that in 1813-1814 J. D.

Gergonne proved a generalization that dealt with NN cards arranged in

N rows of NN-1 cards each. It is always possible to combine rows in such

a manner that after N replies the selected card will appear in any

desired spot, not necessarily in the middle of the mid row.

Magicians had a field day playing around with 27-card versions as

evinced by the bibliography in this treatise; and most of their variations

concentrated on how the three piles were reassembled and how the

selection was ultimately revealed. Some versions tried to retain a

“mental” flavor by naming the selection rather than physically locating

it.

The nice feature of the standard 21-Card Trick is that a card is mentally

selected at the onset, although later it is obvious that some sort of

elimination process is at work. But asking the spectator to name only

the row that includes his selection (two or three times) does not seem

to provide enough information to determine the selection. Eventually

the trick evolved so that the selection is revealed using equivoque, a

much stronger ending then simply naming or dealing down to it.

Although initial improvements focused on eliminating the tiresome

dealing process, concentrated efforts to fix, finesse, and modify the

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effect did not begin until Marlo’s “Nouveau 21-Card Trick” appeared in

Marlo Without Tears (1983). This routine was a departure because the

trick is repeated several times, using different methods each time. The

first phase is Marlo’s streamlined version from The Cardician. The

second phase introduced a different procedure to randomly select a

card, using a simple placement idea.

Also, the cards are dealt face up into three rows once and the performer

retains the twenty-first card, holding it face down. He then uses it to

point to the three rows on the table, rhetorically asking, “Which row

contains your card?” The selection turns out to be the face-down card in

the performer’s hand. The third phase repeats the placement procedure

and the cards are again dealt face up into three rows. The performer

immediately names the correct row and selection.

If the audience still wants more, the placement procedure is performed

again with one addition. Afterwards, the assembled cards can be given

straight cuts. Then the cards are dealt face up into three rows and the

performer removes the correct selection from the correct row. If the

fourth time is not sufficient, Marlo had a fifth method: The cards are

dealt face down into the three rows. Nevertheless, the performer

removes the correct card. This method, by the way, led to an approach

where the selection is apparently ascertained telepathically and

features a wonderful subtlety that really takes people by surprise,

including fast company.

As this treatise attests, magicians have been experimenting with the 21-

Card Trick for a long, long time. Many of the latter-day methods, fixes,

and spinoffs supersede and extend old ones, which has a revitalizing

effect and makes the trick seem new, different and more puzzling to

blasé enthusiasts.

But as Harold Cataquet recently pointed out, “Many of the versions I’ve

seen are ‘mock 21-card’ tricks. That is, they start out as the 21-card

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trick, but then go to the ‘left.’ So, it really isn’t a 21-card trick but sets up

the spectator for that type of trick and plays on the spectator’s

familiarity to deliver a sucker punch.”

True. There is strong motivation by magicians to learn streamlined or

modernized versions because they will squelch the laity. As Simon

Aronson wrote, they stop spectators from wanting to show you more of

their supposedly “great” magic. In other words, after the spectator

performs the standard 21-Card Trick as a prequel to other “pile tricks,”

you can stop him in his tracks with your “smack-down” version.

Re-Printed with Permission

I can’t thank Jon enough for his generosity in helping me put the much-needed “finishing touches” to this material and, for that matter, giving our industry a much-needed trot through history when it comes to one of those old chestnuts that we tend to take for granted, rarely taking a step back to see what’s really there.

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The Real Work on the 21 Card Trick By Philemon Vanderbeck

The following was first published in Volume 3 Issue 4 of OORT, the Cold

Reader’s digest -- 2003

The 21 Card Trick is generally looked upon with derision by professional

magicians, and for good reason. As usually presented, it’s a boring

mathematical self-working card trick that suffers from pointless

repetition.

So one of my running jokes at magicians’ gatherings whenever the name

of this trick is brought up is to say, “But you should see how I do it”.

Usually I just leave it at that… but many years ago, I got to wondering if

it was possible to add meaning to this old chestnut and take it from the

realm of the mundane to the world of the miracle.

I ran across an interesting variation that used 27 cards and had an

interesting formula employed to have the spectator’s card show up

after the third dealing by spelling their name out.

I immediately saw the possibilities inherent by adapting this for use with

the Tarot cards and presenting the entire thing as a 3 phased Reading.

Since I needed 27 cards, I figured I could use the 22 cards of the Major

Arcana, plus the 4 Aces of each suit, and then for the last odd card, the

blank card that is included with many decks.

Since I first developed this technique, I have since learned that Dennis

Marks of the Psychic Entertainers’ Association has also published a

version in their Vibrations magazine. However, since I’m not a member

of the P.E.A., I have no idea what Dennis’s version is like. So, here’s my

version for the benefit of non-P.E.A. members and the readers of OORT.

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The Reader gives a packet of 27 Tarot cards to the client and asks them

to secretly select one to be their “Significator”, the card which will

represent them in the Reading to follow. The cards are then mixed and

given back to the Reader.

The Reader lays out the cards in three rows of nine and explains that

the row nearest the client represents the Past, the row in the middle is

the Present, and the furthest row is the Future. The Reader asks the

client to reveal the row which their Significator lays, without revealing

the actual identity of the Significator.

Noting the two end cards of the indicated row, the Reader proceeds to

tell the client a little about themselves. The cards are gathered up and

re-dealt into three rows. The Reading explains that this time the cards

will reveal information about “Relationships & Romance”.

Again the client indicates which row their Significator is in and the

Reader proceeds to reveal information. The cards are gathered again

and re-dealt. This time the spread will reveal “Financial & Career”

aspects. The client reveals the row the Significator is in and the Reader

continues revealing information.

The cards are gathered up one last time. But this time, the Reader

explains that spread will reveal an important aspect for the client. To

do so, the Reader will spell out the client’s name, dealing out one card

for each letter and turning up the last card dealt. By a remarkable

“coincidence”, it turns out to be the very card the client chose as their

Significator. The Reader finishes the Reading by interpreting this card.

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In Order to Accomplish All of This, you will need to know the name of

the client before you begin the Reading, of course. Naturally, you can

find this out as you introduce yourself. Just make sure you know the

exact spelling. The name can be of any length between 1 and 27 letters.

I like to use the full name of the client if I can, but if I can’t easily obtain

the client’s last name, or if the full name is longer than 27 characters,

then I’ll just use the first name (or the first & middle name). Based on

the length of the name, you need to remember the corresponding set of

letters according to the following table:

1 – BBB 7 – BTB 13 – BMM 18 – TTM 23 – MMT

2 – MBB 8 – MTB 14 – MMM 19 – BBT 24 – TMT

3 – TBB 9 – TTB 15 – TMM 20 – MBT 25 – BTT

4 – BMB 10 – BBM 16 – BTM 21 – TBT 26 – MTT

5 – MMB 11 – MBM 17 – MTM 22 – BMT 27 – TTT

6 – TMB 12 - TBM

You don’t have to commit this table to memory. You can hide it

someplace convenient. An obvious place would be on the inside of the

lid of the box holding the Tarot cards. I recommend using the standard

Rider-Waite Tarot deck for this effect. If you use a different deck, you

will need to find one that includes a blank card, or substitute another

card.

You could also use any selection of the 27 cards, but I find that the ones

described tend to provide the best material for the cold readings to

follow. Show the cards to the client, and if they are unfamiliar with the

Tarot, explain their usage. Be sure to point out the blank card and

explain that its inclusion is intentional, as most Readers don’t use this

card normally.

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Ask the client to secretly select one as their Significator. Just tell them

to pick one out that “suits their particular fancy”. Once they have done

so, have them mix the cards up and hand them back to you.

Proceed as in the above description, by laying out the cards face-up into

three rows like so:

1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25

2 5 8 11 14 17 20 23 26

3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27

Be sure to lay out the cards so that the images are upright from the

perspective of the client.

CLIENT

READER

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Also you will need to overlap the cards slightly in each row to facilitate

quick pick-up after each phase of the Reading. Explain to the client the

meanings of the three rows (past, present & future) and have them tell

you which row their Significator lies, without revealing the actual

identity of the Significator. Point out the two end cards of the row and

use them as the basis for the Reading for the client.

After you finish the first part of the Reading, you will gather up the cards

by row, keeping them face-up as you do so. You will maneuver the row

that contains the Significator according to the first letter of the set

corresponding to the number of letters in the client’s name. “B” means

the row remains on the bottom of the stack, “M” means it’s placed in

the middle, and “T” means it’s placed on top.

It doesn’t matter where the other two rows go, as long as the

relationship to the Significator row is maintained. Needless to say, you

should gather-up the rows as casually as possible, without drawing

attention to the process.

Once all the cards are gathered-up, turn the stack face down and then

deal the cards face-up using the same pattern as before. Explain that

the second spread is for “Relationships & Romance” and have the client

indicate which row their Significator is in. Again, using the two end

cards proceed with the Reading.

Gather up the cards again, this time using the second letter of the set to

maneuver the row with the Significator. Turn the cards face down, then

deal them face up again in the now-familiar pattern. Have the client

indicate the row and continue as before, focusing on “Finances &

Career” issues.

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Now For the Climax: gather the cards up one last time using the 3rd

letter of the set for correct placement of the important row. Turn the

cards face down and spell out the client’s name, dealing one card face

down for each letter.

When you come to the last letter, explain that this card will provide a

summary of the entire Reading and is very important. Turn it face up. If

everything was done correctly, and the client didn’t incorrectly identify

the row which their Significator was in, then you’ll probably hear a gasp

from the client as they realize their “card of destiny” turns out to be the

card they chose as their Significator.

Finish the Reading by interpreting the last card. Resist the temptation

to make a big reveal of this last card. Let the spectator point out the

fact, if they wish to do so. This detail will transform this effect from a

mathematical self-working trick into a personal miracle. Besides, if a

mistake was made somewhere during the process, then you won’t look

foolish when a different card than their Significator turns up.

If you did the Reading part correctly then it doesn’t really matter if the

right card is revealed at the end. But if everything works out (and it

most likely will), then you will have convinced the client in the power of

the Tarot and in your skill as a Reader.

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The Booklet When I expanded Philemon’s concept for my Psychic Technologies®

series, I created a series of spread sheets that allowed the Reader to

make notes, list the cards of the spread and their position, etc. Since

then I have created a Client Book deliberately for this particular

Reading, the templates sent as part of this file. These templates create a

simple 5.5” x 8.5” booklet (8.5” x 11” folded in half, center stapled). The

booklet hosts space to list each of the cards found in each deal (spread)

and leaves room for your notes for each row.

Yes, this differs a bit from the original outline; I’ve found, after nearly a

decade of doing this routine that people are curious and ask about the

rows not included in the Reading and for that reason I believe it wise to

at least offer a cursory comment or two and where possible, tie said

details to what’s said about the row containing the Significator.

You will find a blank page after each spread, room enough for over-flow

should it be needed, these being followed by a page for the Karmic

Revelation Card and a final summary page where you tie all your loose

ends together.

The final page is where you either place a stock backstory or one of your

own creation.

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A Sample Session

This is our first spread, the client has chosen a Significator, shuffled the

deck and we have laid them out in 3 rows of 9 cards each, doing so in a

manner that allows the cards to appear in the up-right position to the

sitter. At this point only the client knows the identity of the Significator,

and as such indicates that it is in the center row. . . a row with two

rather ominous cards at the bookends. The first card (Devil) suggests

that some form of temptation or “base thinking” is afoot. The Tower

resting on the opposite end forewarns about possible calamity and

chaos, but what does the rest of this line reveal?

Chances are very strong that this sitter is having some fidelity issues in

their life, but they have been given reason to stop being in love with

being in love – a hint of deception and manipulation, the possibility of

CLIENT

READER

Figure 1 - 1st Spread - Overview

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pregnancy or, at minimum, a result that comes about because of a

liaison.

When we look at this line as part of the general overview I would focus

on the Ace of Cups (Relationships) as well as its alternate parallel in

Celtic folklore as “The Grail”. The Emperor card echoes this influence,

suggesting that it’s time for some soul searching (Hanged Man) in order

to correct the current state of frustration, remorse or loss the patron is

experiencing.

I realize this sounds rather bold and even “negative”, but if we are going

by the general influence and significance of the cards, this is what the

issues are. Watch the patron and follow their lead, but trust your cards

and your understanding of their language, allowing the filler cards to

off-set the more negative aspects found in this instance.

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The Second Spread: Romance & Relationships

You have collected the cards according to the first guide. In other

words, if you client’s name was composed of 7 letters you are using the

BTM patter, and as such the chosen card (Significator) group is now on

the bottom of your collected stack (what will become to the top portion

when you turn the deck over to re-deal).

Remember, you must deal the cards from top to bottom – 1,2,3 in the

first column – then 4, 5, 6, etc.

In this particular instance, the Significator card is in the “top” row (the

Past), and the Reading will discuss your strength within the relationship

and how it allows you to celebrate life, etc. Yet we have a few other

things afoot in this line when we look at the body of the row.

CLIENT

READER Figure 2 - 2nd Spread: Romance & Relationships

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The Moon is present, which suggests deception & illusion – things aren’t

what they seem – but we likewise have 3 different Aces in this line, as

well as the Blank. Finally, there’s the Star which denotes spiritual

energy – intuitive knowledge paralleled by Temperance.

All in all, it is nearly the same message as the first overview Reading,

with a warning about affairs of the heart and their uncertainty. In

looking at these random spreads, you’d almost think you were Reading

a middle-aged individual having a fling.

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The Third Spread: Finance & Career

Once again the Significator is located in the row nearest the sitter, and

so your Reading will pertain mainly to unresolved issues and

unrecognized influences that are affecting personal status, income and

career potential. The two key influences are the Hanged Man and the

Emperor, which are actually positive indicators in that they show

someone that is being methodical, and doesn’t just jump into situations

on a whim.

A deeper look at this line reveals two Aces. The Ace of Wands is very

important in that it deals with New Beginnings on the Carnal Plane,

while the Ace of Cups pertains to Relationships, most likely those

CLIENT

READER

Figure 3 - 3rd Spread: Finance & Career

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involving co-workers and business associates in this case. The cards

leading up to this Ace reveal a change of dynamics (Wheel of Fortune)

due to possible deception or a lack of clarity (Moon) as well as outside

influences (Tower) – circumstances you really have little to no control

over. This is not saying that your partners are playing games, but rather

that you don’t have all the details and that there is a lot more to a given

situation. However, you do have the Strength and Wisdom (High

Priestess) to carry you through and carnal reward will certainly prove

the end result.

Because this line deals with the past you must emphasize things more

like this:

You have a special quality about yourself and making

decisions when it comes to money & career; you will

contemplate things and usually take a cautious but

assertive course of action that is a bit conservative but

appropriate in that there is something behind the scenes

that still perplexes you. In fact, this question is not yet

resolved from what I can tell, even though new

beginnings are afoot. Relationships with your business

associates are improving, and you have come to know a

sense of refreshment and, dare I say, “Hope” about the

future and the investments you’ve made over the past

year.

The Next Step

You have completed an overview on each spread with each page of the

booklet, emphasizing the row in which the Significator rests (in this case

we’ve been following the Ace of Cups). You are ready to bring things to

a head, spelling out the client’s name and revealing the Significator.

When I do this (as I’m gathering the cards for the last time), I start

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talking about Karma and the idea of Kismet – the fact that there is no

such thing as an accident or coincidence. I appear to be connecting this

spiel to the previous Readings, when in fact I’m setting the client up for

the spelling phase.

I’d like to try a little something if you don’t mind;

sometimes it gives us a kind of co-signature to things,

but most of the time it gives us one last card to look at

that can help summarize and tie things together. To do

this and keep things random I’m going to ask you to

deal one card at a time for each letter in your name. . .

IF YOU MISS and the last letter is not the Significator, that’s OK in that it

will usually be the next card, the one now upper-most in the pack. The

cover is simple:

. . . this card is interesting in that it will help us clarify a

few things about the Reading; especially your questions

about . . .

. . . I’m curious however, what was your Significator

card?

. . . would you mind turning over the top card in the

packet. If the ___ was in fact the card you felt most

connected to at the start of this session then we will see

a Kismet connection.

This three stage process and the synopsis using the newly-discovered

card followed by your curiosity over the Significator does tend to make

a bigger deal out of the revelation than what should be there; the

impact of the reveal should be one of discovery not explanation and

emphasis. Therefore, the discovery of the Significator during the spelling

Thoth’s 21 Messengers

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is the preferred scenario, because it seems like an impossible bit of

happenstance.

WHEN YOU HIT and the Significator comes out in the spelling cycle, you

are set to tie things up. Allow the card’s meaning to help you clear up

any questions the sitter may have (and points where clarity is needed).

Allow this card to bring about that happy ending.

“But What if the Card is Dark?”, you ask.

It is doubtful that anyone would pick Death, the Tower or the Devil as

their Significator, but it does happen. The few times I’ve encountered

this involved people that were going through some emotionally-charged

times in their life. The one time that the Devil was revealed was when a

young sitter was being silly while claiming to be a Satanist. Knowing this

to be the lad’s fantasy, I blew him out of the water by scaring some

sense into him. This, however, is not something for an inexperienced

Reader to ever try.

This is a routine I’ve done dozens, if not hundreds, of times over the

years, and as such I’ve seen very few scenarios where a dark card was

chosen as the Significator. In the two cases where Death was chosen,

the individuals were suffering from extreme depression and were

suicidal. The one incident involving the Devil card came in the form of a

16 year old that thought himself a Satanist, and because of how

“radical” he was acting (not to mention cocky), I had already decided to

give him a bit of a wake-up call. When the Devil was revealed, I really

got him shook (and it was fun doing so).

Was I wrong for doing this?

Some might say that I overstepped my position, but in my book anytime

I can help nudge someone back toward a more positive path in life, it’s

my obligation to do so. That’s not saying that I’ll ever give people any

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sort of religious propaganda (especially those silly little comic books),

but I will encourage them to take a look at some alternate reading

material, like A Course in Miracle or the Celestine Prophecy.

The few times I’ve had people choose The Tower had nothing to do with

this particular routine but rather a traditional Celtic Cross spread. In

each case, I was dealing with people that were strongly affected by the

events of 9/11. I’ve not had that card show up as a Significator since the

early spring of 2002, however, and unless we have a similar tragedy

come along, I doubt that such will ever happen again.

You will get a lot of people, especially younger females, who will choose

the Lovers for what should be obvious reasons. Younger males tend to

take either the Chariot or the Magician, with a small but curious group

of younger males identifying with the Fool. I say it this way because

nearly every single lad that’s associated himself with that card tends to

be juggling sexual identity issues. That is to say, they are either

perpetual virgins or closet-cases, and though you might giggle at that

thought, it is important to understand how challenging (and

embarrassing) that situation can be, and how much more difficult it is to

deal with the older you are, so handle such incurrences with kid gloves.

Learn the Cards. . . To be a solid Reader, even in a routine such as this, means that you are

well-studied. In this case, you want to know both the Tarot and

Numerology, and as we said at the beginning, a bit about Astrology. You

don’t need to memorize scripts or formulas as so many Cold Reading

advocates will tell you, just learn how to work with a given system (or

systems), and you’ll be fine.

In this case, you are focused on the Tarot, and as such you need to be

familiar with the general meaning behind each card as well as the

Jungian/Psychological significance each card hosts. That might sound

like a lot of work, but it is the sort of time and energy investment that

Thoth’s 21 Messengers

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pays off big in the long run. Then again, I’m a great believer in being an

actual “expert” on things, and not just someone that reads a book or

worse, cribs notes on a subject and fills in the blanks with pure B.S. and

charm.

While there is an effect built into this routine, it is still a legitimate

Reading IF YOU MAKE IT SO. There is nothing carved in stone that says

you have to use the kicker. I’ve used this routine at Psychic Fairs and

never once did the spelling part of the bit; it’s not necessary when you

know your stuff and have clients walking away happy and chatty.

Don’t Get Sucked In! If you are working a public venue, such as a street fair or psychic expo,

you may find yourself face to face with someone that wants to stone-

wall you or simply harass you because you’re a Reader (thank you, Ian

Rowland, for your words of encouragement1). When this sort of thing

happens, the reveal of the Significator can prove itself as the straw that

breaks the camel’s back. I love it when things work out in this way,

especially when it’s a magician who wants to bust me, in that I won

them over using one of the most elementary card tricks found in the

annals of the craft; what can be more satisfying?

If they react in a manner of recognition to the effect simply smile and

say, “I hope you enjoyed this bit of amusement.” And leave it at that;

any “professional” will understand and accept the fact that you allowed

them in on your little secret and that they are “in the know”. It’s Old

World thinking when it comes to this business they call “show”.

1 Ian Rowland’s book “FULL FACTS BOOK ON COLD READING” hosts an entire section

about psychic baiting and harassment, encouraging the magic community to waste the time and talents of local Readers under the idea of expose. It is a cheap PR ploy that victimizes people that are generally honest and hardworking. This is one of the chief reasons I do not encourage anyone to purchase this particular publication.

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Thoth’s 21 Messengers

Pag

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Pag

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