I know all, see all and will tell all!

Instead of mentally projecting your mentalism thoughts, type them here.
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I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 5th, 2016, 4:46 am

If you don't believe me look at this! I didn't even know it was on You Tube until I accidentally came across it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8ZV8X22U_c

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 5th, 2016, 4:57 pm

I am most distressed to see that poor old Widdle is not here to say anything rude about this video. I would tell him truthfully that I don't know much about this so called "cold reading" nonsense and I would be no good at it anyway so I don't bother using it. Instead I use genuine palmistry. I don't see the point in the fakery magicians use when you can do things the genuine way.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby MagicbyAlfred » December 6th, 2016, 1:14 am

Performer,

I enjoyed that video. I don't believe I had ever seen anyone do palm reading before. You gave the subject a lot of information and insights into his life, past, present and future. That was interesting how the left (or non-dominant) hand represents the past and the right (or dominant hand) the present.

I was struck by the realization that palm reading is something far more interesting and intriguing to the people for whom it is performed than a magic tricks are, or really ever could be. And that stands to reason, for the emotional hook Vernon referred to in relation to magic, is at its inherently strongest for the subject when he/she is the recipient of a reading (be it palmistry or tarot).

Thanks for sharing that...

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 6th, 2016, 6:38 am

Thank you Alfred for being the only one here who is interested in this subject. Everyone else appears to be a bunch of dodos who do not realise the power of palmistry. I have always maintained that the worst palmist will garner more interest from people than the best close up magician. If you can read palms you can blow any magician out of the water. If there is another magician in the room he will be ignored and a line up will come out of nowhere so that people can have their hand read. I have seen it happen. That is because you are talking about the thing that interests people more than anything else. Themselves.

And if you can combine palmistry with magic you have something that few others have.

One advantage of palmistry is that you do not get into people's problems the way you would with tarot cards. It is more of a character analysis and any mention of future trends are more general. And if you do it right it can be incredibly accurate.

Note the Chinese Numerology at the end. If you do it on the back of your business card they will never throw that business card away or lose it in the same way they would normally.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 6th, 2016, 9:06 am

One caveat I have is to do it for real. In other words do it properly using standard palmistry divination meanings. Avoid all that so called fraudulent "cold reading" malarkey. I have seen videos of sceptic debunker types doing what they think is palmistry and it is bloody awful and not convincing at all. That is because they are making it up as they are going along instead of doing it properly. And they have a tedious and unconvincing manner when presenting it.

No. The best way is to study it properly to get the full benefit out of it.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby MagicbyAlfred » December 6th, 2016, 10:45 am

Yes, although I have been a professional magician for 23 years, I am not afraid to admit that "the worst palmist will garner more interest from people than the best close up magician. If you can read palms you can blow any magician out of the water." It actually makes perfect sense, and if it were not the case, it would be an enigma. It's Dale Carnegie 101.

Aside from those rare selfless souls who have inhabited this planet from time to time, people are interested in themselves far and away more than anything else. This is why I am constantly seeking to tailor my performances to make the spectators front and center, and to have themes and plots and presentations which reflect Vernon's adamant admonition: "You MUST have an emotional hook."

I believe Carnegie added that after themselves, people are primarily interested in other people. That is why i almost always involve spectators hugely in my performances. I constantly seek to understand what it is about movies, TV shows, novels, sports, soap operas, etc. that evokes such deep interest, and try to apply it to my magic. Well certainly the common denominator is that the movies etc. are stories about people. For me, it has become more and more about setting up a plot or drama about people - telling and/or enacting a human interest story. In addition to being a technical art, I believe that fundamentally, magic is applied psychology. This quest to understand humans and apply what I learn is an ongoing and evolving process for me...

The most interest I ever generated at a close-up booking was about 15 years ago. It was Super Bowl Sunday, and I was doing walk-around at a big, beautiful home in Jupiter, Florida. I performed a routine wherein I take an apparently random playing card from the deck, show it to the spectator, give a succinct reading of what the card tells me about her (e.g. her traits, her future, etc.), and then place the card face down into her hand. This is done with four different cards. At the end, the cards are shown to have changed to all Aces or Queens - showing that the coming year will be her luckiest ever.

This routine inevitably gets a phenomenal reaction, particularly from women. Word obviously spread quick, because the next thing I knew, while all the men were getting all rowdy, drunk and boisterous watching the Super Bowl, I saw that there was a line of over a dozen women waiting for me to "tell their fortune." At halftime, even some men requested I tell theirs.

I know that that sort of cold reading is not what Palmistry is about, but it serves to underscore the intense interest people have in themselves, and what is going to generate the strongest reactions from them. After all, it's human nature, isn't it?

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 6th, 2016, 11:09 am

There is actually an entire book devoted to the subject of tricks with a fortune telling theme. It is called "Forbidden Wisdom" by Howard Albright. I do own the book but I must confess that I don't do anything from it. The reason is that I enough psychic readings as it is and I like to get away from it when I am doing magic otherwise my head will explode. However, there is no doubt that incorporating some divination aspect into one's performance will certainly gather interest.

In fact in Close Up Card Magic by Harry Lorayne there is indeed a trick therein which has a fortune telling aspect to it. I can't remember the name of the trick but it was a good one.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby MagicbyAlfred » December 6th, 2016, 12:11 pm

Applying the principles that captivate people when their palms or Tarot cards are being read to our performances can be key in capturing their interest and engaging their emotions when we do magic for them.

Just thinking off the top of my head, look at, say, the difference between saying to someone, "Please select a card," versus "I am going to ask you to use your intuition to make choice in a moment. Few people know this, but everyone has one card in the deck that brings them a great deal of luck. Let's try an experiment." Then maybe spread the cards face down and have them run their finger above, and back and forth, across the spread, until they feel a "vibration" or "connection" with a certain card. Then you p _ l _ it and get a glimpse, and have them shuffle. You then replace and control, arranging matters so that ultimately they spell to the card. You could then assure them that they are in for a great run of luck. (There are, of course, many conceivable methods for accomplishing the effect itself.

The foregoing is merely one example, among many, that illustrates the difference of a cliched, relatively mundane, even meaningless card trick, and one that will, as Performer put it, "garner more interest from people." There are many wonderful sleight of hand effects out there, but the presentation is by far the biggest determinant in the interest that will be generated, the entertainment value, and the all-important reaction in this fantastic performing art of ours.

Maybe rather than scoffing at tricks that do not require significant technical skill we should start re-thinking the possibilities in items as even as simplistic as the 21 Card Trick. I would much rather watch a very interesting and entertaining presentation of that trick than the most skillful handling of Twisting the Aces done in a monotone with explanatory patter, and with the predominant theme being to showcase the cleverness of the magician. Those who lament that Magic isn't as embraced by the general public as other performing arts might consider that this is not the fault of the public...

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby Brian Douglas » December 6th, 2016, 12:42 pm

I believe every performer; be it Mentalist or Magician, should begin with palmistry when first starting out. I've noticed one of the biggest obstacles for most novices to overcome is physical contact with their volunteer/spectators. Sometimes you need to position people be it their standing position or to frame the crowd.

Mark has a great rule of thumb in Palmistry that divulges a lot of information about the hand you hold.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 6th, 2016, 1:56 pm

Brian Douglas wrote:Mark has a great rule of thumb in Palmistry that divulges a lot of information about the hand you hold.


I do? Or perhaps that was a pun of some kind! The thumb does show logic and willpower. Or stubborness as illustrated in the video. But that is about it.

Oddly enough I am not keen of physical contact with my spectators and I tend to cringe when other performers do it. And woe betide them if they dare put their hand on my shoulder or grip my arm. I will ostentatiously brush my shoulder or arm afterwards so they can see me doing it. I detest it. And I am not the only one. I don't want people invading my space.

However, in some cases it is a necessity. For example a pickpocket has to touch people. And of course there are certain tricks such as the sponge balls where you have to touch people but it should be kept to a minimum and there has to be an obvious reason for it.

With palmistry there does have to be some level of physical contact but at least there is an obvious reason for it.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby Brian Douglas » December 6th, 2016, 2:05 pm

Yes Mark, the willpower tell. Quick way to test susceptibility and resolve. If those are the correct words.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 6th, 2016, 2:20 pm

Yes, when you press the thumb it does show the amount of resolve a person has. If it resists it does mean resolve, never giving in. Sometimes even stubborness at times. Military men and police officers often have strong thumbs and this is many times accompanied by what we call an "empty" hand which means very few lines. An empty hand represents a sceptical, down to earth nature.

It is unlikely you have an empty hand because of your creative talents. If anything you would probably have more lines on the hand than average.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby Rick Kirkes » December 7th, 2016, 7:50 pm

This is a great thread !

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 7th, 2016, 8:35 pm

Indeed. About bloody time! Of course I can see you are a mentalist from your list of favourite performers! This is no doubt why you would probably have an interest in these matters. Of course palmistry and psychic readings are nothing really to do with mentalism but I suppose it is a sort of related field. Oddly enough mentalism (which I define as magic tricks with a mindreading theme) would be frowned on at psychic fairs as it is not the real thing. However, magic is perfectly fine. In fact I do the svengali deck at psychic fairs to garner business!

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby MagicbyAlfred » December 8th, 2016, 11:11 am

Performer Wrote: "Of course palmistry and psychic readings are nothing really to do with mentalism but I suppose it is a sort of related field."

The tree of Mentalism has various branches, including but not necessarily limited to, mind reading, telepathy, divination of a selected object, psychokinesis, clairvoyance, and precognition/prediction. I would imagine that where palmistry and mentalism are related fields is in the areas of clairvoyance and precognition. However, many mentalists disclaim to their audiences that they actually possess authentic powers of extra-sensory perception, while I am not sure that most palmists would make such a disclaimer.

Although I have recently developed an interest in palmistry, I am barely in the embryonic stages.

Performer: Do you see palmistry as a science based purely upon objective criteria (i.e. the lines), or when you do your readings are you also bringing powers of ESP to bear, or is it a combination of both?

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 8th, 2016, 12:21 pm

MagicbyAlfred wrote:
Performer: Do you see palmistry as a science based purely upon objective criteria (i.e. the lines), or when you do your readings are you also bringing powers of ESP to bear, or is it a combination of both?


That is a loaded question which is liable to attract all sorts of demented rabid sceptics here. But don't fret. I can always put a hex on them. Or at least I would if they were not cursed already.

I would not describe my psychic ability as ESP which is an abbreviation for Extra Sensory Perception. I prefer the abbreviation as NSP which stands for Normal Sensory Perception. In other words something which everyone has to some degree or other. In other words heightened intuition. I don't even like the word "psychic" because of the connotations attached to it. However, it is the better word for business purposes. People wouldn't know what the hell I was talking about if I described myself a "heightened intuitionist".

This intuitive or "psychic" ability comes out more when I do tarot cards but it is there to a degree when I read the palms too. Quite frankly I personally find it very difficult to read the tarot until I read the palms first. I know all about the client by the time I finish reading the palms and they don't have to say a word. As everyone knows I like to hear the sound of my own voice so the client doesn't need to say very much. And besides it can slow down the reading while other people are waiting.

But to your question. There is no scientific proof whatsoever that there is anything in palmistry or indeed any of the standard methods of divination such as Astrology, The Tarot, Runestones etc;. But then there is no scientific proof about the reality of Christian beliefs, Judaism, the Muslim religion either. You either believe in it or you don't.

Of course there is no scientific proof that there is anything validity to palmistry but then there is also no scientific proof that there isn't. Now the standard response of sceptics is that the burden of proof is on the palmist to prove his claims. I am afraid they are wrong as they always are. No. The burden of proof is on those who are making a fuss about it when nobody else cares a damn. And nobody cares what the sceptics say anyway.

Having said all that I do know that some scientific studies have been undertaken on palmistry that seem to support its validity. I remember years ago reading that some studies were done at Bristol University showing that there seemed to be something in it. I used to have a newspaper cutting on my booth at psychic fairs explaining this until I lost the bloody thing. I did try to look up information about the studies on google but couldn't find a thing. However, I believe that other studies have been conducted too which tend to indicate the validity of the "science" if that is indeed what it is. Quite frankly I don't give a stuff what the studies say or not say. I just know it works. I was sceptical when I first started but after looking at thousands upon thousands of hands I HAVE noticed that a soft and puffy hand often means a good cook and that a rough looking hand shows someone who is not afraid of hard work. Of course that is common sense anyway and you don't have to be a palmist to know that. And the thumb business already discussed would be a common sense matter too.

However, I have also noticed that a hand with few lines DOES show a sceptical, down to earth nature. I have noticed that a hand with many, many lines DOES show a sensitive creative nature with strong intuition. And a bit of a worrier. I have noticed these things over many, many years and I am as cynical as they come.

Yes, I know all about the "Barnum Effect" and in fact I have seen it in action. Lisa Close (wife of Michael) used to work for me at all the psychic fairs as what we call a "front person". She would explain to the people what I do and sign them up when I was too busy to do so. I taught her how to do the Chinese Numerology shown at the end of the video. To my horror she was doing it all wrong and attributing the wrong meanings to the numbers and getting the arrows all mixed up and showing great incompetence showing you can't get good staff nowadays. However, it didn't make the blindest bit of difference and everybody said she was fantastic. In fact it got so popular we had to stop it as it got quite out of hand. I vaguely remember neighboring psychics complaining about the crowds it was gathering although I may be wrong on this one.

So yes. I know all about the Barnum Effect. But what is the point of faking things when you can do things the correct way? The genuine palmistry way? The correct meaning of the actual lines? If you do otherwise you are defrauding the client and not giving them the genuine article.

Now this post is getting too long so to answer your question when I do the tarot later on I am using more of this intuitive power but it is also present to a degree when reading the palm although not quite as essential since all you have to do is read the lines and what they actually mean. However, as I do this I am picking up all sorts of things about the client at a subliminal level and this comes in very useful once I do the Tarot for them.

Quite frankly I know a lot about the client within seconds of them sitting down and I haven't even started the reading yet. One look at people and I know a lot about them. You develop that after years and years of dealing with people as a performer, a pitchman and a psychic reader. When I meet someone for the first time either in a social situation or a business situation I know all about them within seconds. And they don't have to say a word. I know. I just know.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby MagicbyAlfred » December 8th, 2016, 2:16 pm

Performer Wrote: "I was sceptical when I first started but after looking at thousands upon thousands of hands I HAVE noticed that a soft and puffy hand often means a good cook and that a rough looking hand shows someone who is not afraid of hard work. Of course that is common sense anyway and you don't have to be a palmist to know that. And the thumb business already discussed would be a common sense matter too."


Thanks for your detailed response. It was not my intent for it to be a loaded question or to invites skepticism or cynicism on anyone's part. Frankly, I am fascinated by it and want to learn more.

This has turned out to be quite an intriguing discussion. The scientific method is useful, but it is far from the be all and end all. There are many things in life that haven't been scientifically "validated." As you pointed out, the "truth" of various religious beliefs are a prominent example. Or, why does one person like strawberry ice cream while another doesn't? Why does one person think a particular individual is charismatic and wonderful, while another may be totally creeped out by that individual? How does one person easily "see through" a hypocrite or manipulator or malevolent individual, while others dedicate their lives and all their money to him/her believing that they are tantamount to a messiah? The examples are countless.

I can relate to what you are saying about just knowing things about someone immediately. Virtually everyone has thought or stated, at one time or another: "There's just something about him/her that I don't like," or that a particular person is "strange" or "weird" or whatever. Oftentimes people can just inexplicably "feel" things - some more than others. I believe we will learn more about this in the future, and that there may be scientific explanations for it.

That being said, based on your personal experience (which is experimentation of sorts) you have made correlations, in the course of what I presume to be multiple (indeed thousands of) "trials," between resistance of the thumb and certain traits, and/or between fewer lines on the palm and certain traits, etc. etc. I believe that lends at least some scientific validity to the palmistry, not in the stuffy academic, peer-review process sense, but based on your own observations over many years. That counts for a lot.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 8th, 2016, 3:11 pm

Oddly enough some years ago I made a post here with a semi-scientific explanation of how it all works. Or at least my semi-scientific theory about it. Not so much palmistry but of the psychic "vibes" generally. Nothing mysterious about it at all. I will try to seek it out. In the meantime here is a video promoting the palmistry DVD that I did for International Magic. I also did a Tarot one too but since we are talking specifically about palmistry I shall stick with that for the moment.

If anyone wants to purchase it contact me direct. International Magic have enough money as it is! I wanted more money from Martin for working me to death with more lectures than I bargained for but he foisted me off with a ton of DVDs instead and I have indeed sold a few. I first started working for them about 50 years ago and it felt like I hadn't left!

Anyway, here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4yBOE9kUj0

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby magicfish » December 8th, 2016, 5:13 pm

performer wrote:One caveat I have is to do it for real. In other words do it properly using standard palmistry divination meanings. Avoid all that so called fraudulent "cold reading" malarkey. I have seen videos of sceptic debunker types doing what they think is palmistry and it is bloody awful and not convincing at all. That is because they are making it up as they are going along instead of doing it properly. And they have a tedious and unconvincing manner when presenting it.

No. The best way is to study it properly to get the full benefit out of it.


Who wrote the "standard palmistry divination meanings"?

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 8th, 2016, 5:34 pm

magicfish wrote:
performer wrote:One caveat I have is to do it for real. In other words do it properly using standard palmistry divination meanings. Avoid all that so called fraudulent "cold reading" malarkey. I have seen videos of sceptic debunker types doing what they think is palmistry and it is bloody awful and not convincing at all. That is because they are making it up as they are going along instead of doing it properly. And they have a tedious and unconvincing manner when presenting it.

No. The best way is to study it properly to get the full benefit out of it.


Who wrote the "standard palmistry divination meanings"?


How the hell do I know? I am not bloody psychic you know!
Oh, forget that last sentence....................................

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby magicfish » December 8th, 2016, 5:39 pm

performer wrote:There is actually an entire book devoted to the subject of tricks with a fortune telling theme. It is called "Forbidden Wisdom" by Howard Albright. I do own the book but I must confess that I don't do anything from it. The reason is that I enough psychic readings as it is and I like to get away from it when I am doing magic otherwise my head will explode. However, there is no doubt that incorporating some divination aspect into one's performance will certainly gather interest.

In fact in Close Up Card Magic by Harry Lorayne there is indeed a trick therein which has a fortune telling aspect to it. I can't remember the name of the trick but it was a good one.


It's called Tell My Fortune

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 8th, 2016, 6:34 pm

I don't think it is unless there was a second edition of the book with a different title. I have indeed seen the occasional book with a changed title. I shall now exert myself to find the book in question and report back.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 8th, 2016, 6:38 pm

Oh, perhaps you are talking about the Harry Lorayne trick and I think you are correct in that case. I thought you were referring to the Albright book which I have in my hand right now. It is a very good book as it must be since it was published before 1954. It is indeed called "Forbidden Wisdom" and it is about time I read it myself. I have no idea why I have never read it in the past. Perhaps I took the title too literally.

I am glancing through the book as we speak. It is actually quite a unique book. I have never seen a book where every trick has a fortune telling theme. It seems to be mostly card tricks. I should really make a bit of an effort to read it.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 8th, 2016, 7:00 pm

OK. I have been trying to find this post. I thought it was here but I couldn't find it. But no matter-I found it elsewhere. Here it is. I explain here how psychic ability works. Or at least MY version of psychic ability:
...............................................................................................................................................................................................

.I am afraid that many do not understand psychic ability. If I knew everything I COULD predict the Lotto. However that is NOT what psychic ability is for and is not the way it works. I have suggested in the past that sceptics define what they mean by "psychic". They never seem to be able to do so.

My definition is a trifle less spectacular and ludicrous than other psychic people. I would merely call it heightened intuition. When you do this kind of work you become very sharp indeed. The psychic stuff happens at a deep subconcious level and there is nothing whatever mysterious about it. We all have it but naturally someone who does it all the time has sharpened skills. I believe I know why it works too.

If someone sits down in front of me I know all about them within seconds without them saying a word. In fact I prefer them not to speak since I like the sound of my own voice and I know perfectly well if they start yapping to me I will never get rid of them.

Now how do I do this? I sense things. And 70% of the time I am correct. You can't expect 100%. This is not an exact science like mathematics.

And how do I sense things? At first I was not entirely sure but now I believe I know what is going on. It is all perfectly simple.

Things happen at a subliminal level. Let us assume someone comes into me ten years previously. That person has marital problems. They have a relative who is ill. They also have money problems. They work say in the legal profession.

In the reading they will manifest certain signs and behaviours. I will have no idea what they are. And it is a very hard thing to explain. It is more than body language although no doubt that is part of it. They will have a certain look and there will be a certain feel for the situation.

Over the next 10 years the psychic will see hundreds of different clients but they will all have variations of the same problems. In actual fact there are very few scenarios. Most people come because of love problems and there are only a few situations that come up all the time. Same with money. Health issues and work issues. There are probably no more than about 20 or so different scenarios that come up all the time. I haven't counted them but that is my estimate.

Now here is the interesting thing. Each person will manifest the same signs, micro expressions and body language that people in similar situations will do. Again and again and again. The psychic doesn't have to study these indications. Indeed most psychics may not even be aware of them. However they will pick them up subliminally and not even know that they are doing so.

So ten years later a similar client to the one the psychic saw 10 years ago comes in with an identical set of problems. Or at least some of the same problems. He or she will also give off the same indications that someone did 10 years ago. Psychics who are not as brilliant as myself will delude themselves that because they know the chap is a lawyer, has marital problems and money troubles they will assume that God has given them great and wondrous powers that are not available to the rest of humanity.

They do not realise why they know what they know. I believe that through having done thousands upon thousands of readings they are picking up on subliminal signs that are the same every time. So they call themselves psychic.

I do believe 100% in the Tarot cards. Not because I believe they have certain supernatural powers embedded in them. I do not believe in Jung's theory of synchronicity even if I knew what the hell it was. I believe that the cards come up at random. However for very logical reasons which I do not have the energy to explain they WILL help the psychic to tune in to the client's life. They simply help the intuition process that I have already explained.

I can always tell if a lawyer is sitting in front of me. It happens very rarely but when it does I always know it. I know when a journalist or nurse is sitting in front of me. I know when I have a businessman. I know when I have a cop coming in for a reading (much more common than you might think)

How do I know? Pure intuition and experience. Not psychic you may say? I don't care what you call it as long as the client pays for the help I give them. The sceptics don't pay my bills so their opinion doesn't really matter.

What I am talking about is nothing whatever to do with Sylvia Browne or the claptrap that TV mediums come out with. I am not into guessing games the way they are. I am not a psychic medium and I do not contact dead people.

I do know when a close friend or relative of my client has passed away because this certainly fits into the limited scenarios that comes up as I explained earlier. And I sense the signs of it even though I have never bothered to analyse what those signs are. I just know. However I never contact the person because I know perfectly well that I can't.

Many psychics are sincere people who unfortunately are hampered by belief. That is why they get some things right and some things wrong. Luckily for them most people forget the wrong things and concentrate on the right.

There are very few outright frauds in the psychic business except of course some of the TV mediums and the gypsy type psychics. However there are indeed gifted people who do not understand where their power comes from and consequently are prone to deluding themselves as to what is going on.

I must emphasise that I never try to analyse how people are reacting. I barely look at the client. I am concentrating on their palm or the tarot cards. I pick up their reactions at a subliminal level. It is interesting to note that the more tired I am the more accurate the readings are. That is because the logical analytical part of mind closes down and the "psychic" part (for want of a better word) sharpens up.

There. Now you know what it is all about..........

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby Jeffrey Cowan » December 8th, 2016, 9:29 pm

Excellent demo of palm/cold reading, Mark. And I can vouch for how commercial it is from my days in the trenches 25-30 years ago when I was doing strolling gigs regularly. One corporate gig stands out. I was doing close-up at a station, and a woman asked when I finished a trick if I also could read palms. I said "Sure," and did 30-60 seconds of cold reading similar to your video but far less smoothly. [I had modest experience playing with cold/palm reading, usually doing it on dates based on the 1-2 books I had read on it at the time.] When I was done, there were 10 people lined up saying "Me next." [At that point, I was in trouble because I had limited material "in the can" and had to really do the stuff and not just rely on cliches and universal statements.]


Best,
Jeffrey
-- Jeffrey Cowan
www.cowan-law.com

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 8th, 2016, 10:10 pm

Thank you Jeffrey. Much appreciated. You are indeed correct that the interest in palm reading is quite astonishing. I often combine palmistry with strolling magic. I will do the magic first for an hour or so and while doing so tell the people that I will be seated in a quiet area later reading palms. And as soon as I start doing this the line up comes out of nowhere. I am pretty good at close up magic but yet the palm reading is always the hit of the evening and the problem becomes at the end of the evening in trying to stop!

I still remember with great amusement the owner of a company who loved my magic but really didn't believe in palmistry booked me to do a party at his company premises. As usual they loved the magic but they were far more interested in the palmistry. It was the hit of the evening and was all they talked about. When it was time to get paid the owner of the company took me into his office and we had a chat. He said, "I can't fathom it. I love your magic but I think palmistry is a load of hogwash. Yet all they seem to care about is having their palms read. It is quite beyond me and I don't understand it one bit"

It amused me greatly and I always remembered it. However, he was an exception and I have always found the combination of palmistry and magic to be a very powerful one. Here is the difference as I see it. A magician has to prove himself. They may or may not like magicians and he has to validate himself by actually performing before they can judge him. However a palmist is already validated before he even starts! He still has to prove himself but he already has a head start! They like him already before he has even said a word!

I do have one caveat concerning combining palmistry and magic. You really have to be a VERY good palmist to do this. If you aren't the word will get around very quickly and the line up might even disappear. However, if you impress people they will tell all their friends at the event and you will be busy all night without stopping. And you can't say the same thing to everyone like some daft magicians who fancy themselves as palm readers do. If you do this people will compare notes and realise you are just giving the same guff to everyone. That is why it is ESSENTIAL to do palmistry for real. Every reading will be different because every hand is different. The major lines will still be there but there will be enough variations in those lines to give you plenty to say.

Again I don't use what magicians call "cold reading". I do NOT go by body language or micro expressions or any of that guff. I am no bloody good at it anyway so I don't bother with it. And in many cases the client knows about that stuff and shows no expression of any kind. But I hardly look at the client anyway since I am too busy looking at their hands. And in most readings the client hardly says a word so there is nothing to "feed back" as all those daft books written by magicians who know nothing about the subject chatter on about. I am picking up facts about them at a subliminal level but that is nothing to do with looking at what they are wearing or figuring out how they sit like all those daft books go on about.

The best and most accurate way of doing palmistry is actually doing palmistry. No need for jiggery pokery of any kind. Just say what the lines actually mean and you will impress people beyond measure. Of course you do have to study the subject and that does take time. It is worth it though.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby Rick Kirkes » December 9th, 2016, 1:20 am

performer wrote:
I do believe 100% in the Tarot cards. Not because I believe they have certain supernatural powers embedded in them. I do not believe in Jung's theory of synchronicity even if I knew what the hell it was. I believe that the cards come up at random. However for very logical reasons which I do not have the energy to explain they WILL help the psychic to tune in to the client's life. They simply help the intuition process that I have already explained.


The forces that cause synchronicity or, a meaningful coincidence may be quite physical. Quantum physics shows us the universe as a web of connection.

Subatomic particles are not separate " things "; they have meaning & identity only through their connections with everything else. Particles that have once been in contact with each other remain connected through all space and time.

We live in an energy field where everything resonates, to a greater or lesser degree, with everything else. The world we inhabit mirrors our thoughts and feelings, and vise versa.

Jung called these powers " archetypes " they are not structures but rather, " habitual currents of psychic energy " and " systems of readiness for action ", and that they are as much physical as psychic.

Best,

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby MagicbyAlfred » December 9th, 2016, 2:42 am

Rick Kirkes wrote:
performer wrote:
I do believe 100% in the Tarot cards. Not because I believe they have certain supernatural powers embedded in them. I do not believe in Jung's theory of synchronicity even if I knew what the hell it was. I believe that the cards come up at random. However for very logical reasons which I do not have the energy to explain they WILL help the psychic to tune in to the client's life. They simply help the intuition process that I have already explained.


The forces that cause synchronicity or, a meaningful coincidence may be quite physical. Quantum physics shows us the universe as a web of connection.

Subatomic particles are not separate " things "; they have meaning & identity only through their connections with everything else. Particles that have once been in contact with each other remain connected through all space and time.

We live in an energy field where everything resonates, to a greater or lesser degree, with everything else. The world we inhabit mirrors our thoughts and feelings, and vise versa.

Jung called these powers " archetypes " they are not structures but rather, " habitual currents of psychic energy " and " systems of readiness for action ", and that they are as much physical as psychic.

Best,


Fascinating Rick! As noted on learning.mind.com: "Quantum mechanics or the study of the micro-world, states illustrates that what we think of reality, is not so. Our human brains trick us into believing in the idea of separation when in truth, nothing is truly separated —including human beings...when two atoms that come into contact with each other, they experience a sort of 'unconditional bond' with one another. That spans an infinite amount of space, as far as we are capable of observing...When you touch someone’s heart, emotionally becoming attached to someone, something occurs. Your atoms, the building blocks of your presence in the universe become entangled."

So, what Performer refers to as "heightened intuition" and the basis of "feeling" or being able to read other people is probably much more rooted in science than commonly realized. I mean we are talking physics - quantum mechanics here - which, while it may as well be Greek to the average person, is supported by cutting edge mathematical equations and recognized by some of the most brilliant scientific minds in the world....
Last edited by MagicbyAlfred on December 9th, 2016, 2:53 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby MagicbyAlfred » December 9th, 2016, 2:50 am

Performer Wrote: "Thank you Jeffrey. Much appreciated. You are indeed correct that the interest in palm reading is quite astonishing. I often combine palmistry with strolling magic. I will do the magic first for an hour or so and while doing so tell the people that I will be seated in a quiet area later reading palms. And as soon as I start doing this the line up comes out of nowhere. I am pretty good at close up magic but yet the palm reading is always the hit of the evening and the problem becomes at the end of the evening in trying to stop!"

This is entirely consistent with the quasi "fortune telling" experience I had at the Super Bowl Sunday gig that I recounted earlier in this thread. Performer, the more I read what you have to say on this subject, the more enthusiastic I become about studying (and eventually doing) palmistry (and possibly Tarot readings) in conjunction with, and/or independent from, magical performances.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby Diego » December 9th, 2016, 3:20 am

Preface in, "Red Hot Cold Reading":

"There are only two or three stories in life, and we repeat them over and over, as if though they had never happened before."

Mark is very right about learning the real means of palm lines and/or tarot cards, rather than (only) just giving cold reading lines. The time spent learning cold reading phrases can just as well be invested in learning the actual meaning, of a means of divination.
T.A. Waters, (who held to a validity of tarot cards) often said, "Why spend all that time learning something else, just learn and say the meaning of the cards."
Richard Webster and Ron Martin were good at doing both.

Orson wells and others noted the palm reader will alway attract more attention at a party, than any magician can. Lee Earle was doing strolling close-up at a party, and approached a table, and before he could do anything, a woman said, "Oh you are going to do tricks aren't you?" "We are having a good time, go somewhere else."
Lee went on to another table and after doing one card effect, he took the card from a woman's palm and gave her a short palm reading.
Turning to go to another table, he found a line of women wanting to have their palms read, the first being the woman who had chased him away from their table before.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 9th, 2016, 6:41 am

Now that we are getting into sub atomic particles, synchronicity and archetypes I had better find a dictionary somewhere. I must say this discussion is become terribly intellectual and I feel very posh and superior to be taking part in it even if I don't understand a word of it. After all, I am just a simple showman trying to earn a living. I do know Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist which does bias me against him somewhat. Not because he was Swiss but because he was a psychiatrist. I have found that every psychiatrist I have ever met is completely bonkers and they seem madder than their patients. Perhaps there are exceptions but so far I haven't found any. Which is a perfect answer to all those daft sceptics who tell me that I am not qualified to deal with people's problems and I should tell people to seek professional help. What they neglect to mention is that the clients have already done that and have found the "help" to be bloody useless.

I don't want to go off topic but in fact there is a lady doing lectures in Toronto about anti psychiatry and she is based in a hospital! And I have read a book called "Against Therapy" by a chap called Jeffrey Masson which debunks psychiatry.

Mind you most of my clients are pretty sane. Much saner than a group of magicians anyway since most of them are a bit bonkers themselves. When I see a bunch of magicians getting together I think I have entered a psychiatric ward. If you don't believe me then just take a look at the magic cafe for 30 minutes and that will convince you.

But back to psychic readings. I had better explain that there are two categories of readings. One is the entertainment type readings which do not get into the problems of clients. The video I posted is an example of that. It is a character analysis although it does tell the future to a limited degree but in a very general sense. However, once a reading goes over ten minutes or so then you are wandering into more serious territory. That would be the second category of reading and the more difficult. It is fraught with danger if you do not know what you are doing. This kind of reading is a much longer session. Anywhere from 20 minutes up to an hour. I do 20 to 30 minutes at psychic fairs and one hour sessions by office appointment only.

Most magicians are not capable of doing these longer sessions and in fact don't want to do them anyway because they are serious stuff. That is why they should keep away from psychic fairs since this is where the more serious sessions take place. The entertainment readings are ideal for when you are booked for an event and are paid by the event organiser. You just sit somewhere and give 5 minute readings or you do the strolling magic first and then do the readings later as i already described. In fact Richard Webster who is really the authority on this stuff has stated that if he had his time all over again he would forego the serious sessions and only concentrate on entertainment readings where he is paid by the booker rather than the client.

I am very happy to do both. The longer serious sessions as well as the short entertainment readings. My mission in these longer sessions is to help people and not to entertain them. You need a lot of compassion and sensitivity to do these longer sessions as well as an understanding of human nature. A lot of magicians who try to do this stuff make a terrible mistake. They think they are doing a magic show and try to get "hits" where they astonish the client. You are not there to amaze or astonish people-you are there to help them. I once saw a magician chap doing readings and he advertised himself as "The man who knows" as per the famous mentalist Alexander. With all due respect to him I think that is a mistake. I think you should never think of yourself as "The man who knows" when doing readings. It is far better to think of yourself as "The man who cares"

This is not a magic show. A bad magician just looks a bit stupid and that is the worst that can happen. A bad reader can ruin someone's life. You are walking an ethical tightrope in this business. Don't fall off.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby MagicbyAlfred » December 9th, 2016, 2:04 pm

Excellent advice Performer! Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge, experience and insight.

As for psychiatrists, perhaps you are right that they are madder than their patients, but there may be a method to their madness. There aren't many cons out there where you can sit down with someone for an hour, have them spill their guts out, barely say a word to them, maybe just nod empathetically from time to time, and at the end of the session, write a prescription and tell them you'll see them next week - making anywhere from $200-$400 in the process.

It really struck a harmonious chord when you mentioned that, in your palmistry, you conceptualize yourself as the one who cares, rather than the one who knows. And speaking of "feeling" or "reading" people, I would guess that the subjects themselves can feel that.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 9th, 2016, 3:46 pm

MagicbyAlfred wrote:Excellent advice Performer! Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge, experience and insight

It really struck a harmonious chord when you mentioned that, in your palmistry, you conceptualize yourself as the one who cares, rather than the one who knows. And speaking of "feeling" or "reading" people, I would guess that the subjects themselves can feel that.


Indeed they do. When they hurt I hurt too. And many of them hurt a lot. That is why they come to me in the first place.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby Rick Kirkes » December 10th, 2016, 1:44 am

Performer, what do you do when asked the question..." Are you psychic ? ", what do you tell them.

Just curious..

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 10th, 2016, 6:04 am

I tell them the truth. That everyone is psychic.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby magicfish » December 10th, 2016, 8:56 pm

Diego wrote:Preface in, "Red Hot Cold Reading":

"There are only two or three stories in life, and we repeat them over and over, as if though they had never happened before."

Mark is very right about learning the real means of palm lines and/or tarot cards, rather than (only) just giving cold reading lines. The time spent learning cold reading phrases can just as well be invested in learning the actual meaning, of a means of divination.
T.A. Waters, (who held to a validity of tarot cards) often said, "Why spend all that time learning something else, just learn and say the meaning of the cards."
Richard Webster and Ron Martin were good at doing both.

Orson wells and others noted the palm reader will alway attract more attention at a party, than any magician can. Lee Earle was doing strolling close-up at a party, and approached a table, and before he could do anything, a woman said, "Oh you are going to do tricks aren't you?" "We are having a good time, go somewhere else."
Lee went on to another table and after doing one card effect, he took the card from a woman's palm and gave her a short palm reading.
Turning to go to another table, he found a line of women wanting to have their palms read, the first being the woman who had chased him away from their table before.


Who wrote the meaning of the cards?

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby performer » December 10th, 2016, 10:37 pm

It is irrelevant who wrote the meanings. The first thing an aspiring reader should do is rip up the little white book of instructions that come with the tarot. YOU write the meanings! There are NO standard meanings! What you do is find space on your own. Take each card and meditate on it and think "What does that card mean to me". Do that with every card. You will get the best results if the cards mean something to YOU rather than some standard meaning written up in some book somewhere.

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby MagicbyAlfred » December 11th, 2016, 1:56 am

Performer Wrote: "YOU write the meanings! There are NO standard meanings! What you do is find space on your own. Take each card and meditate on it and think "What does that card mean to me."

That approach makes a lot more sense to me on an intuitive level than rotely memorizing a "meaning" that was dictated by someone other than YOU.

Performer, you have made it crystal clear that palmistry and Tarot are not follow the dots, paint by numbers art forms (if indeed any true art form is). I would imagine that in reading Tarot and/or palms, there is an analogy to the performance of magic for people. In other words, in magic, YOU (WE) are the magic, just as in the arts of palmistry and Tarot, WE are the readers. As such, we must open up and call upon our own intuitive feelings and impressions, which in turn are a huge component of the equation.

Now I would also imagine that if each individual reader, having meditated upon each Tarot card, comes up with what it generally means to him or her, that is not the end of it; one must divine the meaning of each card specifically within the context of what he "feels" or "intuits" in relation to the particular individual/unique subject for whom one is reading. Is that correct?

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby Brad Jeffers » December 11th, 2016, 3:16 am

Mark,
In reference to reading palms, you say ...
performer wrote:One caveat I have is to do it for real. In other words do it properly using standard palmistry divination meanings.
Whereas in reference to reading Tarot cards, you say ...
performer wrote: YOU write the meanings! You will get the best results if the cards mean something to YOU rather than some standard meaning written up in some book.
Why the difference?

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Re: I know all, see all and will tell all!

Postby Brian Douglas » December 11th, 2016, 5:45 am

performer wrote:It is irrelevant who wrote the meanings. The first thing an aspiring reader should do is rip up the little white book of instructions that come with the tarot. YOU write the meanings! There are NO standard meanings! What you do is find space on your own. Take each card and meditate on it and think "What does that card mean to me". Do that with every card. You will get the best results if the cards mean something to YOU rather than some standard meaning written up in some book somewhere.




You stress this point on your DVD collection: Tarot/Numerology/Palmistry. This is a great bit of information as it allows you to choose other decks that best suit you; and not necessarily the original decks purpose.


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