ASTROLOGY FOR THE PSYCHIC ENTERTAINER RICHARD WEBSTERA sense sublime Of something far more interfused Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns; And the round ocean and the living air, And the blue sky, and in the mind of man; A motion and a spirit, that impels All thinking things, all objects of thought And rolls through all things. William Wordsworth Man is his own star, and the soul that can Render an honest and a perfect man Commands all light, al! wisdom and all fate - Nothing to him falls early, or too late, Our acts our angels are, or good or ill, Our fatal shadows that walk by us still. Emerson Always remember the saying of Heraclitus, that the death of earth is to become water, and the death of water is to become air, and the death of air is to become fire, and reversely. And think too of him who forges whither the way leads, and that men quarrel with that with which they are constantly in communion, the reason which governs the universe; and the things which they daily meet with seem to them strange: and consider that we ought not to act and speak as if we were asleep, for even in sleep we seem to act and speak; and that we ought not like children who leam from their parents, simply to act and speak as we have been taught. The Meditations of Marcus AureliusINTRODUCTION Astrology is a multi-billion dollar industry. Millions of people buy “pop” astrology magazines every month, and an astonishing number of people lead their lives by what the daily astrology column in their local newspaper says. Many years ago I worked for an extremely astute, hard-nosed businessman. To my surprise, I learned that he read his astrology reading every morning in the paper, and his day was dictated by what it said. If his sign predicted a difficult day, he would invariably have a difficult day. If it suggested he make a major decision, he would do it. His staff always read it as well, so that we knew in advance what our day was going to be like. We all hoped that one day his reading would say, "Stay in bed today". It is rare to find someone who does not know his or her sign of the zodiac, Do you remember years ago when people started introducing themselves at parties by saying, "I'm a Gemini. What are you?" Most people know a little about the major characteristics of their sign as well and tend to believe them. Consequently, if you are giving a cold reading to someone who you know is a Virgo, for instance, you can score some amazing hits by including the major traits of Virgo. Thousands of people around the world are making money out of astrology. Many of them can not even draw up a horoscope. In fact, the worst way to make money out of astrology is to become a consultant astrologer, drawing up charts for people on a one-to-one basis. Most astrologers genuinely believe in what they are doing, and are sometimes extremely good at helping others handle the ups and downs of life. Unfortunately, they are seldom good at business, and know little about promoting themselves. The people who do make excellent money out of astrology are the promoters, the seif-publicists and the people who run their operation as a business. In the course of this book I'll explain a number of ways to make money out of astrology. None of them require much knowledge of astrology. Over the last fifteen years I have made a great deal of money from astrology. Back in the seventies I went to a night class in astrology and later had private lessons, 50 am able to erect a chart and talk reasonably 7knowledgeably about the subject. However, nothing I leamed in those classes helped me one iota to make money out of astrology. For many years I sold astrology charts by mail order. How I did this is explained in The Mail Order Psychic. I needed no astrology knowledge whatsoever to run this business as the charts were all computer generated. All I needed was a computer and the necessary software. The lady I sold this business to knows nothing about astrology either, and is doing very well. For a couple of years I prepared daily sun sign readings for a local radio station. The pay was poor, but I received a free advertisement three times a day when they read out the readings. I began by erecting complicated charts and doing the whole thing astrologically. I soon learned there was a better - and just as accurate - way to prepare my readings. The free advertisements sold thousands of copies of my books and computer generated charts. T have also written a number of pitch books on astrology. The first of these was a series of twelve sun sign guides for the following twelve months. These sold well, but I quickly found myself in the position of having to write another twelve books, and would have had to carry on doing so every year. The thought of that inspired me to produce a single book that [ could sell to people of any sign for the next twenty- five years. That book is called Your Lucky Stars and is included in Pitch Books. Purchasers of Pitch Books also purchase the rights to produce Your Lucky Stars with their name on the cover as author. Your Lucky Stars covers every day up to the year 2020, In Pitch Books I cover how to sell these books. ‘The other pitch books were on sun-sign compatability and the twelve signs of the zodiac. I produced them originally to sell when doing palm readings in shopping malls. Fifteen years ago it was illegal to charge for fortune telling in New Zealand. I managed to get around the law by giving a free palm reading to everyone who bought a book. The only problem with this was that people kept coming back for more and more readings and wanted to buy a different book each time! I was pretty prolific for a while. The interesting thing is that I knew very little about many of the subjects I wrote pitch books on. I've explained how to write a pitch book in the aptly named Pitch Books.I have given hundreds of tatks on astrology over the years. My basic talk is in Pitch Books and marketing ideas are in How to Make Money Giving Free Talks. A talk on astrology is always well received, and people flock to buy items afterwards. In this book I'll include other ideas on how to profit from astrology. Ihave pitched horoscopes on the streets, at flea markets and fairs. This can be very lucrative, and full details are included in this book. Astrology is an excellent theme for mental effects and for giving quick readings from the stage. A number of effects are included here, too. It is my hope that this book will inspire you to go out and make some money with astrology. I know it is in your mind. After all, If you are an Aries, you are probably already standing on a street comer selling. If you are a Taurus, you'll be opening up a bank account to deposit the money in. If you are a Gemini, you'll be talking about doing it. If you are a Cancer, you'll be asking a friend to come and help you. If you are a Leo, you'll be in front of a mirror, making sure that you look just perfect before hitting the public for money. If you are a Virgo, you'll be wondering if you really can do it. If you are a Libra, you'll be trying to make up your mind whether to do it Or not. If you are a Scorpio, you'll be making secret plans on how best to do it. If you are a Sagittarius, you'll be trying to do it along with twenty other projects. If you are a Capricorn, you'll be working on a business plan. If you are an Aquarius, you'll be thinking what your life will be five years from now after you've sold a million horoscopes. 9If you are a Pisces, you'll be excited but nervous. You'll be changing your mind constantly on whether to do it or not. Any guesses as to what sign I am? JUST FOR FUN If Leo your own birthday marks. You will lust until forty, when starts A new pleasure in stamps, Boy Scouts and their camps, and fondling nude statues in parks. ‘There once was a pretty Aquarian Got picked up by an octogenarian. When he got her to bed, “T'm a Leo,” he said, So she sent for the veterinarian. An apparently true story reported in the Brighton and Hove Gazette: “During the last few years Miss Paxton has acted as a spiritual guide to a well-known member of parliament. ‘I go into a trance and compose his speeches for him,’ she explained." 1 think many political speeches are written this way. 10Chapter One BASIC STUFF You will not need a great deal of astrological knowledge to do anything described in this book, but it is important to know something about the twelve sun signs. Probably the best place to quickly obtain this information is to read Linda Goodman's book Sun Signs. It is an excellent introduction. It is light-hearted and fun to read. Also, every now and again you will be reading and think, "My goodness, she's describing Aunt Matilda (or whoever)". Her descriptions are quite remarkable. I recommend this book ahead of any other sun sign book I have come across. When I first decided to learn about astrology my biggest problem was remembering the dates for every sign. In fact, it was easy. I already knew my own sign, The dates change about the 20th of every month. So, Sagittarius, for example, starts about November 20th and finishes around December 20th. Knowing your own sign and the dates means that you are already one twelfth of the way there! Now, think about the people you love: parents, partners, children, etc. Chances are you may already know the sun sign of some of these. If you don't, find the information and relate that person to the sign they are in. In my case, my wife and daughter are Pisces, my mother and older son are Cancerians, my father an Aquarian, my younger son is a Taurean, mother-in-law Scorpio and I'm a Sagittarian. That is half of the zodiac already! Using the six signs I already had it was relatively easy to slot the other ones in and quickly I knew all twelve signs. Once you become aware of sun signs and stast using them, you will discover that you already know people of every sign. An extra advantage of this is that you are more likely to remember people's birthdays! If | know we are currently in the sign of Leo I remember that my brother-in-law is a Leo and can send him a card. ‘As well as knowing the signs and their dates you need to know something about each one. This is where Linda Goodman's book comes in. [also have a keyword or two for each sign. qaARIES (the Ram) pioneering, better at starting than finishing, enthusiastic, impulsive. TAURUS (the Bull) Steady, stable, loving, affectionate, stubborn. GEMINI (the Twins) Full of ideas, up in the clouds, changeable. CANCER (the Crab) Home loving, maternal, devoted, emotional, sensitive. LEO (the Lion) Proud, regal, enthusiastic, outgoing, sociable. VIRGO (the Virgin) Attention to detail, critical (particularly self- critical), analyzes. LIBRA (the Scales) Tactful, diplomatic, friendly, indecisive, harmonizing. SCORPIO (the Scorpion) Tenacious, determined, deep emotions, secretive. SAGITTARIUS (the Archer) Freedom loving, change and variety. CAPRICORN (the Goat) Slow and steady, plodder, capable, ambitious. AQUARIUS (the Water bearer) Looks ahead, original, independent, open-minded. PISCES (the Fish) Changeable, nurturing, possessive. As well as this, you will need to know that there are twelve houses in astrology. Each house denotes a different area of the person's life. You can find a chart of the twelve houses containing the key words in Chapter Seven. The Ascendant (sometimes called “the Rising Sign") is the sign that is coming over the horizon at the moment the person is bom. In serious astrology it is just as important as the sun sign. The ascendant reveals how you appear to others. It is your personality. You can tell people who know their approximate time of birth what their ascendant is as it changes every two hiours. For people born between 4 am and 6 am, the ascendant sign is the same as their zodiac sign. For instance, a Virgo bom at 5.15 am would have a Virgo ascendant. For people born between 6 am and 8 am, the ascendant sign is the one immediately after the zodiac sign in the above list of the twelve signs. A Sagittarian born at 6.50 am would have a Capricom ascendant. The rest of the signs follow in order, changing every two hours, An Arian bor at 8.20 pm would have a Scorpio ascendant, The Moon sign denotes the sign of the zodiac the moon was in at the time of birth. Unfortunately, the time of birth needs to be exact. The Moon sign reveals how the person expresses him or herself. It represents the intellect.As well as this, there are the positions of all the other planets in the chart and the relationship they have to each other. ‘These are known as "aspects". These change as the person goes through life and chart gets "progressed". Serious astrologers love these aspects. You will sometimes get people speaking to you in what seems like a foreign language. They are simply talking in the language of aspects: "No wonder it didn’t work out. My Saturn was conjunct Mars in Scorpio!" I just smile and nod my head gravely. Astrology can be a great excuse for non-accomplishment, It wasn't my fault - the planets were in the wrong positions! Here are some keywords for the planets. ‘There is no need to memorize these, but it is useful to be familiar with them. I remember the planets in order by saying "My Very Elegant Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas", (M= Moon, V= Venus, E= Earth, M= Mars, J= Jupiter, S= Saturn, U= Uranus, N= Neptune, P= Pluto.) SUN - the person's basic character. MOON - how the person expresses him or herself MERCURY - type of intetfect VENUS - emotional nature MARS - energy and drive JUPITER - expansion and optimism SATURN - restrictions and limitations URANUS - inventiveness and ori NEPTUNE - imagination PLUTO - group activity ASCENDANT - temperament and appearanceChapter Two GETTING YOUR FEET WET The easiest way to make money from astrology is to offer your services as a speaker to different clubs and groups. Usually, you will not be paid for the talk but will find it easy to sell items afterwards. If you offer computerized charts, hand out brochures to everyone and take orders. You can sell pitch books, twelve month astrological guides, astrology posters, and almost anything you can think of that could be remotely connected with astrology. There is no need to try and “hard sell" these items. The best way is to be dignified, as befits a serious astrologer, and act as if mere mundane sales were of no importance at all. ‘You can create a speech by reading through several "pop" astrology books. Make it humorous, talk about some of the unusual clients you drew up charts for - you were Nancy Reagan's astrologer, weren't you? - and leave the audience wanting more. In Pitch Books 1 include the part of my speech which covers pitching Your Lucky Stars. This is entertaining to the audience and is designed to leave them wanting more. So much so, in fact, that many will buy the book, and this is my goal, particularly when giving a free talk. You might become very ambitious and write twelve speeches, one for each sign of the zodiac. I know someone who has done this. Every month he hires a hotel room and gives a talk on whatever sign we happen to be in at the time. People pay to attend and afterwards get exposed to the items he has for sale. Business is booming and he now hires a room several times the size of the one he started in. Most of his audiences consist of people of the sign he is talking about, but he has also built up a following of people who attend every month. He is a highly entertaining speaker who lavishes compliments on the people of the sign he is discussing with a trowel. His audiences love him. Here is a ready-made speech for you to use if you wish: "Good evening everyone, and thank you very much for inviting me. It's wonderful to be here with such an interesting mixture of different signs of 14the zodiac. Before we start, could I ask you to raise your hand if you know what sign of the zodiac you were born under. Just as I thought - 100%. Now, how many of you have ever read your horoscope for the day in the daily paper? Most of you! "It's interesting that many people who have no interest in astrology at all still read their daily horoscope. I saw a cartoon once that showed a newsreader solemnly saying that astrology gained new credence today when everyone born under the sign of Scorpio was run over by an egg truck! “Of course, classifying someone as a Scorpio or a Taurus or a Leo is not really astrology at all. It is the very first part of a complex picture. I'm sure you know other people who are the same sign as you, but are completely different to you in almost every way. It is far too simplistic to divide all of humanity into twelve groups. "Yet it often works. Most Cancerians are home-loving, many Sagittarians enjoy sports, Taureans are generally affectionate, and so on. The people who first worked out these signs thousands of years ago certainly knew something, and the knowledge they recorded is still as relevant today as it ever was, “As well as the twelve signs, they were aware of the complex cycles and circles of the planets, They were expert astronomers and their mathematical skill was awesome. They were capable of erecting a chart for someone based on the exact moment of birth. "Have any of you ever had a proper astrological chart drawn up? The actual chart is'a map of whe heavens at the time you were bom. If you could have looked up at the sky at that exact moment you would have seen the planets exactly as they appear in your chart. “Bach planet has a meaning. For instance, Mars is confident and assertive. Venus is loving and affectionate. We all have every planet in our chart, but the placement is different for each of us. Consequently, the different angles, or relationships in my chart are not the same as in anyone elée's - unless, of course, they were bom in the same place at exactly the same time as me. 15"The angles between each of the planets are very important. Some of them are harmonious and the energies are expressed easily. Some are stressful and difficult. Most of us have a mixture of easy and difficult aspects. That is why you are able to do some things naturally, but find it incredibly difficult to do something else. For instance, you might be a natural at sport, but have a brother or sister who is hopeless at it. However, he or she is likely to be able to do things that you can't do. “To complicate things still further, there are twelve houses in the astrological chart and all the planets are placed in these. Each house governs a different aspect of the person's life. House one, for instance, represents the person's ego and self-esteem, House two govems the person's earning ability, and so on. If you have a planet in house two that is in a difficult relationship to another planet, you will have financial difficulties from time to time. Oh, it looks as if a number of you have difficult second houses! “It is a complex job to synthesize all the different aspects of a chart. Consequently, there are astrologers who specialize in just one facet of the whole picture. Some astrologers deal largely with relationships, others deal with finance, others become involved in health factors. A friend of mine does nothing but counsel people on their careers. The subject is so vast, that there is room for people to specialize in this way. “As well as the chart constructed from your exact date, place and time of birth, which gives a highly accurate psychological picture of your nature, astrologers are often consulted about future events. To do this they have to progress the chart. There are a number of ways to do this. “It is important to remember that astrology deals with cycles. I am sure you have all noticed how certain factors crop up in our lives again and again. These could be happy events, or - just as easily - problems. Many people in permanent relationships are aware of how the relationship has times of greater and lesser closeness. "An astrologer could look at the charts of you and your partner and tell you when everything would be going well, and the times of difficulty. Consequently, an astrologer who specialized in relationships would need to. 16be a good counsellor as well, particularly as he or she would be likely to see people only when they had problems. People do not often consult an astrologer when everything is going well with their lives! "Astrologers get special satisfaction out of helping people handle the difficult times. What could be more rewarding than saving a matriage? “Some years ago I had a young man come to me for advice. He had got in with the wrong crowd and ended up in prison. Because of this record he was finding it impossible to get a job. His relationship had broken up and he was drinking heavily. His parents were concerned that he would commit suicide. They came to see me first, and fortunately the young man was keen for me to do his progressed chart. He had a large number of the stressful aspects I mentioned earlier, but he also had a significant creative potential. His parents were doubtful about this, as he had never showed this side of his nature to them. However, while in prison he had become interested in wood carving and pottery. I encouraged him to take these up again as it looked as if he could ultimately make a living with these talents, He did, and is now making a living - a very modest living - as a potter. He is happier than he has ever been in his whole life. “Now why did he not think of using these skills himself? He had loved doing them in prison, but regarded them as simply something to fill in time. It had never occurred to him to try and make money from them. His parents did not even know of these interests. Consequently, if they had not come to me, this young man would still be unemployed, or possibly even dead. "That is a dramatic incident, of course, and a memorable one for me. Most people come with problems that are minor, in comparison. But they are important, nonetheless. If I can help someone handle the rough parts, o ‘see an unrecognized potential, I am very happy. "L hope to have made you realise that astrology is much, much more than just the twelve signs of the zodiac. It is a complex, involved study that takes years and years to master. In fact, all astrologers are still learning as more and more information is coming out all the time. There is a whole industry producing books for astrologers; there are many astrology magazines ranging from the "pop" to highly technical, and there are aqnumerous astrology conventions. It is pretty hard to keep up, but it is fun trying. “Thope to have whetted your interest in this age old science. Astrology can Provide a road map to your life. It provides a picture of your nature and reveals your strengths and weaknesses, What could be more valuable than to really know yourself and to know where you ate going? "{ am happy to answer any questions. I also have a few copies of my book available... .." JUST FOR FUN My wife won't do anything without checking her horoscope. Last night the lights were low, soft music was playing, and we each had a glass of wine. I smiled and gace her a playful nudge. “No," she said. "What do you mean, no?" "Venus is not in the ascendancy." “It doesn't have to be - I am!" My wife really believes in astrology. This moming we were lying in bed and she was reading her daily horoscope in the paper. All of sudden she gave me a terrific whack on the side of my head. “What's that for?" I asked. “That's for next week!" she replied. 18Chapter Three HITTING THE STREETS Iam sure you have heard of peaple like Eddie Fields who made - and sometimes lost - fortunes pitching horoscopes in department stores using a code act. About a year ago a friend and I decided to try and do the same. The reason for this was a chance discovery of some two thousand pitch books that I had stored in my mother's garage years before and had forgotten. I thought it would be fun to sell them using a code act. As I have always worked on my own, this was a brand new experience for me. I mentioned the idea to a few people and a professional magician friend said that he was keen to give it a try. We spent thirty minutes practising an extremely simple code before hitting the streets, We went to downtown Auckland, thinking we could sell plenty of books to lunch-time shoppers. We arrived about 11.30 and got ourselves organised. We had no sooner done this when a man approached us and asked what we were doing. After I told him in general terms what we were planning to do, he informed us he was from the city council and his main concem was the sound system we had. We agreed to keep the volume down to a reasonable level. He then asked if we had a permit to sell on the streets. We pleaded ignorance of this requirement and, to my surprise, he said not to bother about it today. His main concem was people who tumed up every day and were obviously making a living on the streets, but wha did not have permits. I told him that if the idea worked we would certainly get a permit. If it didn't, he would not see us again, anyway. By this time it was about noon and the street was starting to get busy with people coming out of offices for their lunch hour. My friend stood in the middle of the sidewalk and gave the following spiel: “Here's your chance to get a copy of Richard Webster's famous astrology book. Normally 14.95, but today only 10.00. In fact, if Richard can not tell you what sign of the zodiac you are, you will get this book absolutely free. That's right, absolutely free. Give it a try. See if he can tell you 19what sign of the zodiac you are. This is a rare opportunity to get a best- selling book absolutely free!" Within thirty seconds of starting a young man decided to give it a try. He paid ten dollars to my friend, received a copy of the book, and then I fooked him up and down, walked around him and finally told him what sign he was. He was incredibly impressed and tried to talk his friends into trying it. Unfortunately, they wouldn't. Anyway, we were ecstatic. We had taken ten dollars in the first minute of business. An hour and a half later we had our second customer. By this time my friend was hoarse, and enthusiasm was flagging. Just about every magician in Auckland had walked past to see how we were doing. They all offered suggestions, not all of them repeatable. Our second customer was a lady who was extremely interested in astrology. She had walked past several times and asked questions each time, As she had no money on her, she returned to work and borrowed ten dollars from a friend. She bought the book and then I did my looking up and down act, before telling her what sign she was. To my horror, I got it wrong! Something had gone wrong in the coding. The lady was very apologetic, as if it had been her fault. Sadly, I returned her ten dollars. Thiny minutes later we gave up for the day, and spent our takings on Junch. It had been an interesting experience, but obviously we were not doing it correctly. We came to the decision that people do not want to buy from pitchmen in the street in their lunch hour. They have a limited amount of time for lunch, and are probably trying to fit in errands, visits to the bank and time with friends. They did not want to stop and listen to a pitch, even a short one. It is possible, too, that some people avoided us thinking we might be soliciting funds for a religious group. Finaily, we did not have any window-dressing. It was simply two guys on the street with a sound system and a box of books. We should have had signs and banners proclaining what we were about. This would have attracted attention and caused people who were interested in astrology to stop. 20Anyway, we leamed from the experience. We did not retum to Queen Street, but tried again a week later in a flea market. The biggest problem with flea markets, in my view, is that they start too early in the morning. For the big markets, the stall holders have to line up between four and five in the morning to buy their spaces. If you arrive later, you run the risk of not being able to get a site. Also, even if sites are still available, the best ones have been taken. The advantage of flea markets is that they are cheap. We paid between six and twenty dollars for a moming, depending on the size of the market. In fact, we quickly leamed that it was much better to go to a large flea market, as they attracted many more people than the smaller ones. Another problem was that most of the markets did not allow us to use a sound system. This did not worry me, as all I had to do was look mysterious and tell people their sign. It was not so good for my friend, though. The flea markets were always on a Saturday or Sunday morning, and usually we both had children's shows to do afterwards. Consequently, my nameless friend used to worry constantly about losing his voice. (My friend is nameless only to save him from embarrassment later on. He has his sights firmly set on stardom, and I believe he will get there. He may choose to forget the time when he was happy to pitch horoscopes in a flea market!) We had done some thinking before trying a flea market. 1 bought a large double blanket that had a beautiful picture of the signs of the zodiac on it, and we used this as our backdrop. We also had several other books on sale, as in Queen Street we had encountered people who already owned the pitch book. If we had had others to offer we might have gained an extra sale or two. For the first flea market we both dressed in suits, thinking it would make us look successful and attract attention. In fact, it made us look ridiculous. Many people thought we were peddling a religion and gave us a wide berth. Other people laughed and asked if we were on our way to a funeral. People dress very casually when they go to flea markets, and the stall holders do the same. We learned a great deal that first week. I bought a couple of sweat shirts that had an astrological design on them and we wore these and jeans from then on. 21Anyway, our first try at a flea market was moderately successful. We sold thirty books at ten dollars a copy. It cost us ten dollars in rent, The books in a sense did not cost anything as they were the books I had paid for several years earlier and forgotten. However, if I had had them printed up, they would have cost about a dollar each to print. So our overheads were forty dollars, and we each made $130.00 for the morning. Not a large sum of money, but it was extra money made at a time when neither of us would have been working anyway. ‘The following weekend we retumed to the same flea market. This time we were really busy, as the people who had bought books the week before had told their friends and they wanted to try us out. Halfway through the moming, with a line of people waiting to buy I heard someone say, “It's no use even trying. They always get it right!" I deliberately got the next person's sign wrong, and this helped sales enormously. From then on, every now and again, I would name the wrong sign and it always stimulated sales, I would try and choose an extrovert, as he or she would often act as an unpaid spruiker and tell everyone about his or her success. We grossed nine hundred doifars on that second visit. Our eyes tumed into dollar signs and we were convinced that we would be vacationing in the Bahamas from then on. Unfortunately, on the third week we sold only forty books. We learned that many people visit the same flea market every week. We tried other markets and found them all very similar. The first week would let us become known. We would do very well on the second week and then sales would drop on the third week. Working the flea markets is fun. It is an easy way to make money, and, if you like getting up early in the moming, I recommend it. Ihave met a number of people who are extremely good at picking people's zodiac signs. if you are one of those, I guess you could do the whole thing genuinely. I'm not game to even try that. The code we used was extremely simple and was taken from Paul R. Hadiey’s excellent book How 22to Develop Mental Magic. His book explains a complete code act and our _ initial intention was to learn it, so that we could do all sorts of amazing things other than sell books. However, both of us lead busy lives and are not prepared to give everything else up to perfect a code act, even though I feel we could make a great deal of money if we did. All we learned was the first twelve code words, one for each sign of the zodiac. WILL denotes ARIES CAN denotes TAURUS DO YOU denotes GEMINI — TELL denotes CANCER — WHAT denotes LEO ARE denotes VIRGO - NOW denotes LIBRA COULD denotes SCORPIO GIVE denotes SAGITTARIUS PLEASE denotes CAPRICORN: PLEASE WILL denotes AQUARIUS PLEASE CAN denotes PISCES. For the first few times we did this my friend had the code words written down on the second page of his pad in case he forgot. ‘We tinkered with the pitch from time to time. I thought it might be a good idea to have a mini-lecture about astrology, but this took up too much time and hindered sales. In the end, we did not talk much about astrology and emphasized the chance of getting a free book by a "famous" author. When someone decided to give it a go he would pay ten dollars to my friend and receive a copy of the book. He would then whisper his zodiac to my friend who would write it down on his clip board in case laver verification was needed. My friend would then say to me, "Please tell the man his sign." This would code to me that he was a Capricorn. If he had said, "Do you know this man's sign?" I would immediately know he was a Gemini. While the book sale and whispering were going on, I would stand as far away as possible looking in the other direction. Often I would be talking to onlookers. 23It amazes me that at no time anyone seemed to suspect we were using a code. People sometimes thought we were using electronics. Some people thought a third person must be involved to tell me the sign. A few people even suggested that the shape of our stand allowed a whisper on one side to. be heard by me on the other. But no one ever mentioned a code. My friend and I are not planning to develop a code act but, if we were, working flea markets would be a wonderful way to practise and make money at the same time. I have not tried selling horoscopes through a code act in any other locations. However, I am sure it could be done successfully anywhere that people gather. You could do it in department stores, fairs, carnivals, or possibly even get a permanent location if you found a site that had constantly changing people. Somewhere catering to tourists would be ideal. Think what you could do at Fisherman's Wharf, for instance! If this idea appeals to you, read Stephen Minch's fascinating book about Eddie Fields: A Life Among Secrets (Hermetic Press, Box 20383, Seattle, WA 98102). I believe you could make millions doing this. JUST FOR FUN When using a crystal ball: “I'll just look into your future.” Gazes into ball and suddenly starts laughing, “I must apologise - I've got the crystal ball upside down. I was looking at your past!" “With this crystal bal! I can see into the future. Not only can I see the future, I can mould it. And a mouldier future I've never seen!" “I shall look into my crystal ball and see the future. ... Oh nol. ... Beer $5.00 a pint!"—___-_| Chapter Four STARMATE EFFECT Photographs are shown of twelve famous personalities. The performer explains that each one is from a different sign of the zodiac. ‘The photographs are mixed and spread face down on the table. The spectator chooses one and finds that she has somehow chosen the personality who has the same sign as she does. PRESENTATION "Have a look at these photographs. They are all of famous people and you'll probably recognize them, Each one has achieved fame for one reason or another, so I keep them with me as inspiration. I'm not sure what's gone wrong in my case! “Would you mix them up a little bit. That's good. Now spread them out face down on the table. Excellent! 1 don't think I told you, but those celebrities come from every sign of the zodiac, I have one Aries there, for instance. One Taurus, one Gemini, and so on. What sign are you?" "Tm a Leo." “That's wonderful. Leo's are highly intelligent people. They are enthusiastic and quick to respond. Leo's have a good time and frequently give magicians’ standing ovations! I love to work with Leos. To start, would you make your mind go completely blank - that was quick! Now, as quickly as you can make a pile of any six of those photos and put them to one side. We won't need them any more. That leaves us with..." “Six.” "I knew you were good at math! Leo's are highly intelligent people. Leo's are also renowned for their logic, bat 1 want you to switch your logical mind off now and simply flow with your intuition. Using your left hand, as that is your psychic hand, touch each of those six photos in tum. Good. Did you get any feelings or vibrations from any of them? ("No.") Okay, using your left hand again, touch any one of the photos. Good! Now do the same with your right hand. Excellent! We'll get rid of the other photos as we don't need them any more. Raise either your right or left hand. Good, we'll eliminate that photo, too. Now, 25you have your hand resting on one photo. Tur it over and tell us who it is.” “It's Lucille Ball." "That's incredible! You chose Lucille Ball from a selection of twelve photos. Did you know that she was a Leo, the same as you? She is the only Leo in the group! Have a look at this.” (I then shaw a card listing the twelve people with their sun signs.) METHOD Naturally, the photographs are marked on the back. I found twelve similar sized photographs in magazines, which I mounted ‘on card about the same size as a tarot card. On the back of each card I pasted a photocopy of an astrology wheel taken from an astrology magazine. I then faintly underlined the picture that related to the sign of the person in the photograph on the front, Next I made a list of the twelve people with their horoscope sign on another card. Finally, all thirteen cards were laminated. The people who did the laminating also put round comers on each card. ‘The twelve people f use are: Charlie Chaplin - Aries Shirley Temple - Taurus Marilyn Monroe - Gemini Mick Jagger - Cancer Lucille Ball - Leo Sophia Loren - Virgo Mickey Rooney - Libra Prince Charles - Scorpio Sir Winston Churchill - Sagittarius President Richard Nixon - Capricorn Paul Newman - Aquarius Elizabeth Taylor - Pisces My list is rather old now. If I was going to make it up again I'd go through some film and TV magazines to find the signs of more recent stars. You may like to have Harry Houdini to represent Aries - or how about Dr J, B. Rhine for Libra? Just a thought. This effect, simple though it is, is extremely popular. People forget that they told you their sun sign, so the effect gets magnified when they get 26home and tell others about it. They are also intrigued with the photographs of different personalities, and are fascinated that they actually managed to locate the one who shared their horoscope sign. If you have laminated your cards and use a close-up mat, you can use the same twelve photographs for a different effect. Show the cards face-up and talk briefly about the personalities. Place them face-up on your close-up mat and say that you had a premonition about what the Spectator was going to do. Tell him to eliminate personalities one at a time, until just one is left, As he indicates the people 10 be discarded you slide them towards yourself. Finally, one photo is left. Tum it over and ask the spectator to read what is written on the back. It says, “You will choose me!" Casually turn over the discarded photos to show that there is nothing written on their backs. Jam sure you are well ahead of me on this one. Before starting you write "You will choose me!" on the back of each photograph with a Velleda pen. As each picture is eliminated, you slide it across the close- up mat towards you. This wipes off the message. The final photograph is not slid, but simply turned over. This effect plays well too, but is not as suitable for commercial close-up as the message has to be written on each card again before you show the effect to your next audience. Also, it is very rare for me to work in places where I can use a close-up mat. 27Chapter Five ASTRO-TWINS EFFECT The magician/psychic talks about “astro twins" and then suggests an experiment with six pairs of twins. The spectator eliminates cards two at a time until just two remain. When these are tumed over they are seen to be a pair of “astro twins". As an extra climax the magician turns over the discarded pairs to show that they are all sets of twins also. ROUTINE "Have you ever heard about astrological twins - two people being born at the same time and place and leading similar lives? King George IV of England had one who was a chimney sweep. They were both keen gamblers. The king bet on horses, the sweep on donkeys. On the same day the king was kicked by a horse, his astro twin was kicked by a donkey. They also both went bankrupt at the same time. It's amazing isn't it? One was a prince, the other a pauper, but so many events happened to them at the exact same time. “Even more amazingly, George IV's father, King George III also had an astro twin. Not only were they both born on the same day and married on the same day, but they also had the same number of children with the same sex differentiation, and both died on the same day! “There are many other examples, of course, but you may have heard of those ones. Do you think you could have an astro twin?” “No.” "Maybe." “Perhaps.” "I'm a real twin." etc. “Let's try an experiment to see if you could recognize your astro twin if he or she tumed up. I have here six sets of astro twins. For convenience I have named them in pairs. Here we have Bill 1 and Bill 2. They make up one set of twins. Here is King George 1 and King George 2. (The magician displays the cards with the pairs side by side, making two columns. My selection is Bill 1, Jenny 1, King George 1, Cleopatra 1, Basil { and Vikki 1. This selection is repeated with Bill 2, . Jenny 2, etc. The magician picks up the cards in one column first, followed by the second. This means that he ends up with twelve face- down cards in the following order: Bill 1, Jenny 1, King George 1, Cleopatra 1, Basil 1, Vikki 1, Bill 2, Jenny 2, King George 2, Cleopatra 2, Basil 2 and Vikki 2. The magician then deals six cards face-down on 28the table and places the remaining six beside them. This means that the cards in the first pile are in reverse order to the cards in the second pile.) "Now, here's the test to see if you can recognize your astro twin if you ever see him or her. We use a special magic spell called ‘Astr> Tuxip ads co Mhcck Gps Cus stan with whatever pile you wish. 1 will take cards from the top of that pile and place them at the bottom, card for each letter of each word. At any time you can say ‘stop’ Till immediately continue the spelling on the other pile. You can ‘stop’ as often as you like. Do you understand?" "Yes." "Good. Which pile shall I start with?” “That one.” “Fine. Now the first word of the spell is ‘astro’. That is A (one card taken from the top of the face-down pile and placed at the bottom), S (another card moved).” "Stop!" "Very good. I'll continue spelling with the other pile until you say ‘stop’ again, T,R -" "Stopt" “All sight. TI change piles. ©, ‘That is the first word of the spell. What Ido now is place the top card of each pile to one side, like that. They have been discarded. Now we'll continue. The next word is ‘twin’, Which pile shall I start with?" "That one.” (The magician continues on in this way, changing piles whenever the spectator says ‘stop’, and placing the top card of each pile to one side * after spelling each word. Finally, just two cards are left. In fact, there is no need to spell out the last word ‘up’. I usually point at one card and say, "U", and then say "P" while indicating the other card.) 29“Now for the moment of truth. Two cards are left. I wonder if they are a pair of astro twins, Now you were in total control. You could have told me to stop at any time. If you had said ‘stop’ one time Jess or one time more the outcome would be completely different. (A lie.) Turn over the cards and see if you were successful. Bill 1 and Bill 2! That is marvellous! You must be psychic!" (After allowing the success of the experiment to sink in, the magician happens to notice the discarded cards.) “J wonder how you did with the pairs you eliminated. Look at this! King George 1 and King George 2! Vikki 1 and Vikki 2!" (The magician shows that all the pairs match.) EXPLANATION The routine is entirely self-working. I used to do this as a card trick many years ago. Unfortunately, I have not been able to track it down in my library. If you do know who originated this, please let me know so I can give proper credit. I have got a feeling that it is an old, old trick that has been around for ever, but could easily be wrong. All you need do is write six pairs of names on the back of business cards and you are ready to perform. People love thinking and talking about astrological twins. Try it and see! 30Chapter Six BIRTH STONES You probably already know that there is a gem stone for each sign of the zodiac. If you see someone wearing a gem stone and happen to know the sign that it relates to you can create a miracle. It is not hard to learn the gems for each sign. Start by learning the ones that relate to you and people you know well, and then gradually fill in the gaps. ARIES relates to the diamond and sed stones such as ruby and jasper. Picture a red ram wearing a huge diamond. Ruby is reputed to attract love and devotion, as well as to rekindle love and passion that has waned. In the East rubies are called "the tears of Buddha". TAURUS relates to green stones such as emerald or lapis lazuli. Picture a green bull. The emerald is considered a symbol of devotion and constancy. Races as far apart as the Egyptians and Incas called the emerald a stone from the gods. It was reputed to help problems with the eyes and Nero used to watch the gladiators with the help of a solution made from emeralds to lengthen his eyesight. GEMINI relates to yellow stones such as citrine and quartz. Picture heavily jaundiced twins. Agate is a form of quartz that was said to give powers of eloquence and to prevent headaches - very suitable for the conversational and mentally stimulating sign of Gemini. CANCER relates to white stones such as white coral, moonstone and pearl. Picture a snow-white crab. Pearls are especially appropriate to the water sign of Cancer as they come from the sea. Divers used to wear pearls to protect them from shasks. LEO relates to gold or orange stones such as sardonyx, peridot, tiger's eye and gold quartz. Picture an orange lion. Sasdonyx is reputed to spread warmth, love and courage to the weafer. These are ali attributes of Leos, making this a very fitting stone. In medieval times satdonyx was worn as a protection from the plague. VIRGO relates ta green jasper, sardonyx and chrysolite. Picture a virgin covered with a green sheet. Chrysolite is the emblem of serenity and faithfulness. In ancient times it was believed to banish ghosts and ensure a good night's sleep. 31LIBRA relates to pink stones such as opal, tourmaline and aventurine. Picture a set of scaies blushing bright pink. Nowadays, opal is supposed to be unlucky for everyone except for Librans. This is strange as in ancient times it was known as the "gem of hope” SCORPIO relates to deep red stones such as gamet, beryl and topaz. Picture a deep red scorpion. In the middle ages, a topaz worn around the neck was believed to ward off enchantment, and protect the person from insomnia as well as colds and lung complaints. SAGITTARIUS relates to sky blue stones such as turquoise, topaz and zircon, Picture an archer shooting an arrow into a rich, blue sky. The turquoise got its name from the Turks who brought this stone to the West from Persia. They regarded the turquoise as being the horseman's talisman, protecting the horse and rider on long journeys. This makes it the perfect stone for the freedom-loving Sagittarians. CAPRICORN relates to black and brown stones, such as smokey quartz, obsidian and jet. Picture a black goat walking on brown earth. The ancient druids used obsidian to symbolize midnight as part of a triad of stones. (The other two stones were Hematite to symbolize dusk and Tiger's Eye to symbolize dawn.) These stones were used for divination, meditation and as an aid to memory. AQUARIUS relates to violet stones, such as the amethyst. Picture a water bearer carrying a clear container full of a purple liquid. In ancient times doctors wore amethyst as it was believed to have healing properties. It was also believed that a headache could be cured by holding an amethyst wrapped in silk to the forehead, PISCES relates to purple and blue-green stones, such as aquamarine and amethyst. See two fish swimming in opposite directions. One is bright purple and the other blue-green. The name “aquamarine” means "sea water” in Latin, making this a perfect stone for the sign of two fishes. As it is reputed to bring domestic harmony, it is often used in engagement rings. Next time you see someone wearing one of these stones, you have about a 95% chance of correctly knowing their zodiac sign. The reason it is not one hundred per cent perfect is that someone may be wearing a 32stone purely because they like it, and also there are traditional stones to represent each month. These are: JANUARY - Gamet FEBRUARY - Amethyst MARCH - Aquamarine APRIL - Diamond MAY - Emerald JUNE - Pearl JULY - Ruby AUGUST - Peridot SEPTEMBER - Sapphire OCTOBER - Opal NOVEMBER - Topaz DECEMBER - Turquoise Usually, you will be correct if you go for the zodiac sign. If you saw someone wearing turquoise and told her she was a Sagittarian, you might be wrong as turquoise also relates to December. (The first twenty days are in Sagittarius, but the remaining ones are in Capricorn.) However, she will be incredibly impressed that you got so close to her sign. You can modestly say that you were only a few days off, and that her Sagittarian side totally overruled her Capricorn. You could well find that you become fascinated with gem stones and want to learn more. They are certainly very revealing and knowledge of them is invaluable for a cold reader. Speaking of which: a few years back Lary Kuehn and Herb Dewey put out some excellent cassettes on gemstones which give information on the stones, plus a cold reading for each one. This is available from: T. Everett Bookings II, Box 12252, Dallas, TX 75225. Crystal reading is a very old form of divination, The stones make particularly beautiful and charming props. Some sources claim that Lithomancy (divination with crystals) is the very oldest form of divination as it was popular in Atlantis. I'm not so sure about Atlantis, but crystal divination was certainly popular in the ancient civilizations of the Egyptians, Aztecs and Incas. If you want to learn more about . crystal reading, you should read Hobrin's book Crystal Reading for Profit and watch my video How to give Readings with Gemstones.Here is something you can do if you know someone's zodiac sign. You will need a gem stone that relates to each sign. You can buy a set of tumble-polished stones from a rock shop for Jess than five dollars and they make a very attractive display. You will also need a small book or pamphlet that describes the psychic meaning for each stone. You can probably get a leaflet from the rock shop free of charge. If not, you can buy a small book from a psychic bookstore. I use a sheet put out by Legion of Light which cost about a dollar at a psychic store. It is laminated and well produced. 1 have seen this in many psychic bookstores in four different countries, so you should be able to find one with little difficulty. All you have to do now is force the correct stone. Probably the easiest and most natural way is to use Roy Baker's famous Pateo force. (The word pateo comes from “Point At Two; Eliminate One".) Ask the spectator to point at any two of the stones. You then decide which one to eliminate. Naturally, if he has touched the force stone, you eliminate the other. You then touch two stones, avoiding the force stone, and allow the spectator to eliminate one. He then touches another two, and you eliminate one, and so on until just two stones remain, one of which is the force stone. Jt is your tum to eliminate one, so you remove a stone leaving the force stone behind. Ask the spectator to pick it up and see if he receives any vibrations from it. People frequently do. Then read what the pamphlet says about the stone, adding one sentence: "This stone relates to people of the sign of . ... It means their most secret desires will be realised.” If the spectator happens to point at the force stone on the very first turn, T eliminate all the stones except the two he is indicating, and then ask him to raise one finger. This, of course, either chooses or eliminates a stone, allowing me to go directly to the climax. After this, you can go on to a gemstone reading. Stones and crystals are incredibly popular. You will be amazed at the reaction the simplest effect receives if it includes crystals, Also, they make astonishingly beautiful props. 34Chapter Seven THE TWELVE HOUSE READING Astrology is used for character analysis and predictions for the future. Here is an easy, entertaining way to do both of these without the need to spend several years studying serious astrology. REQUIRED Twelve cards depicting each sign of the zodiac. 1 use twelve cards from the Universal Zodiac Deck put out by the American Playing Card Company, 1702 S. Wolf Road, Wheeling, IL 60090. These cards are nicely produced with backs showing each sign of the zodiac. I have marked mine with a small spot of white ink under the picture that depicts the sign on the front. If you do not have a deck of these cards - and you should, as there are many things you can do with them - simply make up your own and mark the backs so you know what each card is from the back. You will also need a copy of the astrological table of houses. I have included the one I had drawn up for you to copy. ROUTINE Casually mix up the cards while drawing the spectator's attention to the twelve houses. I usually indicate a few and explain what each one represents. I then hand the cards to the spectator and ask her to take out the card that shows her sign. I ask her to study it for a few seconds and then place it face-down on the house that relates to a question concerning something going on in her life at the present time. This, of course, lets me know both her sign and what her main concem is. I then have her place the remaining eleven cards face-down on the other houses. I ask her to do this in a haphazard order as quickly as she can. I used to ask people to look at each card and think about where they would like to place it. Unfortunately, this sometimes took forever, which is why I now have them do it as quickly as possible. Once the cards are all down I start with house one. 1 tum over the card in this position and give a brief message conceming this area of her life. This is followed by the other houses in order. Before I arrive at the house she placed her zodiac sign on, { tell her what sign she was born under. This is probably best illustrated with a sample reading. Frances is forty-five years old and is divorced. She put the card depicting her sign her sign on house seven, which relates mainly to partnerships and marriage. I noticed that she was a Taurean. 35The cards ended up in the following order: House 1 - Gemini House 2 - Capricom House 3 - Leo House 4 - Aries House 5 - Libra House 6 - Pisces House 7 - Taurus (her sign) House 8 - Aquarius House 9 - Cancer House 10 - Virgo House II - Scorpio House 12 - Sagittarius “This is not a proper horoscope chart, of course,” I begin. "It is simply a table of houses and you created a completely random pattern by mixing the cards and placing them in each house." I tum over the card in house one. "For instance, this first one is Gemini. House one relates to new beginnings and your outlook on life." (AlJl I do is read this from the chart!) "Gemini is a positive sign and indicates to me that you are contemplating a new beginning and that it will be an extremely positive move for you." (I know her question probably relates to a special relationship, because she placed her card in house seven. I place the Gemini card face-up in house one and turn over the card in house two.) Aha, Capricorn! House two relates to money and possessions. You like having nice things around you.” (A Taurean trait.) However, it looks as if money is sometimes rather elusive and hard to find. Slow and steady is what Capricorn means in this sign. It makes you a plodder, but someone who always gets where you want to go. You should aim high and work towards that goal. Capricorn is an earth sign, so in this placement, it bodes particularly well for people of the other earth signs - Virgo and Taurus." (The card is also placed down again, face-up in house two. I turn over the card in house three.) "In house three we have Leo, an excellent placement in this house. This house relates to communication, short trips and your brothers and sisters. With Leo here, you would express yourself well, particularly with people you care about. You are affectionate and loving. Also a bit stubborn at times! (All Taurus traits.) You communicate very well, 36but sometimes it might be a bit hard to get your innermost feelings across. You have learned to hold back. “Now on to house four. This relates to home, property and one of your parents. Aries is a fire sign, so I assume that at least one of your parents was outgoing and sociable. It shows that you try to make your home a happy place, and you put a great deal of enthusiasm and energy into your home. Given the right relationship, and that seems to be not very far away, your home is going to be filled with more happiness and joy than you have ever known. You love your home and have a very warm, affectionate nature. If I was to make a guess at your star sign, Td look at that, plus the stubbornness and the placement of Capricom back here, and probably go for either Taurus or . . . no, I'd say definitely Taurus. What sign are you?" “That's amazing! I am a Taurus!" “Yes, it fits with what we've done so far. You are very fortunate. Taurus is an excellent sign to be born under. It means that you will really live life. Naturally, this means a few of the lows as well as the highs, but fortunately, most of the lows are behind you now. Let's see what house five has to say. Libra is the charmer of the zodiac, and you placed right here with the areas that deal with children, ry and romance. At the present time, I think the significance of Libra in this spot is to do with romance. It indicates someone who is charming, captivating and easy to get on with. Someone with a sense of fun. That could be you, of course, or it could be someone else. You'll know which person it describes." (Who doesn't like being told that he or she is charming, captivating, easy to get along with, and have a sense of fun? Naturally, I said all of this because her unspoken question probably relates to a close relationship.) "House six can be a tricky one, but you have Pisces there. Pisces relates very well to health, service to others and all living things, You may need to be a little careful of stress and strain, but apart from that, it bodes well. “Now house seven, with Taurus. Oh, this must be the house that relates to your question. (Surprise, surprise!) House seven relates to marriage, partnerships and other people generally. It also includes enemies, but I don't think your question relates to that. Are you thinking about a relationship?" 37"Yes, Tam, In fact... "At this point I am likely to hear more than I really want to know about the new man in her life. As she talks, I am able to make comments relating to what I have already discussed, "Yes, remember way back here I said that you would be making a new start and that it would work out very well.” "He has a good sense of humor? Remember what [ said. . .” and so on. At the end of ail this, she is going to think that I told her everything, including his name and social security number. The rest of the reading is now extremely easy, and is likely to be a conversation, even if she was extremely quiet during the first part. “House eight relates to death and taxes - none of us can escape them! However it also relates to other people's earnings. Aquarius in this position is interesting, as it indicates that some of your partner's earnings could come from work in a progressive field. “At some stage he will definitely be at the cutting edge of what is going on. “The ninth house covers religion, philosophy, long trips and - of course - in-laws, Cancer is an extremely nurturing, home-loving sign, so it tends to indicate harmonious dealings with your fature in-laws, It means that travel could be done for family reasons. Also, your philosophy of life will be built on a strong, stable foundation. It will grow and develop ali the way through your life. “The tenth house is an extremely important one as it reveals your self- esteem and your reputation in the community. Virgo is inclined to hold back a little, so you may sometimes be too modest or self-effacing. You may need to push yourself forward a little more to make sure that you get the full credit that you deserve, It also shows that you will always have an excellent reputation, “Now we come on to your dreams, your hopes, your goals and career. Scorpio shows that you expect to achieve your high aspirations and have the necessary determination and stick-to-it-iveness to get there. Aim as high as you can. The eleventh house also shows the love that you receive. Scorpio is intense and emotional, You will receive plenty of love from the man you adore. However, he may be secretive at times or find it hard to get the words out that he wants to say, All the same, you will always be very aware of how much he adores and loves you. 38“Finally, the twelfth house. This is often known as the house of secrets. It relates to frustrations, limitations and your subconscious mind. You couldn't have a better card here than Sagittarius, as it is so optimistic and positive. We all have limitations and restrictions placed upon us. None of us can do exactly what we want to do, when we want to do it. Fortunately, Sagittarius bounces back up again after every setback. Sagittarius is also a philosophical sign and you will ultimately grow enormously in this area. The twelfth house relates to latent talent, as well. Sagittarius is often inclined to try and do too many things all at the same time. Fortunately, being a Taurus, you are able to balance that and finish most of the things you start. “It looks to me as if you are going in the right direction, Take each day as it comes for the next few months. There will be a few hurdles, but nothing you can't overcome. Your life is about to blossom and I see enormous happiness ahead.” As you can see, it is possible to make this reading last as long as you want. You can spend five minutes or an hour with someone going around the wheel, and they will wish it could go on for ever. ‘There is an extremely slight possibility that you may think the spectator is asking one question, wher she is asking another. In the above example, Frances could have been thinking about enemies, rather than a happy relationship. It would make no difference ultimately. The information about relationships that I gave in the earlier houses would be either forgotten or interpreted in such a way that it fitted. If I had received no response to marriage or partnerships I would have moved on to other people and enemies, I can not recall ever having to do this. If Frances had put her zodiac sign card down on house one, two or three, I would have started at the top of the wheel and covered houses ten, eleven and twelve first. This is a great way to start giving cold readings. All you need is some basic information about the twelve signs. You can read the information on the houses while giving the reading. Once you know the keywords for the signs and houses, you have everything necessary to give full, « satisfying readings. 39Chapter Eight ASTRO-CARDS EFFECT The spectator places a number of cards in her pocket, the number dictated by her sign of the zodiac. The next three cards are dealt on the table and the mage gives a brief reading from them, concluding by divining her sign. PRESENTATION "I am sure you already know your sign of the zodiac. Just to clarify it though, have a look at this list of the twelve signs. Don't tell me which one is yours, but do you see it there?" "Yes." "Good. Have a look again, and see what number is printed beside it. In a moment I want you to take that number of cards from this pack and place it in your purse or in a pocket. I'll just mix the cards a little. Good, now while I tum my head, just take the number of cards from the top of the (face-down) pack and place them out of my sight. Have you done that? Good. I'll tur back now. That is phase one. Now we have to see if the cards can tell me something about you. Deal three more cards on the table. Put the pack down and pick up the three cards. Mix them up and deal them in a row face up. “Bach of these cards tells me something about you. Together, they give me an insight into your personality, and singly, they tell me a little about your past, present and future. “You have chosen three interesting cards - the Queen of Clubs, Two of Hearts and the Nine of Diamonds. The queen is, of course, you, and it tells me that you have the ability to captivate and charm anyone. The two is not just any two - it is the Two of Hearts. Hearts is the suit of love and romance, and two is the number of partnerships and close relationships. It makes a wonderful combination and shows that if you are not already in one, you will soon find the ideal partner. The nine tells me that you are very much a humanitarian, a caring person, someone who people instinctively want to confide in. "You have chosen three different suits. You could, for instance, have chosen three clubs or two diamonds and one heart. But you didn't. You chose one each of three different suits. That is very fortunate. It 42shows that you are a well rounded and well balanced person. You reach for the stars but keep your feet on the ground at the same time. It gives the potential for great future success. “Now, you mixed these three cards and placed the queen in the past position. This tells me that you became aware of your own individuality and of your special gifts early on in life. Your self-esteem has continued to grow and blossom since that time. The two is the present. This is the special relationship I mentioned. If he has not arrived yet, he soon will! Two is also a highly intuitive number, so you will certainly be using that talent a great deal as well. In the future we have the nine, the caring number. It is also the Nine of Diamonds. Diamonds is the money suit, so the future will be good in that regard. You will never make money your god, as the nine is a strong number. However, you will ultimately be well provided for. This money is largely earned, but most of it is earned by someone else. “Well, it all looks pretty positive to me. There is only one sign that relates to all of this. The tact and diplomacy of the two, the regalness of the queen and the humanitarianism of the nine all lead me to believe that you are probably a Libran.” “That's right! How did you know that!" METHOD I'm sure you are miles ahead of me. It is simply a stacked deck. All you need is to have the first fifteen cards of the face-down deck stacked in any system you like. I use the Si Stebbins set-up for this. ‘The cards are given a false shuffle, and then the spectator deals down the number of cards relating to her sign and puts them out of sight. The next three cards are dealt and mixed, before being placed face-up on the table. By going through your set-up you will know how many cards have been pocketed and this tells you the zodiac sign. I give the reading partly on the qualities of the sign, partly on numerology and partly on cold reading. If you have considered learning card reading (and it is a very useful skill) this is a wonderful « way to begin as you need lear the meanings of only fifteen cards. Ron Cain wrote an excellent book on this subject called The Secret to Reading Cards and Clients (published by Flora and Company, P.O. Box 8263, Albuquerque, NM 87198).ARIES March 21st to April 20th TAURUS April 21st to May 20th GEMINI May 21st to June 20th CANCER June 21st to July 22nd LEO July 23rd to August 23rd VIRGO August 24th to September 23rd LIBRA September 24th to October 23rd SCORPIO October 24th to November 22rd SAGITTARIUS November 23rd to December 22nd 10 CAPRICORN December 23rd to January 20th 11 AQUARIUS January 21st to February 19th 12 PISCES February 20th to March 20th woranaens JUST FOR FUN We Taureans don't believe in astrology I don't believe in astrology. I've only met one person whose life was influenced by the stars - he was an agent. Definition of a crisis: When your fortune cookie contradicts your horoscope. Some people call me a prophet - others say I'm a dead loss! ‘This act is supernatural. After all - it's like nothing on earth! Being able to see into the future makes me very happy. For instance, right now, I can hear in advance your thunderous applause as I leave the stage. May I say, very humbly, “thank you and good night!” I'm now going to hypnotize you. Nothing will bother or disturb you. In fact, even if you fell through a window, you wouldn't feel the pane! 44Chapter Nine COMPATABILITY TESTER Most people know that astrology is supposed to part the veil slightly and allow us to receive glimpses of the future. Many people also know that it is expected to give useful insights into relationships. Consequently, you will be asked many questions along the lines of: “My boy friend's a Capricorn. Is that likely to work?" "My daughter's going out with a Leo. She's a Pisces. What do you think?” Fortunately, there is a very simple way to answer questions like these. There are four types of signs: Fire, Earth, Air and Water. The Fire signs are: Aries, Leo and Sagittarius The Earth signs are: Taurus, Virgo and Capricom. The Air signs are: Gemini, Libra and Aquarius The Water signs are: Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces Generally speaking, people will get on well with people from the same element. For instance, an Arian and a Leo will get on well together as they are both fire signs. So will a Gemini and an Aquarian as both are air signs. However, not all signs are compatible. All you need do is compare the elements the two signs belong to. For instance, let's look at Sagittarius and Pisces. Fire and Water. Do fire and water get on? No, water puts out fire. Fire can also put water on the boil. Let's take another example, Gemini and Leo. Air and Fire. Air fans fire and builds it up. That's likely to be a good combination, What about Air and Water? Air creates bubbles that float away. Doesn't sound like a good combination to me. Air and Earth? Clouds of dust! Water and Earth? Excellent, as water soften the earth, and earth can make water mote solid. It can be fun looking at the different combinations in this way. Again, try looking at the relationships of people you know and see how it works. 45If two people are of the same sign I teil them it wifl be either fantastic or disastrous. CARD COMPATABILITY Here's something to try if you have a couple to entertain. Hand a deck of cards to the lady and ask her to mix them thoroughly. Have the man do the same. Take the cards back and force any card on to the lady. Have her look at it. Suppose it is the four of hearts. You turn the cards face-up and fan them in front of the man. "Linda here chose the four of hearts. She could have taken any card, but that is the one she chose. Now the ideal person for her is someone who selects either another heart or another four." While saying this, simply put a suitable card (another heart or four in this instance) in the right position to force it. Then force it on him. Lo and behold - they're compatible! I force the first card, even though I have no idea what it wili be, so I can do the identical moves when genuinely forcing the second card. You can do a very similar effect with a marked deck. I always use the wonderful Ted Lesley deck. Have both partners shuffle the cards and pass them to you. You cut the pack into a number of piles. How many? Tt doesn't matter, but I usually have five piles. With this number you raust have at least two piles with top cards of the same suit. For this example, we'll assume that we have diamond cards on top of two piles, Ask the lady to place her left hand on any one of the piles. If she places her hand on one of the pifes that contains a diamond ask her to slide that pile to one side. Now, have her place her right hand on any other pile. If you're lucky she'll place it on top of the other diamond, Remove the other piles and ask her to give one of the two piles she selected to her boy friend. Tell them it means great happiness if they each have a card of the same suit, and ask them to turn over their top card. Voila! Usually, of course, that won't happen and she will place her hand on another pile. Nod sagely and ask her to slide the pile to the other side of the table, well away from the first pile she selected, This leaves three piles of cards. Ask the boyfriend to touch a pile. (You "forget" to ask him to use his left hand.) The odds are one in three that he'll land on the diamond first time. If he does, ask him to slide the pile towards himself. Then have him touch another pile and move it to where his girlfriend left her 46second pile. You (the magician) then move the third pile to join the discards. Have them turn over their selected piles and see if they are compatible. After commenting on how fortunate they are, show the top cards of the discard piles to reveal that they actually chose the only pair that denoted extreme compatability. Of course, he may not touch the diamond pile. If this is the case, comment that he used his right - non-psychic - hand and ask him to place the cards with the other pile that his girlfriend discarded earlier. Now we have two piles left. Ask him to hold his right hand over the piles in tum and see if he detects any vibrations. Regardless of his response ask him to place his hand on one pile. If this is the diamond pile, you push the other pile to one side as a discard. {f it is not, ask him to place his psychic hand on the remaining pile and to push the pile covered by his right hand to one side. No matter what, you ultimately end up with the couple holding the right piles. Before you finish, state that certain suits are more compatible than others. Run through them, concluding with their suit (which no one, except you, knows at this stage) as being the most compatible. Ask them to tum the top cards over and congratulate them on being so perceptive, both with the cards and in choosing each other. If you wish, you can tum over the top cards of the discard piles to show that they do not create a compatible combination, and then conclude by giving a brief reading from them. In practice, this effect takes very little time. Often three of the five piles will have cards of the same suit at the top, which makes it even easier. Occasionally, though it has not happened for me yet, you may find four or five of the same suit, making the effect self-working. 1 guess you could start the effect with four of five cards of the same suit on top of the deck and end up with these on top of each pile. 1 try not to do anything that could be construed as ‘magic’, so try and eliminate sleights as much as possible. The effect is totally ruined if the spectators even remotely suspect trickery. The above effects could be done just as easily with tarot cards. I frequently do the above after doing Tony Raven's excellent Tarot reading where all the cards are forced, This is shown on The Richard Webster Video available from Flora and Company.Chapter Ten CYCLES OF LIFE EFFECT The magician shows a prediction he had written in the early hours of the morning. The spectator selects several cards from a shuffled Tarot deck and eliminates them all except for one. Amazingly, the one card left matches the prediction. ROUTINR "We all lead our lives in cycles,” the magician begins. "I am sure you all remember times when everything just flowed, and you achieved your goals almost effortlessly. You can probably also recall the times when nothing seemed to work, and you seemed to take two steps back for every step forward. There is no mystery to this. We are simply being influenced by the planetary cycles. "The major cycle is the Saturn one. It takes Saturn almost 29 years to complete its circuit of your horoscope. That is why there are likely to be major changes in your life about the age of 29 and 58. Mind you, there are many lesser cycles. Jupiter is the planet of expansion and opportunity. When it is working for you you can move ahead very quickly. Venus is the planet of love. Interesting things can happen when it is going your way! “Now I have no idea of your time, date or place of birth. Yet I feel that I know a great deal about you. For instance, you are perceptive, aware of things that other peopie miss. You enjoy a challenge. You are honest, affectionate and honorable. Financial matters are starting to improve. You are about to start a whole new cycle of experience. This new cycle will bring a certain amount of change, but ultimately more stability to your life. You are going to ride this wave very well and make more progress in the next few years than you have done in the past. “How do I know this? You could cal it intuition, a hunch, a gut feeling. I sometimes call it intuitive astrology. It can be so strong sometimes that it wakes me up in the middle of the night and I'm compelled to write the feeling down. (The magician produces a folded sheet of paper * from his pocket.) Here's something 1 wrote down last night. It concerns you, yet I had no idea that I was going to meet you today. 48"Shall we try a test? Here is a deck of Tarot cards. Mix them up if you wish, Take a handful of cards from anywhere in the deck. It doesn't matter how many. Seven or eight would be fine. We won't need the other ones. Spread the ones you selected face-up on the table. It's an interesting selection. Three cards from the major arcana and five from the minor. These are the major ones - The Tower, The Wheel of Fortune and Strength. The fact that you chose so many of them indicate important changes ahead of you. You are obviously near a turning point in your life. There are four suits in the minor arcana, but your cards come from just two of them - the Cups and the Pentacles. ‘The Cups denote much love and happiness in the future, and the Pentacles reveal some significant financial possibilities. A very interesting selection! “Now I'd like you to close your eyes and move your left hand over the cards. Let me know when you start to get a feeling. It might be a sensation of warmth, a tingling feeling in your fingers, or perhaps just a hunch. When you get this feeling, whatever it may be, just let your hand drop to the table, “Excellent! Open your eyes but don't move your hand. Your hand touches four of the cards. I'll remove the other ones as they have no bearing on the outcome. Let's see what cards remain. Ah, The Wheel of Fortune, Three of Cups, Strength and the Ace of Pentacles. They are all good, positive cards. “Have a look at this pendulum. I have several of these, but this is my favorite as it was given to me by the famous Albuquerque rune master, Dusty Cravens. Hold it over each of the cards in tum. You will notice a different response with one of them. See, it's going back and forth over that one. Yes, back and forth over this one. Look! It's starting to go around and around over this one! Yes, around and around! Isn't that amazing? “T'll take these other ones away and just leave that special card behind. Well, out of an entire deck of Tarot cards - 78 different cards - you chose The Wheel of Fortune. Was that chance do you think, or was it meant to be?" "T have no idea." 49"TI think I do. You see, fast night I woke up in the middle of the night and wrote something down on this piece of paper, My writing's not too good at the best of times, so I hope you can read it. What did I write?” "You wrote, ‘It is 3.30 am and 1 have just woken. I had a strange dream where a lady I have not yet met chose one card from a deck of Tarot cards. ‘The card she chose indicated an unexpected change for the better. It looked to me as if every area of her life is going to improve over the next few months. Only one card indicates this, and that is the card she selected - The Wheel of Fortune."" METHOD I doubt if any explanation is required. The prediction is written out in advance except for the name of the card which is written in when the spectator has his or her eyes closed. Select a suitable card for your prediction from the cards on the table. Cards are then either kept or eliminated depending on how the spectator's hand is placed over them. It is a simple matter to influence the movement of the pendulum by what you say. The words, “to and fro", "back and forth" and “around and around" can all be said in a sing-song manner that encourages the spectator to allow the pendulum to move in the direction indicated. The description describes a method of performing this effect one on one. You can do it just as easily for a group of people. Write the entire prediction, including the card you are going to force, Shuffle the Tarot deck, ensuring that the force card ends up as one of the top five cards in the face-down deck. Ask the spectator to deal out as many cards as desired, ideally seven or eight. If you have marked your force card you can do the entire routine with the cards face-down. I prefer to comment on the cards and give a little reading on the way, so prefer them to be face-up. Now you carry on with the effect, but have no need to add anything to the prediction. 50STAGES 1 JAN Secwmridmuaene STAGES 10 31 APR 1 wCaorANnaen STAGES 18 2 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 30 rT 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 rt 10 u 12 3 14 15 16 17 18 19 18 ore BIRTH CHART 21 22 23 24 25 21 29 12 20 2 23 26 a 28 29 19 BrScamrd snaew FEB 20 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 21 22 51 10 1 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 4 10 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 6 7 8 20 MAR 1 ul 2 2 22 3 1B 23 4. 14 24 5 15 25 6 16 26 1 17 27 8 18 28 9 19 29 10) 20) 15 16 16 20 «30 JUN 1 210031 2 22 3 23 4 24 5 25 6 26 7 27 8 28 9 29 10 ai 22 23 3 13 4 14 5 15 6 16 7 17 8 18 9 19 AUG 10 20 1 MW 21 2 12 22 2 22 2B 24 25 2 28 30 7 WW 12 1B 4 15 16 7 18 19 20 23 24 25 26 2 28 31STAGES STAGES 24 SEPT ne 31 Bewridanaw itt 12 BESeordsAnaw 32 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 2 26 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 22 33 25 26 2 28 29 27 23 25 26 21 28 29 30 33 52 21 34 Sowidanaw 1 12 35 13, 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 29 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 22 23 36 23 25 26 27 28 29 31 30 24 25 26 21 28 29 30 31Chapter Eleven ASTROLOGICAL TRENDS Frequently, people ask about the trends of their lives. "I seem to be going through a rough patch.” "Back then everything seemed to just fall into place." "How come I made money so easily last year, but this year it's a struggle?" Here is a simple astrological way to explain the ups and downs we all have in our lives. In astrology there is the concept of “one day for one year" when progressing an astrology chart. In other words, if you tumed 35 today, your current astrology chart would show every planet moved forward 35 days from the position they were at when you were bom. This is an ancient technique that is still used by many astrologers. There are other methods for determining future trends with astrology, but the "one day for one year" method is perfect for our needs, It enables us to give a quick forecast of future trends that no professional astrologer could disagree with. On the BIRTH CHART you will find every day of the year listed in 36 columns. Bach column represents ten years. If you were bom on January Ist and have just tumed thirty-one, you would be at the top of column four. Columns one, two and three each represent ten year periods which you have lived through, and you are now starting ten years in column four. Most people are not born neatly on the first of each month, so the mathematics is slightly harder with other dates. Let's use July 7th, for example. We'll use an imaginary person called Tom. He is now fifty- three years old. First of all, we find July 7th in the birth chart. It is half-way down column 19, Starting on the day of birth (in this case 7) we count down to the bottom of the column, and in this example get the answer six. Tom completed column 19 when he tumed seven. His first six years were spent in this column, but when he tured seven he moved into column twenty. He is now fifty-three. To find out which column he is currently in, we count in ten year periods, as each column lasts for ten years. Consequently, Tom left column twenty when he turned seventeen. (Six full years in column 19 and ten full years in column 20. 53The whole year he was sixteen was still in column twenty, and he moved into columa twenty-one the day he turned seventeen.) Tom left column twenty-one when he turned twenty-seven. He left column twenty-two when he tured thirty-seven. He left column twenty-three when he turned forty-seven. He is now, at the age of fifty- three, six years into column twenty-four. Column twenty-four, like all the other columns, has a meaning which we will look at in a moment. Let's try another example. How about Joan, who is forty-seven and was born on November 20th. November 20th is in column 32 and she moved on to column 33 on her fourth birthday. Consequently, she entered column 34 on her fourteenth birthday, column 35 on her twenty-fourth, and column 36 on her thirty-fourth, At this point, we reach the end of the chart and start alt over again with column 1. Joan entered column 1 on her forty-fourth birthday and will remain there until she turns fifty-four. Here's another example, without an explanation. Chuck is twenty-nine and was born on February 12th, He is now in column eight. Janice is thirty-four and was born on December 15th. She is now in column two. Aunt Hilda is eight-seven and was born on October 9th. She is now in column one. Work out a few birth dates that you are familiar with. You wilt find the process very easy after a few minutes of practice. Alll you do is: 1. Find the birth date. 2. Count down to the bottom of the column (starting with the birth date) to find the age the first change occurred at. 3. Count forward to the current age, using each column to represent ten years of life. You will notice that some of the columns have a slight overlap, For instance, column 16 is actually two columns. The first of these contains the last two days of May, and the second the first ten days of June, If you were born in an earlier column you would regard column 16 as being a single column marking ten years of time, even thought it may appear to be two columns.. If you were bom on May 30th you would 54remain in this column for ten years, exactly the same as someone bom on June Ist. Now we come on to the meanings for each column, or stage of life. When doing a reading for someone, we can read the stage they were bom in as well as the stage they are currently in, We can also look at the next stage if desired. STAGES OF LIFE 1. There is a certain amount of control or reserve present in this stage. Feelings are heightened, and the affections suppressed. 2. A positive time where the person applies him or herself to work and career. The person thinks, evaluates and makes plans. It is a progressive period. 3. A restless time. There will be a strong desire to progress, but frustrations will make this difficult. The person is likely to be very self-centered at this stage. 4. A stage of mental activity. A good stage for learning and for grasping opportunities. A good period for getting on with others and for humanitarian projects. 5. A more emotional stage with heightened feelings. ‘The person is likely to feel hemmed in or restricted in some way. 6. A stage of heightened sensitivities. The person's imagination will be active. The person is likely to be more introspective and sensitive than usual. 7. A responsive time, with the emotions overruling the intellect. Relationships will be important as the need for security is high. 8. An intensification of ali feelings will be apparent at this stage. The person will be determined to reach certain goals, and this could create impatience and strain. 9. An active, energetic stage. The person will be enterprising, incisive and have a clear idea of where he or she is going. The person will have to make sure that not too many demands are placed on others. 5510. The person will be more assertive in this stage and will have a desire for recognition. Feelings are strong, too. A good stage for creative endeavour. 11. An idealistic stage. The person will have a good breadth of vision and a broad view of life. He or she will be able to progress well in this stage. 12. The person will have more patience and persistence at this stage. Feelings will be heightened but the person will be able to contain them. This stage can bring much contentment. 13. An expectant time with strong intuitive feelings. The person will have grand dreams and visions and will be able to progress if well organised. 14, Material security is important in this stage. The person will be prepared to work long and hard to achieve material success and physical gratification. 15. The need for change and variety will be strongly apparent at this stage. The person will need to be adaptable, reliable and mentally alert to seize the opportunities that present themselves. 16, An alert, active, feeling stage. Moods could go up and down and special attention needs to be placed on close relationships. The person could feel super-confident one minute and highly vulnerable the next. 17. A good stage for self-expression. Mental alertness is heightened and the person is likely to feel restless at times. The need to demonstrate individuality will be high, drawing the person into new activities. 18, The person will be highly responsive to the needs of others. He or she will also want love and security and, given this sound base, will be able to do much to help others. 19, This is a stage of accomplishment. Feelings are strong and this can provide the motivation to achieve. 5620. This stage brings an acute sensitiveness and intuitive understanding. The person will have great sympathy for others and be prepared to do anything possible to help them. 21. This stage brings about a change in outlook. Timid people may become confident, humanitarians more self-centered. As long as the person's ego does not swell too much, this can be a stage of achievement. 22. This is a time for social activity. Popularity will rise and the person will become involved in many different interests. It is also a good time to make fong-term plans. 23, This is a good time to start things and the person will have plenty of energy and enthusiasm. Often these starts will be forced by changing circumstances. 24. ‘This is a stage of patience and the person needs to keep his or her feet firmly on the ground, The person will develop a sense of humor and a sense of expectancy. 25. This is a stage of conscientiousness. The person may be inclined to worry and to pay extra attention to physical fitness, diet and health. Progress will be slow and steady. 26. Feelings are heightened in this stage, often causing problems in relationships. The person is likely to have problems achieving balance between logic and emotion. 21. ‘This is a social stage which often brings popularity. However, the person will have to work hard to express his or her innermost feelings. 28. There is a strong desire to do one's “own thing” in this stage. The person may become involved in different, even slightly eccentric, activities. The person will be friendly and sociable, but highly independent at the same time, 29. This is a stage of adaptability and co-operation with others. Itis a Pleasant stage, though the person may have to compromise more than expected. 8730. Feelings are intensified during this stage. ‘The person will work hard and tenaciously to achieve his or her goals. 31. This is a stage of imagination and perception. Intuition can also increase. The person will be curious about a variety of activities and will want to know more. 32, The person will need a challenge at this stage, ideally something difficult to achieve. The person could even be ruthless in pursuit of his or her goals. 33. There will be a desire for the person to extend mentally at this stage. There could be an inner restlessness and a sense of idealism present as well. 34, The person will want to become actively involved in something he or she regards as being important. There will be plenty of enthusiasm, a sense of recklessness and a desire to achieve something worthwhile. 35. A stage of mental and spiritual growth. ‘The person will be goal- oriented, but will also have humanitarian ideas and enjoy helping others. 36. This is a stage of common-sense, hard work and application. It is serious in tone and the person may appear dour at times. All the same, the person's sense of humor is likely to develop during this stage. These thirty-six stages are called decanates. Each sign of the zodiac occupies thirty degrees. (12 signs of the zodiac x 30 degrees = 360 degrees.) Each sign can be divided into three smaller areas of ten degrees each, and these are known as decanates, Now, how can we use these to give a brief astrological reading? Let's do a forecast for Penny who was born on March 14th and is thirty-five years old. She was bom in stage eight and is currently in stage 11. She enters stage 12 when she turns thirty-eight. We could say to her: "You were born with strong feelings and a desire to succeed. You probably had to learn patience as most things have taken longer to achieve than you would have liked. (This is all from stage eight, where she was born. We now move on to stage eleven.) You have been progressing during the last seven or eight years and this is going to continue. You have become more idealistic, and this may have caused 58problems. This is a good trait, though, as it enhances your vision of a perfect world. Unfortunately, it means you are easily hurt at times. In the next two or three years you will be entering a new stage in your life (stage twelve). During this stage you will find more contentment than ever before. You will be more patient and much more persistent. You will not give up easily. You will have your sights set on a worthwhile goal and you'll plod along very happily, aware that it takes time to achieve something really worthy of your abilities.” Naturally, this mini-reading can be embellished as much as you wish with cold reading. In this example I have tried to keep it "astrologically pure”. All the same, I am sure that this imaginary Penny would have been pleased with her forecast. A consultant astrologer would also have to agree as the reading is astrologically correct. How can you use these stages? For a while I used them as a tick sheet. 1 had the birth chart on the front page and keywords for each of the thirty-six stages inside. In less than a minute I could work out where the person was now and give a very quick forecast. I was never 100% happy with it as a tick sheet, though. There was not enough room on the sheet to give more than the sketchiest information and people would come back asking why certain things were not checked off. For instance, for stage one I had the key words "strong feelings" and stage two had "positive attitude". It was impossible for people born from the end of January to the beginning of October to have these keywords checked off on their tick sheet. Frequently, people would say, "But 1 am a very positive person. Why haven't you checked ‘positive attitude'?" If I was to produce this as a tick sheet again 1 wonld include all of the information about the stages included here. I would leave the birth chart off and have this as a separate sheet of paper that I would refer to, but not hand out, This sheet would be headed ‘Astrological Ephemeris' to add a bit of mystery to the process. I might even print the word "Decanates’ in large letters underneath. 1 would probably laminate this sheet to protect it. You can use this to great effect while table-hopping. The nice thing is everyone gets different readings, as even if two people are born within a day or two of each other, they are likely to be different ages. You can simply look everything up and tell the person about the next few years, 59which is what I do, or you could have a tick sheet to check off and hand out. You do not have to do magic tricks to be a memorable table- hopper. ‘This can give you great prestige as a knowledgeable astrologer. If you are in a group of people who are discussing their sun signs and offer to tell them about the next few years, you will be regarded as a second Nostrodamus. The fact that it is so quick and easy to do makes it a useful item for radio talk shows and lectures. It is extremely popular with psychic development classes, as the students go away with something practical that they can use. You can use it in all sorts of situations. The fact that mathematics and a chart is involved adds credibility and makes it highly ‘astrological’. JUST FOR FUN A famous mind-reader had just arrived in town. He stopped a small boy in the street, “Hi Johnny, could you tell me where the post office is?” The boy looked up at him in amazement. "How did you know my name was Johnny?" “I'm a mind-reader, lad. I guessed it right, didn't 1?” "You sure did,” the boy replied. "Now you can guess where the post office is.” This is reputed to be a true story. Dunninger paid a visit on Blackstone (senior). When he arrived Blackstone was ransacking his bedroom looking for a white tie. “You're the great mindreader," Blackstone finally said. "How about you tell me where I put the tie." Dunninger concentrated for a few seconds. "It's in the box," he said. Blackstone went through the box and finally found a tie. He held it up scornfully. "You're a fine mindreader," he said. “It's a black tie.” Dunninger shrugged. "If you're any kind of magician," he answered, “You can change it into a white one.” 60Chapter Twelve STAR SEEKER This effect first appeared in Magick issue 361, back in 1985. Itis an effect that has been very kind to me. I have performed it on tv talk shows around the world and also use it all the time in my close-up work. It never fails to get a wonderful response, and I am sure you will have the same degree of success with it. It was also explained in my video, The Close-Up Mentalism of Richard Webster. 1 am sorry if you already know it from the pages of Magick or from my video. Tam including it here partly for completeness - partly because I love this effect and perform it all the time, using magnificent cards especially made for me by Brother Shadow - and also because some reviewers do not like mention being made of effects that they may not be able to find in their libraries. Here it is, exactly as it appeared in Magick, rewritten in Bascom's wonderful style. 1 am very grateful to my friend Bascom Jones for permission to include it here. On November 2, 1939, as the dogs of war were being unleashed in Europe, German astrologer Karl Ernst Krafft posted a remarkable letter to a Nazi intelligence chief. In the letter he predicted that Hitler's life would be in danger from an explosion between the 7th and the 10th of the month. On the 9th, there was a bomb attack on Hitler's life in the Burgerbrau beer hall in Munich. The bomb killed seven people and wounded sixty- three. Krafft himself was later to die, a victim of one of Hitler's purges, but the eerie prediction illustrates a truism about astrology. It can be surprisingly accurate at times. Some researchers contend the Krafft prediction illustrates something else. While science finds it easy to debunk astrology, as a system of complicated mathematics that weaves connections between character and planetary influence, certain individuals do possess unusual powers of intuition. 61Those individuals, whether using I Ching, a crystal ball, Tarot cards, or astrology, are able to tap an inner well of pre-vision, or second sight. It's an argument used often to explain why some individuals are successful with astrology, while others, using the same data and techniques, are not. New Zealand mentalist Richard Webster devised this dynamite close-up presentation to capitalize on the widespread interest in astrology. ‘The effect is easily made up, using a handful of business-size cards and a felt-tipped marking pen. It's quickly mastered, so emphasis can be placed on presentation. “In parapsychology laboratories,” you begin, “there is a hotly-debated argument over astrology. Does it work because of planetary influences? Or does it work because of the interpretive and intuitive skills of the astrologer?” From your pocket, you remove two packets of business-size cards. The cards in each packet are held together by a rubber band. You place one packet aside for a moment, and remove the rubber band from the other packet. “There are twelve cards here,” you explain. “On each one, I have written a different sign of the Zodiac. You carefully lay the twelve cards out in a clock-like circle in front of one of the spectators. The writing is uppermost, and the spectator can read each of the signs. The signs are in no particular order. Next, you pick up the second packet of cards, and remove the rubber band from it as you step away from the table. "This packet, too, contains twelve cards. And, like the other packet, I've written a different sign on each card. To that degree, the packets match. But I've added a thirteenth card to the bottom of the packet. After considerable thought, I selected and wrote the name of one sign « on that card. I'll show it to you in a minute." Reminding the spectator you are committed, you instruct the spectator to dredge from his past some person or event, with which he can 62associate a particular sign of the Zodiac. The spectator does so and then, at your instruction, removes the sign from the clock-like circle, leaving a gap. “No one could possibly know in advance what sign you were going to select to remove from the circle," you point out, as you deliberately deal one card at a time from your packet to the table. You deal the cards writing side up, placing them next to their matching signs in the circle. When you reach your duplicate of the sign picked up and removed by the spectator, you place it in the vacant spot. The final, or thirteenth, card in your packet tums out to be the match for the spectator's sign. The two circles, one inside the other, are complete. The method is simple. The effect is almost self-working, but the second packet of cards must be prepared. Make up two identical packs of Zodiac cards. The easiest way is simply to write the signs of the Zodiac on blank business-size cards. Put a rubber band around one packet. It's the packet you initially form into a circle before the spectator. Mix the second packet, so the signs follow no set pattem. Then, carefully follow these instructions. Leave the backs of the first two cards blank, but on the back of the third card write the sign on the front of the second. On the back of the fourth card, write the sign that's on the front of the third card. Continue, until on the back of the twelfth card, you write the sign that appears on the front of the eleventh. Now add a thirteenth card to the packet. On the front of this card write the sign appearing on the front of the first card. On its back, write the sign that's on the front of the twelfth card. Keep the packet in order with a rubber band. To perform, simply deal cards down one at a time next to their match, until you arrive at the duplicate of the missing sign. . Put that card in the gap, calling attention to it. At the same time, secretly turn the packet of cards in your hand over. Continue to deal.The final card will be the second duplicate of the selected sign. Automatically. Astrological quotes ‘What chariots, what horses Against us shail bide, While the stars in their courses So fight on our side. The Astrologer’s Song - Rudyard Kipling Heaven sends down its good or evil symbols, and wise men act accordingly. Confucives A wise man contributes to the heavenly happenings as much as the farmer, who, by planting or cleansing the earth, contributes to the bounty of nature. The 100 Stanzas of Claudius Ptolemy All the world’s a stage ‘And all the men and women merely players: They all have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts. . . As You Like It - Act 2, Scene 7 - William Shakespeare 64Chapter Thirteen CYCLE OF THE SQUARES I fove performing this close-up effect. [ have been fascinated with magic squares for years, and this effect gives me an opportunity to talk about them, and, if the spectators show interest, to do a few magic squares for them. { originally marketed Cycle of the Squares, but decided to include it here as the effect provides the day of the month the spectator was bor on, so can claim a tenuous association with astrology. In fact, this effect coupled with the Waters/Grismer effect of determining a spectator's sign enables you to determine the person's day and month of birth, EFFECT The mage displays five pieces of paper, each with a magic square drawn on it. A spectator is asked to think of the day of the month she was born on, and to then study each square in tum. If the day she was born on does not appear on a square she is to turn it face down. If it does appear, she leaves the square as it is. Once this is done, the mage studies the squares and turns some of them over. He gives a brief reading based on the squares that are left face-up, and then shows that the total of circled numbers on the face-up squares adds up to the day the spectator was born on. ROUTINE "I've been fascinated with magic squares for years. Are you familiar with them? I have a number of them here. If you look at them you will find that each line adds up to the same total. it makes no difference if you add them up horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Try adding up the four comers, and you'll see they also add up to the same total. There are more than forty ways you can add up these squares and they always come to the same answer! Pretty amazing, isn't it?” “Now I'll put these squares in front of you. Don't say it out loud, but just think of the day of the month you were bom on. For instance, if ‘you were bor on July 12th, just think of the number twelve, Okay? Yow have that number in mind? Good. “Look at the first magic square, and see if it has the day you were bom. on as one of the numbers. If it does, leave it as it is. If the day you were bom on is not there, turn it face down. Good. Now check the other squares and do the same with them. 65"All done? Excellent. Your task is over, but mine is just beginning. I now have to put these squares into balance with you and create a cycle of harmony. You have partially done that with your day of birth, but as you realise, that is only part of the whole picture. I'll turn that one over, I think. That one as well. Maybe this one, too. No, maybe not. “think we are all done now. The squares feel happy to me. Hold you hand over them and see if they feel happy to you. It's a mystical feeling, almost a sense of warmth. Do you feel the vibrations? You do! You're as strange as I am! “Now, looking at that first square, do you notice one of the numbers is circled? That's right, the number one. One is the number of independence. It shows that you are about to start something important, something that will change your life for the better. It is something you start yourself. You may already know what it is. If not, it would pay to start looking, as opportunities are there. “Look at the next one. The number four is circled. That means you will get what you are after, but you will need to be patient and work hard. It is a sign of success. "The last square shows an eight. In numerology, that is the number of money. So, whatever it is you are going to start will take time and hard work, but will ultimately pay off in financial terms. “From all of this, I sense that you must have been born on the 13th of the month. Is that correct? It is? Fantastic! Numerology is wonderful. You see, if you add up all the circled numbers, 1, 4 and 8 you end up with 13 - your day of birth!" METHOD This charming routine works itself. The squares are laid out in a line leading away from the spectator. The square nearest her contains the circled number ‘one’. The next square contains the circled number 'two'. The next ‘four’, followed by ‘eight’ and ‘sixteen’. Once the spectator has turned over the squares that do not contain her day of birth, the magician looks first at the bottom square (the one nearest the spectator). Ignoring this first square, he looks at the other squares and* notes if an odd or even number of them are face-up. If the number is odd, the first square is turned over. If the number is even, he leaves the square whichever way up it happens to be. It is not tumed over. 66The magician next looks at the second square and notes if there are an odd or even number of squares face-up above it. Again, this square is tumed over if there is an odd number face-up, and left alone if an even number are face-up. This is repeated with all of the squares. In practice, I usually use a pendulum and make it swing in a circular manner if the square is to be turned over, and to and fro if it is to be left as it is. Audiences find pendulums fascinating and this extra bit of window-dressing helps make the effect. By the time you have turned over the squares that need turning over you will have automatically created the correct face-up squares to total the day of birth of your spectator. Rather than simply say, "This is your day of birth", I give a little reading based on the numerological values of the circled numbers. Numerologically, one means independence, attainment and new beginnings. Two means close relationship, intuition and tactfulness. Four stands for organisation and hard work. Eight means money, finance and large-scale ventures. Sixteen reduces to a seven numerologically (as 1+6=7). Seven stands for spirituality, and knowledge and wisdom. After performing this effect I often draw up a magic square for the person that adds up to her age. ‘The effect is much easier to perform than explain. Let's go through the effect again, using our imaginary spectator who was bor on the 13th of the month. Put down all five squares in front of you, with the ‘one’ square nearest to you and the ‘sixteen’ one furthest away. Pretend that you wese born on the thirteenth. Look at the first square and see if the number thirteen appears on it. It does, so that square is left untouched. You now look for the number thirteen in the ‘two’ square. Yes, it is there, so again the square is left untouched. Now look at the ‘four’ square, There is no number thirteen, so this square is turned face- down. What about the ‘eight’ square’? Yes, a thirteen shows, so this square is left untouched. Finally, the ‘sixteen’ square. There is rio thirteen in this square, so it is tuned face-down. The situation is: the two squares nearest you (the ‘one’ and ‘two’ squares) are face-up. The next square (‘four’) is face-down, the ‘eight’ square is face-up, and the ‘sixteen’ square is face-down. 67Now you must cease being the spectator and become the mage. Either test your pendulum or wave your hands mysteriously over the first square (the ‘one’ square). Note how many face-up squares there are above this square. There are two - the ‘two’ square and the ‘eight’ square. This is an even number, so you do not tum over the first square. Next you hold the pendulum over the ‘two! square and note how many face-up squares are above it. One - the ‘eight’ square. This is an odd number, which means you have to tur over the square you are pendulizing (the ‘two' square). Now hold the pendulum over the next square, which happens to be face- down. Again you look at the squares above it and notice one square face-up. As this is an odd number, you turn over the face-down square you are pendulizing. (This is the ‘four’ square.) The next square is the ‘eight’ one. As you test it with the pendulum, you notice that there are no face-up squares above it, so you do nothing. Finally, you hold the pendulum over the final (‘sixteen’) square, which is face-down. There are no cards at all above this one, so you do nothing. ‘The situation now is: three squares are face-up and two are face-down. ‘The face-up squares are ‘one’, ‘four’ and ‘eight’. This tells you that the spectator was bom on the thirteenth (as 1+4+8=13). Naturally, you embellish the effect by giving a brief reading before divulging the day of birth. Try it with your own day of birth, It really is magic! You will be amazed at the impact this simple effect has. Many times I have had to repeat it for everyone at a table. It is one effect that becomes more astonishing each time it is performed, as everyone at the table adds up the circled numbers as soon as you have completed turning them over. This simple effect is so powerful that I now have four follow up effects also using magic squares that I use when the occasion is right. 6873 [16 are ro [25 2)CONCLUSION T hope the ideas in this book inspire you to add some astrology to your work, You will be amazed at the interest of your spectators. Astrology fascinates millions! When Linda Goodman wrote Love Signs, the sequel to her famous Sun Signs, she received the biggest advance in publishing history up to that time. Astrology is enormous business! Just a little thought you'll come up with astrological slants to effects you already perform. Imagine how easy it would be to tum the clock trick into an astrological miracle. Instead of the twelve hours, you use the twelve signs of the zodiac. It's easy - and highly commercial! I'm making money out of astrology. I know that you can, too! SUGGESTED READING On Astrology: Gauquelin, Michel DREAMS AND ILLUSIONS OF ASTROLOGY Prometheus Books, 1203 Kensington Ave., Buffalo, NY 14215 Goodman, Linda SUN SIGNS Avon Publishing Co, New York Hewitt, William W. ASTROLOGY FOR BEGINNERS Llewellyn Publications, P.O. Box 64383, St. Paul, MN 55164-0383 March, Marion D, & McEvers, Joan THE ONLY WAY TO LEARN ASTROLOGY (3 volumes) Astro-Analytic Publications, San Diego. Standen, Anthony FORGET YOUR SUN SIGN Legacy Publishing Co., 5615 Corporate Bivd., Baton Rouge, LA 70808 Townley, John NEW AGE CAREER CYCLES Destiny Books, 377 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016 Tumer, Gwyn THE COMPLETE HOME ASTROLOGER Thomas Nelson, 19-39 Jeffcott Street West, West Melbourne 3003, Australia nmFor Psychic Entertainers: Albright, Howard ALBRIGHT'S FORBIDDEN WISDOM Supreme Magic Company, 64 High Street, Bideford, Devon EX39 2AN, England Cain, Ron THE SECRET TO READING CARDS AND CLIENTS Flora and Company, P.O. Box 8263, Albuquerque, NM 87198-8263 de Courcy, Ken THE SIGN OF TWELVE Supreme Magic Company, 64 High Street, Bideford, Devon EX39 2AN, England Grismer, Ray WHAT'S MY SIGN Ray Grismer, Box 1, Silverton, ID 83867 Hobrin GEMSTONE READING FOR PROFIT Brookfield Press, 22 Marriott Road, Pakuranga, Auckland, New Zealand Magus, Jim ASTRO DISCS 1 Exclusive Magical Publications, Apartado Postal 12-655, Mexico, D.F., 03020, Mexico Minch, Stephen A LIFE AMONG SECRETS Hermetic Press, Box 20383, Seattle, WA 98102 Nelson, Robert ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MENTALISM Mickey Hades Enterprises, Box 476, Calgary, Alberta, Canada Schwartz, Sam & Fulves, Karl ASTROLOGY, THE HIDDEN FORCE Magico Magazine, P.O. Box 156, New York, NY 10002 Webster, Richard GOOD LUCK FROM BEIJING Martin Breese International, 164 Kensington Park Road, London W11 2 ER ‘There are also a large number of effects with an astrological theme which have appeared in magic magazines over the years. MAGICK magazine has published some excellent ones, including a brilliant idea of Bascom Jones which involves giving quick readings to people of different signs in the audience, 72