THE WAY OF PROPHECY

PRODUCED BY ARTISTIC CONJURING

MARCH 18, 2020

COPYRIGHT ARTISTIC CONJURING, LLC. 2020
 The Way of Prophecy
Introduction
This effect was inspired by a Theo Annemann creation that was originally published
in his book “202 Methods of Forcing.” The effect was to give spectators a choice of one of
three piles of cards, and to have a prediction that matched this choice perfectly. The
method to his effect was to provide a prediction that was written in a linguistically
ambiguous way, such that the prediction would prove each choice correct. Later, Max
Maven explained to Christopher Rose that he had also created a version of the effect
wherein he eliminated one of the piles, and instead performed the trick using just two
options. While this streamlined version works well for Max’s personal performing style,
Christopher did not find it any more engaging or deceptive.
In all of the versions described herein, the spectator is offered a truly free choice of
any of four piles of cards. Each one has a completely different set-up, and therefore a
slightly different presentational ending. Christopher believes, and I agree, that the effect is
much more powerful and convincing with four options as opposed to three. Further,
Christopher’s issue with the original effect was the prediction itself. It was deliberately
ambiguous but never justifiably so. A prediction like this can leave the spectators with
questions that they should not be asking themselves. In the following presentations, the
ambiguity of the prediction has been given a presentational purpose that elevates the effect
and provides a stronger conclusion.
In addition to Christopher’s original script and handling, we have provided two
alternative scripts with slightly different handlings to suit other styles of performing. The
original version, “Seven”, is ideal for general mystery entertainment, and an excellent lead-
in to a set built around mentalism with playing cards. “It’s All Under Control” was written
for the psychological illusionist…someone who uses their mental abilities to influence the
thoughts and decisions of their audience. I wrote “Quatrain” as more of a storytelling piece,
and believe it would be a great lead-in to a bizarre set or standard closeup show.
While I don’t know which particular approach will best suit your personal
performing style, I do know that Christopher has been performing this effect to much
success for over a decade. We are both pleased to be sharing it with you now. If you give it
the time, attention and thought it deserves, I predict that you will be very pleased with the
reward.
Allen Abbott – March 2020

1
To the Reader
When I’m thinking about the creation of a new effect, there are many things that
warrant my consideration. Such as the props being used, whether they need to be
prepared, the clarity of the effect, the difficulty of the effect, how much the effect relies on
technique or acting, the overall impact, and many other factors. The standards I apply to
judge effects for my repertoire are very high. For a card trick, especially one being
presented as mentalism, the standards are even higher. In most cases, I consider a deck of
cards to be a visual compromise that can, without a high degree of acting skill, take away
from the impact of the performance of mentalism.
For me to consider a card trick in this context, there are several specific
qualifications that appeal to me. Firstly, the deck needs to be a regular deck of cards.
While I have designed many gimmicks, and used many more, the ideal in my mind
considers the use of these in card magic less than aesthetically pleasing. Secondly, the deck
needs to be unprepared so that, under the necessary circumstances, a spectator can shuffle
the cards at will. Thirdly, the impact of the trick needs to be greater than the sum of its
parts. An effect about cards in which we are witnessing the adventure of the props is
perfect for your favorite social media platform, but much less effective in live performances
for many reasons. Finally, I minimize the amount of time that the Magician is touching the
cards for the duration of the performance. Often, this means reducing the required
amount of sleight of hand, and relying on more subtle techniques.
The Way of Prophecy is such an effect. In fact, it has been such a powerful and
useful introductory trick to a mentalism set that I willingly break one of my own rules for
my repertoire in order to use it; that of a prior set-up. For me, this effect grants an opening
to a conversation about the mysterious things that make magic and mentalism worthy of
discussion. I believe this is ideally used as an opener to a set since you can have the deck
prepared and in your pocket waiting for an opportunity. As well, the simplicity of this effect
lends itself to many different follow-up pieces. I appreciate that sort of versatility.
The power of this effect comes almost entirely from the Magician’s ability to give
importance to the actions being taken. In other words, this effect requires that the
performer be a competent actor. Because of this, we have included multiple approaches
with fully written scripts, all of which you are completely free to use in their entirety. Each
one was designed with a different performance style in mind so you can find what fits you
best. I hope you take the time to explore this simple idea, because if you do I assure you
that The Way of Prophecy will serve you well.
Christopher Rose – March 2020

2
Effect
Using a regular deck of cards, the Magician lays out 4 piles of cards toward a spectator.
After making a prediction, the spectator is offered to make a choice of any of the piles.
Despite their freedom, the choice made is revealed to be exactly what the Magician
predicted.

Method
An open prediction is made that is linguistically ambiguous, and therefore can be
accurately applied to each of the four options presented to the spectators. No magician’s
choice is required. No Matter which script you choose to employ, the setup remains the
same.

Setup
To begin, remove the entire Spades suit (this can be any suit, but we’re using spades in this
example for the sake of clarity). From these cards, remove the ace and seven, and set them
aside. From the rest of the pack, remove the remaining three aces, three sevens, and three
kings. You are now ready to form the piles.

PILE A - Place the spades suit in order (with the exception of the missing 7 of spades) face
down, with the king on the face. Place the face down ace of spades on top of this pile.

PILE B - Place down any of the three remaining kings. Next, remove five indifferent cards
from the pack and place them on top of the king. Finally, place a face down ace on top of
the indifferent cards.

PILE C - Place a king face down. Remove four indifferent cards from the pack and place
them face down on top of the king. Place all four sevens face down on top of these, and
then add 4 more indifferent cards on top. Finally, add an ace to the top of this packet.

PILE D - Place the final king face down. Add the remainder of the deck face down on top
of the king, and place the final ace in the seventh position from the top.

3
To conclude the set-up, collect the piles face down on top of each other from A to D. Pile
A is on top, and pile D is on the bottom. Place the cards into the box, and you are ready to
begin.

NOTE:
The placement of the kings is intended to make it easy for you separate the piles at the
correct points without thinking about it. If you wish to form the piles from a face down
deck, this can be accomplished by either marking the top card of each pile, or memorizing
the number of cards in each. If you use one of these methods, remember to place each pile
down from left to right, instead of right to left.

Performance
To begin any version of the effect, you’ll need a pen and paper, and your prepared pack of cards. Remove
the cards from the box and turn them towards yourself. Spread through the cards, and stop when you see a
king, making sure to leave it in position to become the bottom card of the next pile. Turn the first pile face
down (making sure to obscure the bottom card so the audience doesn’t see a king on the bottom of any of
the piles) and place it to your right. Continue to form the next three piles (working to the left), remembering
to stop every time you see a king. In a speedy and natural way, you will find yourself back with your original
four piles, ready to perform the effect.

Spoken Words in Italics

ACTIONS IN CAPS

Seven
The Mystery Entertainer Approach by Christopher Rose

“It is the way of the prophecy. Only to be understood when it has happened, and it is too
late to change it. And so, I will make a prophecy now that you may not understand. And
unbeknownst to you, you will not be able to change it. And so, in the spirit of true
prophecy, I will scribe a vision.”

WRITE DOWN “7” ON A PIECE OF PAPER

4
“My prophecy has been made. Seeing it for what it is, does it make sense to you?”

SHOW THE PREDICTION TO THE SPECTATOR

“Of course not. But it will very soon. I’d like to give you a very simple choice of one of
these piles of cards. Though you may not know what cards are in each of these piles, what
order they may be in, how many cards are present, or even how they are significant, I still
want you to choose one of them. “

PAUSE

“Take a moment to consider your options, and when you are ready, simply pick up the
one you want. Now consider this… Do you want to change your mind? You can if you
wish, because it makes no difference.”

ALLOW THE SPECTATOR TIME TO MAKE THEIR CHOICE.

“As I said in the beginning, it is the way of prophecy to only be understood once it has
happened and it is too late to change it. Well, it has happened… and now it’s time for you
to understand it. Because you have chosen precisely the pile I envisioned you would.”

DEPENDING ON WHICH PILE THEY CHOOSE, PROCEED WITH THE

APPROPRIATE PORTION OF THE SCRIPT BELOW

Pile A - “You see, earlier I said that you didn’t know the order of the cards in these piles or
even how they are significant, but I do. At least, I know the order of one. These other
three piles have cards that have been shuffled, while you will notice that the one in your
hand is in perfect numerical sequence. With the exception of one card... Would you
please tell everyone which card I left out? Exactly …

TURN OVER PREDICTION

Pile B - “You see, earlier I said that you didn’t know how many cards are in each of these
piles, or even how they are significant, but I do. At least, I know how many are in the one
5
you chose. These other three I didn’t pay attention to. This one has about twelve (Pile A),
this one fifteen (Pile C), and about the same for the third (Pile D). Would you please
count the number of cards in your hand and then tell everyone how many you have?
Exactly” …

TURN OVER PREDICTION

Pile C - “You see, earlier I said that you didn’t know which cards might be present in these
piles, or how the cards are significant, but I do. At least, I know what’s special about the
one in your hand. These others I didn’t even pay attention to. Look through those cards
and you’ll notice that there are four cards of the same value together in the middle. Would
you mind telling everyone what they are? Exactly” …

TURN OVER PREDICTION

Pile D - “You see, earlier I said that you didn’t know what might not know the order of the
cards in these piles, or how they are significant, but I do. Only one of them is unique. The
three remaining groups on the table each have an ace on top. You’ll notice, however that
the pile you’re currently holding does not. Instead, would you count cards one by one face
up where your pile used to be until you reach the final ace? The seventh card? Exactly…”

TURN OVER PREDICTION

Notes
In my experience performing this effect (and indeed other effects wherein a
spectator is given a choice of different items arranged on a table) I have noticed that there is
a statistically significant pull toward choosing the two piles in the middle versus the two on
the outside of the row. I do not fully understand why this is the case other than to suggest
that perhaps it somehow seems more random to choose something in the middle of an
arrangement rather than at the beginning or end. Nevertheless, I use this to my advantage.
The arrangement of the piles is such that on the outside of the row (Pile A & D) I have
placed my two least favorite options, and on the inside, I have placed my two favorite
options. In the end it does not matter what the spectator chooses, and I am happy with any
outcome. But these are my least favorite for a variety of different reasons. The most

6
important of which being that the prediction is clearest with the middle two piles (Pile B &
C). The second most important of which being that in both of the cases of the outside
piles, there gives a greater sense of prearrangement. That concept is something I want to
avoid, especially if I am to perform another effect with cards immediately after this one.
Again, however, I am satisfied with any of the piles being chosen as they each provide very
strong and inexplicable endings. In my case, however, I prefer not to enlighten the
audience too much to ideas such as cards being arranged prior to an effect not as part of
the presentation, but part of the method.

It's All Under Control

The Psychological Illusionist Approach by Christopher Rose

“I’ve always been fascinated by choice. Thusly, I’d like to give you one now, and in this
case, it is a very simple choice. I’m going to give you the choice of a pile of cards. But I
want you to sit directly across from me and pay very close attention to the words I use and
the messages my body is communicating. I am going to try and influence you in ways you
don’t yet realize. First, let me write something down. That will remain a secret for now.
Now, as I said before, there are four piles of cards. Though you may not know how many
cards are in each pile, the orders they may be in, or even which cards are present, I want
you to choose one of them. Think very carefully about which one you want, and when
you’re ready, using your left hand, please pick up a pile of cards. Excellent, now consider
this: I am going to give you the opportunity to change your mind… to switch out the group
in your hand with one of the groups on the table. Would you like to do so? Yes… No?
Excellent.”

Pile A – “You see, earlier I said that you didn’t know the order of these piles of cards, but I
do. At least, I know the order of one. You have chosen precisely the pile I meant you to.
These other three piles have cards that have been shuffled, while you will notice that the
one in your hand is in perfect numerical sequence. With the exception, of one card...
Would you please tell everyone which card I left out? Exactly (turn over prediction) … “
TURN OVER PREDICTION

Pile B – “You see, earlier I said that you didn’t know the number of cards in each of these

7
piles, but I do. At least, I know the number of one. You have chosen precisely the pile I
meant you to. These other three piles have a random number of cards in each. This one
has about twelve (Pile A), this one ten (Pile C), and about the same for the third (Pile D).
Would you please count the number of cards in your hand and then tell everyone what
you have? Exactly (turn over prediction) … “
TURN OVER PREDICTION

Pile C – “You see, earlier I said that you didn’t know which cards might be present in these
piles, but I do. At least I know the cards present in one of them. You have chosen
precisely the pile I meant you to. Look through those cards and you’ll notice that there are
four cards together in the middle. Would you mind telling everyone what is so special
about them? Exactly (turn over prediction) … “
TURN OVER PREDICTION

Pile D – “You see, earlier I said that you didn’t know which cards might be present in these
piles, but I do. Only one of them is unique. You have chosen precisely the pile I meant
you to. The three remaining groups on the table each have an ace on top. You’ll notice,
however that the pile you’re currently holding does not. Instead, would you count cards
one by one face up where your pile used to be until you reach the final ace? The seventh
card? Exactly (turn over prediction) …”
TURN OVER PREDICTION

Quatrain
The Storyteller Approach by Allen Abbott
“People have been trying to predict the future for longer than we can remember the past.
Even today, we still remember the names of people like Nostradamus and Edgar Cayce.
People who stared into the abyss and attempted to pull some useful information out of the
great beyond. Every time there is a disaster or major happening, people go back to their
books and try to line up the events to prove that these predictions were indeed, accurate.
Whether or not you believe in such things is, of course, up to you. But I think predictions
like these tell us more about ourselves that they do about anything that may happen in the
future. For instance, what good does it do to retroactively prove that a cryptic poem from
the 16th century may or may not have predicted an event, when it only makes sense to us
8
after the fact? Well, in this unpredictable world of chaos, just the idea that someone may
have known about it in advance is appealing to us. It gives us at least some sense of
control… A hope that that somewhere out there, there’s a person or a book that can tell us
what will come to pass… and maybe even how we can save us from ourselves.

I think that just maybe… we see predictions like these and, whether we consciously know it
or not, sometimes cause them to come true. It’s undeniable that we all possess the power
of intuition…to varying degrees… which can very often guide us to the predicted outcome.
I’ll show you an example.

Each pile of cards represents a choice that’s yours, and yours alone to make. You don’t
know the order of any of the cards, or the contents of these piles. Neither do I, in fact, with
the exception of one pile. There’s something about it that makes it special from the rest.
Just like the fortune tellers of the past, I will make a prediction.”

WRITE DOWN “7” ON A PIECE OF PAPER

“Not only that, but I’ll show it to you.”

“Does it make any sense? Of course not, since nothing has happened yet. But now it’s time
to choose. Using your intuition alone… or any other mental powers if you happen to have
them, choose one single pile. It’s important to realize that this is not a psychological trick of
some kind. The pile you choose will be the pile we use. When you’re ready, make your
decision.”

“That one? You were presented with four different roads that you could have gone down,
but you arrived here. Just like in life though, it’s never too late to change direction. If you
get the feeling that you should change your mind and switch to any other pile, now is the
time.”

“Keep the cards face down for now. Is my prediction making any sense to you yet? No?”

NOTE:

As in Christopher’s handling of the effect, things will change from here on out based on
what pile your spectator chooses. Like a choose your own adventure type of book, read on
and resolve the trick in accordance with the selection the spectator has made.
9
Pile A - (Collect piles B, C and D on top of each other and briefly fan through the cards
face up. If done in a nonchalant manner, no one will notice the four 7’s in order.)
“Before we started, I mentioned that one pile was very different and special from the
others. Turn over the cards in your hand. You’ll notice those cards are the only pile that
contain a complete matching suit, with the exception of one single card… That’s right…

(HOLDING UP THE PREDICTION AND DISPLAYING THE NUMBER)

…the seven.”

Pile B - (Ask the spectator to pick up the pile)

“Before we started, I mentioned that one pile was very different and special from the
others.”

SPREAD PILE A FACE DOWN ON THE TABLE

“This pile has about twelve cards.”

SPREAD PILE B FACE DOWN ON THE TABLE

“This one has a couple more, maybe about fourteen or fifteen.”

SPREAD PILE C FACE DOWN ON THE TABLE

“The last one has the most… maybe about twenty cards or so?”

COALESCE TH PILES INTO A SINGLE PILE, SHUFFLING IF YOU WISH.

“Please count the cards in your pile and let everyone know how many you have…”

AS THEY SAY “SEVEN” HOLD UP THE PAPER DISPLAYING THE

PREDICTION
10
Pile C - “Before we started, I mentioned that one pile was very different and special from
the others. In this case, every other pile was missing something important. Please spread
your pile out on the table. You’ll notice four cards with all the same value right in the
middle. Please tell everyone the value of the cards?”

AS THEY SAY “SEVEN” HOLD UP THE PAPER DISPLAYING THE

PREDICTION

Pile D - “Before we started, I mentioned that one pile was very different and special from
the others. Each of the piles you didn’t choose has an ace on top.”

(Turn over each of the aces on top of their respective piles)

“Yours does not. Instead, would you count cards one by one face up where your pile used
to be until you reach the final ace? The seventh card?

(As they say the number seven, hold up the prediction paper, displaying the number)

Exactly…”

Notes
As mentioned in the introduction, this presentation was mainly written with the
bizarre performer in mind, but I think it may also call out to non-bizarrist performers as
well. If you do decide to use the bizarre approach, you may consider preparing your
prediction ahead of time using some nice, aged looking paper and a calligraphy pen.
Touches like these can add to the overall atmosphere and production value of the
performance.
As with most of the card effects I perform, I always try to find ways to destroy the
evidence whenever I can. With this particular handling, this is possible if the spectator
selects piles A or B as noted above. However, piles C and D are a bit different. Thankfully,
the setup is designed in such a way that these outcomes also become non-issues. If pile C is
chosen, the spectators automatically understand that there are only four sevens in the entire

11
pack, and since they’re here, they can’t be anywhere else. They believe that this was the
intended outcome of the effect, which allows you to collect the other piles and shuffle
without scrutiny after the revelation.
With the selection of pile D, the remaining contents of the non-selected piles
become of absolutely no interest, because you have brought the focus to only the top card
on each pile. Personally, I prefer spectators to choose either pile A or D. As Christopher
mentioned, however, spectators rarely choose the piles on the ends. Feel free to move the
piles around in your setup if you prefer one outcome over the other, and you’ll be
surprised how often you get the desired result.
Lastly, resist the urge to false shuffle the pack at any point during this presentation.
The order of the cards is obviously something that you would have thought about ahead of
time. Telling the spectators that you know the order of some or all of the cards, and then
shuffling would make the effect something else entirely. Mostly, it would just make things
very confusing.

Final Words
This project would not have been possible without the efforts of Artistic Conjuring,
Allen Abbott, and Christopher Rose. As well, we would like to thank Eugene Burger for
his tireless commitment in pushing the boundaries of scripting, Max Maven for his
encouragement and sideways compliment that this effect was an example of “killing a fly
with a sledgehammer.”
Artistic Conjuring is a Las Vegas based Magic Design and Consulting Agency, for
more information about our consulting services and clientele please visit our Facebook
Page, Instagram, Website, or feel free to contact directly by emailing

ArtisticConjuruing@Gmail.com
Or Call

702-518-0791 For a free Consultation

12