Thaddius Barker - Prose And Cons

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Prose & Cons By Thaddius Barker

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Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................... 3 Cana ................................................................................................................................ 4 MIDI .............................................................................................................................. 13 The Placebo Effect ........................................................................................................ 19 David ............................................................................................................................. 37 Now You Don’t .............................................................................................................. 41 An Essay on Audience Selection .................................................................................. 51 Sever ............................................................................................................................... 51 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 55 Credits ………………………………………………………………………………… 56

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Introduction There are certain effects that all of us dream of accomplishing in our careers as mystery performers. Some of them inspired by grandiose concepts that could never truly be duplicated in the real world. The following effects described within this book are my attempt to make the impossible possible, or at least to make it appear that way to your collective audience. Herein you will learn a variety of hypnotricks that can be used by themselves or, more appropriately, in conjunction with the hypnosis routine of your choosing. You will also learn my approach to the incorporation of dual reality and the inclusion of wonder words as a method. These effects will assist you in creating a truly magical experience for everyone involved using nothing more than prose and cons. I hope that you get lots of mileage out of these routines and that they encourage you to create your own mental miracles. Sincerely, -T

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CANA “Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.” - John 2:7-9, NIV

Regardless of one’s performance preference or background, we have all contemplated how amazing it would be to change water to wine, or to do something comparable. Cana is my method for accomplishing such a feat with virtually no setup. The following is the accompanying script associated with the routine.

Performance "As a performer, I strive to get inside of people's heads - which is a phenomenon that takes all sorts of forms (mind reading, influence, hypnosis, etc.). You see, to me, magic is not about what happens in our hands, it's about what happens inside of our mind. It's about what we perceive it to be. I would like to try an experiment with you involving perception."

The participant is presented with a bottle of water, which is still sealed, and asked to open it for themselves. "Go ahead and take a sip. What does it taste like?"

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"Water," The participant shrugs.

"Of course. Why shouldn't it? Now, I want for you to think of a different beverage - but not just any beverage - your favorite beverage... You have one in mind, yes?"

"Yes."

“And, for clarity’s sake, are you hypnotized right now?” the performer inquires.

“No.” they respond.

Invite the participant to place their hand over the mouth of the glass.

"I'm going to try something a little bit strange. I want you to close your eyes - now. Focus on this beverage for me... Think of what this mystery beverage tastes like. This may seem a bit odd at first, but I want for you to actively pretend and imagine that the contents of this drink in front of you are beginning to change - genuinely and truly. As you hold it in your hand, tell yourself it is going to change into this drink that you are merely thinking of. So, in a moment, when you raise the glass up to your lips, you will no longer taste water, but instead whatever this drink is supposed to be. When you feel that this has happened, and only then, do I want you to open your eyes…” After a few moments, the spectator opens their eyes.

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“Now, I want for you to slowly, raise the glass to your lips and take a sip, but do not swallow... Swirl the drink around inside of your mouth, as you begin to taste… Coke." The spectator visually reacts to the drink. “It was Coke, yes?”

“Yes?! How did you --"

The performer stares at them with unbroken eye contact, “Of course, we know it's not really Coke, it was just in your imagination. Now - with everything back to normal - as you take a sip you will see that it's just water - as it has been all along.” The spectator verifies that the drink is indeed water with another sip. The performer smiles, “Strange, yes?"

Method This method is something that I have ridden the fence on whether or not to release for some time. I believe that everyone is familiar with the story of Christ changing water to wine at the wedding in Cana. For a while, it has been a pipe dream of most mystery performers; however, we can create the illusion of a participant's experience being manipulated through linguistics, aka wonder words, just as with every other method in this book. The ambiguity of our participant’s and spectator’s experience is a wonderful weapon that has been employed by psychics for ages. Cana is a premise that permits the participant to experience a genuinely hypnotic effect; however, hypnosis is not required to accomplish the overall aesthetic of the performance.

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Likewise, hypnosis is not required for the participant to be left in awe of the performer’s abilities or to be fooled by the occurrence. To summarize, there is a basic dual reality at play that allows, but does not force, the participant to be led down a path wherein they are hypnotized and will vouch for it when asked about it. The impact of this effect is much stronger in conjunction with a hypnosis act.

Before the above scripting, the performer acquires knowledge of the participant’s favorite beverage. This can be done through pre-show or real-time in a performance. If you are going to perform this pre-show, you can extend to them a pen and pad in which there is an impression device allowing you to peek what they write. Alternatively, you can employ a center tear. Now I am not particularly fond of the inclusion of most center tears, whereas, most performer’s lack a proper justification for having a participant document a thought only to shred it to pieces. However, Robert Watkins has a lovely take on the center tear justification in his effect Severance, for which I will brag on him. If you are going to perform a center tear or employ a peek, I would advise preparing your billet as seen in the picture above. After asking the participant to write down their favorite beverage, we proceed with a visual double take wherein we question our presentation internally.

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“You know what,” says the performer, “We are gonna do something different.” The performer proceeds to tear the billet to pieces as they are handed to the spectator, “You strike me as more of a visual person - in that you think of things of things with pictures and imagery. For that reason, I want to try an experiment with you centered around perception.”

Now we have come to the point of our performance where our structure for the routine begins for the audience at large. If we decide not to perform this in real time, the participant will have been primed beforehand to expect the involvement in an experiment during which they will be asked to concentrate on their favorite drink. The methods for obtaining the identity of their favorite drink are numerous. Ross Taylor has a wonderful routine named Think-A-Drink, from his book Ecrof, which allows you to force 1 of 3 drinks on a participant. Ross has permitted me to share this lovely addition which works well in conjunction with Cana, whereas it is restricting without seeming restrictive.

The scripting for the force should sound something like the following, “I’d like for you to just think of a drink - and it can be a soft drink, an alcoholic drink, it doesn’t matter. Go ahead and commit to one – now!” This psychologically will pressure your participant to think of a cold drink. “Ok,” says the participant, “Got one.”

“Now, to make sure neither your preferences, nor the weather, nor any other predictable factors could have influenced your decision, we’re going to change it. So, let’s say… if you’re

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thinking of a cold drink, switch to a hot drink; and if you are thinking of a hot drink, switch to a cold drink.” The performer snaps their fingers, “Perfect! So, there’s no way I could know this.”

Due to the false dichotomy presented to the participant, we have successfully forced them to think of a hot beverage by switching from their natural choice (which is most likely a cold beverage) to a hot beverage. The only beverages they have to choose from are tea, hot chocolate, and coffee. A side note regarding the selection of your participant: it is preferable to pick a relatively younger person whereas the older the demographic, the more potential they have for leaning towards coffee. Region plays a part as well. From this point, we inquire with the following:

“This isn’t a sweet drink, is it?” This is a purposefully ambiguous question that allows a free hit. If they answer no, we proceed with the implication that that was what you meant. A strong yes would indicate hot chocolate. We can verify with a follow up question, “And I get the feeling you associate this drink with childhood memories to some extent?”

Once you have obtained the information regarding the beverage of their choosing, the linguistic deception of the routine begins. The treatment of the water bottle in the opening is important for everyone watching. I actually prefer to get a glass bottle and fill it with spring

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water which is later poured elegantly into a wine glass on stage. This focus is what Banachek refers to in Psychological Subtleties as the Witch Doctor effect. We create the idea in our audience’s mind that the water bottle or glass is an important element in making this work, when it is actually more of a red herring. The water bottle or wine glass does nothing. I do prefer the usage of water as the beverage that they actually taste because of its insipidity. The lack of flavor will make it easier for the participant to project a taste into it, whereas, if it were something abrasive - like a soft drink - it would overpower their taste buds and create a potential obstacle for their imagination. The participant is asked to verify that the drink is in fact water before the effect begins - again alluding to the idea that something may or may not be unusual about the glass.

Asking them to think of their favorite drink will serve as an anchor for the information we have already obtained, prompting them to think back to the aforementioned beverage of their choosing. It is a stationery piece of information that will not change regardless of whether we have done pre-show or real-time center tear, or peek to acquire the knowledge of their favorite drink. The performer asks the participant if they are hypnotized, but this is done with such a tone that it insinuates they are about to be hypnotized. I would suggest using a hypnotic induction to proceed into the rest of the routine, because whether or not they are receptive to being hypnotized, it creates a dramatic aesthetic for everyone else watching and may actually result in the individual experiencing a hypnotic occurrence. Regardless of whether or not they are hypnotized, the scripting will ensure the same effect occurs every time.

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Once their eyes are closed and you have conducted your pseudo induction (should you choose to do so), proceed by saying the following: “Focus on this beverage for me... Think of what this mystery beverage tastes like. This may seem a bit odd at first, but I want for you to actively pretend and imagine that the contents of this drink in front of you are beginning to change - genuinely and truly.” As I say this, I take my dominant hand and hold a pointed finger over the back of their hand that is covering the glass and make a mystical stirring motion - gesturing back and forth between their glass and their forehead as if to suggest that something is indeed changing. This I do for the sake of everyone else watching.

“As you hold it in your hand, tell yourself it is going to change into this drink that you are merely thinking of. So now, when you raise the glass up to your lips, you will no longer taste water, but instead -- whatever this

drink is supposed to be. When you feel that this has happened, and only then, do I want you to open your eyes…” Now we play the waiting game. The participant has been instructed not to open their eyes until they have acknowledged the drink has changed in their hands. So as soon as their eyes are opened, we know they either genuinely believe that it has changed and will project the taste of their chosen beverage onto the water, or they will be willing to play along without causing a fuss seeing as how we have asked them to actively pretend and imagine.

“Now, I want for you to slowly, raise the glass to your lips and take a sip but do not swallow... Swirl the drink around inside of your mouth, as you begin to taste… Coke." We are trying to create a scenario where they will have a mouth full of water as we reveal their thought of beverage which is - in

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this case - Coke. They have not known that you know their selected drink, so the revelation will lead to a slow realization on their part. Ideally it will result in a spit take, but that cannot always be guaranteed. Regardless, this is the perfect situation, because the audience will see the face of the participant visibly change as they become aware of our revelation, yet they remain unable to speak because of the mouthful of water. Before the participant can say, “How did you know that” we interrupt them as soon as they start to speak by clarifying, “It’s Coke, yes?” This creates a lovely moment of dual reality, wherein, the participant agrees so as to state that Coke is the drink they have been thinking of. However, the rest of the audience will interpret their affirmation as agreement that the water has turned into Coke. We phrase our inquiry as a closed question so that they can only respond with a yes or a no.

Now for the conclusion which will help us tie up any loose ends, “Of course, we know it's not

really Coke, it was just in your imagination. Now - with everything back to normal - as you take a sip you will see that it's just water - as it has been all along.” There is now no room left for the participant to back track. This is an informal invitation beckoning them to take another drink to verify that it is just water as it has been all along. Of course it has; they know this. Now it simply appears to them that we are notifying everyone else that the drink never actually changed, but they were simply pretending. For the audience, we have just brought the participant back to reality and allowed them to experience what their senses actually tell them as opposed to what we told them to. Thus concludes the seeming hallucination of our participant; I would advise using this to accent another piece within a hypnotrick routine.

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MIDI “Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.” -

Psalm 96:1, NIV

Adam Wilber’s effect Decibel is without a doubt a fantastic piece of magic. A participant is asked to think of a song, and then borrowed earbuds are used to perform a miracle: the participant hears the song of their choosing through their unplugged earbuds. The simplicity of the routine allows the audience to really appreciate the magic moment. Decibel serves as the inspiration for the following effect and should be shown the appreciation it deserves. MIDI is my response to said effect, however, it is accomplished without any expensive gimmickry. This, like most of the other routines in this book, does rely on dual reality, however, its simplicity - like Decibel - creates a lovely phenomenon for everyone involved.

Performance “I’d like to engage you in a more visual demonstration; or perhaps I should say an audible demonstration, whereas, it is centered on music. Music is one of the strongest forms of magic. Where words end, music begins. I would like to perform something for you that is truly magical. May we try something with your earbuds?”

“Sure.”

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“Thank you. I would like for you to place them in your ear and concentrate on the song of your choosing. Use your mind… hear that song coming through, beat by beat. If you actually do this, you’ll experience something quite interesting.” The performer grabs the end of the earbud’s auxiliary cord and very slowly and dramatically brings the tip of their finger to touch it. Upon doing so, the spectator reacts visibly.

“You heard Staying Alive by the Beegees, yes?”

“Yes! How did you do that?” asks the participant.

“Let's just say, where words fail, magic begins.”

Method The prelude to this method is rather similar to that of Cana, wherein we go into the routine with the participant's song already in mind. This can be a stationary piece of information, like their favorite song - which won't change between the time it takes to perform the center tear and/or pre-show and the actual performance of the routine. Alternatively, you can force the participant to think of one of a few songs; method for doing so can be found in Music Was My First Love from Chester Sass’s 120% Chestosterone. Yet we will discuss a different approach to forcing or peeking a song as well. Begin by creating a playlist on a Spotify account (for this particular feature you would need premium) of a popular genre of music (i.e., classic rock, 80s hits, etc.). If you do not have a premium Spotify account, you can also use Google Play or

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whatever default music player exists on your mobile device. You will need to download a variety of the aforementioned songs from your preferred genre.

When placed on shuffle, most playlists will retain the shuffled order whether you skip backwards or forwards. We are going to use this to our advantage. As long as we don’t officially close out of our preferred music app, we can skip through a short number of songs with the shuffle mode on and memorize this handful of songs before skipping back to the song that we began with. Now, let’s say we had memorized 5 songs on the shuffled playlist; we introduce our playlist to the participant and tell them that we would like for them to randomly think of a song from this playlist. Point out to them that the shuffle mode is turned on. Ask them to name a number between 1 and 5 (if you only memorized 5 songs that is), and whichever number they name, you will ask them to skip that many times through the seemingly randomly shuffled songs of the playlist. All you need to do is count the number of skips they state they are going to skip and think of the song that correlates with that number. You do not have to go to these lengths to accomplish a force/peek. You could use a center tear, a peek wallet, or Everest if I may be so bold as to shamelessly plug my own product. To hide your request, just

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as with Cana, tell your participant that you are going to have them concentrate on a thought, but not just any thought – a specific thought. Then introduce a billet like the one shown here while pointing to the text upon it as you say, “I want for you to think of this specific thought and write it here but keep this a secret – don’t say anything.” After they have written down their favorite song, obtain your peek ala your favorite center tear or alternative peeking method.

Once we know the identity of the song, we can proceed with the above dialogue. Use whichever preface you want to frame the effect according to your performance style. As the participant places the earbuds into their ears, we beckon them to concentrate on the song of their choosing. This could mean that it’s the song that they just chose beforehand, or you could instead ask for them to concentrate on your favorite song. “I would like for you concentrate on this song. Use your mind… hear that song coming through, beat by beat. If you actually do this, you’ll experience something quite interesting.” Our purposeful omission of what the something quite interesting is allows for an ambiguous interpretation from both the participant and the spectating audience. This something is what Kenton Knepper calls an “Unspecified Referential Index”. Instruct the participant to look you in the eyes. Grab the end of the earbud’s auxiliary cord and very slowly and dramatically bring the tip of your finger to touch it as if to imply some hidden function or purpose (once again, ala the Witch Doctor Effect from Psychological Subtleties). Wait a few beats upon doing so, imagine the song playing in real time – the song that you know they are thinking of. If it has a particularly long intro, skip to the chorus as you

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begin to mouth the exact lyrics to this song. The popularity of the song is important, because if you start mouthing the lyrics to a song they have never heard of, they will not react. However, if you are mouthing the lyrics to a popular song that they know and are thinking of, the spectator reacts visibly. This is ideal seeing as how we want to create the illusion to everyone else that they have actually heard the song lyrics through their unplugged earbuds. Before allowing them to ask us how we knew that, we interject with “You heard Staying Alive by the Beegees, yes?” This is a purposefully closed question whereas they can only respond with a yes or a no, which is again ideal.

This method is rather similar to the Nicaraguan Principle by Lance Sinclair from ‘The Flutter of Black Wings’ by both him and Fraser Parker. I believe that Lance plans to rerelease it in an independent release in the near future. This is a concept for the revelation of a participant’s thought that can be added to virtually any mind reading routine. Keep your eyes open and contact Lance for details; you won’t be sorry.

If you would prefer, you can take a more interactive approach with your participant during the revelation of the song. Politely grab one of the earbuds after beckoning them to use the opposite. Then stand shoulder to shoulder to them and proceed to place the earbud up to your ear and grab the tip of the earbuds. Invite the participant to gently touch their finger to the tip of the auxiliary cord and ask them, “Do you hear it?” before you begin to very quietly sing the song they are thinking of right next to them. It will take a moment for it to register with them

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that you have revealed their thought of song, however, it will appear to everyone else that both of you have just heard the song coming through the unplugged earbuds.

Worst case scenario is that this results in a creative reveal of a participant’s thought of song. We want to instill the idea within our audience at large that the earbuds are more than just a red herring and instead serve as a means to an end. Confidence is key when performing anything with hypnosis or dual reality. Believe in the outcome you are trying to portray, and you will have much more hard-hitting success.

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The Placebo Effect “Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith let it be done to you’.” - Matthew 9:29, NIV

Introduction I have long appreciated the convenience of the amnesia card plot since my first consumption of Luke Jermay's Reverse Gestalt Moment from his book '7 Deceptions'. A few years ago, James Brown released an effect called Cerebral Steal from his project 'Professional Opportunist’ that was very similar in composition. Both effects were pseudo-hypnotic card plots that resulted in a spectator forgetting a selected card. I loved both ideas, and have used them extensively, however, there was always a part of the routine that I disliked. In the conclusion of the “experiment”, the participant is often left in a state of disagreement with the final result of the effect: they specifically remember selecting a card that they are being told is incorrect by the rest of the audience, and the two are left arguing with one another. Thus began my journey to remedy this dilemma.

The solution came to me whilst driving to work one day. The following is my alternative handling to this classic plot that ends in the cleanest way possible leaving all audience members in agreement with both themselves and the performer. I give you ‘The Placebo Effect’.

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Performance A participant is invited onto the stage and beckoned to select a card. The card is displayed to the entire audience - the Jack of Spades. The performer proceeds by losing the card back into the deck and then addresses the participant:

"I would like to conduct an experiment with you that is centered solely around the power of belief. Belief is an incredible thing. Did you know that our thoughts and beliefs can affect both our mental and physical health?”

“During WWII, Dr. Henry Beecher used saline injections to substitute for morphine which was in short supply. The soldiers’ pain was relieved simply because they believed the medicine would do so. He coined the expression “the placebo effect.” Further research he conducted revealed that up to 35% of response to any medical treatment could be attributed to the patient’s belief about it. This placebo effect has been proven to be an actual, measurable change in brain chemistry. The mind-body connection is a valuable tool we can access in order to improve our quality of life.”

“Now, if I wanted to, I could tell you the identity of your card. Look at me for a moment.” The performer gazes into the eyes of the participant, “This is a black card.”

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The participant begins to smile in disbelief as she reluctantly nods her head.

“Is your card --” the performer leans in to whisper the revelation into the participant’s ear. The participant explodes with amazement and the performer gives a modest dismissive gesture. “Knowing the card is only half the battle. The fact still remains that it is lost in the deck.” The performer reveals the top card of the deck - the 3 of Clubs. “Obviously, we know this isn’t it,” the performer says as he places it down on the table top, discarding the rest of the deck. “Just to be clear, this is not your card - the 3 of Clubs?”

“Correct,” agrees the participant.

The performer places the card into the hands of the participant, who now holds it so that the face of the card remains visible to everyone. “You know, as a younger magician, one of the first routines that I learned was how to make a random card morph into a desired selection. Now, given the circumstances, that seems impossible. But I have come to find out that I don’t need to change the card when I can simply change your perception. I would like for you to concentrate on the 3 of Clubs and close your eyes. Imagine that the face of this random selection in your hand is beginning to fade away, turning the card into a blank white canvas. Slowly, you are going to begin to see the card that you selected appear on its face, pip by pip.

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Take your time with this - I want you to actively imagine that this is happening. If you believe it will happen, then it will, and when you believe that it has, I want for you to open your eyes.” The participant pauses for a moment and then opens her eyes. “Now turn it around.”

The participant slowly revolves the card in her hand and as her eyes make contact with the face of the card, her jaw drops.

“Is that your card?” asks the performer.

“YES!” She exclaims.

“Show everyone else!” the performer states, sharing in her excitement. The participant reveals the card, which - coincidentally - has not changed, but remains the 3 of Clubs. The performer allows her a moment to adjust and then continues, “I know that you are excited, but just look at me; I want to make sure that we all see things for what they really are.” The performer snaps his fingers, “Tell us, what card do you see now?”

“The 3 of Clubs,” she responds.

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“Not the Jack of Spades?”

“No,” she replies.

“But you did see the Jack just a moment ago, yes?” the performer asks.

“Yes.”

The performer turns to address the audience at large, “I would say that is certainly peculiar, wouldn’t most of you?” The performer then turns back to his participant and says, “We have been focused on the power of belief and how it can affect our perception of reality, which is honestly not as difficult a task as it may seem. To do this, I start by making a person challenge what they think they already know - and usually... they don’t know JACK. Instead, they find themselves floating around in a place that is unfamiliar only to come hurtling back down to earth into the reality that I’ve chosen for them, and they latch on to that which IS familiar - to what’s been right in front of them the entire time, and they then accept that as reality. I want you to forget about the Jack, and tell us - in case anyone might be confused here, what was YOUR card?”

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“The 3 of Clubs,” she concludes.

Abbreviated Performance ... “Now, if I wanted to, I could tell you the identity of your card. Look at me for a moment.” The performer gazes into the eyes of the participant, “This is a black card.”

The participant begins to smile in disbelief as she reluctantly nods her head.

“Is your card --” the performer leans in to whisper the revelation into the participant’s ear. The participant explodes with amazement and the performer gives a modest dismissive gesture. “Knowing the card is only half the battle. The fact still remains that it is lost in the deck.” The performer reveals the top card of the deck - the 3 of Clubs. “Obviously, we know this isn’t it,” the performer says as he places it down on the table top, discarding the rest of the deck. “Just to be clear, this is not your card - the 3 of Clubs?”

“Correct,” agrees the participant.

The performer asks the participant to hold out her hand as he places the card in it face down. He says, “Now, the standard magician might try to do some sort of sleight of hand so as to

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make your card "magically appear" in front of everyone, but as a hypnotist, I focus more on the power of belief and how it can affect our perception of reality, which can work to my advantage. To do this, I start by making a person challenge what they think they already know - and usually... they don’t know JACK. Instead, they find themselves floating around in a place that is unfamiliar only to come hurtling back down to earth into the reality that I’ve chosen for them, and they latch on to that which IS familiar - to what’s been right in front of them the entire time, and they then accept that as reality. Now, this was not your card, right?” The performer points at the 3 in her hand.

“Right,” the participant responds.

“Can you tell me - was your selected card a Spade?”

“No,” she says.

“Oh. Well, in case anyone is confused, was it a Jack?”

“No,” she repeats.

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“Hmm, interesting. Perhaps you can tell us, what was the name of your card?”

“The 3 of Clubs,” the participant says with conviction.

“The 3 of Clubs. That was the card you initially selected?” the performer inquires.

“Yes.”

“Definitely interesting. I know that you said the card in your hand was not yours, but if you take another look, you might be surprised what you see NOW.”

The participant slowly turns over the card in her hand and is dumbfounded to see the 3 of Clubs, their supposed selection.

Method Needless to say, there is a lot happening in both versions of this effect. Though it may seem like a lot to read through, I can assure you that - in performance - this flows well and absolutely

kills. I prefer the original performance/presentation because it offers so much more. What

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you read above is exactly what you would say and do in real time, save for a few details that are unseen by the audience at large.

This effect uses a mixture of simple sleights, clever linguistics, and dual reality. Now I know many of you may cringe at the sound of dual reality - or perhaps you find it intimidating - but this is different. This can be done close-up or on stage and is concluded so nicely that you may wish to place a bow atop before all is said and done. This can be performed in a myriad of different ways, one of which being with a borrowed deck. I will often reference the patter from the description(s) of this effect, whereas, you will be quoting much of it verbatim. Granted, there is room to edit the dialogue a bit, and you can exclude certain portions of this effect if you prefer it to be shorter or more streamlined (hence the abbreviated variation). Let’s assume that you wish to perform the entire routine.

A participant is, of course, invited on stage. The deck is shuffled and the spectator - whom we shall name Alice - is asked to select a playing card. There is no force, however, for this demonstration we will use the same playing cards from the description above - the Jack of Spades and the 3 of Clubs. I will say that if you use the Jack of Spades - or any other Jack - you are allotted more word play that will work in sync with the above scripting, but it is not mandatory. If you wish to use the Jack of spades, either remove the other Jacks from the deck ahead of time, or place them in a bank at the bottom or top of the deck - just under the Jack of Spades - so you know that they will not be selected by the participant.

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Spread the cards, prompting her to select one, but ask her to simply touch a playing card of her choosing. I usually try to refrain from allowing the spectator to remove their selection from the deck; having them simply touch the back of their selection or dribbling/riffling through the deck and asking them to call out "Stop!" will suffice (this just simplifies the handling).

Once the card is selected, remove it yourself so as to properly display it to the participant alone. Let's say that Alice selects the 3 of Clubs, just as before. After showing the card to Alice, you will need to perform a top change; it's best to do this under the guise of asking a question, such as, "Do you feel this is a card that you can easily remember?". Now that you have switched the selected card for the top card (i.e., the Jack of Spades) you can freely display it to the rest of the audience.

To be clear, the participant and the audience will be shown two different cards. As you are displaying the Jack of Spades to the rest of the audience, you can peek the Alice's actual selection by slightly raising the 3 from the top of the deck with your thumb as you turn your head away from the Jack, so as not to accidentally catch a glimpse of it. Gaining insight to the actual selection is of critical importance to continue with the routine. You can, if you wish, openly look at the card alongside your participant, Alice, before showing it to everyone else. This, however, negates the use of the mind reading portion wherein you whisper the revelation to the spectator halfway through the effect, therefore shortening the routine as a whole. I only recommend that you do this should you A.) prefer a shorter routine with less climaxes, and

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B.) have an audience that you trust will not blurt out the identity of the dummy card (the Jack of Spades), thereby compromising the integrity of the effect. I, personally, enjoy the addition of the mind-reading segment, but to each his own.

Now that everyone has a card that they believe is the selection in mind, you will need to perform Marlo’s Tilt and insert the Jack into the second position of the deck - right under the 3 of Clubs. At this point, you can temporarily shift focus from the deck as you begin your patter about the power of belief and the placebo effect. After doing so, you have your window of opportunity to perform the mind-reading portion, which is somewhat reminiscent of Peter Turner’s Bob Principle from “Bigger Fish”. In some cases, you will luck out and have the participant select a card that matches the color or suit of the random playing card that was displayed to the audience at large - assuming you do not use a force. When this happens, you can capitalize on this happy coincidence and reveal the card’s matching attributes so that everyone can hear as you divine the thought of card. For example, the Jack of Spades and the 3 of Clubs are both black; knowing this, I can openly state that the card that Alice is thinking of is a black card. Should the suits happen to match, I can openly announce the suit as well (feel free to confer the corresponding dialogue above). I wrap up this portion by starting to say, “Is your card --” and then I lean in so that only Alice can hear as I whisper, “the 3 of Clubs?”.

Now, Alice is likely to have a heightened reaction due to the downplay of the whisper, but there is no reason for her to say the name of the card that she is actually thinking of. For all she

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knows, the rest of the audience thinks that I whispered, “The 3 of Clubs.” when in fact they are actually assuming that I have whispered “The Jack of Spades.”. Allow this moment to sink in before you continue with the next part of this act: causing the participant to supposedly hallucinate.

As we continue with the dialogue from the description above, you will need to have Alice in a position that is conducive to performing a double lift. This allows you to display to her and her alone the Jack of Spades as you talk about the fact that her thought of card is still lost in the deck. What happens next is again both pivotal and critical toward the succession of this routine. Notice the wording as we show Alice the Jack of Spades - “Obviously, we know this isn’t it,” the card is then seemingly just turned around in order to display it to the rest of the audience, when in actuality, you briefly allow them to glimpse the 3 of Clubs as you drop it down on the tabletop in front of you. The rest of the cards are put down, or reboxed, you then - as if to give the audience at large a better look - pick the 3 of Clubs back up, using a body cover as you display it to everyone before you, and peek around to the front of the card yourself as you say, “Just to be clear, this is not your card - the 3 of Clubs?”

The ambiguity of this statement is key. Said in a neutral enough tone, we can be implying 1 of 2 things to both parts of our audience. To Alice, we are essentially saying: “This card is not the card that you were thinking of, which was the 3 of Clubs, correct?” To the rest of the audience - who again have a different presupposition of what the selected card is - we are basically saying: “This

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3 of Clubs is not the card that you picked, right?”. This question is so incredibly important for the effect to work; I urge you to reread this a few times to make sure you understand exactly what is supposed to be happening here.

Alice has no reason to disagree. Proceed by placing the 3 of Clubs in her hand - being careful not to let her see that it is not still the Jack of Spades that she just saw during the double lift. You can either place it face down in her hand, or have her hold the card facing the audience so that they can see the 3 of Clubs throughout the routine (this can create a bigger impact for later).

We now continue to the patter that reveals the motivation/pseudo-method of the routine: changing one’s perception. In the dialogue above, you will note certain words are in bold text; this is because said words are meant to be emphasized during performance. Carefully examine this next line from above as we dissect it together to discuss its true purpose/meaning:

“You know, as a younger magician, one of the first routines that I learned was how to make a random card morph into a desired selection. Now, given the circumstances, that seems impossible. But, I have come to find out that I don’t need to change the card when I can simply change your perception. I would like for you to concentrate on the 3 of Clubs and close your eyes.”

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Let’s stop here. You might be asking yourself, “Why we would dare say the name of the thought of card? Won’t that confuse everyone and cause the routine to unravel at its seam?” No, it won’t. Because the audience - apart from Alice - is aware of the fact that the card in her hand is the 3 of Clubs. Alice just thinks that I am asking her to concentrate on the card that we want to see - her selection (e.g., the 3 of Clubs). The audience just thinks that I am asking her to concentrate on the random card in her hand.

“Imagine that the face of this random selection in your hand is beginning to fade away, turning the card into a blank white canvas.”

The words “in your hand” here are meant to be said emphatically as you gesture to the card. This emphasis compensates for the previous reference to the 3 of Clubs, but is still ambiguous enough to apply to both realities at play.

“Slowly, you are going to begin to see the card that you selected appear on its face, pip by pip. Take your time with this - I want you to actively imagine that this is happening. If you believe it will happen, then it will, and when you believe that it has, I want for you to open your eyes.”

This is pretty much said at face value. After Alice opens her eyes and looks at the card as instructed, we interject with the question, “Is that your card?” making it difficult for her to say

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anything other than, “Yes.”. We obviously do not want Alice to say, “It’s the 3 of Clubs!”, we want to maintain the illusion for the rest of the audience that she is seeing a card that is not really there.

“I know that you are excited, but just look at me, I want to make sure that we all see things for what they really are.” The performer snaps his fingers, “Tell us, what card do you see now?”

This statement almost implies to Alice that some of the audience may not be on the same page, while at the same time implies to the audience that we want her to snap back to reality and see the card for what it is - the 3 of Clubs.

“The 3 of Clubs,” she responds.

“Not the Jack of Spades?”

“No,” she replies.

“But you did see the Jack just a moment ago, yes?” the performer asks.

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“Yes.”

Again, you might be thinking that the above is too bold to say, but it is all technically true. Alice did just see the Jack of Spades, just not when the rest of the audience assumes she did. She is harkening back to when the double lift took place. We could theoretically conclude the routine at this point, but we would run the risk of some of our audience members discovering the true identity of her selected card. If you do not perceive this as a bother, and simply wish for the audience to experience the pseudohallucination effect, then by all means, dismiss your participant. If, however, you wish to wrap things up and make it so that any questioning by the audience would actually strengthen the illusion of what has occurred, pay attention to the following.

The performer turns to address the audience at large, “I would say that is certainly peculiar, wouldn’t most of you?” The performer then turns back to his participant and says, “We have been focused on the power of belief and how it can affect our perception of reality, which is honestly not as difficult a task as it may seem. To do this, I start by making a person challenge what they think they already know - and usually... they don’t know JACK. Instead, they find themselves floating around in a place that is unfamiliar only to come hurtling back down to earth into the reality that I’ve chosen for them, and they latch on to that which IS familiar - to what’s been right in front of them the entire time, and they then accept that as reality. I want you to forget about the Jack, and tell us in case anyone might be confused here, what was YOUR card?”

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“The 3 of Clubs,” she concludes.

The above patter is meant to be somewhat confusing for the participant, thereby strengthening the illusion through pseudo-hypnotic language. As you can see, by incorporating the Jack of Spades at the beginning of this routine, we can now include subtle nuances that directly reference it in our patter. The words “accept that” are said as you gently touch the back of the 3 of Clubs. The routine concludes by creating the illusion that we have not only read our participants mind and caused them to actively hallucinate, but also changed their belief about the card that the selected. In doing so, if someone were to now inquire as to what card they started with, they would rightfully respond with “The 3 of Clubs” which in this case is good, because it completes the illusion.

Abbreviated Method The abbreviated performance is very similar to this routine, but it simply excludes the portion wherein our participant “hallucinates” and instead just seeks to change their beliefs regarding their initial selection. The method for which has already been described in the text above.

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Conclusion I find that this routine, which should be classified as a hypnotrick, solves a few minor issues with the amnesia card plot, and can be used to segue into - or in the midst of - an actual hypnosis routine being that it shares the same aesthetic. I pray that this serves you well; if you are interested in alternative presentations of this effect, it is certainly not limited to the use of playing cards. I understand that many are reluctant to incorporate playing cards into mentalism, however, I find that they have their place.

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David

Performance The performer begins by selecting a willing participant from the audience. The participant is stood facing the performer directly. “Look at me. Until I snap my fingers, you cannot move your feet, it will be as if they are stuck in place – cemented to the floor. You can still wiggle your hips and move your arms, but your feet cannot move.” The performer removes his wallet and takes a few steps opposite of the participant and waves the wallet in the air, simultaneously displaying the large wad of cash therein. “I’m going to place my wallet down on the ground. If you can manage to touch it, you can keep it and its contents. I still want for you to try – even though you can’t move – to see how close you can get with your feet restrained.”

The participant struggles in vain to reach out and touch the wallet. After a few moments of fruitless effort, the performer addresses the audience at large. “Poetic, really. How often do we find ourselves in this exact situation where life presents us with a beautiful gift, beckoning us to reach out and take it?” The performer reaches back down to pick up the wallet. “These gifts that reside right in front of us, just out of our grasp. Of course, in time, we come to realize that the only true obstacle lives within us. The only reason you’ve been unable to move is because someone told you not to, however, if you try now -–” the performer snaps his fingers, “—you will realize that you can move your feet, as you have been able to all along.”

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The participant begins to pry their feet up from the ground on which they stand so that they can retake their seat to the sound of the audience’s applause.

Method The name for this effect is inspired by Michelangelo’s Statue of David. We pay homage to this work of art by seemingly rendering our spectator incapable of using their feet. This method is heavily reliant upon the ambiguity of your delivery of the script in conjunction with the pseudo-hypnotic wording. While this effect can be used independently, I would advise using this shortly after a set piece, or a hypnotic induction, used to aid you in reaping decent subjects out of the crowd. Our ultimate goal is for the participant to have an actual experience with hypnosis, although – if nothing else – the instructions herein will be interpreted by the participant to mean that they are to refrain from using their legs and instead find an alternative means of reaching the wallet placed just out of their reach. For this reason, make sure that you do not “stick” them near a flagpole or pool stick that they can use to reach the wallet on their behalf. I like to place the wallet approximately three steps away from the participant, just barely out of their reach, providing them with just enough false hope that they might actually touch it. We want the visual struggle for the rest of the audience to enjoy in bewilderment.

After selecting a decent subject (a subject that seems to be imaginative and good at following instructions) we will stand facing them directly. I place one hand on their shoulder as I deliver the instructions in a very confident voice, believing myself in the outcome of the routine. The

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instructions that we give to our participant will allow us to practice developing confidence as a performer knowing that regardless of their interpretation of the script, we will still succeed.

The money in the wallet adds an extra convincer to the audience and even the participant that what is happening is legit. If you are concerned about placing your hard-earned money up for bet, you can place fake money into the wallet itself, only loosely displaying it. This will work well as an out for if they do not receive our instructions at all. We can go as far as to have a duplicate wallet with actual money in it that can be flaunted in their face in the event that they do not listen and walk forward to pick it up. Proceed by displaying the real wallet, showing you are still a step ahead, and then conclude with, “If you would like to try again, we can do this correctly.” Perhaps point out the fact that they are not quite the listener they had led us to believe, but still offer them a chance to win the money with a follow-up experiment. Then continue by performing something a little more surefire.

The scripting speaks for itself, methodically. “Look at me. Until I snap my fingers, you cannot move your feet, it will be as if they are stuck in place – cemented to the floor. You can still wiggle your hips and move your arms, but your feet cannot move.” This could mean that their feet are stuck because of hypnotic suggestion, or it could mean that I have asked them not to move their feet for the sake of the experiment. “I’m going to place my wallet down on the ground. If you can manage to touch it, you can keep it and its contents. I still want for you to try – even though you can’t move – to see how close you can get with your feet restrained.” The challenge, as presented here, is for the participant to touch the wallet without moving their feet. Now, again, this may be interpreted by the participant as a request

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to try to reach out and touch the wallet if they can while their feet stay in place. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that they do not move their feet; motivation is irrelevant. We later clarify to the participant and audience at large the reason for their immobility – reason being because we told them not to. “The only reason you’ve been unable to move is because someone told you not to, however, if you try now -–” the performer snaps his fingers, “—you will realize that you can move your feet, as you have been able to all along.” This simple summarization bridges the gap between the realities. Even if the participant were to take a seat at this point and respond to inquiries about why they didn’t move, if they say, “Because he told me not to,” your credentials are boosted even more as a supposed mind controller. However, I do not suggest simply letting them have a seat after this. I suggest using this performance as a springboard into your preferred hypnotic induction allowing you to segue into a powerful routine of your choosing.

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Now You Don’t “Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, but I do not perceive him.” -

Job 9:11, ESV

Performance “When I first got into the field of magic – and even to this day – one of the most common questions that I am asked is, ‘Can you make me disappear?’ Usually, this question is followed by a laugh as if to imply that they were joking, but deep down I don’t think it is a joke. When the average person thinks of magic, they think of 1 of 4 things: a rabbit coming out of a hat, a human being floating into the air, someone being sawn in half, or a person vanishing from sight. What is it about disappearing or being invisible that we find so attractive? What would you do if you were invisible? Would you be a menace? Would you be a prankster or a poltergeist? Sneak into the locker rooms – guys… I know what you’re thinking. Or maybe we fancy the idea of being invisible to escape social situations that make us uncomfortable.

“As a performer, I typically operate on a level that is unseen by the general public. Most of what I do is done in secret, yet still right in front of the faces of the people that come to see me. I would like to try an experiment centered around this concept, but for it I will need to find someone who is good at following instructions, and has a strong imagination.” The performer selects a volunteer from the crowd that joins them on stage.

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“Hello, sir – what is your name?” inquires the performer.

“Anthony,” the spectator replies.

“Nice to meet you! Anthony, I am going to give you my wallet to hold onto for the duration of this experiment. If anything doesn’t turn out the way I planned for it to, you get to keep the contents. Sound good? Do you have a back pocket? Wonderful, please place the wallet into your pocket for collateral. Now then, Anthony – are you familiar with playing cards?”

“I am!”

“Lovely. I’d like for you to verify that this is a normal deck of cards as I remove any jokers from the deck to avoid any unnecessary complications.” The performer spreads through the cards to discard any jokers whilst Anthony looks over their shoulder. The performer proceeds to have the participant select a card that is returned to the deck.

“I’d like for you to remember this card – locking it in the back of your mind as we move forward. Can you do that for me?” asks the performer. “Yes,” Anthony says.

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The performer places the participant into a light hypnotic trance before beginning the next set of instructions. “As your eyes close, we will begin our journey as we dive deep into your imagination. I want for you to pretend – to actively imagine – that in a moment, once I ask you to open your eyes, you will no longer see me standing in front of you. You will pay no attention to me – it will be as if I am invisible to you. You will, of course, still be able to hear and respond to me – should I ask you to, but you won’t see anything I am wearing or interacting with until told otherwise. Nod your head when you understand.” They nod. “I am going to say ‘1, 2 – wide awake’, and when I do, you can allow your eyes to open as we officially begin… 1, 2 wide awake!”

“Anthony,” the performer inquires, “I want you to tell us, so that everyone can hear you, what do you NOT see standing in front of you?”

“You.” He responds. The performer waves their hand in front of the participant’s face to test his statement. No response.

The performer addresses the participant while standing off from the side of him, “Anthony, in a moment you are going to feel something touch your face. It’s nothing to be scared of; I just want you to relax and remain looking forward, okay?” The performer reaches out in front of the participant’s face and in direct view of the audience touches his nose with their forefinger.

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“Anthony, I want for you to tell me – yes or no – did you feel anything tickle your nose?”

“Yes,” he responds.

“And now – more importantly – did you see me actually touch you?”

“No.” he clarifies.

“Very good. I would like for you to focus on the deck on the table in front of you.” The performer reaches into the pack, lifting up cards to remove the selected card from the deck in full view of Anthony. “Please place your hand on top of the deck of cards, reassuring that nothing and no one can get to it without your knowledge.”

After waving the card (the 7 of Hearts) in the participant’s face, and showing it off to the viewing audience, the performer picks Anthony’s pocket and fishes out the wallet that was initially given to him. The performer places the selected card into the wallet, and the wallet back into the pocket. “Anthony – with your eyes glued to the deck before you – I’m going to count to 3. On the count of 3, I am going to snap my fingers, and when I do, you will be allowed to see me once more. 1 – feeling absolutely wonderful. 2 – take a deep breath in – filling your chest as you begin to reorient yourself to the room, and 3 – eyes open, wide awake!” The participant looks

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around and his eyes acknowledge the performer’s presence in front of him. “Hello, Anthony; welcome back. How do you feel?”

“Alright, I guess,” Anthony says, uncertain of what to expect.

“Now Anthony, I’d like for us all to be sure of a few things – have you been holding onto that deck of cards this whole time?”

“Yes.”

“And during that time, did you see me touch your playing card, yes or no?” the performer inquires.

“No.” Anthony clarifies.

“Anthony, I’d like for you to turn the cards over in your hand, and spread through to find your playing card.” Anthony does as he is instructed only to find that his card is missing from the deck. “Interesting…” the performer states with a sense of dramatic irony. “Anthony, during the past few minutes, have you seen or felt me go near the wallet that resides in your back pocket?”

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“No.” he replies.

“I’d like for you to reach into your back pocket and remove the wallet I gave to you. I told you that if this didn’t go according to the way I had planned, you could keep its contents. However, I think you will find its contents both curious and satisfying.” Anthony opens the wallet to find the card of his choosing staring him in the face. “Any idea how that got there?” “Absolutely not,” he says, befuddled.

“Curious indeed.”

Method This routine is something I used to dream of doing. Ever since I first saw a person rendered invisible through hypnotic suggestion, I have wanted to be able to do the same. Like every other effect herein, this works best in conjunction with a hypnosis act; however, this does not require the participant be genuinely hypnotized. At worst, it simply appears that they are hypnotized to the audience at large. As I am sure you can piece together by now, the scripting speaks for itself. The dual reality present during this routine allows us to essentially ask the participant not to acknowledge us with their eyes, yet appear to everyone watching that they actually cannot see you.

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How then, you ask, do we go about touching them in plain sight without them seeing? This is an alternative presentation which I will address shortly; its inclusion is an optional stage of this performance piece.

After a group set piece, we select a participant and request that they select a playing card from a standard deck (a force card, that is). This we do after handing them a wallet as collateral for the effect. The wallet we hand to them is one of 2 wallets. This wallet contains a duplicate of our force card, unbeknownst to our participant and respective audience. We instruct the participant to place the wallet into their back pocket, which is important, whereas, we are going to create the illusion that we pick their pocket during the routine. The card, which we will refer to as the 7 of Hearts in this case, is forced from the deck and then palmed or removed in your preferred fashion. If you would prefer something with less sleights, use a card on top of the deck upon the back of which is double-sided tape. Once the 7 of hearts is returned to the deck, it is placed on top of the tape, causing it to adhere to it when the deck is spread. This allows you to complete the illusion of a vanished card without actually palming the card out of the deck. There are a large variety of methods you can use to secretly remove a card from the deck. This is not a crash course in card magic.

Once the card is selected and returned to the deck and/or palmed out of the way, the deck is placed either on a table top or in the participant’s outstretched hand. If you are going to use a

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table top, make sure it is a high table that can be approached while standing, whereas, you will want your participant to continue standing throughout the routine. The participant is then lulled into a supposed trance in front of the rest of the audience, during which time we tell them, “I want for you to pretend – to actively imagine – that in a moment, once I ask you to open your eyes, you will no longer see me standing in front of you. You will pay no attention to me – it will be as if I am

invisible to you. You will, of course, still be able to hear and respond to me – should I ask you to, but you won’t see anything I am wearing or interacting with until told otherwise. Nod your head when you understand.” While this sounds mystical to the audience at large, we are essentially asking our participant not to look at us or, at least, to pretend that they do not see us. Upon nodding, they confirm that they will play along or that they have mentally prepared themselves to render you invisible.

From this point, we draw their attention to the deck that is in their hand or on top of the table. We actively reach into the deck and remove their card. Or do we? No, we do not, but it is made to look this way to everyone else. Upon our initial introduction of the deck, we leave one joker third from the top. This allows us to reach in in full view of the participant and remove it from the deck. The audience believes at this point that we are doing our suspicious move under the guise of invisibility. Be careful to keep the back of the card facing the rest of your audience until the time is right. For this reason, we can flaunt the joker in front of the participant all we want. In fact, we want for them to see it so that they know it is not the card of their choosing.

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Now, in your back pocket is a wallet identical to the one in the spectator’s back pocket, inside of which is another duplicate of the 7 of hearts. This wallet will be placed into the back pocket that will be closest to your participant during the routine. After removing the joker from the deck and instructing them to place their hands tightly around it, we are going to hold the joker facing away from the audience in the hand opposite to the wallet. Your hip will be positioned in such a way that it is propped behind the participant on stage, allowing us to mime picking their back pocket when we are really just reaching into our own pocket to remove the wallet therein. I dramatically wave the wallet behind the back of the participant on stage while openly placing the joker into the wallet. After the joker goes into the wallet, you can do a double take as if to show the audience exactly which card you have. Swap the joker for the 7 of hearts inside of your duplicate wallet so that you can freely display it to everyone in the audience. Now we do the reverse pantomime of pick our participant’s pocket, when, of course, we are really just returning it to our own back pocket.

From this point, the moves to accomplish the overall illusion are over. We now reorient our participant to the room and invite them to spread the cards, only to find that their selection is missing. We then follow the above scripting, beckoning for them to check their wallet, and much to their amazement, they find the 7 of hearts.

Now let’s address the touch. I sat on this routine for some time, pondering a way to perform a visible invisible touch. This will not appeal methodically to some of you, but others will be able to appreciate the inclusion of this subtle nuance. For this, you will need either a set of loops,

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an IT reel, or some other form of invisible thread. After firmly warning the participant to expect something to touch their face, we are going to perform a variation of Lior Manor’s Invisible Touch, wherein we preface the touch by asking our participant to focus on a spot on the wall opposite to them. We bring our pointed finger within an inch of their nose to mime touching it ever so slightly, though it should appear to the rest of the audience that you did indeed touch them. We then use the invisible thread to lightly brush the tip of the participant’s nose; with the thread so close and their eyes focused on a distant point, they will not be able to adjust to see the thread before their eyes. This allows us to ask them if they felt us touch them, but didn’t see us touch them. A very unique situation to find oneself in. In the event that any of you creative individuals can come up with a different or preferable method for obtaining a visible invisible touch, please, contact me to let me know.

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An Essay on Audience Selection Some of my colleagues urged me to address the participant selection process for the effects listed herein. Just as with any hypnotic routine, we want to reap the spectators from our audience that are most conducive to yielding the desired results. There are standard ways that we can weed them out, such as performing what is often referred to as a set piece (i.e., magnetic fingers, magnetic hands, the eye lock, the see saw induction, etc.) to see who is the most responsive to suggestive commands. Once we have determined those that are most intrigued and visibly responsive to our instructions, we can proceed by selecting them for the experiment of our choosing. By including a set piece performance as a preface to any one of the aforementioned acts, we imply that there is a possibility that any and all participants may in fact be hypnotized at some point during the show. The cadence of your voice, hypnotic nuances incorporated into your instructions – these are more is more implicit than explicit, unless you state otherwise. This creates a sort of umbrella under which we can perform an act that has an unknown potential. However, it primes your audience to expect that which is out of the ordinary but creates open-ended possibilities.

Due to the presence of dual or multiple reality as a method in some of these effects, it is necessary that we have an audience of 2 or more (preferably more) in order to complete the illusion for the audience at large. While the individual participating in the performance of the effect(s) will still experience a similar and equally impressive phenomenon, it will often vary in detail due to their perception of the events.

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Selecting your participant is certainly an important step for each of these routines; however, the wording of the effects herein has been constructed in such a way that it is all but fool proof. The only type of persons that you want to steer clear of are the incredibly sarcastic and opinionated people that attempt to purposefully sabotage things for their own enjoyment, and people that appear to intellectually slow to follow basic instructions – as rude as that may sound. This is why, before selecting an individual to work with (this can be before or after your set piece) we put out a disclaimer stating that we are looking for someone with the 3 I’s: a person that is intelligent, imaginative, and is good at following instructions. If we ask for this up front, and select your spectator accordingly, you are bound to succeed.

If, after gauging your audience, you feel that none of them fit this description, it may be best to forgo some of the effects herein to avoid the risk of it falling apart because of their incompetence. In any manner, our participants, regardless of their composure or intellectual capabilities, should be treated with respect and understanding. This will allow you to tailor the performance to the appropriate audiences and benefit from it in the eyes of your viewers.

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Sever I can appreciate the fact that some of you may be new to the idea of hypnotic inductions. For this reason, I want to provide you with one of my own to get you started; to you seasoned pros, I offer a new induction that I call Sever.

The Induction The performer begins by asking the participant to place their hand atop their knee whilst they are seated. “I want for you to concentrate on your hand, and while doing so, make it rise.” The hand raises up. “Now, do you know why that just happened? Because I gave you a command that you then registered in your primary motor cortex which then delivered the instruction to the hand itself causing it to rise. It moved because your mind told it to. The body is a slave to the mind, whereas, it cannot function without it. That being said, I would like for you to imagine that you were severing this connection between your mind and your body – only temporarily. I want for you to actively pretend and imagine that the link between your thoughts and your arm were separated. If you do this correctly, when the separation has occurred, you should be able to think the word rise or move when looking at your hand only to have it sit there, unresponsive. When you know that this link has been severed, I want for you to test it.” The participant begins to visibly struggle and smiles to themselves as they try in vain to raise their arm off of their knee. “Strange isn’t it? Just relax… I want you to close your eyes and to imagine that this same disconnect is occurring throughout your entire body, completely letting go of the physical as we cross over that threshold into your subconscious…”

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This induction is self-working. You do not have to include the bit about the primary motor cortex, that was just a personal touch. But to see how effective this is, read back over it and genuinely follow along with the instructions. I stumbled across this induction while studying the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. I ended up performing it on myself as I tested the ability of the mind to disconnect from the body. I was really excited when I discovered this tactic could be used for performance purposes. Obviously, this induction is quite useful, whereas, it puts the participant in the right mindset required for good hypnotic navigation. It also prepares them to surrender their physical person to the whims of the hypnotist. This can be used on groups as an alternative to magnetic fingers. Have fun with this and let me know of your stories with it.

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Conclusion The content of this book is impactful enough to stand on its own, but I highly recommend using it in conjunction with other hypnotricks and/or hypnotic acts. Certain effects, like MIDI and Cana I would not recommend performing side by side given the similarities between them. But many of these routines can in fact be performed within the same set. These hypnotricks should give you the confidence you need to become the best hypnotist and mystery performer that you can be. I hope that you have fun with these works; use them well.

Sincerely, -

T

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Credits Ultimately Under by Kenton Knepper Wonder Words by Kenton Knepper True Mysteries by Fraser Parker True Mysteries II by Fraser Parker The Flutter of Black Wings by Lance Sinclair & Robert Watkins Ecrof by Ross Tayler