(A Tarot Effect)
Scott Creasey
I have been reading Tarot cards both in a one to one setting and in a walk around Mentalism environment for many years and to be quite honest if you are comfortable with the cards you use, understand the classic meanings of the individual cards and use and trust your intuition, then you don’t actually need to do any form of trickery when reading tarot.
However as part of my walk around mentalism performance it is sometimes nice to have an edge and be able to prove that you have a special psychic insight which you use during a reading.
What follows is the impromptu version of the same effect from my lecture notes Mental(magic)ism which requires a set up and which I still use in a formal environment, for example to demonstrate my abilities during a Tarot party.
However, after years of working in clubs, pubs, restaurants, casinos at house parties, pool parties and even on the beach, I have come to the conclusion that the more impromptu, more hands off and simpler a mentalism effect is, the more it is perceived as the real thing by your audience.
What follows is just such and effect.
Effect
The performer introduces the 22 major Arcana from a pack of tarot cards and explains a little bit about the symbolism used before handing the cards to someone who wants a reading. The client is instructed to mix the cards until they are completely satisfied and then hold the cards between their palms for a few seconds whilst meditating on their future.
As they do this the performer removes a business card from his pocket, writes something on the blank side and places it writing side down on the table, it is never touched again by the performer.
The client is then instructed to deal cards face down into a pile on the table until he or she feels the urge to stop. Once they are happy with the number of cards dealt, they are further instructed to deal those cards into three piles and just keep dealing until all the cards are used.
The three piles of cards are then arranged to form the ETERNAL TRIANGLE with the business card prediction in the centre.
The pile of cards at the bottom left of the triangle from the performers perspective represents the past, the bottom right of the triangle represents the present and the top of
the triangle represents the future. The top card of each pile is turned over one at a time and interpreted in the order, past, present and future. Once the future card at the top of the triangle has been turned and an interpretation give, the client is asked to look at the business card and finds you had predicted their future before any cards were dealt. The business card of course has the name of the future card written on it and is left with the client as a memento.
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Please don’t underestimate the power of this simple effect. Where Tarot and the divination of the future are concerned people become very serious and can take what you do and say to heart. It is important you treat them with respect and always keep the readings upbeat and positive.
When I am working in a walk around situation I never use a full deck of Tarot and only carry with me the 22 major arcana. The cards I use are from a deck of Gilded Tarot and (like those of you who use the tarot will understand) it took me a long time and numerous different decks until I found the one I am comfortable with. I carry the cards in a wallet (Fig.1) with a pencil and business cards but that isn’t important to the working of the effect.
Fig.1. The wallet with cards, pencil and business cards
Working
1. The cards are removed from the wallet and handed to the client for mixing. This is a genuine shuffle and they can mix them to their hearts content. But here is the small but important detail I missed from the effect description. Once the cards are mixed you take them back, fan through until you locate the Death card, noting and remembering the card in front of it cut the death card to the face of the deck, which means you have the death card on the face of the deck but now know the identity of the top card.
If you did this with a standard deck of cards alarm bells would start to sound in the audiences mind but this isn’t a card trick it is a Tarot reading and you have a legitimate reason for fanning through the cards.
2. As you fan through and cut the death card to the face, you explain that many people are afraid when the card appears in a reading but that they shouldn’t be as it doesn’t symbolize physical death, it simply means a clearing away of the old to make way for the new. However, you continue, it is up to the client if they wish to leave the death card in the deck or not. To date I have never had anybody say they want it taking out.
Either way take it out or leave it in you then false shuffle the cards keeping the peeked card on the top of the deck. (I use a simple in jog overhand shuffle but with some of the larger decks you may need to do a Hindu shuffle).
The cards are then handed face down to the client for them to hold between their palms and meditate on their future.
3. At this point you remove a business card and on the blank side write the name of the Tarot card on the top of the deck, this is your prediction which you drop face down on the table.
The client is then instructed to deal cards in a face down pile on the table. You need at least three cards for the reading so once they have dealt about five cards tell them to stop dealing whenever they feel the urge. The predicted card is now on the bottom of the face down pile so it really doesn’t matter when they stop dealing.
As soon as they are satisfied you take the remaining cards and instruct them to deal the cards on the table into three separate piles. All you need to do is note which pile the last card (the peeked card) is dealt to.
You now reach forward and arrange the piles around the prediction into the Eternal Triangle making sure the pile with the peeked card is at the top of the triangle in the Future position. (See Fig.2)
All that remains is to do the reading starting with the past, moving on to the present and finishing with the future.
The climax of course is the revelation of the prediction which proves beyond a doubt you had a vision of the client’s future even before the reading started.
Fig.2. The Eternal Triangle. The top card of the future pile is the one which was peeked as the Death card was being cut to the face of the deck.
So there you have it. The effect reads long but the dealing and reading only takes a couple of minutes, you will be amazed at how strong this effect is and it leaves a business card with the client which they will show to their friends because of the prediction of the future written on the back.
I have booked more than a few tarot parties and private gigs on the strength of this effect alone.