Over the many years since I came up with
"Black Magic," (pp. 89-92), I have found it
extremely useful in many contexts. Here is how
I apply it to Pseudo-psychometry.
People are always fascinated by the ancient
mathematical curiosity known as magic squares--if
they are presented quickly and smoothly. Intelligent
audiences are particularly impressed by the
rapid construction of one of these number squares
that adds in all directions to a total freely
stipulated by a spectator. In all the methods
I have found in my extensive library, the number
is revealed prior to the construction of the
square. Imagine the impact this experiment could
have if the spectator only thinks of the number!
I have had my business cards specially printed
in five versions, each with a different house
number.(1)
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I arrange these
cards in sets of five, each set having
house numbers running from one through
five in ascending order. The first four
cards in the set each have a large white
rectangular label on the back Card Five
carries a similar but smaller label in
the lower left corner. I have divided
this label with a vertical line into two
squares. The fifth spectator is asked
to write the two digits of a number between
thirty-four and one hundred in these squares.
This is the number I will use to construct
the magic square. But how do I learn this
number? |
I demonstrate to the
spectators how they are to put their cards into
envelopes, and I use the fifth spectator's card
(the one with the number on it) for this demonstration.
You know the "Super
Punx Test" don't you?
In the last chapter
of Punx's Fourth Dimensional Mysteries(2) the
reader will find Punx's extraordinary "Super
Punx Test" It is based on a wonderful secret,
first published by Irv Weiner(3). However, Punx's
refinements make the principle more practical
and take it into new realms of possibility.
I would like to thank Meister Punx for allowing
me to describe his diabolically clever idea
to my readers.
After a long and intensive
search, Punx found a special eyebrow pencil
that had a specific and very useful characteristic:
When you wrote on a piece of cardboard or paper,
you were able to take an imprint of the writing
with your moistened thumb and transfer it onto
another piece of paper. The thumb became an
impromptu stamp! This pencil was produced by
a company in Berlin, but since Punx first discovered
it, the composition of the pencil has been changed
and no longer serves the purpose we require
of it. (A few years back I bought hundreds of
these pencils for Punx, only later discovering
that they no longer worked. But all was not
lost: Ludwig's wife, Dagmar, is now equipped
with eyebrow pencils until the year 2350!)
Again Punx searched
and experimented until he found a substitute
for the lost pencil. He found what he needed
in the Stabilo Pencil No. 8046, though with
this pencil one has to write with a thick point
to get a good imprint. In the United States
one can use the felt-tip pens by the Flair company
that contain a water-soluble ink, although this
ink will smudge when the impression is taken.
Soft lead pencils will also work. I recommend
that the reader also experiment with various
eyebrow and grease pencils. You are bound to
find certain ones with the attribute needed
to make clear transferable impressions.
 To avoid openly licking his thumbtip during performance, or coughing
to conceal this action, both of which can be
perceived as inelegant, Punx came up with another
idea: Drugstores and cosmetic counters carry
small damp napkins for the hands and face, which
are individually sealed in convenient packets.
Prepare one of these by tearing off an end of
the packet. Next use a piece of adhesive tape
to attach a safety pin to intact end of the
packet. Pin this "thumb moistener" under your
lapel and, just prior to performance, pull the
folded napkin partially out of the packet.
You now have only
to touch the napkin casually under the lapel
and your thumb will be ready to take the imprint.
Please don't skim
over this principle, even if you know it. Try
instead to imagine the possibilities! Punx has
demonstrated some sensational uses, and the
trick I'm now describing is only one of many
applications.
In devising a new
use for the principle, my main concern was to
have a logical reason to require a spectator
to write on a surface small enough to enable
me to take an imprint of it with my thumb. My
black business cards gave me that reason. They
force the spectator to write on the white field
of the label.
We now turn to the
composition of the magic square:
If you create a magic
square on a blackboard or large sketch pad,
it always has an impact on the audience. Unfortunately,
many mentalists avoid the effect, thinking it
far too complicated. Composing a magic square
with a number given by a member of the audience
looks like a miracle to any reasonably intelligent
spectator. Can you imagine the impact of this
experiment when the volunteer only thinks of
the number!
The following version,
created by Royal V. Heath,(4) is not at all
difficult to learn. It is possible to construct
squares totaling from twenty-three to ninety-nine
without resorting to negative numbers, but totals
from twenty-three to thirty-three necessitate
the use of duplicate numbers in the square,
making it slightly less impressive.
The illustration on
the next page shows cells that always contain
the same numbers. They never change:
You must remember
the positions A, B, C and D. Later, you enter
calculated numbers into these fields.
Let's say the spectator
thinks of the number sixty-five. To complete
the square, a little calculation is necessary.
Regardless of which number is selected, you
always subtract twenty-one from it. In our example
that would mean: 65 - 21 = 44.
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This number
is entered into Cell A (second row,
third column). This basic number is
increased by one and the result (45)
is entered in Cell B (top left). Add
one again and enter this result (46)
in Cell C (fourth row, second column).
Finally, add one once more and enter
the result (47) in Cell D (third row,
fourth column). |
The completed square
will look like this:
| To facilitate
the quick filling of the square in front
of an audience, you can use a sketch
pad with an empty magic square drawn
on it and the constant numbers secretly
filled in with a white crayon. The white
writing is visible to you, but invisible
to the audience from just a short distance.
Light pencil can also be used. |
|
If you are feeling
bold, have the pad writing side down on your
table, with the constant numbers already filled
in by marker. When you are ready to construct
the square, take up the pad and hold it between
your abdomen and one hand while with the other
hand you enter the missing numbers. But don't
forget to act as though you are filling in all
the numbers (scratch on the pad with your fingertip).
To the spectators it appears as if you completed
the magic square in seconds! If you take this
course, you can use an erasable marker and suitably
laminated board.
In recent years I
have modified a very clever idea of Roy Johnson's
(5) for this demonstration:
To a standard clipboard,
attach a large piece of cardstock on which you
have boldly drawn or printed the cells for your
magic square. The card should be bright yellow,
for maximum visibility, and just a bit smaller
than the clipboard itself. Use a few dabs of
non-permanent dry-mount fixative, rubber cement
or some similar product that allows you to fix
the card to the clipboard, yet remove it and
attach a fresh one after each performance. Fill
in the constant numbers on this square, leaving
the four key cells blank.
Clip a duplicate yellow
card over the first. This card bears an identical
magic square, but all the cells are empty. Align
this second card perfectly over the first to
conceal it. In performance you display the empty
magic square on the clipboard and, as you handle
it, you press the clip, letting the top card
slip down and free of it. Lay the clipboard,
with the (loose) card, face down on your table
while you pick up a stopwatch and hand it to
an audience member. Show him how to operate
the watch, then return to the stage and pick
up the clipboard, leaving the card behind on
the table. Of course, you must now keep the
partially filled magic square on the board concealed
from the audience.
Have the spectator
who thought of a number concentrate on it as
you try to receive her thoughts. After a few
moments of mutual meditation, during which you
can make the necessary mental calculations,
you pick up a felt-tip marker and ask the person
with the stopwatch to time you as you fill in
the square. Fill in the four empty cells and
pretend to fill in the others; then call out,
'Stop!" to the timekeeper. Reveal the completed
magic square and ask for the time elapsed while
you filled it in. From this dramatic foundation
you can now build to a truly stunning climax
as you ask the spectator to announce the number
she was thinking of, then show that the square
adds to that number in all directions!
For those not familiar
with Heath's magic square, I should point out
that not only do all the rows and columns add
to the correct number, but so do the diagonals,
the four numbers in the comer cells and every
square of four numbers as well!
Having explained the
coding of the cards, Punx's secret and the working
of the instant magic square, the balance of
the method is quickly told. Having stolen the
imprint of the number from the card as you show
the spectators how they are to insert their
cards into the envelopes, you have someone mix
the five envelopes and return them to you. You
are able to identify the envelope containing
the number as you have had the foresight to
trim its flap slightly but (to you) noticeably
shorter. Pick up one of the other envelopes,
tear it open and remove the card inside. In
doing so, leave an imprint from your thumb on
the torn-off end piece and secretly note the
number as you tuck the piece safely away in
your pocket.
Now note the code
number on the front of the card and begin your
psychometric reading. Continue to "read" three
more cards, leaving the number card for last.
Hand this envelope back to its owner and ask
him to concentrate on his number. Then proceed
with the construction of the magic square, building
to a powerful climax that produces the mentally
selected number in a most extraordinary manner!
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(1) This coding idea
first surfaced years ago, applied to the zip
code in the address. The idea seems to have
been independently conceived by several magicians,
including Joseph White, David Ward, David Robbins
and Larry Becker. I have been using the subtler
positioning of the code number as a house number
for years. Recently I discovered that James
Randi has had the same idea. See Waters' Mind,
Myth & Magick, p. 142.
(2) Pp. 211-231.
(3) See his 1948 manuscript,
Impromptu Impression. Five years later Milbourne
Christopher would claim independent discovery
of the same transfer principle in his book Varied
Deceptions, pp. 9-12. This principle, though
applied in an entirely different manner, was
probably first employed in the old "Potsherd
Trick", commonly known in the Western world
as "The Sugar Cube Trick".
(4) Hilliard's Greater
Magic, pp. 923-924.
(5) "Flash Square"
on his Roy Johnson: The Voice of Experience,
Volume One audio tape (1977). |
