MIND PARADE

Toby Hudson

Copyright 2015 by Toby Hudson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
without written permission from the author. For further information, please
contact me at: cardtrick212@gmail.com
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CONTENTS
Introduction

Rule of Three
I Can Guess Passwords!
Vanishing Point
Memory Lane
Zodique
Simple ACAAN

5
12
20
25
32

Bonus
Final Words

INTRODUCTION
Ok, so Im not really very good at writing introductions, but I thought
that I might do a quick one just to tell you what youve bought and
what you can expect to find within the pages of this manuscript.
Basically, what youre about to read is a small collection of ideas and
routines that I perform daily and have spent quite a bit of time working
on.
A lot of the effects primarily revolve around billets and small close up
objects, but a lot of the ideas within here can be evolved for stage. Ive
also tried to credit all the inspirations behind this routine, but if you feel
that I have missed someone or an idea isnt fully mine, feel free to
contact me and let me know.
Finally, Id just like to thank you, the reader, for investing within my
product and taking the time to read it and spend time practising its
contents. It means a lot, and I hope you enjoy what youre about to read
and get something worthwhile out of this.
Be seeing you.
Toby

+ ROUTINES +

RULE OF THREE
Lets begin with a favourite of mine. Why not? This effect is really
strong and can, in the right settings, appear completely impossible. Best
of all, all you need is a deck of cards and a small stack of blank business
cards.
This effect makes use of the brilliant Hoy Principle by David Hoy. Some
noteworthy effects using this idea are Daves Pin from Michael
Murrays book A Piece of My Mind and Luke Jermays Touching on
Hoy from Coral Fang.

Basic Effect
Three spectators each think of a different thought and write it down.
Somehow, the Mentalist manages to divine all three, before showing
that he knew way in advance what each of them would pick.

Presentation
Three mini slips of paper are shown, with a number 1, 2 or 3 written
on each. They are mixed and three spectators (Brandon, Nathan and
Gaz) take a card each and remember their number. The slips are then
torn up.

Ok, so right now each of you is thinking of a number. If you thought of

number 1, think of a simple geometric shape like a square or circle,
nothing too complex like a star. If you thought of number 2, think of
any playing card for me, but not an ace as theyre too easy. Finally, if
you thought of number 3, think of any two digit number from 1 to 50
for me. Please, no decimals or recurring fractions.
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Each spectator writes their thought down on a billet. These are

unmarked and completely normal. The Mentalist is blind folded and is
handed the billets.
He proceeds to correctly divine all three thoughts perfectly, (e.g. 19,
triangle and Q ) before giving a short but extremely specific character
reading on all three participants.

However, I have to admit something to you. I had a feeling as to what

your thoughts were going to be a week ago. I gave you (indicates
spectator 1) a deck of cards 2 weeks ago, and I asked you to bring it
along with you tonight. Could you please get it out?
The spectator takes out the deck, and with shaking fingers, removes the
cards from the box. He is asked to count down to the 19th card. It is
turned over. Sure enough, its the Q , and scrawled across the face of
it, is the word TRIANGLE in big black lettering. The Mentalist never
handles the deck, and it is completely ungimmicked.

Concept
The basic idea at work here is the famous Hoy Principle by David Hoy.
What this means is that all three participants are actually thinking of
the same thought without realising it.
To set up, take a deck of cards and write the word triangle across any
card. Lets say the 2 . Then place this at position 36 in the deck. It
doesnt matter what card and what number you use, as long as you
know them. You can then put the deck away and send it to a participant
of the effect weeks in advance.
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You will also need a small stack of business cards that are blank on one
side. Draw a medium sized rectangle in the middle of each card and in
one, write the number, in this case 36, and in the other, write the card,
in this case the 2 .
Place these two cards on the bottom of the business card stack face
down in any order. You will also need five mini slips of paper. On three
of these, draw a big number 1 on it, and then write 2 and 3 on the other
two. Make sure the ink doesnt bleed through. Youre now ready to
perform the effect.
When ready to perform, place two of the slips that have a 1 on them on
your lap so you can access them easily.

Performance
To begin, introduce the effect and say that youll need three random
thoughts. Show the three slips of paper freely and have them examined.
As this is happening, get the two slips in your lap, ready to be palmed.
Youll now perform a simple switch to swap numbers 2 and 3 for the
ones on your lap.
Take the slips back so that number 1 is on top. Hold them face down
and get a break under the top slip. Youre going to let the two below it
to slip onto your lap as you place the two palmed on top.
Bring your hands together and as you do, briefly dip your hands below
the table and drop the two slips below the break onto your thighs. Bring
your hands back up as they meet and drop the two palmed slips onto
the other hand.
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Grab all three with your right hand and spread them on the table. To
the naked eye, it should appear as though you just transferred the slips
from one hand to the other and spread them on the table. Little do they
know the slips now all have 1 written on them. What fools they are.
Spread them out on the table and have the spectators take one at
random and remember the number. Make sure to tell them not to show
anyone else what number they got. This will ensure no one will see that
all are the same. Take the slips back and dispose of them.
Now follow the presentation written at the beginning. If you word is as
shown, then all three of the participants should be thinking of triangle.
Each of them also thinks that the other two are thinking of a card or a
number. I like to follow this script to the letter as it seems as though you
are putting restrictions on the number and card, as well as the shape.
Take three business cards (careful not to disturb your stack) and draw
three boxes in the middle identical to the ones drawn earlier. Hand one
to each participant and have them write down their thoughts in the
boxes. Again, caution them not to let anyone else see what they write.
Blindfold yourself and take the three cards face down. Mix them up and
hover your hand over them one at a time to pick up the auras the
cards are leaving.
You can now proceed to supposedly receive the thought one at a time.
Im getting a shape coming through here, quite pointy, a triangle
maybe? Dont react anyone, dont give anything away. Next, the
number. This is quite central, like 36? And finally the card. Oh thats
easy, the 3 .no 2 of hearts!
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Remove your blindfold and say quick yes or no, did I get yours? Ask
them one at a time in quick succession and they will all say yes. Pick
up the three cards and set them on top of the stack casually. Relax a
little here and soak up the applause.
Pick up the business card stack and transfer the top card to the bottom
and turn over the whole packet. Deal the three face cards onto the table.
This is discrepant but will fly past the audience.
Even though youve just switched out two cards, everything should
appear normal. Each spectator will see their thought and what they
presume are the other two peoples thoughts.
Youre now going to do a quick handwriting analysis and cold reading
(Note: see the end for an alternative for this) Ill just explain this briefly
as it should be pretty obvious. Begin by saying ok, the way youve all
written and drawn your answer is very interesting to me. Well try this
with the triangle drawer first. Dont say who you are, as this might
give me a clue, but what Im getting from you is
Give a brief reading. When youre done, move straight onto the second
person who wrote the number. As this is no one, you can be as specific
as you want as no one can verify it. The same with the last person.
Now ask each of them what percentage of the information that I just
gave would mean something to you? As all three got the first, general
reading, their answer will differ, one maybe saying 60%, then 80 and so
on.
Because youll get different percentages, this cements the idea that all
the readings applied to only one person each.
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Finally, all you need to do now is say that you knew what they were
going to pick and go into the final reveal with the deck of cards. Make
sure you NEVER go near the cards so that any watching mentalists dont
accuse you of switches.

Alternative
Here is an alternative to the second phase. After youve revealed all
three thoughts, all the face down cards still say triangle so you can
have them mixed as much as possible, yet you can identify which card
belongs to which person, as they will always get a card with their
thought written on it!

Final Thoughts
I know this might read a bit dull on paper, but as long as you keep them
captivated and involved, theres no reason for them to be. People love
themselves, so as long as you keep it centred on their thoughts and
ideas, theyll be hooked!
After showing this effect to a friend of mine, they said that they liked it
but they thought that revealing that you knew what they would think in
advance kind of ruined the idea that previously I had read their
supposedly read their minds.
This is a good point, but I think that as long as you focus more on the
readings and make it appear as though This shouldnt really pose an
issue; make it look as though the mind reading was just a casual extra
to the main event (the readings.) But if you just want to reveal the three
thoughts with no deck ending, you can.
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Finally. Im sure some pessimists out there will be thinking what if a

participant doesnt pick the triangle? What if is all goes horribly
wrong? The simple answer is that if youve built up good rapport with
your spectators beforehand, then they wont try and trick you and they
will go for the triangle. Plus, what other shapes can they choose?
Theres really nothing to worry about

OR IS THERE?
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I CAN GUESS PASSWORDS!

Although I dont perform this routine much as it doesnt really fit my
style of performance, Im still pretty proud of how it turned out and
how it all wraps itself up neatly. Theres a lot of nice little ideas in this
routine and I hope you enjoy!
Credits for this routine go to Luke Jermay for the idea of gathering two
pieces of information or more during the action of getting someone to
write it down.

Basic Effect
Two spectators form a PIN and the mentalist proceeds to reveal it,
before passing on him amazing gift to one of the other two spectators!

Presentation
The mentalist begins by inviting a spectator up on stage and hands him
a small billet. After a bit of by-play, Roger introduces himself and the
Mentalist hands him a billet.

What I want to talk to you about now is something that I find quite
worrying in todays modern society. And that is, passwords. If you think
about it, theres only one small word keeping all of your bank details,
and accounts safe. So, Id like to try something with this concept. Just
think of any password you use every day. You can change some of the
letters a bit if you want to keep your password safe. So Roger, just fill
out the billet and write the password on it, if you dont mind.

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The password is then written down on the billet and hidden somewhere
on the spectators person. The mentalist claims that they will get back to
it a little later. Another spectator, Les, is invited up on stage.

Ok, so what I want both of you to do is think of the last two digits of
your birth year, as the first two digits will be 19 of course. Now, write
each of your digits on this billet and keep the billet close to your chest
so no one else except you two can see the digits.
The spectators comply with the demands.

Ok, Im getting an 8. Look at me theres another 8 as well. The third

digit that Im getting is is, try and project it to me pleasea 4? Ok,
the last one is a big harder so keep repeating it over in your mind like 3,
3, 3yes? Very good.
The numbers are confirmed to be correct. The mentalist then claims
that he will pass his ability onto the second spectator. He stares into his
eyes for a moment and passes them a billet. The other billet that
contains spectator ones password is removed and ripped up. The two
stare into each others eyes and the second spectator gradually gets the
password.

So you see, passwords arent as secure as they seem. Thanks for helping
me out tonight and wait a minute, do you have a mobile phone? Yes?
Well Id consider changing the code on it from 5 2 9 3 to something a
bit less obvious! Thanks for helping me out!

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Concept
There are quite a lot of little ideas hidden within this routine, but what I
like is that at the end, everything ties itself up in a neat way. The first
stage will be a peek and some common sense, the second phase an
instant stooge.
Begin by writing PLAY ALONG, THE PASSWORD IS _________ on a
billet and place it face down on the bottom of the stack. Then, take a
piece of card and on it write Date of Birth __/_/____ and Password
_______. Writing the D.O.B in this fashion ensures they will write
down their birth year as well. The lines represent a blank area where
the participant will input the required information.
Finally you will need to set up a peek. This can be done any way, but the
simplest way that I like to do it is to cut a hole in the back of an
envelope. I also have a normal sealed envelope in my pocket which I
will switch out.

Performance
Begin by inviting two spectators up on stage. Once youve introduced
the effect, ask the first spectator to think of any password that they
currently use on their computer. Hand them the billet and youre now
going to use some clever wording to appear as though they are only
writing the password down. Point at the D.O.B and say fill this in for

me then point at the password section and say and write your
password there as well. A bit of DR here ensures that no one realises
the date of birth has been written.
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Take out the envelope with the hole in it (careful not to flash it) and
load the billet in face down. As you speak, casually seal the envelope
and hold it up so you can see the information. Now in the action of
searching for your pen, you can easily switch it for the other envelope
in your pocket. I wont go into too much detail about this as you can
probably figure out your own method being the experienced performer
you are
Have them sign what they believe is an envelope that contains their
password. Alternatively, you could just peek the information and not
switch the envelope, but I think you get a bit more freedom this way.
Say that you will get back to the password a little later.

Phase 1
Now, you want to have a second spectator come up on stage, but it is
essential that they were born in the same DECADE as the first person.
For example, they were both born in the 80s or whatever. After youve
seen your peek, you should get a better idea as to what age youre
looking for.
Choose your second spectator and ask that both of them create a four
digit PIN by using the last two numbers of their birth year. Have them
write these four digits in any order on a billet. But the sneaky thing is
that you already know 3 of the numbers. You know the two peeked
ones and you know that one of the second spectators numbers will
match the firsts! Lets say the first spectators digits are 84, then you
know that one of the second spectators numbers will be 8, as youve
picked two participants from the same decade!
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Pick up the stack of billets, turning them over as you do so you are
facing the card that will be used for the instant stooge. Write the
password in the gap, but then act as though youve changed your mind
and put the stack back down and move the billet to the back of the
stack. Its also nice to not write it exactly correct, so that it has more
credibility at the end. Begin by saying that youre getting two numbers
coming through. Have them repeat the numbers in their mind, and
name the two numbers you peeked, 8 5 on the billet. Make sure you
tell them not to react. Youre now going to get the other two. Of the
remaining two, have spectator one remember the highest of the two
numbers, and spectator two the lowest. This has no impact on the effect,
but I like to make it look as though both spectators are sending me a
number separately.
You can reveal the first one as being an 8 in any way youd like, but for
the unknown one, you can go about this a number of ways. Begin by
using the old Derren idea of saying repeat it over and over in your
mind, like 3, 3, 3 and so on. If you hit, perfect, if not carry on. Then
say this number hasnt already been said, has it? If they say yes, say I
thought so. It will either be an 8 or 5 again. If they say no, then I just
guess. It its right, great, if its not, shrug if off and ask for the number,
before re-iterating that you already got three of the numbers and that
it isnt an exact science. There are, as you can probably think,
hundreds of other ways of getting the last digit.
If you want to, you can further this by psychically diving who each of
the numbers belonged to. See more about this at the end of the routine
in the Final Thoughts section.
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Phase 2
Youre now going to supposedly pass on your gift to the second
spectator, and they will somehow divine the password of the first
spectator. What you want to do is first stare into spectator twos eyes
and tell them you have passed over the gift. As you talk, pick up the
billets and casually move the top card to the bottom.
Now, making sure no one else can see the face card of the stack, wave
them in front of spectator two and tell them just to imagine a word
appearing in the air just about here. As you do this, they will get a
clear view of the password. A sly wink here seals the deal. Add
whatever presentational touches youd like (i.e. asking spectator 1
whether its just a word or a number as well.) Hand spectator two a
billet and pen.
Ask spectator on if there is any way anyone can see through the
envelope. Whatever they respond, say it doesnt matter anyway and
promptly rip up the envelope and throw it on the floor. This is
psychologically a very strong moment, as it now appears as though
there is no possible way that you should know anything and youve
destroyed the only paper that had it written on.
Have the two spectators stare into each others eyes and when spectator
two feels a connection, he is to write down whatever he feels. Ask
spectator one to reveal what hes written. Of course, spectator two will
react and of course, there is the end to your routine. Thank both
spectators for helping out and send them back to their seats as you soak
up the applause.
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Phone Code
You may have noticed in the presentation that at the end of this routine,
I reveal spectator twos phone code as he makes his way to his seat. The
reason I do this is because it kills the stooge. Technically, the final phase
wont impress him, so if you nail his phone code at the end, it
completely throws them off the method.

The way I do it just guess and Ill hit once every 100,000 times.

Not really, that was a lie. If you have the iUnlockYourMind app by
Myke Philips then you could use that to harvest the code, or perhaps the
simplest (and cheapest) way is just to wander about before the show
looking at people. No one is particularly secretive about their phone
code, and so you will get loads of opportunities to gather the
information you need. Then, when both spectators are walking off
stage, casually ask if spectator two has a phone, and then use the line
about changing the code. Super simple!
Another idea which is quite bold but means you dont have to peak any
numbers is to as theyre walking off stage casually say something like
you have a phone, yes? Well Id consider changing the digits to 5698
as theyre not as obvious at those. It doesnt make perfect sense, but said
quickly, will give the impression of saying their code out loud.
Obviously youre just saying any random numbers.

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Final Thoughts
This effect kills. It really does. If you play it up, it is extremely powerful.
I thought I might just cover a few little things I mentioned earlier in the
explanation:
Divining Numbers. After the first phase, youll see it says that you can
then divine whose numbers belong to who. I would only do this if I
hadnt hit the fourth digit bang on. What youd then do is say Ok, what
Im now getting is that your numbers are 8 and 5, yes? And yours are
are3 and 8! Make sure to reverse the order of the second two
numbers to make them appear more random.
Star Sign: You may have realised that after youve peeked the birthday,
you get a great opportunity to reveal a star sign along the way. If you
know youre signs, then you can incorporate it into the routine. Also see
Zodique later on within this book for a way to reveal star signs.
And thats all there is to it!

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VANISHING POINT
I wasnt even going to publish this effect, but I was convinced by a
couple of friends that it was good, so here it is! Credits f

Basic Effect
A deck of cards is borrowed from a member of the audience and
shuffled thoroughly by anyone who wishes to mix them. A card is
merely peeked at, but somehow, the Mentalist always knows!

Presentation
The Mentalist asks for a participant to help him with his next
cardboard creation. A deck of cards is borrowed from him (lets call
him Steve) and the cards split into four random piles.

Ok, so you look like a smart guy. You probably know all the tricks
using key cards and secret helpers and that sort of crap. So what Ive
done is split the deck into four piles. Pick em up on at a time and
shuffle to your hearts contents.
The helper does just this. He shuffles the packets on at a time. The
packets are then gathered and squared.
Right, so Im going to turn my back and what I want you to do is lift up
a section of cards anywhere, peek at the card, then slap the deck back
together and thoroughly shuffle. You done? Good.
The Mentalist should have no inkling as to what the card is. He stares
into the participants eyes.
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Im getting a red card, yes. Look at me please, its a heart yes? Ok, now
think about whether or not its a picture or a number card...its a
number card. Now for the value. It a high card, is it not? I thought so.
Look at me here, the 8, no 9 of hearts yes? Thank you very much.
Steve confirms this is the card and the deck is fully examined, and there
are no gimmicks or stacks to speak of. What I love about this routine is
that it is totally impromptu and can be performed at the drop of a hat. I
like to use this effect with the move monkeys as it really confuses
them.

Concept
This effect is extremely simple, and there are no hard moves at all
within this routine. The basic idea is that at the beginning, you separate
the deck out so that one pile contains all of the cards of one suit, and
from there, its just fishing.

Performance
To begin, have any deck of cards borrowed and shuffled. It isnt crucial
that it be a full deck, but it will make the effect easier to do. After it has
been examined, pick it up and spread the deck with the faces towards
you.
As soon as you spread the deck, upjog the first two cards. You now want
to upjog the values one to ten of the same suit as the second card. For
example, if the second card is a heart, all of the hearts would be
upjogged except the picture cards. This is all done so only you can see
the faces.
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Strip out the upjogged cards and place this packet face up on the table.
You can slightly spread the top card of the packet to show red and
black cards. With the rest of the deck, do the same action but this time,
really do remove random cards. Repeat this two more times. You should
now have four packets that supposedly contain random cards, but the
first packet is actually full of hearts and the five of clubs, which will act
as a cover card to hide all the hearts.
Turn all the packets face down. Have the spectator mix the four piles
one at a time until they are happy the cards are all mixed. Of course it
doesnt matter how they mix them as all the hearts will stay together in
one pile. Gather up all the packets making sure the hearts is on top.
Now, you want to cut the cards to centralise the hearts packet.
However, if youre doing this for a woman, cut the cards do that the
hearts are bang in the centre. If, on the other hand, youre doing it for a
man, place the hearts a little lower down in the deck. The reasoning
behind this will become apparent in a moment.
Place the deck face down on the table. Now, to the audience, the deck
should appear completely shuffled. Say that in a minute, when you turn
round, the assistant is to cut the deck about the middle and to peek at a
card. As you do this, you are going to demonstrate what they are to do
by cutting off a quarter of the deck and flashing the face card. This is
just to show the assistant what to do so that they are one hundred
percent sure.
Square the deck and turn around. As you do, say so cut off ABOUT
HALF and remember the card. Nine times out of ten, they will hit the

22

hearts packet. I will cover outs of they dont later. With your back still
turned, have them square and shuffle the deck.
The reason for placing the hearts in slightly different positions
depending on their gender is because Ive found from experience, when
asked to cut about the middle women will go right for the centre, but
men will cut a bit deeper. Obviously, this is not an exact science, but it
does make a difference.
Ok, so you now know that the card is a heart, but youre going to
present this as three hits. Have them place the deck down and stare into
their eyes to receive their thoughts. Again, see presentation at the end
for all of this. First reveal that its a red card, then a heart, then a
number card. Now all you need to do is fish for the value.
Begin by saying Im not getting a high card, am I? If they say yes, reply
with yeah I thought so but if they say no reply with no I didnt
think so This is an old technique but does the job perfectly. Lets say
it was a high card. Look at them and call out the values five to ten, as
though studying their facial expressions. Now say this is quite high, is it
not? If they agree, you can assume its the nine or the ten. If they say
not really, its a six or seven. If they have trouble answering, its the
eight. The same applies with the low values, but ask, this is quite low,
isnt it?
You should now have a choice of two values. Simply call either out. If
they react, finish here. If they dont, immediately click your fingers and
say eliminated, because your card was the and say the second value.
And thats all there is to it. Obviously, there are a lot of other, quicker
methods out there, but I like fishing as I think it works well.
23

Outs
Ok, lets be frank here. This effect doesnt always work. Once every so
often youll get a spectator who misses the block, and gets a different
card. And, although this section is called outs, I dont really have one.
So, when it does happen, and you get the colour or suit wrong, I will say
something like: sorry, there are just too many thought going on in your
head. Could you write your card down on this piece of paper for me?
Then just resort to a centre tear. Not too clever, I know, but as it
happens so rarely, I dont have an out.
Also, the spectator may have cut to the cover card, in this case the five
of clubs. Always remember the cover card and you can use it as a
second resort.
You could, of course, try and fish your way out, but you must be ready
with lots of double meaning sentences such as the value, it isnt high is
it? and so on.

Final Thoughts
One final tip I would like to add is that if the spectator looks a little
confused when you say the sentence about whether the value is high or
low, it means they have selected the five.
Dont be put off by the simple method behind this, as it really does
work. What I also love is that it creates a double bluff moment. After the
effect, magicians will approach me asking the method, and theyll
always begin with I know that the four packet splitting was just
bluff But it isnt! I love things like that!
24

MEMORY LANE
This routine is based on an effect by Roger Curzon from his booklet
The Lost Papyrus of Imhotep. The effect, Emotional Catharsis, is very
different to my effect, but when I first came up with this, they were
quite similar. However, over time the routine has been adapted into the
piece youre about to read.
Ive also been told that it is similar in principle to an effect by Docc
Hilford, called The Richie Technique. Ive had a look at this effect and
the two routines are based on the same idea, but carried out differently.

Basic Effect
The spectator thinks of three memories that set off different emotions,
and one by one, the Mentalist receives all three thoughts, before tapping
into the mystery of love.

Presentation
Three billets are placed out onto the table and a volunteer is chosen to
help who has a good memory. A rather annoying spectator by the name
of Tom makes his way on stage.

I would like to try something with you Tom, but not with the psychical,
but rather the mental. What I want you to do is think of a happy
memory, a time when you felt genuinely emotional, and concentrate on
how that made you feel.

25

The first billet is picked up and the Mentalist stares into his eyes and
quickly scribbles something down. He folds it in half and writes the
word HAPPY on the front. The assistant is then asked to confirm her
memory out loud.
This is then repeated two times, one with SORROW and one with
FEAR. Obviously, nothing too extreme, just a time when they may have
felt uncomfortable. One at a time, very fairly the envelopes are gathered
up and opened, and the mentalist was bang on with at least two of the
three billets!

However, there is one emotion we havent touched on yet, but is

probably the most important of all and that is love. If you dont mind, I
would like to try something quite personal with you. If you dont want
to partake in this, then now is the time toyou WILL help me?
Excellent. Hopefully, at the end of this, you will take away not sadness,
but happiness, as love can provoke both feeling within us.
The mentalist gets his helper to think of a beloved person who has
passed away. He directs their attention to a billet that has been folded
with a heart drawn on it. They open it and silently read it to themselves
before confirming that you know who they are thinking of.

Explanation
This effect is in two parts really. The first three billets and the last billet.
You can perform the first part without the second if you feel that the
situation isnt right, but Id recommend doing the full trick for the
person to receive a fully personalised experience.

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Begin by folding three billets in half and writing the words SAD,
HAPPY and FEAR on them. Leave these writing sides DOWN on the
table, in the same order as written. At no point are the audience going
to suspect there is already writing on these. You must also use the same
pen you wrote these words with for the trick. As you have probably
guessed, this trick relies on the old one ahead principle, but in a
slightly different way which makes for a clean ending.

Performance
Begin by talking about emotions and talking to your participant. I think
when you do an effect with a touchy subject such as emotions, its nice
to get to know the spectator a bit and really connect with them. It also
means that you can gather more information for a reading later on.

First Three Billets

Anyhoo, when youre ready to begin, pick up the billet on your very left,
careful not to flash the word on the back. Start by talking about how
memories can trigger certain emotions within us. This is a really nice
time to billet should have SAD secretly on it. As you do, hold it up
towards you but make sure the writing is hidden. Ask the spectator to
think of a HAPPY memory.
Get them to picture it and study them carefully, as if receiving a
thought. Now write down on the billet Loss, disappointment, maybe
family? Pet? Not reaching a specific goal? Fold the billet in half and
write HAPPY across the blank portion, again keeping the other word
hidden. Place it on the table with the word HAPPY for everyone to see.
Ask them what their memory was. Act intrigued by what has happened.
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Pick up the second billet and have the spectator think of any memory
when they were scared or feeling fear. (Make sure they dont pick
anything too upsetting.) Again, keep the writing hidden and write on
the billet the happy memory the spectator just told you. Dont make it
too accurate of they will suspect something is up. Fold it in half and
write FEAR on it for everyone to see.
Have them tell you the memory. Pick up the final billet, and have them
think of a sad memory. However, on this one, act as though the thought
isnt coming through clearly. This is to cover you for the vague
statement on the first billet. Write the fear memory on it before folding
it up and writing SAD on it. You should now have three billets on the
table. Pick them up from left to right so that SAD is the top of the pile.
Now here is the sneaky bit. If you turn the three billets over secretly, the
memories will now perfectly match with the words that are uppermost.
Dont make anything of this move; just casually turn over the billets as
you talk.
Say that the SAD memory was a bit fuzzy. Have them tell it you and
open the top billet. Hopefully their memory will fit with one of the
statements you wrote in the first billet. If it does, make sure to play it up,
but if it doesnt shrug it off and carry on. The other two should match
perfectly. Always make sure that the writing on the other side of the
cards is hidden at all times. I do realise this probably reads pretty quick,
but if you give it a good presentational hook and really go into depth
about our connection with emotions, this can be really powerful to your
spectator and can bring it out to about 10 minutes in total.

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The Fourth Billet

This is basically an ambiguous statement that can apply to anyone.
What you want to do is write the following phrase on the billet: This
person was very close to you and was always there when you needed
someone to turn to. When they departed, it felt like you couldnt live
without them for a while, but you used their love as a way through. I
want you to understand that even though they cant be with you, as
long as you keep them in your heart, they are never truly forgotten.
If you know a relative has passed away recently or you do a little pre
show, you can mention their name at the end. All you need to do is
replace they are never truly forgotten with _____ will never truly be
forgotten putting in the relatives name. Always remember to be careful
with this as you dont want them to feel upset when the routine is done.
Have this billet on the table from the beginning in plain sight. When
you have finished the first part of the routine, say that there is one
emotion that is probably more powerful than any of the ones already
mentioned, and that is love. Have the participant think of a close
relative who passed away recently. Show them the billet and have them
pick it up and read what it says to themselves silently.
This is where the word play comes into action. Instead of asking them
do you know what I mean? or something like that simply say do you
understand? If you look in the text, it says as long as you
UNDERSTAND that they will never so to the assistant it will appear
as though you are confirming that they understand what to do, whereas
to the audience, it will appear as though you know who the relative is.
Only slight DR used here, but it can have a really lasting effect. If you
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have the text written up on a really nicely designed card, you can give it
to them at the end and you will find that it makes a beautiful souvenir
for them that they will remember for years to come. It also takes the
heat off the other three billets.

Alternative
Here is an alternative that isnt as bold with the last billet and doesnt
deal with the touchy subject of emotion. I used to do this before coming
up with the above version.
Its very simple to understand. Instead of using emotions, use three
pieces of information such as job, house number and middle name.
You need to acquire the knowledge of one of these bits of info. Lets say
you know their job. Write the names on the back of the billets and have
them in this order: job, middle name, house number. Pick up the first
billet and have them think of their middle name. Actually write the job
on it. Fold it in half and write middle name on it. Have them tell it you.
Do the same, next getting them to think of their house number. Write
their middle name on it and so on. Then when you secretly turn them
over at the end, you get three perfect matches! I would only do this as a
demonstration before going into a longer, more substantial piece.

Final Thought
As some of you may have realised, there is a great opportunity to do a
cold reading in this effect. The assistant has already given you three
memories and told you they are an emotional person, so what more
could you need? When wanting to do a reading, Ill usually insert it
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right between the two phrases. Dont make this too long, but just a brief
summary of the information youve gathered.
This is just a nice little convincer to make it appear as though you can
really read their mind! Lets say that the happy memory is when they
last walked their dog. Pick up the happy billet and act confused. Then
say out of interest, what was the dogs name? Presume they say
Whiskey. Say something like oh, now I get it and place the billet back
down. Then, when writing the happy memory on the next billet, never
mention dog but put something like Drink? Alcohol? Pet? Then when
you reveal all at the end, it looks like you not only picked up the
memory but also the name of the dog, which they were probably
thinking of during the memory! Simple!
Finally when asked to pick a scary memory, 80% of people will say
watching a scary movie, as you tell them NOT to think of an emotion
that is too upsetting. Use this information how you will

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ZODIQUE
This is probably my most recent piece. Its basically a reveal of a
thought of star sign, but without the use of PAs or BAs, as Ive never
been particularly fond of them. Im pretty happy with what I have here,
and I hope that youll give it a try. The most that youll ever need is a
billet, and even then, you wont always need it. Whats great is that
there doesnt appear to be any fishing involved, yet you seem to get the
sign! Crazy!
Credits for this effect go to Pete Turner for his thought on Zodiac
reveals. Also to Michael Murray who has some similar ideas based on
one of the subtleties used within this effect.

Basic Effect
The spectator in question is asked to think of any star sign they like.
After the spectator sends it mentally to the mentalist, he receives it in an
amount of seconds with no obvious fishing!=

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