Everywhere a Sign
by P. Craig Browning

Well, here we are in the midst of another “New Year” and in that I’ve been away for a few months, I thought I’d kick things off by looking at one of my favored topics; what it means to be a solid Reader. Not just a Reader of People but a READER! One that can discern information from within their environment and in so doing, create the sustainable illusion of being a “genuine psychic”… but then, what dose that mean, to be a genuine psychic? We’ll start there first…

If we go with the traditions of mentalism the rule of thumb is to learn a solid mnemonic system, billet & swami skills and of course Reading skills. In today’s world I’m certain we would be adding in details like Anagrams, misc. linguistic tricks i.e. psychological manipulations including the use of demographic commons (a.k.a. Psychological Forces). The irony around this being that one of the first things as student of mysticism is told to cultivate is his/her ability to remember what they say with extreme clarity and to the most minute of detail. This discipline is coupled with the issue of discipline best known as “focused concentration” or, singleness of thought, for lack of a better inference.

Even Harry Loraine points out in his famed MEMORY BOOK that those with exceptional memory skills are often accused of being “Psychic” and this is so for many important reasons, the most important is that a heightened memory when coupled with understanding results in a kind of intuitive or empathic connection to either one’s environment or other individuals you are interacting with. Similarly, these skills permit the seasoned CEO to make sound decisions based on the combination of available data and his/her years of experience… their intuition and ability to innately read the signs. We see this same trait in detectives and other aspects of law enforcement, professional military personnel and just about any other trade in which the individual has a long term investment of time and discipline.

An mind that is deliberately “enhanced” however, requires a bit more than mnemonics, it requires other elements of discipline such as “conditioning” – learning how to work even basic mathematical computations silently within one’s mind being seen as one of the more elementary routes to developing one’s mental prowess when it comes to the arcane world of the psychic. Similarly, developing one’s skills as an orator or linguist, understanding how to use cadence along side physical expression – what many today would associate with NLP and other Psychological communication tactics – all of it is part of the art & science of being a genuine Psychic. If you haven’t noticed there has yet to be mention of chakras, karma, spirit guides or being a vegan; just a practical course of discipline that results in a higher level of Mental Agility which in turn, lends to the student the ability to seem to be more than he or she really is. But then we come back to the gist of this article – learning and knowing “the signs”.

I’ve touched on this idea before but recent studies of my own have rekindled the thought and compelled me to add to things previously shared. A chief source of that inspiration being Martin Baukin & Ron Martin’s wonderful course in Tea Leaf Reading (available through MEVPRO.com) “Casual Little Miracles”; of all the things Loren has released to our market I have to say that this treatment is one of the most interesting and inspiring compositions I’ve read in ages; I highly recommend it to any and all interested in doing Readings within dinning establishments or coffee houses.

The other source of inspiration came from Devin Knight & Jerome Finley’s CLOUD BUSTING. Not only did this book bring back nearly forgotten memories of my childhood and learning about such techniques by way of grandparents and an assortment of other relatives, it kind of work up my inner shaman a tad, reminding me of the fact that “magic” ain’t just an aspect of theater, it can be and actually IS, much more when placed into the hands of those who respect and are willing to honor it. Something our crass commercialism and lusts for both, the dollar and “fame” have robbed us of. But for that minority that still wants to believe in Magick for the sake of what it once was, let us take a brief journey…

When we look into a Tea Cup or even into the sky, seeking some kind of “sign” what we are looking for are the shapes made by the substance in question, their position be it within the cup or from the horizon as well as their position as it would be with a clock, pointing to one, two or three O’clock… all of it lends to those with eyes with which to see (those studied in “the mysteries”) a perspective – an understanding of the occult implications – presented by the images and the culmination of position, etc. Our deciphering or “Interpretation” of such things being based on both, our formal studies as to what such things mean at the analytical level as well as our experience – that intuitive/empathic course of understanding based on what we’ve seen and come to understand by actually doing the work vs. simply reading about it and approaching such via conjecture and biased opinions.

Odd, wouldn’t you say, just how much alike the more honest steps of creating Psychism and the path towards development of Mentalism are; two fields that we’ve been lead to believe are in opposition to one another when in truth, they are one in the same thing… or so it would seem. Especially when we get rid of all the window dressing imposed around the idea of “being psychic” the various money grabbers and “false prophets” have placed onto it. Joseph Weed’s book “The Wisdom of the Mystic Masters” being a perfect example in that he reveals the “secrets” of a well known secret society that is steeped in mysticism, lessons that are spread out over a twenty year period of time, costing thousands of dollars, all revealed on 207 pages for less than $15.00… and yes, I believe every student of Mentalism owes it to his/her self to actually pick up said book and learn from it. It will allow you to discover some things that you may not have otherwise ever have learned and too, it will give you a legitimate tool that can be used in your talks, presentations and workshops and lending insight to the masses.

But what else is there for us to learn from?

Signs & Symbols is the theme of this article e.g. it stands to reason that most any book on that subject host value be it the Psychology of Color or the Freudian/Jungian studies on Dreams, Ritual and Primitive Imagery, or even something as basic and common to the psychic world as the Tarot, Numerology and the Zodiac. But let’s not just learn what these symbols are and their surface meanings, let’s actually learn how to READ them; they are after all, another language, a kind of written word that the common mortal not only ignores but has little to no understanding of on even the most elementary level; not even those who claim to be connected with the spirit of nature herself, which is a very sad comment on the state of the Pagan world and the supposed way of the wise. Then again, most of the “wise ones” I’ve interactive with in that world are far from the “the path of the prophets” so to speak…

Let’s ignore the signs of nature, the language of the trees & foliage, etc. and come into a more mundane side of signs and interpretation such as the various codes used by scribes and traveling priests since time in memorial. Even the gamed storytellers of old adjusted their tales to meet the imagery of tribal associations and yet, conveyed to the village shaman and elders that were initiated to the mysteries, an entirely different set of information; sometimes it was how to further the communities understanding of the surface/exoteric parables while other circumstances could pertain to militaristic necessity.

The Celtic Ogham offers a wonderful example of yet another layer or esoteric communication, that of covert sign language. The storyteller could, my the placement of his fingers either along his shine, arm or staff (any straight line) literally spell out information to audience members that were aware of the language and how it was being used. This is quite similar to some of the physical code systems we use today in stage acts – silent cues that give the performer tons of information without anyone’s knowing.

As most know I do not see our recognition of such “secrets” as being “proof” that magick and psychic things are false, only that many of us have imposed a false surface meaning around such things either for sake of argument or simply for the fact that we haven’t removed the chaff from the grain and thus, buy into the more fantasiful concept of what a thing may be rather than what it is. My personal experience lending to me that clarity, if you would, to see things for what they really are and thus, be aware of the signs that surround us and the language nature and one another, shares through the signs that envelope our being; all of it hosting both, significance and power – states of influence. Just as the Egyptian Gods feared anyone knowing their true name (in that it gives that person power over them) so today we find those that fear the public from understanding the true nature of the mysteries and why it will only be those with eyes with which to see and ears, with which to hear – the disciples of the true mysteries – that will ever fully understand it all and thus, be seen by the wider community as genuine mystics, magicians and sages.

No, it’s not fantasiful thought or delusion; it is a perfectly plausible, realistic thing if and when se choose to stop ourselves long enough to actually learn how to smell the roses.

Think about it…

Craig Browning