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Introduction
Since it was conceived by Hen Fetsch, the classic effect known to
the magic community as Mental Epic has amazed audiences all over
the world; and it has been performed by some of the greatest
magicians and mentalists of our times.
The secret of this success may reside in its simplicity, both in its
plot and the concept on which the secret of the illusion relies.
For this reason I decided to try and come up with my own version
of this classic and Mental Epic Envelopes is the result.
My version allows you to perform this apparent miracle in almost
any situation, needing only a small pocket-space.
But for me, the best thing is its organic look, in fact instead of using
elaborate kind of slates, I decided to use objects that everyone is
familiar with: envelopes.
So, is this the ultimate version of this effect?
Absolutely not!
This is nothing more than one of the many versions out there, and I
want to share it with you hoping that you find a good use for it.

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Effect
The performer presents three envelopes which are blank on the
back and numbered one to three on the front.
Each one the envelopes represents one of the choices that a
spectator is going to make.
The first is a choice between one of four currencies, the second is
the result of the throw of a pair of dice and the third is the choice of
a playing card.
Before each choice the spectator makes, the performer writes a
prediction on a piece of paper. In order to prove that he can’t
change his mind he inserts it in the corresponding envelope.
Even though it seems impossible, the three predictions are 100%
correct all the time.

The Principle
The principle on which the entire illusion relies is called One Step
Ahead , and it has been known since the Middle Ages. At that time
it was used in the Cups and Balls in order to make the three balls
disappear, and reappear underneath each cup.
In this illusion it is used in a different way.

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All the Mental Epic effects are based upon the fact that the final
choice is forced, this way, you already know one of the three
outcomes.
So when you are writing the first prediction, what you are really
doing is writing the forced selection.
After the spectator has made his first choice, you write in the
second prediction what the spectator has just chosen.
You will do the same thing with the third prediction, where you will
write the outcome of the second choice.

The Envelopes
At this point the envelopes come into play.
In fact the envelopes are designed in such a way so that by flipping
them over you can exchange: (a) the content of the first envelope
with the content of the third envelope, (b) the content of the second
with the first and (c) the third with the second, thereby placing every
prediction in the correct envelope.

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That’s because the envelopes actually have two sides, and you
create the illusion of them being blank on the back by having an
envelope that has a flap.
To make the flap envelope, print out the pattern provided on heavy
paper, in the size you want, cut it out and then follow these simple
instructions:
1. Glue the shaded “d” part on to the shaded “e” part creating the flap;
2. Fold the “f” part and then glue its back on the “a” part;
3. Fold the “b” part and then glue its back on the “c” part;

You are only going to need one envelope with a flap and two
normal envelopes.

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If you want to create some un-gimmicked envelopes that look
exactly like the one above, you will need to print the second
provided pattern with the same specifications as before, and then:
1. Fold the “f” part and then glue its back on the “a” part;
2. Fold the “b” part and then glue its back on the “c” part;

It is up to you to decide what to write on the envelopes, depending

on the way you want to present this effect, but in order for this to
work you have to keep in mind that:
 what is written on the front of the first envelope must be written on
the back of the second envelope;
 what is written on the front of the second envelope must be written on
the back of the third envelope;
 what is written on the front of the third envelope must be written on
one of the sides of the flap on the back of the first envelope.

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In order for the gimmicked envelope to work properly, I suggest
you put some double-sided tape on its corners so that the flap
doesn’t open when you are showing the envelope.
At the beginning of the performance, you are going to put the flap
so that it shows its blank side, and align the other envelopes so that
what is written on them is not shown.
This way you create the illusion that the envelopes are blank on the
back.

The Force
In order for this effect to work your last choice must be forced
(even though I will explain a version of this very effect that can be
done without any forces).
You can decide to use a psychological force or you can simply force
a playing card using your favorite method, but what is important is
that it makes sense (see Coherence ).

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I want to share two card forces that I came up with, and I think are
perfect for this effect.

Left-Handed Fan Force

This card force will require a little bit of practice for all right-
handed magicians, and it will be super easy for all left-handed ones
that, like me, struggled to learn how to do a proper fan of cards.
In order to do this force you need to be able to do a white fan of
cards, so that none of the pips are shown.
To do that you must hold the deck in your right hand and fan the
cards starting from right going to the left using your left hand.
This way the spectator can’t see any of the cards except for the
bottom one, the forced card.
Obviously when you show the cards you should keep your hand in
motion and after a couple of seconds you must close the fan.

The Add-Up Force

In order to do this force you need to get a pinky break over the
bottom card which will be the forced card.
You start counting down cards from the top in a very chaotic way,
then ask a spectator to stop you whenever they want.
After they say stop you pass the deck over the small pile of cards on
the table, you drop the bottom card onto it, and then put the deck
away.

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At this point when you square up the cards the top one will be the
forced card.
You can also ask the spectator to think of any number between one
and fifty-two and then, at the end, after you have added the forced
card, you can palm off one extra card so that the number of cards
matches the one said by the spectator.

Non-Force Method
There are many versions out there of the Mental Epic that do not
require a forced choice, so I tried to come up with a version of my
effect that doesn’t use a force and this is the result.
In order to do this you need to cut a hole in the blank part of your
flap envelope.

This way you can use a swami writer of your choice, and write what
has been chosen by the spectator.

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In fact, when you are writing the last prediction, you just write “You
will choose the number ___” leaving a small place where you can
write (in case you want them to choose a number).
The best thing is that when you close the flap the hole will be
covered and the switch will work as well.

The Basic Routine

In order to perform this routine you will need to have: the three
gimmicked envelopes, four different bank notes, two dice, a deck of
cards, a couple of pieces of paper and a pen.
You start off by presenting the three envelopes and, as you are
talking, you casually show that they “are blank on the back”.
You then explain that each one of the envelopes corresponds to
each choice the spectator will be asked to make: in fact the first
envelope will contain your prediction of which bank note will be
chosen out of four, the second one your prediction about the
outcome of the throw of two dice and the third one your prediction
about the selection of one of 52 playing cards.
As you show the objects on the table you secretly close the flap so
that its written side is exposed.
You now write your first prediction which should be about the bill
that will be chosen, but in reality you write down the playing card
you are going to force later; you then fold the piece of paper and
insert it into the first envelope.
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After the spectator chooses one of the bank notes, you write your
second prediction, which should be about the outcome of the throw
of the two dice, but in reality you write down the bill the spectator
has just chosen; you then fold the piece of paper and insert it into
the second envelope.
At this point, after the spectator has thrown the two dice, you write
your third and final prediction, which should be about the playing
card that will be chosen, but in reality you write the result of the
throw of the dice; you then fold up the piece of paper and you
insert it into the third envelope.
You now force the playing card you wrote on the first piece of
paper, and as the spectator shows the card to the audience, you
gather the envelopes up and flip them over.
Now, because of the way the envelopes are made, each one of the
three predictions is in its correct envelope, at this point remove the
predictions one by one, and reveal that you were always right.

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The Non-Force Routine
This routine is almost identical to the basic one except for three
things:
1. At the beginning of the trick, when you are casually showing the
back of the envelopes to the audience, you must cover the hole
on the back of the flap envelope with your fingers;
2. In the first prediction, instead of writing the forced card, you
write “You will choose the number ___” leaving a small space
for you to write with the swami (which is done after you have
gathered the envelopes and the spectator has told you the
number he has thought of);
3. Instead of closing the flap while you are showing the objects on
the table, you close it at the end after you have used the swami
writer.

The only problem with this routine is that at the end, when you
have to flip over the envelopes, you do not have any big
misdirection. So you might want to ask the spectator to write down
the number or the word that you had asked them to think of, and
then use, as a cover, the act of them showing the audience what they
wrote, while you flip the envelopes over.

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Presentations
The way you present an effect is what makes it yours, everyone can
draw a horse but what really matters is the way you draw it, and it is
for this very reason that I decided not to include a full script.
This effect opens a whole lot of possible presentations that go way
beyond the “I will predict the future…” or “I can influence your
choices…” kind of routines.
Of all the presentations that I have come up with, the one that has
the most potential (which you are totally free to use) was inspired
by Rick Lack’s effect Past, Present, Future.
The idea is that by looking into the soul of someone you are able to
predict their future. In other words by knowing their past and their
present situation you are capable of seeing into their future; and you
do this by having managed to know the name of city where the
spectator spent their childhood, the job that they have right now
and by knowing the tarot card they are going to choose.
The way you do this is by fusing the original effect with cold reading
and the force of a tarot card.
This is just one of the many routines you can come up with to take
a different route from the classic effect.
Please don’t be a clone, remember that no painter will become as
famous as Leonardo Da Vinci painting the Monalisa; this is just the
starting point, now is up to you to make your effect artistically
relevant.

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Coherence
The best thing of all Mental Epic effects should be the climax that
builds up to the last prediction, which for the audience should be
the most difficult outcome to know in advance.
In the basic routine I just explained, you will notice that the first
choice has just one chance in four of being correct (25%), the
second, one in eleven (9.09%) and the third, one in fifty-two
(1.92%); as you can see each step is “much more difficult” than the
one before.
Also, when performing this effect it is always good to keep in mind
the Too Perfect Theory, you must always allow the spectator to
have an explanation that doesn’t make the effect look as impossible
as it is.
For example, if you want to perform the non-force method, I
suggest you do not ask them to think of any number in the world,
but instead to make them think of a number between 1 and 100; by
restricting the number of possible choices it seems less impossible
than “any number in the world”.
So, either, you want to present this effect as your ability to predict
the future or as a psychological experiment about suggestion. I
strongly recommend you structure your act as so explained in order
that the spectators have something to look forward to at the end.

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Tips and Tricks
1. A good way of covering the fact that you are using a swami to
write the last prediction, is to write (or at least pretend to) all
the predictions behind your back, that way the writing will
always be bad and have a good reason for it being so;
2. Don’t make a big deal when you show that the envelopes are
blank on the back. If you give too much importance to
something that is “obviously true” it will make the spectator
question what they know, so they’ll probably figure out that in
some way those envelopes are not actually blank;

3. When you turn the envelopes over you must have some sort
of misdirection to cover your action, otherwise the spectator
may notice what you are doing;

4. Make sure that when you are putting in the billets and
removing them from the envelopes, you do not flash the other
side of the envelopes;

5. When you are working on any effect always ask yourself: “If I
was really able to this, how would it be done?”, this way
everything you do will be more credible;

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Final Thoughts
I really hope that you find a way to include this effect in your
repertoire.
If you come up with a new variation, presentation, idea or thought
based upon the information contained in these pages, I would really
appreciate it if you could share them with me.

Special Thanks
I would like to thank Leonardo Carrassi for helping me with this
effect as with all the other effects I perform and publish;
Pia Rigby for helping me to edit this booklet and all of you for
supporting my work.

Postscript
Someone brought to my attention that he had already seen this
version of the Mental Epic performed in the past, but he couldn’t
remember by whom.
Richard Osterlind also pointed out that the Left-Handed Fan Force
I explained was originally a Dunninger idea and it had already been
explained in other books.
I want to mention that I came up with all the material in this
booklet by myself and I apologize to the people who may have
published some of this before me.
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Introduction………………………………………………… 2
Effect………………………………………………………… 3
The Principle…….…………………………………………. 3
The Envelopes………………………………………………. 4
The Force…………………………………………………….. 7
The Non-Force Method…………………………………….. 9
The Basic Routine…………………………………………. 10
The Non-Force Routine……………………………………. 12
Presentations……………………………………………….. 13
Coherence……………………………………………………. 14
Tips and Tricks……………………………………………… 15
Final Thoughts…………………………………………….. 16
Thanks………………………………………………………. 16
Postscript……………………………………………………. 16
Patterns…………………………………………………….. 17
Index…………………………………………………………. 19

Copyright 2016 Andrea Rizzolini

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