Cat's Cradle

Prop-less Date of Birth

The following is my solution to the prop-less

date of birth divination plot.

I have spent many hours jamming with

friends and working out the finer details of
this system, to be able to bring you the
simplest and most streamlined version.

I am very proud of this piece and am happy to

say it blew away many of my peers, when I
first showed it to them.

Now it is yours.

I will explain this alongside showing you how

a typical performance would play out and by
doing so, provide you with all of the scripting
and nuances of the system along the way.

It really is easy to perform once you have

learnt the system and the required memory
pegs you will need to learn. Here is a crib of
the associations you will need to make
automatically during your performance. This
can either be copied and pasted into a
notebook you use for your revelation or
learnt cold using 'peg' and 'list' mnemonics,
respectively.

I highly recommend you learn these

associations cold, so that you can instantly
shift mentally, from star signs to Months and
numbers to Months, whenever you need to do
so, during performance.

1 January Aquarius
2 February Pisces
3 March Aries
4 April Taurus
5 May Gemini
6 June Cancer
7 July Leo
8 August Virgo
9 September Libra
10 October Scorpio
11 November Sagittarius
12 Capricorn December

The only other rule you need to be aware of

concerning these correlations is as follows:
Each of the star signs cross over two Months
at their mid-point (around the 19th day of
each of the Months).

Therefore, if you are dealing with a date of

birth which has a single digit for the day or is
a double digit beginning with the number 1
then you will know you have to move up one
Month, mentally, from the Month you have
remembered as being associated to their star
sign, in order to work out the Month of their
date of birth accurately.

If on the other hand, you know their date of

birth starts with a 2 you will just stay on
whatever Month is associated with their star
sign (from the previous crib).

This will become clearer as we move on but I

wanted to just briefly mention it before
getting into the method.

You should also keep in mind that if you need

to mentally jump forwards one Month from
December then you will be jumping from the
end of the year back to the beginning, ending
on January.

So let's imagine your spectator was born on

the 15th of July, for the following example.

I would begin by saying,

“Okay, just focus on your date of birth, for

me and concentrate on the number of the day
you were born.

“Is this one or two digits?”.

Here I simply ask whether we will be dealing

with a one or two digit number. This is the
simplest solution and something that will not
affect the impact of the final reveal as it is
such a small piece of information. You could
guess this with a hanging statement but I
really don't think that is necessary.

In our example, they would reply with: “Two

digits”.

“So just focus on the first digit of your date of

birth and imagine saying it to yourself over
and over... so this would be two ...”

I then pause for a brief second.

This is the classic verbal hanging statement I

first read in Derren Brown's 'Pure Effect' and
is often attributed to Bob Farmer and Jerry
Sadowitz.

If they react here then I have got a hit and I

now know their date of birth begins with a 2.

If they don't react, I continue my script

making it seem as if I was just giving an
example, for how they are to think of their
number.

“... two … two … for example”.

I now know the first digit is a 1.

I now seemingly change my approach to

reading minds.

“In fact, we are going to do this slightly

differently using a system from esoteric
palmistry”.

“So in a moment, if I ask you to add a

number onto your hand like the number 8, for
example, I want you to simply count on your
fingers starting on the thumb and jumping
back to the thumb whenever you run out of
fingers, like so …”

Here I give a visual example and count

through my fingers, starting on the thumb
saying “one” as I though my thumb, saying
“two” as I touch my index finger, “three” on
my middle finger and so on and so fourth,
jumping from my little finger “five” to my
thumb and continuing the count around my
hand, until I get to “eight” stopping on my
middle finger.

This is a lot easier to follow in real life for

your spectator compared to how this reads,
especially when they are given this visual
example, to begin with.

“If I then get you to add anything else onto

your fingers, you would just continue
counting, jumping from whatever finger you
just stopped on”.

“I already have an idea of the first digit, so

place your hands behind your back and just
add the second digit of your date of birth onto
your hand and let me know when you've done
that”.

Here all I need to do is pick up on whether it

takes them a relatively short or longer
amount of time to complete this action and
remember this cue, for later.

This will allow me to easily back-track to

their second digit, later on in the routine and
know whether this is a number over 5 or up to
5.

I now instruct the spectator to add their

Month number onto their hand, as follows.

“So in a moment, I want you to add the

Month number onto your hand from the
finger you are now on – so that you don't
have to worry about the number, just say each
of the Months to yourself as you count
through your fingers and when you arrive at
the finger that represents the Month you were
born, just give me a clear 'yes' – so do this for
me now”.

Here I simply count along mentally in my

own head by saying each of the Months to
myself, at an even pace.
What is nice about seemingly making it easier
for them to add on their Month number by not
converting their Month to a number is: they
will stay at an even pace that can be followed
along in your head, mentally.

You will be able to easily gauge with timing

which of the Months they end their count on
due to the fact, everyone will say these
Months to themselves at the same pace. This
way there is no chance the spectator will
count through their fingers quickly or slowly,
as they will always go with the same timing it
takes everyone to simply say each of the
Months to themselves and then swiftly move
on to the next Month, as they count on their
fingers.

This idea for using timing to estimate the

Month and then their star sign was suggested
by Peter Turner, when I shared this routine
with him and is something Michael Murray
has used his ingenious 'Cups' principle for.
It is with both Peter's and Michael's blessing
that this short cut for guessing the spectator's
star sign is included in this manuscript.

For more information on Michael's prinicple

check out his various works containing the
principle on his website: www.mindfx.co.uk

My original method, relied on using any

other star sign divination to be able to
eventually back-track to the participant's
exact date of birth. This is something you may
still wish to do, if you don't want to perform
the slightly bolder yet streamlined version,
outlined here.

This is the easiest way to bring the routine

full circle and the way I feel it should be
performed.

They will say “yes” and you will now have a

Month in mind you can in a moment, base
your estimate of their star sign on.
“So right now you have a finger in mind that
in no way tells me anything about you,
right?”

They will of course, say “yes” at this point,

as it really doesn't seem to give you any
information due to the fact, they have added
numbers together on only five fingers and in
the process obscured each of these numbers
from being known.

“However, in esoteric palmistry each of these

fingers would represent a different planet of
influence – which finger are you now
focusing on?”

They will now give you this information and

this can be used later to back-track to their
exact date of birth.

In our example, the finger they would land on

would be the index finger.
“Okay, usually this would represent the
planet Mercury but based on what I feel the
first digit of your date of birth is, I would
adjust this slightly – it's okay, you can relax
your hands now”.

I make up this planet but if you prefer you

can research each of the planet associates as
taught in actual esoteric palmistry and
always associate each of the fingers with
their correct correspondence of planet. This
way if anyone were to research or happened
to know about esoteric palmistry, you will
still appear credible.

Another approach you may prefer is to label

these fingers as different life areas and break
up the routine with a reading based on
whichever life area their finger represents.

Again, you can make this up to suit whichever

life area you want to focus on during your
reading or always attribute the same life
areas to each of the fingers and then get the
spectator to tell you which area of interest
relates to the finger they stopped on.

Giving a reading will offer some nice time

misdirection, ensuring the spectator won't be
able to easily back-track the method. Not that
they will be able to do so easily anyway, if at
all.

In fact, you can always break up any part of

the routine in this way by throwing in brief
stock lines or readings, as this will fit the
premise and relate to the use of esoteric
palmistry.

Now I would go in for the star sign

revelation.

What is beautiful about estimating their star

sign based on the Month estimation is the
fact, you can now use a THREE WAY OUT as
you would usually when performing any of
my prop-less star sign divinations and in
doing so move from a low resolution to a high
resolution.

It will appear as if you are able to guess their

exact star sign using the out and once you get
your hit and know their exact star sign, you
will then be able to back-track perfectly to
their exact Month and date of birth!

In our example, let's say I have successfully

followed along with their count through the
Months to the Month July.

I would now have a possible three star signs

in mind that could belong to the spectator. In
order to get to these possible signs I would
simply focus on the star sign that relates to
the Month number I have estimated from the
count (refer to the crib), as well as the star
signs that immediately precede and follow
this sign.

I can get to these star signs instantly in my

head during performance due to the fact, I
have learnt the Month number and star sign
associations, as well as know the star signs in
order, as they appear throughout the year.

However, if you prefer you can refer to a crib

in your notebook as you pick it up to write
down your impressions.

The signs relevant in this example would be

as follows:

CANCER, LEO, GEMINI

To arrive at these signs I base it on the

estimated Month of July. I know July is the
number 7 in my crib and I know this sign is
LEO. I then think of the star signs before and
after LEO namely, CANCER and GEMINI.

I now throw out one of these signs with the

following ruse from Peter Turner.

“What is interesting is, when I first sat down

in front of you I instantly felt you were a LEO
…”
Here I snap my fingers, to accentuate the
notion I am going for a hit and then I pause
for a second.

If the spectator reacts at this point then I

know I have hit on their star sign.

If they don't react I continue, as follows.

“... BUT I'm glad I didn't just go with my

snap decision because based on the
characteristics and traits I have read from
you there's only one sign I feel could belong
to you”.

I now write down one of the other possible

outs on a billet and place it face down on the
table and ask if they are the other possible
star sign.

“Are you a GEMINI?”

Spectator: “Yes”.
Performer: “Good!”

If they say “yes” then you take your hit and

casually place the written prediction away in
your pocket, sight unseen.

I don't worry about the inconsistency here

and neither do my spectators. If they push
you to show them what was written I might
just say:

“I wrote a different sign then changed my

mind at the last minute”.

This never happens. I also write outs on the

palm of my hand and then just leave them
there, if I don't need to reveal that way and
they tend to be ignored.

If on the other hand, they say “no” to the

second star sign you throw out simply ask
them what their actual star sign is. This will
indefinitely be the last star sign in the list of
possible outs and will more often than not be
the star sign you have written down.

Let's say they say there star sign is CANCER.

I would now say, “Good! I'm glad I

committed to this” as I gesture towards the
written prediction, for the spectator to turn
over.

And now we seem to have the perfect hit!

Each of these outcomes is juts as strong as

the other and will always seem to be the route
you would take anyway, if performed
correctly.

You now know with certainty what their star

sign is and can now back-track the Month
and exact date of birth.

In our example, they say they are a CANCER

sign and we reveal we knew this all along by
having the spectator turn over our prediction.
I can now quickly work out the Month by
following this rule:

If their d/ate of birth begins with a 2 then the

Month they are born will be the same as
whatever Month relates to their sign in my
crib, namely: June.

Cancer = 6 = June.

If their date of birth begins with a 1 or is a

single digit then they will be one Month
higher in the year than the Month which
relates to their star sign, in this case: July.

Cancer = 6 = June (+ 1) = July.

This is really easy to work out and becomes

effortless in performance once you have come
to grips with the system and learnt the crib.

In this example, I therefore know their Month

has to be July.
I know this is the number 7 in my crib and
can now begin to back-track to their exact
date of birth.

To do so I get the spectator to focus on their

date of birth, whenever I am ready to divine
this information.

I cover my eyes slightly with one had which

allows me to glance down at my other hand
and begin to backtrack on my fingers.

This happens really quickly thanks to a few

short cuts I can apply to the counting process.

I begin on whichever finger they have already

revealed to me earlier in the routine: in this
example, the index finger.

I now take the Month number from this finger,

moving backwards through the fingers
towards the thumb.
If this Month number is over 5 then I simply
count “five” to myself on this finger and then
continue my count backwards (in this
example, to 7 which would be two fingers
arriving back on the thumb).

This is the short cut I use to not have to count

around the hand a couple of times.

I now back-track the second digit of their

date of birth based on the finger I have just
arrived on by taking into account the long or
short count I remembered from earlier.

If I remember they took a brief amount of

time to count out this second digit on their
fingers earlier, I know it can only be a
number as high as five and I won't have to
count past the thumb.

In this example, I can see right away the

second digit of their date of birth has to be a
4.
If the Month number is a 5 then I count the
finger I am on as 5 and don't move fingers.

If I know their Month is in the tens and is

either a 10, 11, or 12 then instead of counting
their finger as 5, I simply count the finger I
begin on as a 10 and adjust that way.

If I remembered a relatively longer count then

I would just add 5 to whatever number I
arrive at, to get their second digit.

Now I have all of the information I need to

reveal their exact date of birth.

I know it begins with a 1 and the number I

have arrived at for the second digit is 4 and
know the Month is July.

NOTE: There is one more shift you have to

make before revealing the date of birth to
your spectator. I purposefully left this until
last as to not cloud the previous steps in any
way.
Due to the fact, they will naturally start their
counting on their hands with the thumb,
calling this “one” it will throw your count
off, so you simply have to remember to add
one to the date you arrive on at the end of the
routine.

So in our example, instead of their date of

birth being the 14th of July, we would simply
add one to their day number and then reveal
their date of birth as:

15th of July.

That is it!

It really is a lot simpler to perform than it

sounds in explanation. All you need to do is
familiarize yourself with the crib and learn
the correct associations and short cuts to
counting backwards on your own hand, to be
able to perform this effortlessly.
NOTE: If I miss on the star sign I would
simply end the routine and move on to
something else rather than then back-
tracking to their date of birth. I feel this is
nicer theatrically and how you should cover
the miss in a set. If you were to miss and then
go for the date of birth, I feel the method
becomes open to others working it out.
Whereas, if you nail the star sign and then
almost immediately reveal their date of birth
it will seem as if you somehow knew both
under seeming impossible circumstances.

Some of the time you will be wrong on the

date of birth due to the fact, some dates will
begin with a 3 as well as the fact, one of the
Months has a different cross-over date for the
star sign. However, this will happen so
infrequently due to the fact there is only
around a 6 percent chance of hitting these
dates out of all of the possible birth dates in
the year, I personally don't worry about it.

To try to factor these slight adjustments into

the method would make it far too convoluted
and take away from its simplicity and what I
believe makes it beautiful and deceptive.

If you are still worried about coming across a

date of birth in the thirties then you can
always ask those in the group you are
performing for who has their birthday right
at the end of the Month in the thirties and
then not include these participants in the
process saying,

“Okay, I personally find it hard to nail these

dates of birth due to the cross-over that
happens with your star sign”. Then I just
move onto someone in the group who doesn't
have a birth day in the thirties and go into the
routine. This will make what comes next seem
that much harder, if they are aware that all of
the Months have two possible star signs
associated with them.

If you are wrong or only close then simply

move onto something else in your set. This
slight failure will breed credibility in
everything else you perform and if you are
close they will usually still give you credit, for
getting to within one or two dates of their
date of birth.

Fraser