HOW TO EXPERIMENT WITH THE ZENER CARD DECK

Five Symbols of Zener Cards

Introduction (printable cards below)

Zener cards were developed through a collaboration of Dr. Karl Zener (at Duke
University) and J.B. Rhine (Harvard biologist) in the late 1920s, and have been
used in parapsychology experiments.

In the year 2000, the movie "The Gift" featured a psychic reader using these
cards with her clients, however this is a Hollywood thing, and not a common
thing in real life. Although it is possible to use anything to do psychic readings,
Zener cards are better suited to developing and experimenting with psychic skills.
They are more like exercise equipment than a tool for reading.

There are five different symbols in a Zener Card Deck, and five cards of each
symbol for a total of 25 cards per deck exactly as pictured above.

We have created a page with a full Zener deck for you to print. It is
recommended that you use a heavy card stock of white (traditional), cream or
yellow. Use your "print preview" option to see if everything looks the way you
want it to before you print.

Traditionally, two people use a deck of Zener cards. One person shuffles the deck
(the sender) and focuses on each card for a few moments. The second person
(the receiver) says which symbol they sense the sender is focusing on. Usually
the receiver is visually separated from the sender, perhaps in another room or
building. I have found that it works well to sit on the floor on opposite sides of a
closed door.

When two people use a Zener deck, it is an exercise in telepathy. Telepathy,

otherwise known as "mind reading" literally translates to "distance feeling" or
picking up on the thoughts of others. You may find that you are a good "sender"
and your friend is a good "receiver" or vice versa. Knowing where your strengths
are will help you customize any magical or energy workings you might wish to
do.

If you are using a Zener deck alone, you are most likely exercising your
precognitive skills. If there is no "sender" then you are technically "predicting"
which card will appear next. This might also be considered remote viewing
because the order of the cards is set when you shuffle, and isn't necessarily in
the future. Regardless of what term you use, Zener cards can be a useful tool for
testing and exercising psychic skills.
Instructions

• Print the deck as instructed in the introduction, then cut out each card.
• Sit in a quiet room out of direct view of your partner.
• Have the sender shuffle the 25 card deck well. The sender then places the deck
face down in front of him/her.
• The sender selects a card off the top of the deck and focuses on it for about a
minute.
• The receiver calls out the name of the symbol they believe it is (your first
impulse is usually the most accurate, don't "over think")
• The sender records the actual card on a chart, and the 'guess' of the receiver
on a chart. A sample record keeping chart is provided for you below. The next
card is then selected, focused on by the sender, guessed by the receiver and
recorded and so on. It can be helpful to have a third person (a recorder) doing all
recording instead of the sender doing the recording if you have three people. The
sender should not speak, only the receiver, you don't want to inadvertently give
clues in your vocal fluctuations, etc.
• When all 25 cards have been viewed and guessed, the score is calculated. A
20% score is average (5 correct) and would be the score attributable to chance
(1 in 5 random chance.) Anything above a 20% (more than 5 correct) may show
potential psychic skills. Anything below 20% (less than 5 correct) may also show
potential psychic skills. Some people may guess the incorrect answer more often
than is attributable to chance. This "Reverse Psychicism" is an unusual
phenomena that should be identified and controlled whenever it is detected to
improve your psychic and magical workings.
• Keep practicing and try the experiment with other people. You might find that
you work better with different people and you may find that you work better at
different times of the day. Finding your peak times is also helpful for timing your
other magical and ritual workings. If you are alone, make sure that all your cards
look identical on the backs and act as your own recorder.
• To make these experiments the most accurate, we recommend that you
calculate an overall score after doing many tests, say 100 or more. This overall
score is more objective, but does not necessarily make a high score less valid.
Make notes of the time, date, weather conditions, experimenters' names, or
anything else so that when you do have a high score, you can find out what
helped it to become so.

Record Keeping

Good record keeping will help you accurately determine your progress.

Zener Cards Memory test at http://www.paginar.net/matias/misc/zener/

http://www.salemtarot.com/cgi-bin/rhine.pl another zener test

list of ESP tests http://www.paranormality.com/esp_tests_list.shtml

continuing online ESP test http://www.ibiblio.org/ais/epsi.htm

INS tests http://www.gotpsi.org/bi/gotpsi.htm

Card test http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/2788/psi1.html

A number of psi researchers have summarized some

of the factors believed to consistently favor the
production of psychic phenomena under controlled
laboratory conditions. Taking their various
suggestions into account, here's a short recipe for
learning to harness your own psychic potentials:
Reduction of sensory input [quiet your senses]
A good dose of relaxation
A pinch of enthusiasm and confidence
Shifting of awareness toward internal processes
[pay attention to what's going on between your
ears]
Non-analytic, intuitive "right-brain" mode of
functioning [try to pay attention to images,
feelings and emotions]
An orientation toward creative spontaneity rather
than habit
A feeling of relatedness with the world
[If in an experiment] A positive and warm
subject-experimenter relationship
Feedback about your psi performance

Investigating ESP And PSI

Courtesy: The UPI Association

The following 12 tests are used within the investigation of

ESP and PSI phenomena:

Test 1 : Zener Cards.Named after a researcher at the

American University of Chicago where pioneering
experiments were carried out by Dr. Joseph Rhine in the
late 1920s. The Zener cards are designed to assess the
ESP or mind-reading ability of a volunteer subject.To carry
out the experiment, first shuffle the cards thoroughly and
lay the pack face down. Lift the first card and, while keeping
its face from sight place it next to the pack, face down and
allow your volunteer up to 30 seconds to name the symbol
on the card. Make a note of what the subject has stated
and move onto the next card. Repeat this procedure until all
cards have been done. Now check your notes to see if they
were right on any of the cards. Add the number of correct
guesses up. A score of five is in this case the chance
factor. If the subject scores more than five, this may
indicate an Extra Sensory Perception. If in any doubt,
complete the test again, checking the subjects’ remarks. If
the subject scores less than five, then there should be no
reason to continue the test.

Test 2 : Hidden Pictures.The subject is asked to handle five

sealed envelopes, which conceal five cards with pictures on
them. When the subject is ready, ask them to state what
the pictures are on each card, in each envelope. Note down
their statements and complete all five. Make sure the
pictures cannot be seen through the envelopes. When
finished, reveal the results. This experiment is only
conducted once. Chance factor is one in five. If the subject
gets more than one correct, it may be necessary to conduct
the experiment again in the near future.

Test 3 : Semi PK.There are numerous ways to test for

Psychokinesis (PK). When you first try to use the power of
your mind to move a physical object, it is probably that this
power, if any, is only weak (an obvious exception would be
people associated with poltergeist phenomena, who seem
to have a powerful, though poorly controlled, PK ability). It
seems sensible to try and develop PK by attempting to
move the lightest possible objects before trying more
ambitious feats. Smoke is just about the lightest material
with which you can test PK ability. If you blow out a
mouthful of cigarette smoke, very gently, through a long
straw which extends into a tall glass, you can produce a
‘puddle’ of smoke in the bottom of the glass which will
persist for several minutes, particularly if the glass is upside
down and then placed on a saucer to eliminate draughts.
Now ask the subject to concentrate on the smoke.
Envisage the smoke bubbling up in the middle, or collecting
any one side of the glass. The subject may be lucky
enough to produce distinct movement in this lightest of all
targets. This experiment should only be done the once, and
investigators should try to eliminate any drafts.

Test 4 : Pendulum PK.The subject is asked to try their skills

on something a little more tangible, a piece of cotton with a
small ball of Blue Tack (or similar substance) on the end
which is fastened to the bottom of the inside of a tall glass,
placed upside down on a working surface will act as a
pendulum which also has eliminated the chance of
movements by drafts. If the pendulum moves, try the
experiment again with the glass on another working surface
or a concrete floor, so to eliminate the possibility of
movement by vibrations. Monitor the glass and pendulum
carefully and note any result. This experiment should on be
conducted the once, however, if you obtain a result, then it
may be required to be sat again in the near future.

Test 5 : Menicus PK.By pouring water very carefully into a

clean tall glass you can actually get the water surface to
stand above the rim of the glass, retained by the skin on top
of the water, (which is known as the Menicus). If you float
your PK target on this invisible film, it can revolve freely on
the water surface, under the influence of Psychokinesis. A
match with the end cut off is usually the ideal target. It will
float, supported by the Menicus, or even float itself, due to it
composition. Ask the subject to try to manipulate the target
object (in this case the match), such as rotation etc. Make
sure to eliminate the possibility of drafts or vibrations.
Magnetic targets can also be used. A needle can be
balanced on the Menicus, thus showing any probable
magnetic influence, which is produced by the subjects
ability. Again make sure that they take off any watches etc
that might influence the needle. Conduct experiment just
the once, noting the results.

Test 6 : Electro Magnetism.Place a compass that is in good

working order on a working surface. Turn the compass until
the pointer or needle points towards magnetic North. Try to
be as precise as you can. Wait for the compass to settle.
Make sure that the subject removes any rings or watches
that may contaminate the magnetic field, by causing Stray
Magnetic Influences (SMI), which would adversely affect
the compass. Ask the subject to try to manipulate the
movement of the pointer or needle, ie, fluctuations or
movement. The subject cannot be in physical contact with
the compass, and should not touch it. Trying to eliminate
(SMI) and vibrations can be difficult. If you are in any doubt,
move the compass to a different working surface and
conduct the experiment again. Remember to double-check
the compass that it is actually pointing towards magnetic
North. This experiment may require the use of more than
one compass. This experiment should only be conducted
the one or less the investigators are in doubt, regarding
influences or true North.

Test 7 : Transmission / Receiver.Ask another individual

(hopefully someone who claims to possess an ESP ability)
to leave the room and to look at a card or picture in an
attempt to transmit the image to the receiver who should be
located in a different room. The reason for splitting the two
participants is to eliminate the chance of obtaining the
information in any other way. Attempt this experiment for
five minutes, no longer and then check the results from the
receiver. The second part of this test is to simply rotate the
participants, so that the transmitter becomes the receiver
and the vice versa. Again conduct the test using different
cards or pictures. Check the results after five minutes and
note any unusual remarks. This experiment should only be
conducted the once.

Test 8 : Random Number Generator.By use of a computer,

ask the subject to write down five numbers from 1-100,
which they think are about to pick picked. The random
generator program on the computer will pick out the five
numbers.

Test 9 : Geomancy.Most people think of dice as an obvious

PK target, although they have the disadvantage that
clairvoyance would be needed to know where the target
face would be as the dice rolled, and they are
comparatively heavy objects to move via PK. Shaking the
dice in a cup means that you eliminate any bias in rolling
the dice. The subject must decide in advance on the
number they wish to throw, and concentrate on that
number. The first part of this experiment is conducted using
one dice rolled six times. That means that the subject has a
one in six chance of rolling their suggested number. If the
subject is correct more than once, conduct the experiment
again with different dice. Try not to use dice with drilled
markings as this means that there is a better chance of the
number six turning up, obviously because its the lightest of
all sides. Make sure that the dice are not being physically
influenced in any way. The second part of the experiment is
conducted with three dice. Again, using the same
procedure, with one of six chances on each dice. This
experiment can either test for clairvoyance, ie, the subject
knows what number is going to be shown, or PK, that the
subject can influence the rolling of the dice by means of
ESP.

Test 10 : Dowsing / Divining.The ancient art of dowsing or

divining is the most practical of all forms of ESP. It also
produces the most consistent results. Professional dowsers
are employed by farmers, water authorities, and civil
engineers in order to locate underground water. In Vietnam
and elsewhere, dowsers were used to find mines and
hidden dug outs (Divining), and occasionally police forces
have called upon the services of a diviner to help them
locate a body. The techniques of dowsing or divining are
basically very simple and the dowsers, unlike many other
exponents of paranormal ability, does not have to cultivate
any special mental state when exercising these powers.
The Fork twig is the simplest tool for dowsing, but its use
demands a certain amount of practice, particularly in
grasping it correctly. It is important to select twigs, which
can be cut so that the two branches are of equal thickness.
Plastic strips, like that used for drawing instruments can
also be made into dowsing devices. Simplest of all to use
are the rods made from a pair of coat hangers. Wooden or
plastic grips can be added to make them more sensitive
such as empty Bic pens. Other materials can be used for
the rods, such as welding rod or heavy gauge piano wire.
Pendulums can be improvised from any small weight, but
some people like to use hollow types, in which specimen
samples can be placed. For this experiment we usually use
the coat hanger and bic pens to create dowsing rods. The
subject should be taken to a specially designed location
where a water pipe runs trough, underneath the ground.
Also there are four silver coins buried in different locations.
This controlled environment should not be larger than 20
feet by 20 feet. Investigators should monitor the subject as
he or she first tries to locate the path of the water pipe and
then the second part of the experiment should be to see if
the subject could locate the four silver coins. Marking areas
selected by the subject is important. Also, only reveal their
findings after the experiment is over. Remember to note all
results and to conduct this experiment only once.

Test 11 : Psychometry.The subject is given a ring or

pendent that belongs to someone all the investigators know
well and that the subject doesn’t. Ask the subject to handle
the personal metallic item. The investigators present should
not use their own items. After a short time, ask the subject if
they could tell you anything about the items owner, such as
description, attitude, occupation, sex, character, belongings
etc. The subject may handle the item for at least 10
minutes. Give the subject time to respond. Investigators
should note every remark and check the results after the
experiment time has passed. You may wish to conduct the
experiment again using a different item, which should be
owned by a different person than the last one used, in order
to note what is worthy of statistical research. Use methods
of group analysis to decide the overall response to
experiment.

Test 12 : Preliminary Questions / further experiments.Tests

1-11 are carried out again whilst using specialized
equipment to measure chemical, biological, physical and
environmental changes. Further questions are behavioural,
so to establish if the subject thinks he or she is an Unstable
/ Stable Extrovert or Unstable / Stable Introvert.