Furthermore, I would also like to dedicate this book to a man who ha s seen

me through the last 20 years and who showed me that yo u do n't hav to know
how to do magic to get people to believe in tru PDJLF :
MICHAEL JACKSON

He was a huge magic fan who in his tours repeatedly demon strated
how the art of magic could be used to enhance hi s mu sic.
Thanks to him I had the opportunity to meet and touch the hearts
of many wonderful people with my singing and dancing during my years
as a Michael Jackson imitator. I mourn the loss of one of the greatest
entertainers this world has ever seen. Despite this deep inner grief,
I am very thankful for his life.

The world lost an icon,

I lost a friend!
I hope you are in a better place and that you can finally lead the life
you deserved. Thank you so much for the 20 wonderful years
that left such a tremendous impression on me.
You will never be forgotten.
I love you, Michael

Chester Sass
1st publicappearance
"Billie -ean" 1992
 TABLE OF CONTEN TS COPYING ,6 BAD

Table of Contents ... .. . 4 Dear reader,

Copying is Bad 5 If you are currently reading these lines on a computer screen or cheap paper,
Introduction ...... .......... . 12 without having bought the book, then you are in possession of a stolen copy! Calm
Zodiac .... 18 down! Take a deep breath. I've had the same thing happen to me. You of course have
Music was my first love . .. 32 the option of ordering an original copy from the distributor of your choice or from
Hello .................... ..... ... . 42 me personally at any time.
CSI-Book Test .................... .. 46 Joking aside, everyone reading this book knows that you shouldn't copy books
Ches-Te(a)r .. ... .. ......... .. ....... 56 and make them available to others. I'm also sure that a few of you have one or the
Equivoque .... . 66 other 'backup copie' of the many books available on your computers. Until I wrote
Annotated Bibliography .......... ..... ... 72 this book, I never realized how much time, money and effort goes into this line of
Acknowledgements ······76 work. Every author who takes the time to transfer their knowledge to paper should
not only get the respect they deserve, but also the money they've earned.
© 2010 Chester Sass I learned a lot from this experience and it has definitely changed my attitude and
Contact
behavior regarding illegal copies. If you borrowed this book from a friend and like
the routines, please buy yourself an original copy instead of just copying it.
POST Johannes-Albers-Str. 38
50767 Koeln/Cologne So ... DON'T COPY!!!!!!
NRW
Germany Chester
TEL (0049)0221 -701233
MAIL info@mindmagic.de
WEB www.mindmagic.de P.S. : The book is printed on a special heat-sensitive paper that bursts into flames
from the high temperature of a scanner light. I take no responsibility for any dama-
Design
brand. layout and typeset
ges done to your house or surroundings and you will not be compensated for any
Sandra Brand, www.brand-gestaltung.de losses.
Cover
Further investigation into the causes of the recent wildfires in Greece and Cali-
Marko Leckzut , www.brainimaged.de fornia allegedly revealed would-be bootleggers to be among the prime suspects ...
Thomas Heine, www.paralabs.org YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED ...
Translation
Cather ine E. Hatch

English Edition Proofread by

WRONA, WRITER
hire.tom.wrona @g mail.com

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced , sca nn ed, or di stribui ed in DQ\SULQWHG or HOHFWURQLFIRUPw itho ut
permission . Please do not participate in or encourage piracy o r FRS\ULJKWl'd PDWHULDOV iII v io l:t l io n o r the
author's rights. 3XUFKDVHonly authori zed edition s.

4 5
FOREWORD FOREWORD

Who in the world could possibly need another Zodiac Routine?
Well, as of today ... me!
When you've been carefully developing a repertoire over many years, each new rou-
tine has a tough time making it into your "bag of tricks"- but ZODIAC has made
it.
Chester Sass' ZODIAC isn't magic. It is pure mentalism.
For those of you have spent years debating what the difference is- here it is!
ZODIAC-no props, no writing, no force, no peek.
Finally a routine where we do exactly what we claim to do!
Psychology, suggestion and verbal direction- no "disclaimer" needed-this is
the real work.
,Chester has released a collection his personal routines, that I find to be some of
the most practical pieces of commercial mentalism available. After thirty years of
performing, I have learned that some creations are good for reading, while others
are good for performing. Chester's contributions fall into both categories!
I regularly use at least two of the bits in his book and have been inspired by others.
More than one method could have been sold separately for quite a few coins, and
the buyer would have been more than satisfied; yet Chester has graciously made
everything available in a single tome.
If you enjoy clever mentalism, but more, if you want to actually perform clever
mentalism, then this is a book you should really have."
Docc Hilford

For me, it represents another tool in the priceless box of "real" skills, along with
hypnosis, muscle reading and cold reading. A weapon you can take with you any-
where that's always loaded.

Nothing for magicians, and nothing for a single night.

Alexander Hartmann
Contestant on "The Next Uri Geller"
(German version of Uri Geller's "Phenomenon")

P s:That was only one of a total of six fantas tic ideas that clearly come from a wor-
king repertoire. I highly recommend the entire book. ZODIAC and Chester's book
test ideas alone make this book well worth your while.

6 7
FOREWORD

1. CHESTOSTERONE
Female equivalent of testosterone. It's what makes women get violent on Saturday
night outside a nightclub.
A variant is 'breastosterone'

As her heart pumped hard and the chestosterone coursed through her veins, Chan-
telle grabbed Chardonnay's hair and swung her spike-heeled shoe towards her
victim's shin.

2. CHESTOSTERONE
The fluids that flow through a mans chesticles (or manly boobs) that make that
man that more manly. Much like testosterone, the larger your chesticles, the more
chestosterone you will produce.

Ray:
"Damn home boy, you got some damn large chesticles!"
Dan:
"Boy, you just hating on my mad chestosterone."
Ray:
"WTF?"
Dan:
"It's what separates the men from the boys, bitch!

What a great title for a book!

What do you think? "

8
120% CHESTOSTERONE
BY CHESTER SASS
INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

"Big deal" ... Dear Chester,

... is generally the second thing I say, after picking up the phone when the name
"Ches-Te(a)r" pops up on my caller ID. Good luck with your little miracle!
Chatting with Chester is always filled with its own unique charm and is without When one makes the decision to share one's ideas with the world, one lets go of
exception always funny. Chester is one of those freaks who gets an idea, tries it out, ma ny:
and immediately calls up another freak to start scientifically analyzing it.
... secrets and advantages, but also the constant feeling that you have some-
Phone calls with Chester always end by testing out a practical idea. This rigorous thing more to perfect in your act.
testing is reflected in his book.
Everything you read here has followed the same procedure : Enjoy the wonderful feeling of getting positive feedback and hearing the sto-
testing ... tweaking .. . testing ... tweaking ... testing ... and so on. ries of other artists using your ideas.
That's the greatest reward for your dedication!
This book is the result of many of these experiments, phone calls and flashes of
genius under the influence of incense. Oh yeah, phone calls with Ches always end like this:
"Take care, my friend ... see you soon ... Aaandreaaa ... can you come here a
120% CH ESTOSTERONE could also be titled "Mentalism 2 Go". second ...
All of his ideas are easy to learn and can be used virtually without a great deal of Rainer Mees 8r Thomas Heine
preparation, making it possible to work little miracles in any situation. Paralabs

12 13
INTRODUCTION
Wow,
It's finally here! What you hold in your hands represents nearly four years of my
life.
Now, I know what you're thinking -
"THIS is four years worth of work? This guy needs to get out more!"©
But it was ...
... four years spent trying to reinvent the wheel ...
. .. four years spent making up excuses to my wife and daughter to justify why I had
to get back to my computer to type up jumbled thoughts about zodiac signs ...
. .. four years spent asking hundreds of people to concentrate on their zodiac
sign ...
... four years spent often stumbling and sometimes falling ...
... four years spent riddled with doubt about whether I had truly found my own
personal Holy Grail that would always get me ready for show ...
. .. four years spent wondering whether I should share these routines with other
mentalists or keep them all to myself ...
Since you're reading these lines, you know that I did, in the end, decide to give back
to my fellow mentalists and to the art of mentalism after all they've done for me.
In addition to my overwhelming joy, amazement and love of the art, I had the
pleasure and honor of meeting many incredible people, who today I am proud to
call my friends.
At first I was only interested in publishing my ZODIAC routine.
But the more I let myself get sucked into the adventure of writing, the more I felt
tempted to include other ideas.
Everything you read in this book has been tested out in the open and performed pu-
blicly. They are ideas that were developed through performance for performance;
not just a bunch of pipe dreams.
These effects work best in smaller groups (two -15 spectators), but also get a big
reaction on stage!
I have been in love with mentalism for over nine years now.
14
INTRODUCTION
It's all thanks to JAN D I TG EN that I became a mentalist. During one of his shows
he performed a telephone book test that completely baffled his entire audience, me
included! At that time my interest in close-up magic was already bordering on in-
curable addiction.
Then Jan Ditgen came along with his add-a-number and swept me off my feet. It
was then that I realized that my heart belonged to mentalism. Even though it was
just a small effect in his show, Jan Ditgen went on to become the German Master of
Mentalism in 2002 .
Mentalism is also among the reasons that I was kicked out of the Cologne branch of
the Magic Circle, for flaunting my love of the art around in front of the head honchos .
But that's another story! {My sources tell me that a few of my former colleagues
there still consider mentalism to be downright heresy. *Strange*.)©
Mentalism is an art, and as such, it is our duty as mentalists to preserve and perfect
it, since it sets itself apart from normal magic .
Mentalism is able to touch people where no other art can.
Mentalism doesn't just let people look on fascinated; it lets them believe in
something greater that the art of magic just can't.
As magicians we're considered "mere" tricksters, which doesn't make our work any
less alluring, but does take away from the overall effect. Not to belittle magicians,
as I myself still love to perform close-up magic at every opportunity I get.
The great thing about mentalism for me though is that even when we explain to the
audience that we don't possess any kind of supernatural powers, they still believe that
"something" miraculous is at work. The spectators themselves declare our works of
art "MIRACLES".
15
INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

I personally denounce colleagues who abuse our art to make it seem as though So, happy reading! I hope that my effects will serve you as well as they have served
they possess some sort of supernatural powers. me.
These people do our art a disservice and are the reason for the steady stream of
criticism that this art form simply does not deserve. It took 30 years for uRI GELLER
to understand that he need not claim to have any supernatural powers and now "With great power comes great responsibility!"
calls himself an entertainer, while winking at his audience and letting them decide SPIDER MAN, 2002
what to believe!

We should be aware of our responsibility to use our art to bring people priceless,
meaningful moments. With that in mind ...
. .. THE STAGE IS YOURS!!!
Having said that, I am sincerely thankful for JAN BECKER who gave our art the
honor it deserves with his act THE NEXT URI GELLER.
It was superb entertainment that never once appeared pretentious or supernatural
Chester, April
while remaining beyond belief and leaving a long-lasting impression.

As DUNNINGER once said:

"Every time you add a prop to your act, your price goes down."

Jan Becker understood this maxim and applied it perfectly so that in his perfor-
mance only A MENTALIST, AN AUDIENCE, A THOUGHT and A MESSAGE took
the stage. THAT IS PURE MENTALISM!!!!
In every one of his effects, Jan Becker successfully got a message across to his
audience that really struck a cord. For him, it was never the performer himself who
was important in the show, but the spectator- his thoughts and feelings.

In my opinion that is exactly the kind of effect the art of mentalism should pro-
duce. I, myself, have unfortunately not entirely mastered this technique, but I am
looking forward to getting there someday and am enjoying every experience that
brings me closer to my goal.

My sources tell me that the people at www.paralabs.org are working on a new publi-
cation that will demonstrate exactly how to achieve this effect.
I can't wait to read it!

16 17
 ZODIAC

"I'm going to ask you to concentrate on your

zodiac sign. Try to imagine that giant neon
lights are spelling your sign out between us,
one letter blinking after the other. Concen-
trate! Forget about everything around you-
all worries, anxieties and all other thoughts.
ZODIAC Only the here and now is important! Can you
picture your sign lit up between us?" Yes!

"Excellent! What we're about to attempt is not

easy, but we're going to try and do it anyway!
Did I just see an 'R' light up, by chance?" Yeah, it did!

"Great! And I can see that you just saw an $

is that right?" Uhhh ...

"Now I want you to try and visualize your astro-

logical symbol in as much detail as possible.
Can you picture your zodiac sign in its natural
habitat?!" Yes!

"I feel heat! And I can see sand for miles ...
and I'm detecting a sense of danger!
Your sign ... is ... SCORPIO!" Unbelievable!

19
ZODIAC
That would be one possibility for performing this routine. And from my experience
I can guarantee that this effect will not fail to amaze an audience.
I worked on this effect for a long time before I could proudly say "Aha! Now it's
guaranteed to work in the real world!"
Experienced readers will note that the method used here is what is known as a "pro-
gressive anagram." This particular one, however, contains a subtle deception that
sets it apart from other routines of its kind.
I first developed this routine for German audiences. The only German routines
available at the time relied entirely on the alphabet and more closely resembled a
game of hangman than a mentalist effect. I wanted to break new ground and deve-
lop my own routine.
Then, when I made the decision to have my book translated into English, it was this
very routine, my pride and joy, that ended up giving me the most headaches!
So many creative minds had already contributed to this routine in English (Bob
Farmer, T. A. Waters, Jas Jakutsch, Alain Nu, Richard Osterlind, Ray Grismer, Ted
Karmilovich, Daniel Love, just to name a few ... ), that I was at first unsure how I, as
a German, would be able to come up with anything that hadn't already been done.
Should I really attempt to reinvent the wheel?
Initially, I was planning on leaving this routine out of the book and replacing it
with something else. But the German version of my routine was very enthusiasti-
cally embraced by German mentalists and since its release, I received so much feed-
back convincing me that I am on the right track that ultimately I could not resist
the challenge. So I started the long journey towards creating an English version.
And, as it turns out, what works in German can, in fact, with a few slight chan-
ges, work in English. So here's hoping that English-speaking mentalists will have
the same success as their German colleagues!
First, I studied several of the existing routines to determine where there was room
for improvement.
All of the routines I went over were of course good, but each of them had a diffe-
rent method for achieving its goal, in this case, determining zodiac signs. As the
saying goes, getting there is half the fun!
20
ZODIAC
In certain routines, I felt that way there were way too many questions about the
letters of the alphabet ...
In others, I didn't approve of the questions about the seasons, since this seems
too obvious a method to me-anyone who knows anything about zodiac signs could
easily figure out how few choices are left over.
My goal was to come up with a routine that could determine any zodiac sign with
only one negative response, without having to ask additional questions about letters
or seasons.
Unfortunately, a few of the little refinements included in the German version
get lost in translation, but the result comes very close and is certainly suitable for
performance.
When I started developing this routine, there were 11 total possible letters that I
miraculously reduced to four. After that, there were several signs (six, to be exact)
that could only be named after a second negative response. But then I managed to
fi nd a way to determine ANY of the signs with no more than one NO, making the
routine considerably more worthwhile.
What's more, I don't just rely on letters in my routine-I also incorporate aspects
of visualization of the zodiac sign in question. This technique not only makes the
procedure seem fairer, but also more closely resembles actual mind-reading.
But before jumping into the progressive anagram, we're going to kick things off
by eliminating two of the ten signs without the volunteer even realizing it!
The first sign we want to eliminate is GEM IN r. This is achived by asking a seemingly
casual question right at the beginning of the routine, before the volunteer can figu-
re out what we're up to. Somewhat unsure, even a little shakily, we look our volun-
teer in the eye and say:
"Concentrate on your sign! (slight pause) Hmm, I see two things ...
that closely resemble each other ... Does that make any sense ... ?"
If the volunteer is a GEMINI, then he'll undoubtedly recognize this as a descrip-
tion of his twin sign and will quickly confirm this with some sort of physical or
verbal reaction, such as.
"Yeah, hey ... that's incredible!"
21
ZODIAC ZODIAC

If, however, the volunteer stares blankly back at us, immediately continue with: At this point in the routine, we've already cut the Pisces
"It's not quite clear yet what this means. Maybe the same letter is used twice ... number of possible zodiac signs from twelve down R no! Leo
or something like that. It'll all be clear in the end ..." to ten ... But as far as the volunteer is concerned,
Once it's obvious that no lights are going off in the volunteer's head at the mention we've just been explaining the rules of the game.
of something doubled, then we can move on (unless of course the volunteer is so Now the so-called "progressive anagram" can be-
hung-over from the night before that it takes him a minute to react to anything we gin. We start with the following letters in bold Virgo
A no!
say ... ).© (R-A-I-S). Scorpio
I remember this order with the following mnemo-
Believe me when I say that the volunteer accepts this maneuver no questions asked. QLF yes !
Riddles Are Interesting Stuff!
The second sign we want to eliminate is ARIEs. With Aries out of the picture, we've Cancer
I no!
eliminated another letter in the anagram, leaving us with a maximum of four let- Each time the volunteer answers YES , continue onto Taurus
ters we can ask. the next letter in bold, and as soon as the volunteer
We can now eliminate this sign, just as before, with the following, logical state- starts to hesitate or give a negative answer (we want
ment. to try to avoid an explicit NO, if possible), return to
",'m going to ask you to concentrate on your zodiac sign! the previous letter and consider the possibilities. Libra
Try to imagine giant neon lights spelling your sign out between us, S no! Capricorn
one letter blinking after the other." Here's an example of what would happen , if the vo-
Yell your sign out loud in your head (without moving your lips!) lunteer were a Taurus : yes!
over and over again .. . Aries .. . Aries ... Aries ..." "R"? YES
"A"? YES
Aquarius/Sagittarius
The volunteer's thoughts as we say this can easily be discerned from the expression " I"? NO
on their face : if the volunteer's lips start to form a smile, then it's safe to say that So the only options left are &$1&(5 or TAURUS .
we've hit the hull's eye- and the volunteer will immediately announce:
"HEY, THAT'S RIGHT!" But now how do we determine if the volunteer is a Cancer or a Taurus ?
In older routines, we probably would have asked:
At this point in the routine I once completely baffled Jan Becker, winner of the Ger- "Now I can see a "U," right? "
man version of Uri Geller's televised magic competition PHENOMENON! ©
If, however, no such reaction appears, we pause, and then end our sentence with: But I wanted to avoid the possibility of a second No, so I came up with the following,
"Aries ... Aries ... Aries ... like that, for example." more advantageous approach:
Derren Brown uses a similar method in his SMOKE card routine to eliminate a Once again, we make use of a cleverly worded statement that will give us two
card. possibilities :
Again, this little trick poses no problem for the volunteer, since we were only First, we need to turn the NO into a positive answer, by responding with the
giving a "random" example. following:
"I see an I ... (No) Wait , it's not just one eye, but two .. . and these eyes belong to an
animal, yes ?"

22 23
ZODIAC ZODIAC

With this statement (credited to DOUG DYMENT) we have flipped the negative an- If you get a negative on A ...
swer into something positive, which is always important when it comes to fishing. Virgo/ Scorpio
This way, the volunteer simply thinks he misunderstood what we asked in the first
place, instead of thinking we misread his thoughts. Whenever we have the option Try to picture your zodiac sign in its natural habitat.
of shifting the blame to the volunteer, then we should always find a charming way Hesitation Immediate confirmation
to do this that doesn't make him feel guilty. Always with a wink!
How is our volunteer supposed It's easy to picture to the natural
to picture the "natural habitat" habitat of a scorpion (desert, sand,
Next we have to determine which of the two (remaining) zodiac signs belongs to
of a virgin?? tropics, etc.), so the volunteer doesn't
our volunteer:
hesitate.
"And it appears to be a dangerous animal, am I right?"
You try it ... !
Once again, we must pay close attention to the volunteer's reaction time. If he imme-
diately answers "YES!", then we know that he's thinking of Taurus the Bull. If he
"You're think in "You're thinking of Scorpio!"
hesitates, however, then he's thinking of Cancer the Crab, since he has to think a
minute while deciding whether a crab can be considered dangerous.
"I say 'dangerous' because there seems to be something peculiar about the hands If you get a negative on I ...
that could cause harm. I see ... pincers ... similar to those of a scorpion, but you're Cancer/Taurus
not thinking of Scorpio-you're thinking of. .. Cancer the Crab!"
I sense that it's a dangerous animal, yes?
My individual approach to each of the zodiac signs is illustrated in the table below: Hesitation Immediate confirmation

If you get a negative on R ...
Pisces/Leo
I sense that it's a dangerous animal, yes?
Hesitation
The volunteer first has to stop and
decide whether a fish can be conside-
red dangerous. Hence the hesitation.
As soon as you pick up on this, say:
"I say 'dangerous' because I can think
of afew species that are not e:<actly
harmless-like piranhas!"
"You're thinking of ... Pisces the Fish!"
Who would immediately consider "I say 'dangerous' because there seems
a crab to be a dangerous animal?? to be something peculiar about the head
"I say 'dangerous' because there seems that could cause harm.
o be something peculiar about the hands I see ... horns!
that could cause harm. I see ... They could be from a bull or maybe
Immediate confirmation
pincers ... similar to those of a scorpion, some kind ofmountain goat ...
A lion, on the other hand, will imme- but you're not thinking of Scorpio- but, no, they're too sharp for that!"
diately be recognized as dangerous, you're thinking ... of Cancer!"
so our volunteer will not hesitate in
answering yes. "You're thinking of ... "You're thinking ofTaurus the Bull!"
Cancer the Crab!"
If the volunteer happens to be Taurus, we can score before revealing his sign by
asking:
"Is this animal associated with any country in particular for you?"
"You're thinking of Leo the Lion!"

24 25
ZODIAC
If the volunteer answers YEs, then he is definitely thinking of the famous bullfigh-
ting of SPAIN. "I have the feeling that you're thinking of Spain, and that you're a
Taurus!"
If you get a negative on S ...
Libra/Capricorn
I sense that it's very lively, am I right?
Hesitation
Here the volunteer has to think about
what you meant by "lively."
Scales themselves are obviously not
alive, so the volunteer will naturally
hesitate at first.
As soon as we pick up on this, we add
meaning to our previous statement
by adding "I say 'lively' because I can
see movement. Like this!"
Now imitate the balancing movement
of a set of scales for the volunteer to
recognize as his sign, thus turning
another NO into a YES!
"You're thinking of ... Libra the
Scales!"
26
Immediate confirmation
A goat, on the other hand, will
immediately be recognized as lively,
so our volunteer will not hesitate in
answering YES.
"You're thinking of Capricorn
the (Sea) Goat!"
ZODIAC
If you get positive answers for R, A, I and S ...
Aquarius/ Sagittarius
I see a man ... carrying a weapon, yes ?
Hesitation Immediate confirmation
If the volunteer hesitates, it's because Here it's obvious that the volunteer
he's trying to figure out what weapon is thinking of the archer. And what
the water carrier could have on him. good would an archer be without his
So we clarify with: weapon of choice-a bow and arrow?
"I see something sharp in his hand
that looks like it could be Poseidon's
trident!"
"You're thinking of ... Aquarius "You're thinking ofsagittarius
the Water Bearer!" the Archer!"
Anytime we have to casually fish for information in a routine, we want to rigorous-
ly avoid getting negative responses from the volunteer-or try to flip them into
positive answers in a convincing way whenever possible.
Let's take the example of the letter 'I' from the anagram above. Instead of simply
saying "I," we say "I see an 'I' ..." creating an ambivalent meaning we can use to our
advantage. At first the volunteer will think we are referring to the letter 'I', and if
he immediately confirms that his sign contains an 'I', then we can move on to the
next letter.
If, however, we notice a hesitation, before the spectator can answer, we add the fol-
lowing sentence:
"Wait, it's not just one eye, but two ... and these eyes belong to an animal, am I
right? And it seems to be a dangerous animal ..."
Due to the structure of my anagram, this statement is bound to be correct, since
the only remaining zodiac signs are Cancer and Taurus!
Thanks to this subtlety, we can always prevent getting more than one NO from
our volunteer at any point in the routine. We've created an ideal situation in which
27
ZODIAC
each and every one of our sentences or questions can be answered with a YES.
The trick to mastering this routine lies in recognizing and immediately reacting to
a volunteer's hesitation.
Before testing out the routine, you might find it helpful to practice recognizing
the various ways a volunteer can show hesitation. For that you can use the follo-
wing simple test: Grab a friend and ask him:
"What is dangerous about a crab?"
You'll easily pick up on the way he has to concentrate on the question before an-
swering it. It will take him a few seconds to come up with an answer.
Ask the same person what is dangerous about a lion and you will immediately
see the difference in their reaction. With the lion, anyone can instantly think of
multiple things that make it a dangerous animal, whereas with the crab, it simply
takes longer.
Just play around with it a bit to get a feeling for how people react. This will give you
the confidence you need to perform this routine!
Your audience will later swear that you just knew everything.
You couldn't ask for a better reaction!
This is my baby. Take good care of it! It took me only four years to come up with the
original (German) version! Which, again, does contain a few additional details that
are sadly lost in translation.
You would not believe how many dead ends I hit in the process of developing
this routine. I must have tried out 20 different anagrams before finally coming up
with one that did everything I wanted it to.
Oftentimes I was tempted just to use one of the routines already on the market
since I was running out of patience and creative energy. But in the end, I'm glad
kept going and didn't just give up. It just goes to show you that sometimes things
really do have to get worse before they can get better!
Lee Earle was kind enough to write a few pertinent words for me on this
subject:
,How does the revelation make him or her feel special?
No mention is made of the personality attributes or expected characteristics
of your participant's sign. Nothing about the person, all about the spelling of the
28
ZODIAC
sign. Consider how much more entertaining such a presentation could be if it went
beyond a simple, guessing your sign' and instead revealed details ABOUT YOUR
PARTICIPANT as you tease out the information.
Compare these two- , He guessed my sign" to ,He told me so many true things
about myself- he even knew my sign!" People relate to their Zodiac sign because
it represents something personal ; it's about THEM ."
Lee's exactly right. We should be doing more with of this routine.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THEM!
I've given you the tools . .. now it is up to you to design and build the house. Books
on astrology are easy to come across and can provide you with a world of possibi-
lities. You could either do a great cold reading afterwards, or play up some of the
signs characteristics, which everyone loves to hear, before revealing the sign.
I have quite a few people to thank for helping me find the right path. Marc Gettmann
(aka LENNART LEISIGK), for one, has been present since the very beginning of the
development process and was there to help me think up new ideas in our brainstor-
ming sessions. Thank you, my friend!
The zodiac routine that JAN BECKER performs onstage can be traced back to Ted
Karmilovich. His routine demonstrates how something as personal as one's zodiac
sign can have such a huge effect on people. But whereas his routine is only suitable for
big stage productions (which is perfect for his specialty), I wanted one that could
be used both onstage and off, in one-on-one situations.
I hope the length of this chapter will not discourage you from testing out the ef-
fect. I know that some will not want to take the time to memorize the whole rou-
tine and won't want to perform it. But just think of it this way: the real mentalist,
who doesn't want to rely on cheap gags, recognizes the potential of this routine as a
mental weapon that, once mastered, is loaded and ready to go at all times.
This routine can also be performed over the phone for potential clients, as Marc
Paul recommends in his MIND 2 MIND DVD. Just think how impressive it is to read
someone's mind over the phone from wo miles away!
In my opinion, a mentalist should always be able perform something that lets
29
ZODIAC

people believe in real mindreading. This effect achieves exactly that. You can even
be a mentalist in the sauna- without pen, without paper, without Equivoque-
even without pants!
Just the volunteer, his or her thoughts and you!
Could mentalism get any purer???

To make learning this routine even easier for you, I have created a PowerPoint pre-
sentation to help you. You can download it off of my website www.mindmagic.de
by clicking on my left eye. The password to unzip the file is "chiara 1 0".
Have fun at Zodiac Boot Camp ...
MUAHAhahaha!!! (deranged laughter)

30
Zodiac-Script
I see two things.
that closely resemble
Your sign is:
each other... Yes
GEMINI!
Does that make

Say your sign out loud

in your head Your sign is:
over and over:
immediate Reaction
ARIES
Aries ... Aries ... Aries

Please concentrate .. .
you're seeing an I'm sensing an animal, yes? You r sign is:
'R', No And it's a dangerous one, Yes
LEO
right? isn't it?
___

And I'm sensing an

Your sign is:
'A', Hesitation
SCORPIO
right?

Concentrate Wait, it's not just one eye,

harder, please .. . but two .. . and these
Your sign is:
Visualize your sign ... No eyes belong to an animal, Yes
TAURUS
I see an yes? It's a dangerous one,
'I'! isn't it?

Your sign is:

CAPRICORN

Your sign is:

SAGITTARIUS
 MUSIC WAS MY FIRST LOVE

If you want to know why I grabbed my crotch and yelled "Ow!" in front of an au-
dience of 4 million viewers, keep reading.
I developed the concept for this effect at the request of a television producer.
Although I'm sure that the method's been done before, I was unable to come up
with any references since the idea came to me the morning of the show.

MUSIC WAS MY FIRST LOVE Effect

Show the audience a card with a list of world famous music artists and their biggest
hits (e.g., Madonna- Like a Virgin, Michael Jackson- Billie Jean or Beatles- Help,
etc.) You should have a total of seven song titles and their artists.

The volunteer is then told to concentrate on one of these songs. As soon as she's
ready, the effect can begin.

"Imagine that you're a transmitter, and I'm a receiver ... you're the radio station
and I'm the radio!
I'm going to attempt to transform your brainwaves into real sounds. By the end,
if all goes well, we'll be able to hear the song playing in your head!"

The mentalist positions himself behind the volunteer, places his hands on the
volunteer's temples, and directs her to concentrate on the selected song and to lis-
ten to it playing in her head.
The mentalist now begins to pick up on certain vibrations and produce a series
of sounds.

Slowly but surely, the sounds develop into a beat boxed rhythm that the whole
audience recognizes. For total certainty, the mentalist sings a line or two of the
song.

The volunteer is then asked if she was thinking of Billie Jean by Michael Jackson,
which she will confess is true!
Over the crowd's wild cheering and the astonished cries of the volunteer, bold-
ly grab your crotch and triumphantly moonwalk off stage while waving your se-
quenced glove in the spotlight, blinding the first row!

33
MUSIC WAS MY FIRST LOVE MUSIC WAS MY FIRST LOVE

To sum up all the best parts for you: The second card, however, contains the same order of artists, but only made-up
·The volunteer doesn't have to write anything down song titles, except for our Force Title (in this case song numbers):
·all the songs are different
any song could be chosen 1 Beatles Crush
·there's no pre-show prep 2 Madonna Sunday
· there's no force number 3 Phil Collins Party time
·there's no anagram 4 BenE. King A Mother's Dream
·there's no a pre-selected volunteer 5 Michael jackson Billie jean
·and you don't have to ask any questions! 6 Prince Happy People
7 ABBA Circus
Unbelievable? Yes! And yet it works 100% of the time.
This is exactly what pure mentalism should look like! Take a stack of several index or business cards in one hand.

Method ·The first card [1] is the card with the real songs and our artists,
The method is so bold, that you almost have to feel ashamed to get such a big reac- · the second is a blank card [2]
tion for it. ·and the third is the force card [3], with the blank side up.
The truth: you don't have to guess the song-there's only one song it could pos-
sibly be! Keep a little finger break beneath the third card. Now approach the audience with
the loaded deck.
So, how can you force one song from several without manipulating freewill? Show some of the audience members Card 1 and ask them to verify its authenti-
That's easy: the card only has one actual world famous song-all the others are city. One or two confirmations should suffice. Later on these same spectators will
made up! be able to verify that the volunteer on stage could freely choose from several diffe-
rent famous songs.
The artists are all real; the songs however are not, so the volunteer can only choose
the one song that he recognizes: our Force Song. Since we've kept a break under the third card the whole time, it's easy to grasp all
The first card we show our audience contains all real famous artists with real(!) three cards as one and casually handle them as such.
famous songs, for example : As you're gesturing with the cards, bring your hands together so that the Triple
1 Beatles Help contacts the stack of cards at a 90 degree angle (with the stack vertically positioned and
2 Madonna Like a Virgin the Triple horizontally.)
3 Phil Collins In the Air tonight In a fluid motion, move both arms in a smooth, half-round gesture upwards, as
4 BenE. King Stand by me if turning the palms upwards to show that they are empty. In so doing, turn the
5 Michael Jackson Billie jean triple card down onto the card packet, thus bringing the force card face-up on top
6 Prince Kiss of the stack.
7 ABBA Waterloo
Instead of using a Triple Lift, you could always switch the display card with the
force card by means of a top change.

34 35
MUSIC WAS MY FIRST LOVE
Obviously, in this case, the force card has to be the second card from the top in the
facedown pile.
Now go to the volunteer and ask him to pick out one of the songs that she knows
really well. To make sure that she chooses the Force Song, tell her to:
"Think of a song you can sing along to in your thoughts!
We might end up singing the song together in a minute .. .
... and it'd be a little embarrassing if we were trying to sing two different songs!
The volunteer is now GUARANTEED to pick a song that she can at least hum along
to, since she doesn't want to make a fool of herself in front of the audience. Since our
Force Song is the only song that actually exists, she doesn't really have a choice.
The rest is in the presentation.
On my homepage www.mindmagic.de you can find a link to a clip where I per-
form this exact routine in the streets of Cologne for a German television show. That
will give you a visual of the routine to work with.
Now I know that in order for this particular presentation to work, you have to have
a certain knack for beat boxing.
But there are plenty of other ways of presenting your guess of the artist and song.
One option would be appear to figure out the answer step-by-step:
"Concentrate on the song ... listen to it playing it in your head and play the video,
too if you know it. Try to visualize the artist.
I have the feeling that you're not thinking of a woman, but of a man!
From his choice in clothing I can tell that he must have been popular
in the 8os, is that true?
I can see the floorboards lit up under the artist's feet.
You're picturing a very specific dance move when you think of this artist;
a move that was first seen in this very song.
The artist seems to be dancing nearly weightlessly .. .
Are you thinking of Michael jackson's BILLIE JEAN?"
That would be another way of reading the volunteer's mind.
The technique itself isn't limited to the choice of songs. You could achieve the
same effect using actors and movies. Imagination knows no bounds.
36
MUSIC WAS MY FIRST LOVE
I, personally, always have two or three force cards on me with different Force
Songs so that, on the rare occasion that the volunteer is unfamiliar with the Force
Song, I have the choice of an alternative Force Song.
This has the added bonus of making the effect even more astonishing, since the
audience members think that the even more possibilities in play.
And keeping your audience in mind, it's always a good idea to have a card with
hits from the 6os and 70s, which would be better suited for an older crowd.
If you'd like, the volunteer can also write down his selected song on a piece of paper
or a board and flip this facedown onto his lap. Then, at the end, he can verify his
choice by showing the title of the song written on the board, which creates a nice
touch for a stage performance.
It's up to you.
From my experience I can assure you that for as little effort as making two cards,
you can create a tremendous effect.
This effect was a definite audience favorite during my street performance in
Cologne.
Just try it out and let yourself be amazed by the strong reaction of your audi-
ence.
Appendix
My good friend and colleague RAINER ME ES (www. paralabs.org) came up with
an idea to further improve the effect.
Instead of just one card, Rainer suggests using around 20, each containing the
Force Song and 6 other made-up songs. That way, it seems like the volunteer has a
choice of about 140 different songs, making the effect seem even more incredible.
You can give a card with all real famous songs but not containing the Force Song
to an audience member to read aloud. That way, the audience won't have previously
seen the Force Song. The card read should then be placed either at the top or bottom
of the deck. Through skillful miscalling, the songs read aloud add to the impression
that all the songs are famous and different.
You then fan out the cards for the volunteer to have her freely select one. She is
guaranteed to pick a card from the middle and not the first or last in the deck, so
the card just read won't be chosen.
37
MUSIC WAS MY FIRST LOVE NOTES ...

As an alternative, you can apply roughing fluid to the faces of the force cards and
the backs of the non-force cards, so that when the cards are spread face down, only
the force cards will be available for selection.
This is a very interesting variation that would work well both for small audi-
ences and big stage performances.
Thank you, Rainer!

38
 CELL PHONE EFFECT

Over the next few pages, I explain an effect that will not only blow your audience's
mind; it may even bring tears to their eyes!
This effect will not only establish you as a mentalist, it will have a deeper mea-
ning for the spectator and leave them with a great feeling.
In the words of Lionel Richie :

CELL PHONE EFFECT

41
 HELLO?

Cell phones: a curse or a blessing? Either way, everyone has one!

Why not use this to your advantage?

Here is a routine that was very well received in the streets of Cologne.

Ask a passerby if she has a cell phone on her. Naturally she'll answer "Yes!"
"Okay, I'd like to attempt an experiment with you ...
.. . an experiment on your subconscious!
Our mind subconsciously saves everything that is important to us. Think of your
mind as a giant filing cabinet. Every drawer has a name, and when you open a
drawer, you find all the information you have on the person you're thinking about.
The trick is to access the right drawer, since our minds are overwhelmed with
a million different bits of information everyday.
I'd like you to scroll through the contacts in your cell phone and pick out the name
of a person who you've been meaning to call for a while but ,for whatever reasons,
you haven't gotten around it lately! It should be someone whose number you
wouldn't have memorized ...
Whe n you've found someone then I'd like you to write his or her name down
exactly as it's listed in your contacts.
Concentrate on the name .. .
.. . and on all the memories you have of this person!
Look deep into your volunteer's eyes and say :
''I'm standing in front of a long row filing cabinets.
One drawer in particular seems to be sticking ou t ...
There's a name on the drawer ... the name is TOM!
I'm thinking this name must mean something to you, since it's the only
drawer really standing out.
Now we're going to mentally search through this drawer together!
Concentrate on this person!
Have the volunteer give you her cell phone and dial the name of the
unknown person so that the volunteer can see it.
"I have no idea whose number Ijust dialed ...
... but this number has definitely been saved somewhere in your subconscious!
Which can only mean that this number is very important to you!
Should we see who picks up?!"

43
HELLO?
It rings and Tom Brown answers!
"Hello, this is Chester Sass, the mind reader!
I'm standing next to a woman I've just asked to think of someone she's very close to.
If I've done everything right, then this person should be YOU!
I'm handing the phone over now!"
Believe it or not:
You've just dialed the number of the person your volunteer was thinking of!
Hand the cell phone back to the volunteer and smile at the thought of having
brought together these two people who, for the rest of their days, will be telling
others about this feat ... and about you!
Setup
A volunteer, a cell phone, a piece of paper and a mentalist!
Method
Ask the volunteer to write down the name of the person they want to call on a piece
of paper.
Either you can try to peek at the name, using the Acid us technique for instance,
or you can use the astounding ches-te(a)r method from that devilishly handsome
mentalist, whose name just escaped me. ©
Use whichever method you prefer to get the name of the selected person. Then,
once you know the name, ask to see the cell phone.
You should know your way around a cell phone and try to get to the contacts
while engaging to the volunteer in conversation.
Ask the volunteer to close their eyes and focus on the memories they have of the
selected person.
Go through the contacts as quickly as possible, pick out the selected person, call
their number and then hang up right away! Searching should be relatively easy
since you know the first few letters of the person's name. Just open up the contacts,
type in the letter and scroll through the two or three names that pop up. That's it!
The selected person's number is now at the top of the list of calls last dialed. It's
great if you can memorize the first four or five digits (at least the area code, that
shouldn't be too much of a problem ... ).
44
HELLO?
While the volunteer is concentrating on this person, you are busy searching th-
rough their thoughts for information connected to them- and eventually stumble
upon his or her unconsciously saved number.
Once you've played the mindreading up enough, start dialing the memorized
number. The volunteer should witness you doing this so that they see you actually
dialing a number.
Turn a bit away and type in a few more digits. As soon as you're sure that the
volunteer can't see what you're dialing, press the hang-up button on the cell phone
to delete everything you've just typed in.
After that, push the call button twice. For almost every cell phone model, this will
automatically dial the last number, in this case, that of the selected person.
The rest is in the performance!
From the volunteer's point-of-view, you've just dialed a number (perhaps even a
vaguely familiar one) that there is no way you could have known.
And the best part is how we get from the written-down name to the number. The
spectator knows that it's pretty unlikely for you to guess the name, but that you
dial a number that even she didn't know by heart- that's just impossible!
I would like to thank THOMAS HEINE, whose suggestions transformed a miracle
into something that not only amazes people, but touches their hearts as well.
It has an emotional effect on the volunteer as well as on the person you called.
You leave your spectators with a great feeling and I guarantee that they will not
experience something this powerful anytime soon.
(Unless of course you perform another one of the effects from this book right after-
wards! *wink*)
If this effect doesn't have your audience bowing down to you and singing your
praises to the skies, go back and read this chapter .. .
- AND GET IT RIGHT THIS TIME!!! ©
45

CSI-BOOK TEST
Note that this effect requires a gimmick:
ground (milled) plastic. This is basically Lee
Earle's Silver Bullet gimmick.
Tiempo
TEST
How often have you been flipping through a great mentalism book and read about
a sensational effect based on the One-Ahead Principle? And how often have you
decided not to do it, since you just didn't feel comfortable with it?
The One-Ahead Principle is unfortunately no longer as big a secret as we'd may-
be like it to be, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be using it.
Basically, all we have to do is find a more subtle way of using it so that the audi-
ence isn't able to reconstruct the process so easily.
With this goal in mind, I developed a routine that makes this method much
more convincing.
Over the next few pages, I explain an effect where I apply this improved version of
the One-Ahead Principle.
Effect
The time has once again come for the mentalist to prove himself.
For this experiment, the volunteer is asked to choose a book or magazine from
his home (if possible).
He is then asked to think of a number between 10 and 200 (depending on the size
of the book). When he's decided on a number, he should open the book to that page
and pick out ANY word of his choice.
He is asked to memorize the word and its corresponding page number and then
close the book!
While the mentalist pulls out a few business cards, the volunteer should be con-
centrating on his word.
After a brief introspection, the artful mind reader writes something down on
his business card, committing his prediction to paper.
Since the mentalist can't change his mind, the volunteer is asked to reveal his
word!
Volunteer:
"I was thinking of the word 'HousE' I"
Mentalist:
"Hm- I wasn't wo % accurate, but pretty close! I'd like to try something else with
you that I've never done before: please concentrate on your page number!"
47
CSI-BOOK TEST CSI-BOOK TEST

The mind reader looks deep into the volunteer's eyes and writes a number down! Mentalist:
He shows this number to the volunteer. "Please turn over my prediction!"

But once again it's a few digits off-he has the wrong number! Somewhat disap- And before you can stop him, the volunteer is out of his clothes, out the front door
pointed, he crumples up the slip of paper and throws it away. and running naked in the streets!
P. S. Okay, I'll admit: that's never actually happened quite like that. But I'm wor-
Mentalist: king on it!©
"Was I at least close? Yes?
Then you've 9ot to 9ive me another chance! Alright, here's a quick review of the best parts:
Once more, I'm going to ask you to concentrate on the pa9e number ..." ·The volunteer holds the book himself
· It can be his own book
Once more, the mind reader writes something down and again, he slips the card · He can choose any page
into the volunteer's hand. · He can choose any word
·You won't need a nail writer
Mentalist: ·You don't have to ask any questions
"You were asked to take ANY book, flip to ANY pa9e, and pick out ANY word, ·And it's a killer effect©
is that correct?"
So far, everything seems like your average One-Ahead Principle, but wait! How
Volunteer: could I have known the page number if it wasn't a Force Page and if I didn't write
"Yes!" anything down after the fact???

Mentalist: Setup
"Now try to concentrate on both the word and the pa9e number. You'll need at least three business cards.
You were thinkin9 of the word 'HousE'. I said I wasn't IOO% sure, Write down a number on one of them and then cross it out until it is no longer le-
and wrote down the word 'BUILDING'. gible. This card will later serve as proof that you really wrote down a word BEFORE
I'd say that's pretty close!© writing down a number.
Set this card on the top of a facedown stack of cards.
Volunteer: You're also going to need a gimmick to perform this routine.
"My God! That's unbelievable! Don't get too disappointed by the fact that this routine is not completely im-
If your other prediction is true, I'll tear all my clothes off!" promptu: just make a habit of having the gimmick on you at all times.
The gimmick you'll need is SILVER BULLET!
Mentalist:
"Now, what was the number you were thinkin9 of?" Lee Earle's SILVER BULLET LITE is a powder which, when applied to a page, allows
you to find that page again instantly by simply applying light pressure to the out-
Volunteer: side edge of the pages. The powder is disguised as a lip balm, so you can always
/" have it ready in your pocket. You only need a dash of powder and it goes completely
139·
((

48 49
CSI-BOOK TEST
unnoticed. This gimmick will give us the page number.
Trust me, this stuff is unbelievable and will open up a world of possibilities for
you. And that's all you need to perform this miracle! Lee Earle is an unbelievably
creative and genuinely nice guy. Without Lee's amazing Silver Bullet this routine
would never have become so powerful. Thank you, Lee!
Presentation
Ask the volunteer to pick out a book or magazine.
This effect works best with paperback books. Towards the end of the chapter I
include a technique that works with hardbacks, should the volunteer happen to
pick one out.
While the volunteer is off getting a book, casually reach into your pocket and apply
a small amount of powder to your right middle finger.
When the volunteer comes back with a book, tell him to think of a number bet-
ween 10 and 200 (depending on the size of the book) and to turn to that page.
Once he's on the page, grab the book with both hands and raise it up a little, so
that the volunteer is holding it at eye-level:
We wouldn't want to cheat, after all ... ©
With this casual gesture, you apply the powder to the page.
Now the volunteer is asked to pick out ANY word on the page. Pay close attention
to whether he's looking at the left or right page. Left-hand pages are always even
numbered and right-hand pages are always odd numbered. This way you'll know
which is the right page later on.
Tell the volunteer to close the book but to keep the word and page number in
mind.
Recount what has just happened and in so doing, briefly take the book in your
hands.
Hold the book in your right hand along the open edge (thumb on top, fingers on the
bottom) and apply crosswise pressure between your fingers and thumb. Thanks to
the powder, the book will break open at the spectator's page. Open the book (see-
mingly randomly) to this spot, quickly glance at the page number, memorize it
and immediately flip to another page, and then another, to show that the volunteer
could have chosen any page.
so
CSI - BOOK TEST
"You could have opened the book to any page, right?
This one for example ... or thi~ one!"
If the book opened to page 139 when you grabbed it, and if the volunteer had been
looking at the right page (from his point of view), then you know that he was
looking at page 139; had he been looking left, it would have been page 138.
Now that you know the important information, the games can begin!
Tell the volunteer to concentrate on his word.
Take the card with the crossed-out number. You will appear to write down your
prediction for the word the volunteer is thinking of. It's important that the volun-
teer does not see that the card already has something written on it. Concentrate
fo r a moment, then actually write the correct page number (not a word) underne-
ath the crossed-out one and place the card facedown in the volunteer's hand telling
him to cover it with his other hand so that you can't get to it anymore.
Tell him that you've made your guess and that now he can now tell you the word.
The word turns out to be HOUSE, for example.
You reply:
"I wasn't 100% accurate, but pretty close! I'd like to try something else with you
that I've never done before: please concentrate on your page number!"
Take the next card with the blank side exposed to the volunteer and write down
an incorrect page number. Show this to the volunteer! The page number you write
down should be relatively close to the actual page number. Then, since we were so
close, our gracious volunteer will agree to give us another shot!©
When we ask if we have the right number, our volunteer will truthfully answer:
"No, that wasn't my number!"
Slightly taken aback, we ask:
"Hm- that's strange! Was I at least close? Yes? Then you've got to give me another
chance! Once more, I'm going to ask you to concentrate on the page number ..."
51
CSI-BOOK TEST
Somewhat disappointed, but determined, you crumple up the card and throw it
away!
This maneuver will trick the volunteer into believing that you are ACTUALLY
working on his page number.
Take the next blank card and act like you're writing something down. To really pull
off this illusion, write on the card with the middle fingernail of your right hand.
Properly done, the movement and the sound create a perfect deception. Concentrate
for a moment ... then say:
"I think that the numbers are in reverse order!"
... and act like you're scratching out the number you just wrote (again using the
fingernail).
"Now I've got it!"
.. . you say, writing the name of the word on the card.
You don't want to get it too perfect so instead of writing HOUSE, you pick some-
thing similar, such as BUILDING!
To sum it all up:
The volunteer thinks you're writing down the number, when you're actually wri-
ting down the word you heard earlier!
Slide the card between the volunteer's hands ABOVE the first card.
Go over the steps of what has just happened (from the point of view of the specta-
tors) and ask the volunteer to open his hand.
You should reveal the page number first, since you worked on it last.
Tell the volunteer to say his number out loud and then turn the top card over.
What he now sees is a card with a number crossed-out on it.
And beneath that, the right number!
The subtle detail of the crossed-out number convinces the volunteer that that this
is the card we were just working with. It will fool him even if he is familiar with the
One-Ahead Principle.
Next you reveal the word.
52
CSI-BOOK TEST
In a perfect world, you would have gotten both the word and the number 100%
right.
But this slight inaccuracy is exactly what makes this trick so convincing!
The spectators will now all be thinking:
"if this were a trick, then he would have gotten both the word and fhe number
right!!! So it must be real!"
If it were too perfect, then everyone would think it was merely a trick, and try to
fig ure it out. It is our job to keep them from speculating on such matters.
Now, I don't mean to sing my own praises, but it is my belief that with this rou-
tine , you could start your own religion!
To sum up the advantages of this routine one last time :
·The volunteer can choose his own book
· He holds the book himself
·He thinks of a number WITHOUT having to write anything down
·He thinks of a word WITHOUT having to write anything down!
Any more fair and the volunteer would be performing the effect for us!
In my opinion, there is no better, fairer or more convincing method!!!
If you ask me, this is THE perfect book test.
No Force, no fishing and the volunteer can pick any word, without being limited
to a single page. And as an extra bonus, we even guess the freely chosen number.
IS THIS TRICK CLEAN OR IS IT CLEAN???
If you don't want to buy any Silver Bullet, then you can always use a second force
book; but in my opinion, this method should only be used in a worst-case scena-
no.
Next time you want to perform a One-Ahead routine using business cards, go
ahead and work in the idea of the crossed-out information on the first card.
You'll be amazed how much more convincing the whole act becomes.
If you don't already have a One-Ahead routine ...
53
CSI-BOOK TEST NOTES ...

THEN GET CRACKING!!!

OTHERWISE THE TIME YOU JUST SPENT READING THIS ROUTINE WAS A
COMPLETE WASTE! ALL YOUR FRIENDS ARE GOING TO USE IT AND GET
ALL THE GLORY AND GIRLS (oR GUYS) THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOURS!
DON'T SAY LATER I DIDN'T WARN YOU!

WELL, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? GET A MOVE ON!

To keep from getting all mixed up, stick to the following order:
· right page number
·wrong page number
· similar word

Then nothing should stand in the way of amazement. ©

P. S. I mentioned earlier that you could also use a hardcover book for this effect.
The only change you need to make to the performance is to grab the pages of the
book under the book cover: Insert your thumb in between the front cover and the
first page and while slipping your fingers between the back cover and the last page.
Then you'll just have the loose pages in your hand and can open them, as described
above, to the page the volunteer chose.

Uri :
"So Chester, what is it you're going to do next?"
Me :
"Well, Uri, I'm going to see to it that my name becomes the secret to a great me-
thod!"
Uri :
"Well, Chester, that sounds really interesting. Are you really sure that you can
do that?"
Me :
"Yes, I'm positive!"
Uri :
"Okay, Chester-.. . THE STAGE IS YOURS!!!"

54
 CHES - TE[A]R

Does the world really need another Center Tear? Probably not!
So why did I spend all this time coming up with my own method?

The answer is simple, really-it all started with one of my crazy ideas! One that I
thought was so funny, I just couldn't let go of it. I wish I could excuse myself by
saying that I was totally drunk when thought this up, but since I don't drink, this
CHES-TE[A]R is sadly not the case.

It's a well-known fact that some mentalists have a tendency to go a little overboard.
I've even heard that once, such a mentalist had the crazy idea of throwing on a Bo-
rat-style sling mankini in order to find a dildo hidden under a bag! What a crazy
world!

The truth is that I really only developed this technique because of the acoustic si-
milarity of the phrase CENTER-TEAR to CHES-TER and since I was a big fan of the
play on words, I was determined to find a way to get it into my book.
So, once I had the idea, I just had to develop a technique of my own ... here's what
I came up with!

Setup
Take a business card or index card and place it in
front of you.
Draw a line in the middle of the card, on which the
name or the information should be written. [Fig. 1]
This line should be slightly above the middle, since
this technique is a variation of an Off-Center Tear.
Fold the card down the center from left to right.
(Fig. 2)

57
CHES-TE[A]R
Then fold the bottom edge almost to the top, leaving
a slight margin visible on your side. (Fig. 3]
The card is now prepared for the Ches-Tear.
Technique
The volunteer writes down a name or a number on
the card, folds it back up and gives it to you.
Take the card with both hands, grasping it by the
top left and right hand corners. (Fig. 4]
TWist your left hand towards you while holding the
right hand still to start tearing the card. [Fig. 5] Be
careful not to tear the card all the way through.
Once you've torn the card almost all the way through,
briefly let go of the left side. [Fig. 6) The left half
will swing open and you can insert your thumb in
the middle.
The left half should now be open to you at a goo angle.
Conceal the bottom part of this half from view by
resting it atop your left middle finger. (Fig. 7]
58
CHES-TE[A]R
Here is this step seen from the spectator's point of
view. (Fig. 8)
Now tear the card completely through by pulling
your right hand forward (and keeping the left hand
still). (Fig. 9]
Once the card is in two, bring your left and right
hands back together, placing the bottom of the left-
hand portion above the right-hand pieces. (Fig. 10]
Pinch the bottom pieces between your right thumb
(in back) and you first and second fingers (in front),
holding the top portion similarly with your left
hand. In a fluid movement, use your right hand to
rotate both halves goo to the left, so that you are hol-
ding both pieces in a horizontal position between
your left and right hands. [Fig. 11 and 12]
59
CHES-TE[A)R
Without letting go of the left side, rotate your left
hand goo counterclockwise, while simultaneously
tearing the card all the way through with your right
hand. (Fig. 13 and 14]
The adjustment of the left hand creates an ideal po-
sition to open the piece of paper containing the in-
formation.
While displaying the torn card pieces in your
right hand, lift your left thumb slightly off the
card lying on the left fingers (best held in place by
pinching the ring finger and little finger together,
which will force the card open). Then use your left
thumb to open the card the rest of the way. (Fig. degrees
and 16]
Bring the torn pieces in your right hand in front of
the open piece in your left hand. (Fig. 17]
Grip all the pieces together with your right thumb,
first and second fingers and then transfer them all
to your left finger tips, leaving the right hand free .
(Fig. 18)
You should obviously keep the open piece with the
information on it hidden from view behind your
fingers.
Now comes the most important part of the Ches-
Tear: the peek!
60
CHES-TE[A)R
The Peek
The peek should happen absolutely naturally and
not arouse any suspicions. Unfortunately there are
always plenty of bad examples that demonstrate
exactly how NOT to do a Peek. And while plenty of
people get away with their poor peeking technique,
there's always that awkward moment where the au-
dience starts to whisper ("I think he just read the
slip of a paper .. ."). The reason for this is usually
either because so many mentalists are OBVIOUSLY
looking at the slip when they do their peek, while
attempting to distract the audience with confusing,
Joe Cocker-style hand gestures, or because you can
see the mentalists' pupils moving from left to right
when reading the information even though their bo-
dies are facing left. Then, as soon as they do the peek,
they avoid all eye contact with the pieces of paper.
Pay attention to it sometime. Maybe you'll see what I
mean. The magic word here is JUSTIFICATION!
To justify a peek, I ask the volunteer to bring up
his hands and form a bowl. To show him what you
mean, I demonstrate it myself; and THIS is exactly
the right moment for the peek. (Fig. 19]
Everything is natural and I have a justification
for looking at my hands(- and to peek). Here's what
the volunteer will see. (Fig. 20]
There's no reason for us to feel guilty and no rea-
son for the volunteer to suspect anything more than
a simple demonstration was taking place. As soon as
I've done the peek and the volunteer has brought his
hands in position, I look up, rip the paper in half one
more time and drop the pieces into the volunteer's
open hands. (Figures 21-26]
61
CHES - TE[A)R NOTES . . .

justifying the Ches-Tear

In addition to having a justified reason to peek at the
slips, there should also be a clear reason for having
used (and then torn up) the piece of paper in the first
place.
My justification sounds something like this:
"You're probably asking yourself why you had to
write the name down, right?
Well, there's a very simple explanation for that;
I DON'T TRUST YOU!!!
You wouldn't believe how many times people
have tried to discredit me by saying my prediction
was wrong when it wasn't.
But if you promise to be honest, then we don't
need this piece of paper anymore!"

Not only is everything justified, but we also get a

laugh out of it, creating a more relaxed atmosphere.
It's that simple! I hope you have as much fun with
it as I've had so far.

Uri:
"Chester, your technique was absolutely mind-
blowing and fascinating.
I've never seen anyone rip up paper in such an ele-
gant way with such a refined method.
You're a real Mind Ripper. Very well done!"
Me:
"Thank you, Uri!"

P.S. SAY NO TO DRUGS! ©

62
 EQUIVOQUE

Now, I'm sy.re a few of you are thinking:

"WHAT MORE COULD POSSIBLY BE SAID ABOUT THIS OLD ROUTINE?
I' VE BEEN USING THIS FORCE FOR YEARS!"

I wrote this chapter for two reasons:

EQUIVOQUE
First of all, I absolutely love this technique. I can't tell you how many times I
have used it to create powerful impromptu effects.
Secondly, it pains me to see colleagues failing to achieve their full potential by
making a complete mess of this technique since they haven't fully mastered it.

People always half-jokingly recount the following scenario:

"''ve got here a red deck of cards and a blue deck of cards.
Pick one!
Red? Okay, we'll use the blue one!"

Wait for it ...

T HAT WASN'T A JOKE!!! PEOPLE ACTUALLY PERFORM IT THAT WAY
... ARGH ...

Ironically it's often the magicians who perform the "magician's choice" so poorly,
but even so:
IT IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!
(I'll be right back- 1 just have to pop a quick chill pill.) Alright, I'm back. (Hey,
what's with all the bright swirly colors?©)

Equivoque is a technique that requires perfect wording and total confidence. It

must be performed without hesitation or inconsistencies.

Equivoque is like wild sex ...

. .. since you're constantly shifting positions, your instinct kicks in and you in-
stantly adapt to the changes in rhythm.
If you don't, you not only screw up the logic, you might end up kicked in the
sack! And we want to try to avoid such excruciating pain at all costs.
Come to think of it, wording is pretty important when it comes to sex, too: Say
one wrong thing and you suddenly find yourself looking for your pants... . But
you'll have to come up with your own script for that! ©

67
EQUIVOQUE
Equivoque is like a passionate tango ...
... even if you're leading, you have to make your partner feel like they're in con-
trol.
My explanation of equivoque involves forcing one object out of a choice of five .
Effect
Borrow five objects and line them up in front of you.
Then look up at the volunteer and ask the following two simple questions:
"If you were an animal, which one would you be?"
Let's say he answers with "Mouse!"
"And if you were a color, which one would you be?"
Here he answers with "Red!" for instance.
After hearing the answers, switch around two of the objects, as if the answers
given had somehow affected your strategy.
This shuffling is of course purely misdirection, but treated with importance, it
gives the spectators something to think about later. I always place the force object
second from the volunteer's left since right-handed people tend to grab to the left.
''Alri9ht, that should do. We've 90t five items on this table. In just a second,
we are 9oin9 to eliminate four of them!
Are you ri9ht-handed or left-handed?"
"Ri9ht-handed."
"Okay then, I want you to take your ri9ht first fin9er and place it on one of the
objects."
If the volunteer picks the force object, then he should hold onto it as we push the
other four aside.
If the volunteer DOESN'T pick the force object, continue with:
"Now do the same thin9 with the left first fin9er!"
68
EQUIVOQUE
This instruction should be given IMMEDIATELY- as soon as you can see that the
right finger is headed toward the wrong object. That way, the process remains con-
tinuous.
Let's assume that both of the items are the wrong ones.
"Excellent! Please push the two items forward!"
As soon as the items have been pushed forward, "dispose" of them by pushing
them off to one side. ouT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND! The objects have been eli-
minated and should no longer be in the picture, so push them as close to the edge
as you can!
Now there are only three objects left on the table- and it's time to pay close atten-
tion to your WORDING!!!
"It's now down to three objects.
WHICH TWO DO YOU WANT TO continue with?"
There's a clear ambiguity in this statement which allows you to interpret the
volunteer's decisions according to your needs.
Regardless of which two objects are chosen, the statement is valid.
Scenario 1
The force object is NOT chosen!
"Great, please push those two items forward!"
Push the two items to the edge of the table with the previously eliminated objects.
Logically, what exactly just happened? We eliminated two objects and the volun-
teer will now understand the statement to mean:
"IT'S NOW DOWN TO THREE OBJECTS .
which two do you want to ELIMINATE next?"
The only object left over is our force object.
Scenario 2
The force object IS chosen!
"Great, we'll continue with these two!"
Push the remaining object to the edge of the table with the other eliminated ob-
jects.
69
 EQUIVOQUE
EQUIVOQUE

Logically, what exactly just happened? Before, we eliminated two objects but this
time, the volunteer will understand the statement this way:
"IT'S NOW DOWN TO THREE OBJECTS .
which two will MAKE IT into the next round?"
It makes perfect sense to the volunteer that we would hold on to the two chosen
objects, since we specifically asked him which two we should continue with.
Since it's down to two objects, tell him to :
"Please push one of the objects forward!"
If he pushes the wrong object forward, push it to the side like you did with the
others.
If he pushes the force object forward, immediately add:
"... and set it aside!"
What should you take away from this routine? You need to read between the lines
here. With this simple Equivoque, I wanted to demonstrate two things:
1.You have to make sure when you're performing this technique that you use a
very clear yet ambiguous statement. That way, no matter which objects are chosen,
the process maintains its consistency and the volunteer has no chance of misun-
derstanding the instruction. There can be no hesitation. Hesitation is the death of
every Equivoque.
2. Framing the trick with the initial two questions transforms this from a trick
into a psychological miracle for the spectator. We don't want the spectator to sus-
pect that the effect might be achieved by clever wording, but should instead be
convinced that his response influenced his decisions. These two points give the
whole affair a completely different quality.

Now when the volunteer opens up your prediction, he'll be amazed! I once landed a major corporate performance for Bayer using only two effects: the
Many people then ask me how I could possibly have known what object they first effect was Equivoque and the second was my Zodiac routine.
would pick. That's where the two questions we asked the volunteer at the beginning Even though this is a relatively easy force, when done correctly, it makes a very
come into play. From the answers to these questions, we make up a sort of psychic strong impression on an audience.
reading, for example:
"You answered the animal question by saying that you would be a MOUSE. Happy Forcing!!!!
This told me that you are a very cautious person who always carefully
considers your next move.
So I was sure that you wouldn't pick the first object! The object in the middle
was also too obvious a choice for you, so you couldn't pick that one either.
Your choice of the color RED revealed to me that you are the kind of person
who sticks to your guns, once your mind is made up. Red is the color of thinkers
who despise taking the easy way out. Because of this you would never have picked
the last object- that would have been too easy. You needed more excitement!
Based on your answers, it was clear to me that you could only have picked
the lighter!
This means that you are a dependable person and a loyal friend to others."

That more or less sums up my thoughts on equivoque.

71
70
 AN N OTATE D BIBLIOGRAPHY

At this point, I'd like to list a few references I found very helpful while developing
my routines.
I am very thankful to their authors for having shared their knowledge with us.

ZODIAC

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Out of the many different versions of this routine, these were the few I relied on
while developing my own:

T.A . WATERS · "Signse"(p. 460) · Mind, MythandMagick

DANI EL LOVE • Dream Signs

DOG DYMENT • Sign Language

JAS JAKUTSCH • "What's my sign" (p. 16) · Completely Mental Vol. 1

ALAIN NU • "Signagram" (p.31) · xxx HardcoreMentalism

DR . KNUT KNACKSTEDT • Baphomet

FELIX FARRELL • "Mental Horoscope" (p. 33) • Aus dem Effeff...

MUSIC WAS MY FIRST LOVE

This effect was developed for a television special on R T L.
Since I've never seen this effect anywhere else, I can't really give anyone credit
for it.
But my friends Florian Severin and Dirk Wiedermann brought Paul Brook's
Thought Reader Card to my attention. It achieves a similar effect using a different
method. The cards he uses in his routine, however, contain the names of a variety
of different objects, instead of song titles and their artists.
Denis Behr also told me that Max Maven and Ted Lesley had a similar approach
of this theme. Unfortunately, I had not seen either of them beforehand.

HELLO
I got the idea for this routine while reading Docc Hilford's Cellular Mitosis. Even
though this effect has very little in common with mine, I still highly recommend
it. The part I found most interesting was the idea of using the volunteer's cell phone
to call the person they were thinking of.

DOCC HILFORD • Cellular Mitosis

73
 NOTES ...
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGR APHY

CSI-BOOK TEST
I developed this routine entirely independently of Richard Busch's version.
Although at first these routines appear to be nearly identical, there are a few key
differences, such as in the peek and in the use of the One-Ahead Principle. I highly
recommend Richard's version which does not use a gimmick, but which unfortu-
nately cannot be performed with every kind of book.

RICHARD BUSCH· "TheLittleMotherBookTest"(p.g6) · PeekPerformances

CHES-TE[A]R
This method is a cross betweenJas Jakutsch's "JaJa Center Tear" and Richard Busch's
"Zen Billet Tear." I relied on Busch's tear for many years but was always bothered
by the fact that you have to unfold the piece of paper twice. Then I discovered
Jakutsch's method of using the tear to open the paper, which I then adopted. The
result is the Ches-Te(a)r, the best of both worlds.

RICHARD BUSCH • "Zen Billet Tear" (p.q) · Peek Performances

JASJAKUTSCH • "TheJaJaCenterTear"(p.s) · CompletelyMentalVol.1

EQUIVOQUE
There are some very meaningful texts on this subject that everyone should defini-
tely have read. Don't underestimate the value of this method just because it's easy!

PHIL GOLDSTEIN • Verbal Control

DOCC HILFORD • E'Voque

WONDERMAN FRED • Don'tgowheretheroaddon'tgo

JACK DEAN • The Equivoque Choice

JOSHUA QUINN • ParaLies (Deckquivoque)

74
 ACKNOW LEDGE MENTS

So, that's it!

You've just finished reading my very first publication.
I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it.
If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to write me. I'd be happy to
help! I would also be very interested to know what you have to say about the routi-

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS nes. I'd love to hear about your experiences using my effects! I am also very open to
suggestions for improvement. There's always something or other that can be done
to perfect an effect that I just might not have thought of yet.
The effects explained in this book have served me very well over the years and if
you study them carefully, I'm sure they will bring you success as well.

There are a number of people I would like to thank for their help and support du-
ring this project.

Special thanks go to:

THOMAS 'There's a break in the logic .. . ' HEINE ,
who, despite always having projects of his own, graciously revised my work and
helped me put on the final touches.
Thank you, Thomas!

I'd also like to thank:

RAINER 'Really big deal' MEES ,
whose ideas, friendship and vast knowledge provided me with a great support.
'Awesome!'©

MARC 'Yeahhh, finally going pro' GETTMANN ,

who repeatedly gave me ideas and encouragement during the initial develop-
ment of my Zodiac routine and who always pushed me to put on more shows so that
more and more people could see me. Thank you for your friendship! Keep it up!

MARKO 'Mr. Draft' LECKZUT ,

who not only helped me with the layout of my book, but also got new my new
website started. Without you and your creative mind much of this would not have
been possible!
You can book him at www.brainimaged.de

77
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ACKN OWL EDGE MENTS

SANDRA 'Get off of my desk, kitty cat!' BRAND,

who gave my book its definitive look. Thank you so much for your tireless com-
mitment, your great ideas, your sense of humor and the best service one could ask
for. You can visit her at www.brand-gestaltung.de!

I CATHERINE 'Found in Translation' HATCH ,

who took it upon herself to translate my entire book so that the rest of the world
outside of Germany could read it.
Thank you, Catherine!
But the biggest thanks go to my wife,
ANDREA 'Quit your whining!' SASS,
who's always there for me so that I can keep working
on my routines undisturbed,
without neglecting our daughter.
RICHARD 'The Senti-Mental' HATCH ,
who gave me many valuable tips and contacts. As a newcomer, it was great ha- Thank you so much!
ving your support. I love you!
Thank you, Dick!

BRITT A 'ANDREAAaaaaaa ... ' LOETHER ,

who gave me the idea for the great title Chestosterone. Thank you for brightening
up all my days at work. What you lack in height, you make up for in sweetness.

TOM 'The Rocketeer' WRONA

who not only proofread this book and gave some valuable tipps but also is a very
nice person. Thanks a lot! Up up to the sky my friend ...

All the mentalists of the world,

who have shared their wisdom with all of us and who continue to amaze me
every day.

Last but not least, I'd like to thank .. .

YOU, THE READERS!
By buying this book, you are not only supporting me as an artist, you are
demonstrating your true appreciation of the art of mentalism.

You've enriched my life so much!

78 79