Okay, so rumor has it you're working on a new book of effects using tarot cards.
Could you tell us a little more about this project, possible release date, etc?

Well, most rumors about me are true. “In The Play Of Shadows” is the book, last week was the release date, and that didn’t happen. The wee man who was going to publish it and I had a bit of a misunderstanding, (at some point this seemed to become ‘his’ book, and I disagreed) so now it's back in my hands. It should now be done…it will be done sometime next month.

I can't wait

Okay, so elaborate a little more. Like, is this thing a hardback, combbound, etc?
Does it use illustrations or photographs?
How many effects? Where will it be available, in magic shops or directly from yourself? Details...give us details...pleeaase?

Gee, I ask a lot of questions. Here, have one of these, you'll feel better, and hey, they're on the house and fat free!

"In The Play of Shadows", will most likely be comb-bound.

As far as illustrations are concerned, nope. The technical aspects of the effects are pretty simple. This is really about how strong a simple card effect can be, if dressed up a little.

Here is an example from “In the Play of Shadows”.

For the Price of a Stamp
or
(A Very Strange Day)

I start, by setting an old cigar box on the table, and removing a deck of tarot cards.

“Will you please mix the cards and while you do that I shall give you a bit of history on what we are about to do.

I was over in Britain a few years ago,
Wales to be exact. It was a pleasure trip, visiting family and friends. I ended up at a little street market, in the town of Abbergaviny. On Monday and Thursdays, it is a produce market, but on Fridays and Saturday’s it’s what they call a jumble sale. Kind of like our flea markets. Just stalls and stalls of odds and ends. Well, the stall I was drawn to belonged to a wee man by the name of Mr. Davies. He had boxes and boxes of postcards and letters, buttons and old coins, just the sort of stuff you could spend the day rummaging through.
I actual found several things.”

At this point, you can pull out any odd object you have been waiting to incorporate into your show.

Mr. Davies also had a few envelopes that belonged to famed psychic Peter Hurkos.
Well I bought the envelopes and a few other bits and bobs. All told, I spent about four hours chanting with Mr. Davies. I gave him my card and told him to please look me up if he should ever come to America.

Well, about a year and a half later I recieved a small padded envelope from Great Britain, Wales to be exact. Inside was a note from Mr. Davies, explain that he had found one more envelope belonging to "That Hurkos Chap". So, he just popped it in the mail. But, there was one other thing he popped in that same envelope, I will get to that in a moment. Please deal an amount of cards on the table. You may deal cards from the top, middle or bottom

Let the spectator do just that. When they stop, pick up the envelope. Inside the envelope, you will have placed an aged tarot card of your choice and of course, you will have the duplicate from the deck, the spectator’s deck, on the bottom of the envelope.

When they, the sitter, stops dealing, causally drop your envelope, and the duplicate card, onto the cards they just dealt.

“Please open the envelope and take out the little extra that Mr. Davies sent me.”

They will remove the tattered old tarot card.

“Now please turn over the last card you dealt.”

Of course, they match. So just, smile and say…

“I thought it would be a strange day.”


Odds are most of you will not have any old Peter Hurkos envelopes laying around, but most laymen don’t know who he is, so make up an old psychic and create one of “their” old business envelopes.

So, that is the kind of thing you will find in my book. That and some nice tarot woodcuts.

Wonderful routine, TC. If it were not already a strange day for the spectator to this effect, it is now

Tarot effects can be stunning. Partly, I think, because of the reputation of the cards as an oracle; partly because of the innate interest the occult symbolism of the tarot generates.

Question 1: Do you weave any readings (cold or tarot) into your effects? If so, do you have any technique tips to share?

Question 2: Where will "In The Play of Shadow" be available?

In good spirit,

Jon

Yes, I do weave simple readings into some of the routines. The book includes a description of all the cards.

Using Tarot cards is a great way to ‘break into’ cold reading. I do a pseudo psychometry routine using jumbo tarot cards. Cards are selected and placed in bags, and then mixed and held by a spectator. As I receive them back, one at a time, I give a brief reading of the card, and then hand it back to the person who chose it.
The amazing thing is, people remember me as having ‘read’ them. Fun routine.

As far as I know the book will be available through me, but that could change.

If you would like to send me a copy, I would be glad to review it for you