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MagicMenno New user 1 Post |
Hi all, I’m just a beginner in mentalism. To learn a lot aspects and tricks, I’m thinking to buy the book Mythology Codex.
1. Is this an great book and worth the big investment (195,00 euro)? 2. Is it easy to learn from a book. Or is it better to start somewhere different? 3. And if you have a better advice, I’m very curious. Thank you already for your answer! https://www.mythologycodex.com |
Mindpro Eternal Order 10585 Posts |
No! A beginner to mentalism should start with learning the foundational elements to mentalism or you will ever only be perceived as a magician or a con (pretending to be something you are not.)
Some of Bob Cassidy's beginner material or Richard Osterlind's books or DVDs are a great way to start as both focus on the differences in mentalism and how to learn the foundational aspects I mentioned. They also have advanced materials so be sure not to get ahead of yourself and start with the basics. When you get the that price point is is almost always for adbanced content as you can start for far less than $100. I prefer to learn from coaching/mentoring or DVDs. Once word of advice that is so important but most beginners fail to accept or understand is to stay away from youtube. Educational dvds and youtube are two waaaay different things. Best of luck. I have been doing mentaism for over 30 years and it is most rewarding as compared to magic when done right. |
Russo Inner circle So.California / Centl.Florida / retired Florida 1165 Posts |
A lot is also learning Body Language -My Wife also learned Handwriting Analysis - it was spooky how She would describe a person She never met, just by their Handwriting
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Escamoteur Regular user 109 Posts |
Hello MagicMenno,
While the contents of the Mythology Codex are great reading and among my favourite books, it is definitely not beginning mentalism. While not all follow this path, I am a believer in having at least some foundation in traditional magic, as I see it as very helpful. There are different schools of thought as well as pros and cons to both. That said, certain works like the Amateur Magicians Handbook, or The Magic Book, are good sources to build that foundation. Mindpro has given good advice above. The two mentioned are great teachers of mentalism. DVD wise I will add Simply Psychic. It's not expensive, and there are several great mentalism effects that I feel are great for wading into mentalism. It is roundabout, and not exactly cheap, but many years ago I got a SAW (a quick search here will enlighten you more about this). It's a great tool, but as a bonus I actually found the tutorial DVDs extremely helpful for the stage in mentalism I was at, as Peter Nardi and Marc Spelmann provided many nuances and presentational touches which I incorporated into many other effects I performed. I am very much a book learner, and while I would not recommend either to a complete beginner, I do recommend Corinda's Thirteen Steps to Mentalism and Practical Mental Effects (or the Jinx) in that order. Be aware though that they are olde texts, which is not to mean the material is dated but that reading might be considered difficult due to the style of the times. Good luck in your journey, and may you enjoy reading whatever you decide to commence with. Regards |
TheKingOfSpades New user 1 Post |
Quote:
On Feb 10, 2023, Mindpro wrote: Why is youtube a bad thing? |
Matt G New user Boston, MA 77 Posts |
Think of it this way: not all magic/mentalism education on YouTube is bad, but there is a lot of bad magic/mentalism education on YouTube. As a beginner, you probably have no way of determining which is which. Lots of views and lots of likes DOES NOT mean lots of good content.
If you invest a little bit of money and stick to the classic books and DVDs while building your foundation, you will get a lot more of it in the long run IMO. |
Mindpro Eternal Order 10585 Posts |
Exactly. Most videos on youtube are made by amatures, hobbyists, and are mostly trick or effect-based. Most perform effects they have to right to or as they are called "hacks". which is a bad way to start off in any form of entertainment. And nearly all evade the ever so important foundational components that really need to be established and in place before looking for effects as a mentalist.
There are many more important things with mentalism to be concerned about rather than tricks/effects as youtube would have you believe. If you want to learn correctly you learn from teachers, not kiddies that have no clue and are just wanting views thinking they're cool and attempting to perform (and often revealing) things they have no right to. If you are serious, do it right. Also, consider a mentor or performance coach. |
JDobbs New user 69 Posts |
It is more of what sub-category of mentalism you want and are interested in the most. If you want to understand the fundamentals, 13 Steps of Mentalism is by far the best option for beginners. Get a copy of the book and then the L&L Publishing videos Richard Olsterlind did for the 13 Steps. Also, I would recommend Richards' own video series. Max Maven has an L&L Publishing series I would recommend as well. All three covers various areas within mentalism and will not only give you instructions on mentalism effects but teach you the foundations of mentalism. From here you should have a good ground base to branch from. It can be expensive to invest in good resources; most on here will agree that you can easily drop $100-$250 for a good video series without blinking an eye.
If you are not already, I would recommend looking up a local IBM Ring or SAM group in your area and join; if your in the US. IBM is international organization and both have virtual meetings if you are not close to one. |
Wravyn Inner circle 3479 Posts |
Follow this link for reading materials that the late Bob Cassidy felt were important to the mentalist.
https://www.lybrary.com/thirtynine-steps-mentalism-a-10.html |
JDobbs New user 69 Posts |
Quote:
On Feb 17, 2023, Wravyn wrote: Excellent resource for buying electronic version of the books, with many hard to find in print, unless you’re willing to pay a good amount on eBay, if they ever come up for auction there. I just grabbed the Annemanns collection of works from there. Excellent set of documents to any mentalists to have. |
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