If you want to get some fame and fortune as a psychic, or a tarot reader, or a palm reader, or a past-life hypnotist, or an astrologer, or anything of that sort, here is the only manual you will ever need. It contains all the tactics to amaze your friends.

Warning: the following information is for entertainment purposes only. Do not use these immoral and unethical tactics on innocent, gullible people. If you use these methods to get money from people, it could constitute fraud, and that is a punishable felony.

Step One: This is simple. Get a willing audience. The best victims are those who wish to be deceived, those who actually believe in what you say you can do. All successful psychics realize that their victims are their accomplices– their partners. Someone who believes in your "skills" is willing to overlook your mistakes and fill in your gaps. Unfortunately, the best victims are to be found among those who have just lost someone close to them– because they are looking to communicate with someone who meant a lot to them, to know that they’re alright, and to say their final farewells. People who have just lost a loved one absolutely make the easiest victims.

Step Two: Cold Reading. This is the first of your major tools. This means simply throwing out very many statements, very rapidly. If what you say isn't right, refer to Step Five. Say things that are generally true of everyone, such as "You have someone in your life who drives a red car." Red is a very popular color of car– and who doesn't know someone who has a car that is some shade of red? Say: "You have a female relative whose name begins with M, or has an M in it." Obviously, this is an extremely broad statement. You can even get more specific. Say: "Who is Charles?" If your victim doesn’t know someone who is immediately important named Charles, don’t worry– they will dig through their memory, trying hard to find a match… a relative, co-worker, neighbor, someone from their past, whatever. What they are doing is "retrofitting" what you say to match what they remember. (See Step Five). If they absolutely can’t think of someone named Charles, just tell them that Charles will be important in their future.

You should also make use of anything your subject says, does or wears to help guide you in your Cold Reading process. Use the slightest clue in speech or appearance, and probe down different avenues to see where they lead. Occasionally use more specific statements. If they stick, great– if not, then move on. You can retrofit later, or cover your tracks (See Step Six). You only need an occasional hit to convince your client that you are genuine. Just claim that it is not an "exact science".

If you want to be a Psychic Detective, and help out police, and get your name in the newspapers or on TV, then Cold Reading is your tool. You will throw out as many statements as possible. Something you say will eventually stick. For example, in the case of a missing person who is suspected dead, start with these: "He is lying in a wooded area. There is water nearby." You can never go wrong with these guesses. That is where bodies are normally disposed… in the woods or in water. Where is there not an area with water of some sort nearby? Continue with this shotgun approach: "There is the letter ‘M’ involved in some way, and the number ‘3’. There is a road involved, and a truck. I see a shoe lying in tall grass. I see electrical power lines overhead. There is an open field nearby. I’m seeing a motel. There is a pond or lake nearby, or maybe it’s a river, I’m not sure." Just keep going with whatever sounds plausible. If you are ever proved wrong, then never bring it up– most people will forget about it, or will have never heard of it. And if it does come up, then deny you ever said it.

The reason Cold Reading works is because of another important tool on your side, something that is done by your willing victim– and that is called "Remembering the Hits and Forgetting the Misses". You may have quickly thrown out 100 statements, and 85 of them might be dead wrong. But that doesn’t matter– those 85 are instantly forgotten (especially if you are good at "Covering your Tracks"– see Step Six). What your subject remembers is the 15 "hits", the statements that seem to be accurate. To the believer, these 15 hits seem like rock solid evidence of your success. A similar thing happens with gambling addicts… they only need to win once out of twenty games to keep them playing. What you don’t want is for your victim to think about how many mistakes you’re making along the way… that’s why speed and flow are important. When Cold Reading, go quickly and don’t slow down or pause. It doesn’t matter if nine out of ten things you say are wrong, so long as the one thing is convincing enough. Always phrase your statements in the form of questions, such as "You have children at home?" This point is important, because this way you didn’t make a definitive statement. If they say no, then you can say, "Then I see children in your future." Also, phrase your questions so that there is more than one possible answer, such as "You have lost a male relative (don’t specify when)– possibly a father or a father figure, maybe an uncle, brother, father in law…"

If you have the opportunity to film your performance, you can actually edit out your ‘misses’ and give the appearance of a much higher rate of success. Imagine the benefit of condensing a 2-hour session into a half-hour videotape! People will never be able to know what you really said unless they see the performance in its entirety. This is how the new hot psychics look so accurate in their half-hour (minus 10 minutes of commercial time) TV show.

Step Three: Warm Reading. This is where you say things that everyone would like to believe about themselves, or things that are true for nearly everyone. Here are just a few examples: You feel that you have unused potential. You knew from an early age that you didn’t want to be dominated by your mother. You have an above average sense of humor. You sometimes wish you could be a little more careful in how you spend your money. You and your partner sometimes don’t agree. You have something to say to a departed relative that you didn’t get to say. You feel unappreciated by some people around you. You are a very likeable person. You don’t like hard physical labor. You have a strong sense of justice. You have gone through some disappointments in life. You are very wise, and you are an "old spirit". This sort of stuff is especially good with ‘astrological readings’ and communicators with the dead (mediums). These are just a few examples.

It is statistically true that most people who die passed away due to some condition relating to the chest or head. This is a common phrase you can use: "Your dead grandpa is pointing to his chest, or maybe it’s his head, I can’t tell… did he die of some chest or head condition?" You can’t lose with this. Another similar phrase is to say: "Did the death involve something to do with the blood?" This can be almost anything… a clot, a stroke, kidneys, heart attack, any sort of accident that involved blood loss, etc. You can never lose with these.

For Warm Reading, just say something that is generally true of everyone, and use compliments. After a few minutes of Warm Reading, your victim is sure to say, "Wow, I can’t believe you know so much personal information about me!"

Step Four: Hot Reading. This is where you strengthen your performance by actually finding out information ahead of time about your subject. This may be as simple as talking to him or her before your performance, carefully and skillfully probing them for information. You can also talk to their friends and family, or if they are a well-known public figure, you can dig up information from articles and other readily available public sources. You can even go so far as to spy on people, or hire a private detective. You can’t always use Hot Reading, but sometimes you can.

Step Five: Retrofitting. This is where it all comes together. Retrofitting, or fitting the facts afterwards to your statements, can be done either by you or your accomplice (your victim). He or she helps you out by filling in the blanks of your Cold and Warm Reading techniques. This part is extremely important. Be a good listener. Pick up on what your victim says. Let them search through their memory, and supply you with the answers.

When you say, "I see a departed female relative who wishes to speak to you", you should wait for them to tell you who it is. Use brief vague statements to bring out responses, such as, "I see that she looks very old…" Use hand gestures to coax out an answer, and to keep your victim talking. Then your victim retrofits: "That’s my grandma!" they will say, or "That’s Aunt Betty". Then confirm it, by saying, "Yes, she tells me that her name is Betty."

You can also be the one to use retrofitting. You can try to fit any facts into your "reading" after you’ve already said it. You can say, "I see your dead husband. He is holding something in his hand." Your victim offers you the information: "That must be his favorite zippo lighter. He always carried it." And then you retrofit, saying: "Yes, that’s exactly what it is. I can see it clearly now." You can also retrofit things that you didn’t say at all. If someone is found dead in the woods, you can run wild with it. "Yes, that’s exactly where I saw them. I saw that blue shirt he’s wearing. There were two bullet holes… yes, that’s what I saw in my vision." Say whatever you want afterwards; no one can disprove you. This is how psychic detectives claim to have solved crimes.

Use the word "because" a lot with Retrofitting. If your victim says "My father died of a heart attack", you can say "Yes, because I see him pointing to his chest." Always try to slip in the word because. It makes you sound like you really know what you’re talking about.

Step Six: Covering your Tracks. Find a way to gloss over your mistakes. If you say that the victim knows ‘Pierre’, and they actually don’t know a ‘Pierre’, then you should say, "Then you will meet him shortly. Keep your eyes open for him." (Pierre was a bad choice of names anyway). Sometimes you can get even bolder, like "You are going on a trip". If they say yes– terrific, you scored. If they say no, then follow up with: "Well, then there is a trip in your near future." You can even get more specific, such as mentioning ‘Europe’. This tactic of the interchangeability between past and future events is very powerful. You can say, "You’re thinking of changing careers." (What person has never done this?) If they say no, then counter with "Then there is a change of some sort coming up in your future. Be prepared for it!"

Give yourself "outs"– phrase things in such a way that they can be understood by more than one meaning. You can say, "Why do I feel this distance between you and your mother?" The mother might live in another state. If so, then you scored. If they reply, "But she lives right down the street", then counter with "Then it is an emotional distance." If they deny that, tell them: "its there, buried deep. Just think about it." Or if they say, "But my mother passed away", that is still another hit. You can’t lose no matter what they say.

These are the basics, but they take practice. The more you practice, the better and more undetectable you get. It also takes a lot of confidence, and a smooth presentation.

Remember the underlying reasons that people will fall for these tactics. Much of your work will involve the losses resulting from death. People desperately seek for closure and contact with their departed loved ones. Here is an example of a typical message you can give to your subject:

"It’s okay Melissa, your Dad is here now in the room with us. He’s telling me he loves you. He says he watches over you. He loves watching you play basketball and volleyball. He saw you graduate. He is with you always. He is telling me how proud he is of you and all you have accomplished with your life. He knows you have really been missing him lately, more than you have in a long time. Don’t be sad. Don’t cry. You will get to see him again. Everything is fine."

Yes, this is a bit sleazy, but just remember how good you are making your victim feel. This is why they will come to you.

In concluding, you will also notice that by learning these methods well, you will make it impossible for a "psychic" to do these same things to you, without you realizing what is going on. But remember, Luke Skywalker, use your new psychic powers for good, and not for evil!

Of course, if people really were psychic:

– We wouldn't need trials or juries, just psychic judges.
– Exams would be pointless with the teacher in the room.
– It would put an end to lying, and lie detectors.
– automatic teller numbers and credit card numbers would be up for grabs
– doctors could dispense with x-rays, and cat scans
– hide and seek would go out of fashion as a playground activity
– Las Vegas would become a ghost town.
– lottery jackpots would always be shared by tens of thousands of people.
– airlines would have an "Early Psychic Warning System", canceling flights that are going to crash.
– psychics would dominate Wall Street
– 1-800 psychics would be calling you and telling you your problems