# Psychic Fraud-- Again! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 3, 2000, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443 "2000-02-03T03:07:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/1 "2000-02-03T03:07:00Z")
I know we’ve been over this, but I have a new example of possible psychic fraud for us to kick around. His name is J. H. Brennan and I happened to see one of his books lying around here at the library. The title: _Magick for Beginners_, © 1998 by Llewellyn Publications of St. Paul, MN. On the back cover, the book makes the following claims: (NOTE: Anything appearing in () are my wise-ass remarks.) 1. Materialize a $100 bill (It’s not as easy as you may think!) 2. Dowse for water, gold or ghosts using a coat hanger (And if you don’t find any of those things, you must be doing it wrong!) 3. Assume a godform (I wanna be Thor! I wanna fly around with a mystic hammer and throw lightning bolts!) 4. Achieve the unbelievable–the state of invisibility (I can do that _and_ be Thor? Cool!) 5. Use tattwa symbols, I-Ching hexagrams and Tarot trumps as astral doorways (Batteries not included) 6. Explore the biblical creation myth as it relates to the Tree of Life (The one Adam and Eve did _not_ eat from, I presume?) > [@](#): > > With more than 54 books to his credit, J. H. Brennan (Republic of Ireland) is a professional writer whose work has appeared in more than 50 countries. (He’s been getting away with this for a long time, then…) He also creates boxed games and computer software. (Every boy needs a hobby.)He has broadcast and lectured widely throughout the U.K. and Ireland, and he is the author of _Time Travel_.\* On Page 3, he writes > [@](#): > > …it’s possible to produce a hundred dollars by magic. It will take you at least four months training and study, plus one month of daily application. Well, then, you’d think he’d take up The Amazing Randi’s challenge to do real magic for [Dr. Evil]ONE MILLION DOLLARS[/Dr. Evil]. I mean, wouldn’t THAT be worth five months’ work? Now, let’s say it IS possible to materialize a $100 dollar bill. I say you’ve committed one of two crimes. Either: 1. Theft-- That bill came from some other place and you transported it to your presence against the owner’s will and without his knowledge or consent. 2. Counterfeiting-- That bill was somehow manufactured by “the astral plane” and the AP is not authorized by the US government to print Federal Reserve Notes or to manufacture said Notes. And what about the serial numbers…? Now here’s what REALLY bugs me about this book: As I said, it’s a public library book. It’s NOT a book written, say, to inform the reader of the history of belief in magic. It’s an _instruction_ book. It purports to tell you how to work REAL MAGICK, to use his spelling (pun intended). It’s no different from a book that tells you how to fix your car or your stereo. But if there’s no such thing as magic or astral planes or telepathy, then isn’t the writer committing fraud, assuming that he KNOWS there are no such things? And should I complain about my tax money being used to purchase such books? There’s a lot more to this book, and if y’all like, I’ll quote from it some more, later in this thread. See ya! \*In the back of the book, \*Time Travel is described thusly: > [@](#): > > Scattered throughout the world are the skeletal remains of men and women from long before humanity appeared on the planet, and a human footprint contemporary with the dinosaurs. Yes, folks, a _magickal_ explanation for the alleged human footprints found near Glen Rose, Texas. Somebody’s been doing astral time travelin’! * * * \>\< DARWIN \> \_\_ **L\_\_\_L** ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/2 "2000-02-03T03:12:00Z")
So, how do you materialize a $100 bill? ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/3 "2000-02-03T04:12:00Z")
I’ll tell you tomorrow, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel. * * * \>\< DARWIN \> \_\_ **L\_\_\_L** ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/4 "2000-02-03T05:33:00Z")
I’ve got one of those Llewellyn books. I was doing research on Hoodoo (for the purposes of working on a story, naturally) and I ran across it on eBay. When I saw Magic-with-a-K on a book about Hoodoo, I knew it was going to be a hoot. Some of you may recall my discussion of nomenclature on one of the Pagan threads. You don’t? Well, here’s a recap: > [@](#): > > Magick – we should distinguish magick with a `k' from other forms of conjuring. Magic with a `k’ is vegetarian yuppie ecofeminist magic. It is clean and innocent, does not involve the invocation of evil spirits, and takes as its paraphrenelia clean and nifty things like crystals, candles and herbs. Magick with a `k' users never harm animals, or use viscera or fecal matter of any kind in their spells. The goals of such spells tend to be abstract positive ones that would not be measurable in any way even if they succeeded, such as `realign the spirit’ or `purge negativity.’ As I expected, there’s no mention in the book of black cat bones, dirt from the graves of children, chicken blood or the devil. There are voodoo dolls mentioned, but they apparently are used for positive purposes, along with colored candles. ---
**Author:** ![Krispy\_Original](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ec9cab/32.png) [@Krispy\_Original](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krispy_Original)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/5 "2000-02-04T06:09:00Z")
Where’s the fraud? * * * Krispy Original – The original SDMB bad boy ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/6 "2000-02-03T19:11:00Z")
**Krispy** , it’s fraud because it isn’t real, it doesn’t have the effect on the real world the way the magicians say it does, and they take money from those who are gullible enough to believe in it anyway. Do y’all really want to know how to make a $100 dollar bill appear? The guy refers to the “$100 dollar bill trick” through the whole first third of the book, talking about how one must “cleanse” your workplace, using crystals and chants and meditation and burning incense and so on, and also learning how to see your aura and learning enough basic astrology to know which planets are associated with money\* so you’ll know which ones you should invoke. Also, you should know which _colors_ to visualize or you’ll fail: > [@](#): > > The positive color association of the Sun is orange. Avoid it like the plague. Because if you do, someone else will get the $100. Better to visualize the color gold. You also have to picture the $100 in your hand. You don’t have to visualize _how_ you got it, you just have to imagine holding it. And then, you have to do the Opening of the Channels. Get this: > [@](#): > > What does that mean? It means living and acting in a way that permits your results to occur naturally. You work a ritual to increase your business over the next month. Then you go on vacation for four weeks. it doesn’t matter how well you worked the ritual, you won’t get results because you closed the channels. There was no way you could do more work, no way your business could increase, if you went on vacation. No shit. And then he says: > [@](#): > > …whatever it is you’re wishing for, you must continue to work toward it, or at the very least make sure you’re in a position to receive it. It’s no use undertaking magic to attract $100 if you lock yourself in your room all day and refuse to answer the phone. In other words, _you still have to go out and work._ Or gamble or enter the PCH Sweepstakes or go on a game show or… Where the hell is the magic in that? Why don’t you just go out and work RIGHT NOW instead of doing all that mumbo-jumbo about cleansing your “aura” and arranging and cleaning crystals and visualizing the Sun? All that stuff seems to me just psychological tricks and techniques designed to relax your mind and build confidence. Now that’s real. But to say on the back of the book “Materialize a $100 dollar bill” and then say inside the book “You still have to work for it” seems very misleading to me. I did not fall for this charlatan’s tricks and I hope no one else does, either. **Krispy** , I hope you were joking up there. I hope you’re not going to tell me you believe in magic along with Little Green Men, because if you do, I will take you to the Pit and roast you over an open fire. And anybody else around here. \*Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury and the Sun, and each is associated with a different means of getting money, either through work or gambling, and it also depends on _why_ you want the money, either for your own use or as a gift. * * * \>\< DARWIN \> \_\_ **L\_\_\_L** ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/7 "2000-02-03T19:17:00Z")
I have _several_ hundred dollars materialize in my checking account twice a month. All I have to do is perform certain magickal rituals, like coming into work during certain magick times and doing the magickal duties my boss asks me to do. I even managed to figure out how to do this without the help of a book! ---
**Author:** ![Born2Read](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cdc98d/32.png) [@Born2Read](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Born2Read)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/8 "2000-02-03T20:19:00Z")
Complaining to your library probably won’t do much good. Libraries try to give all points of view (even if it is complete horse manure) We also add them because a lot of people enjoy reading this foolishness. If it’s any consolation, we rarely buy this junk at my library. what we have is donated. Why? Because this subject is one of the most likely to magically disappear! ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/9 "2000-02-03T21:02:00Z")
If I was able to successfully dowse for gold with a common coat hanger, why the hell would I want to screw around with all that other stuff just for a hundred bucks. I think the dowsing would be a much more efficient use of my time. * * * “A bird in the hand is the Devil’s workshop; it is the goose that laid the bad apple.” - TennHippie ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/10 "2000-02-03T21:08:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by UncleBeer: > **…I think the dowsing would be a much more efficient use of my time.** Well sure, the dowsing makes you more money in the long run. But what the heck kind of bar trick is “having money?” “Materialize a $100 bill,” now _that’s_ a bar trick. People will think you have a 12-inch pianist or something. * * * Livin’ on Tums, vitamin E and Rogaine ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/11 "2000-02-03T21:40:00Z")
> [@](#): > > In other words, you still have to go out and work. “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!” -Melin * * * Siamese attack puppet – California ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Incognito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guy_incognito/32/3920_2.png) [@Guy\_Incognito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Incognito)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/12 "2000-02-03T22:15:00Z")
Let’s see–four month’s of training and study plus one month of daily application in order to be able to materialize a $100 bill? I hope you can materialize more than one. The rate of return seems pretty shitty from my POV. Materialize a platinum credit card and you’ve got my undivided attention. * * * “It’s only common sense, There are no accidents 'round here.” ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/13 "2000-02-04T03:44:00Z")
I swear that I’m not making up the following quote from _Magick for Beginners_: (It’s what you have to do after you’ve made that $100 bill appear. All **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > …it’s never too early to learn the basic elements of **occult hygiene**. My experience has been that virtually everyone engaged in esoteric work, particularly healing and magic, picks up **astral leeches** the way dog-handlers pick up fleas. > > **Astral leeches** are little mindless entities that attach themselves to the aura and absorb energy. Most of the time you’re unaware of them, but if your aura is weakened by illness or emotional upset, they can become quite troublesome. (I’m sure!) Circulating clear light through your aura encourages them to drop away. Ahem. Moving right along… Here’s how Mr. Brennan figures how a mugger knows whom to rob: > [@](#): > > …astral magic can influence the world in various subtle ways. Not so very long ago, psychologists in the U.S. carried out a fascinating survey in which they showed convicted muggers movies of urban street scenes and asked them who in the milling crowds they would select to attack. > > The muggers were surprisingly consistent, both in their choice of victims and in identifying those passers-by whom they would avoid attacking. When obvious factors like physical size and signs of prosperity were eliminated, it became obvious that certain people “broadcast” subtle signals inviting attack while others broadcast equally subtle warnings that effectively keep muggers at bay. Y’ think maybe those muggers were actually responding to _body language_? We get cues like that from everyone and once we’ve learned to interpret them, we respond to them, most of the time without thinking about it, unconsciously, in other words. But this loon thinks it’s _telepathy_. Or something… If any of you like, I’ll next tell ya how to become invisible. You won’t impress your friends or be the life of the party, though, because they won’t know you’re there! * * * \>\< DARWIN \> \_\_ **L\_\_\_L** ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/14 "2000-02-04T04:00:00Z")
This all makes excellent sense to me. I must get this book. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/15 "2000-02-04T04:14:00Z")
Astral leeches! Of course! And the docs kept telling me it was a kidney stone. ---
**Author:** ![APB9999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB9999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB9999)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/16 "2000-02-04T05:14:00Z")
You laugh, but remember: Satan gives us power over our enemies. He’s done it for me, and he’ll do it for you! Just send $29.99 and one soul to: I Wanna Be A Sorcerer P.O. Box 666 Newark, NJ . 08344 ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/17 "2000-02-04T14:28:00Z")
Jab1 wrote > [@](#): > > Krispy, it’s fraud because it isn’t real, it doesn’t have the effect on the real world the way the magicians say it does, and they take money from those who are gullible enough to believe in it anyway. Shouldn’t that be magicKians? 😉 Doesn’t fraud require intent? Just being wrong doesn’t equal fraud, as far as I know. Giving the guy the benefit of the doubt, he might be a kook who really believes this stuff works. He’s wrong, but not necessarily a scammer. If he is, then what about those priests who believe in and preach the doctrine of transubstantiation (not the “it’s imbued with Christ’s spirit” version, the literal one)? Have they also committed fraud? Note that I’m only intending to quibble about the use of the word ‘fraud’. I agree with everything else you’ve said and the book sounds funny/pathetic. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/18 "2000-02-04T15:10:00Z")
I hate to tell ya, but fraud’s running rampant! One of our local radio stations has teamed up with one of those “weight loss” pill firms. I cringe everytime I hear the d.j.'s proclaim, “And you’ll lose weight WHILE you sleep.” “Convert fat into muscle…overnight.” “This is ALL NATURAL and perfectly safe.” The worst one, however, was the ad that hyped, “You can forget about that time-consuming, \* unhealthy \* time on the treadmill.” People that buy this stuff must be truly desperate. And I abhor the radio station for its shameless plugs. ---
**Author:** ![PTVroman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bb73d2/32.png) [@PTVroman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PTVroman)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/19 "2000-02-04T16:52:00Z")
Do doctors still use Astrial Leaches to get the astrial body humors in alignment? * * * _“The large print givith, and the small print taketh away.”_ Tom Waites, “Step Right Up” ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443/20 "2000-02-04T17:11:00Z")
Pundit, are you in Dallas? They’re plugging that on one of the radio stations here, and it’s just embarrassing to listen to. _shudder_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-fraud-again/17443.md?page=2)