The Hidden Hand
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THE HIDDEN HAND WHAT IS IT? "The Hidden Hand" is a clean, direct, and invisible utility for gaining access to secret information that can be used for drawing duplications or other types of reveals. The concept also has a wide variety of other applications that will be briefly discussed. REQUIRED: I will describe the requirements for use with the standard formal routine. Once you have read through, you will understand how to prepare this for different settings and uses. For now you will need: Blank business cards or small index cards A small, thin razor blade or shim material A small disc neodymium magnet A stack of envelopes. I use ones that are about jumbo playing card size, but smaller will also work Poster board or thin cardboard Tape and glue stick Some pens (or pencils) PREPARATION: Yes, there is a tiny bit of DIY but it only takes 5 minutes and is simple.
Take two of the blank business cards and glue them together (squared perfectly) with your razor blade or shim material between them. You now have a shim card. Cut a piece of the poster board to the same size as your envelopes so that it will fit snugly inside. Next, tape your magnet firmly to the center of the board and fit this inside the bottom envelope of your stack of envelopes. It is a good idea to snap an elastic band around the envelopes for ease of transportation in your case. Place your shimmed card on top of your stack of cards and you're ready to go! THE DELAYED REVEAL – STANDARD USE FOR A FORMAL SHOW This handling assumes that you have a case or receptacle that you work out of while performing and that this is being used as a closer or for later on in the show. You will perform the following bit at the beginning of your show…
Ask three spectators to join you. Hold the stack of business cards in your hand with the shimmed card on bottom. Number the top card with a small "1" in the top corner and hand it to the first spectator. Number the next card with a "2" and hand it to the second. Finally, number a third card with a "3" and hand it to the last spectator. Be sure to remember which spectator is #1, which one is #2, etc. for later on. Set the stack of cards in your hand down on the table, revolving your hand over as you do so, bringing the shim card to the top of the stack.
Now hand each spectator a pen or pencil and have them write down a name or picture (as your presentation dictates) on their cards. It is wise to make to make sure that the writing tools are all the identical. When the spectators have finished their drawings, collect the pens from them and toss them back into your case, removing the stack of envelopes at the same time. Make sure that the gaffed envelope is the bottom envelope of the stack. Have one of the spectators collect all the drawings from the others, mix them up, and drop them face-down onto the stack of other cards on the table. Remove the top envelope of those in your hand and hand it to one of the spectators. Ask them to examine the envelope and make sure that they cannot see through it etc. While all the attention is focussed here, the hand holding the envelopes briefly passes over the stack of business cards picking up the shimmed card along with the three drawings. In a continuing action, the envelopes are tossed back into the case. Ask a second spectator to pick up the top half of the tabled cards and give them a cut (apparently to center the drawings in the stack.) I do this so that I have a stack of cards remaining that I can still use throughout the show, as I have other routines that will make use of them. If you have no need to use these cards for anything further, then simply have them pick up the whole stack and give it a cut. Once the spectator has given the cards a cut, instruct her to drop them into the envelope that the other is holding and seal it. While they are doing this, you can have third spectator run through the cards
remaining on the table so that they can verify that the drawings did in fact, go into the envelope. At this point, recap to the audience the fairness of the proceedings and the fact that you have never touched their drawings or the cards. Have the spectator holding the envelope place it in a spot where it can be prominently displayed for the duration of the show. The three participants now retake their seats. You now have the drawings safely tucked away and can easily view them as you go in and out of your case during the rest of your show. When you are ready to do the reveal, point out the envelope that has been on display for the entire show and the fact that you have never touched it or their cards. You now reveal each spectator's drawing etc. one at a time, either by drawing it on a pad or by verbalizing your "impressions" aloud in a descriptive manner. This is one of my favourite applications for the hidden hand. It is very straight-forward and the time delay in the reveal makes it particularly strong. You may also want to play with having the sealed envelope placed in a box that could be locked and left in view etc. INSTANT REVEAL In this case, you will use a notepad with the magnet taped to the center inside the back cover of the pad. This pad should be the type that has a cover that flips to the back over the top. Also, the back panel of the pad should be fairly sturdy.
Here's how this works in performance: You're at the point where the three drawings have just been placed on top of the stack on the table by one of the spectators. You pick up the pad and an envelope. Hand the envelope to one of the spectators, asking her to examine it. As they do so, you briefly pass over the stack with the pad picking up the three drawings. Now have another participant cut the drawings to the center of the stack and then seal them in the envelope. While they are doing this, your left hand holds the pad from underneath, directly below the stolen cards. The right hand flips the cover up and over and then grips the pad by the right side. It then moves the pad away from the left hand (leaving the stolen cards in the left hand) and then places it back into the left, underneath the stolen cards. This action takes but a brief moment, and is well covered. Be sure to keep the pad tilted up vertically so that the spectators cannot see. It is a simple matter now to secretly turn the cards over as a pile and spread them behind the pad so that they can be viewed. Personally, I have found that there is ample time to do this while the spectators are still sealing the cards in the envelope. Hold the cards clipped in place by the left thumb. Now have each spectator focus on the drawing they made in their mind, one at a time. Each time, you draw a picture, remove the paper, fold it in half behind the pad, and then set the drawing in front of the appropriate spectator. To remove the drawing from the pad is easy – just insert your fingers under the right side of the page and pull upwards until the bottom of the page clears the cards and then rip it off normally.
Once you finish all the drawings, close the cover of the pad and set it away, leaving the cards inside. All that remains now is to ask each spectator (one at a time) to announce or describe what they drew, then open up your drawing and confirm they match! This handling of THE INVISIBLE HAND is "ok", but for formal shows, I still prefer the original version described first. For everyday use, the next handling is best… THE COFFEE HOUSE HANDLING There is not a lot to say about this handling and it is the one likely to be used by most. The main idea here is that you are seated. A small notepad will be used once again to secretly steal the drawings. Instead of sealing the cards in an envelope, just have the cards cut (after the drawings have been stolen.) Once you've gotten possession of the drawings it is an easy matter to bring the notepad back into your lap as you talk and steal the cards from there. Arrange them on your lap with a free hand so that you can easily view them. You can even do the drawings on the notepad in your lap if desired. Proceed to do each drawing, fold it in half, and place it in front of the appropriate spectator, ending exactly as in the previous routines. When finished you can stick the drawings to the back of the pad, where they will be covered by the front flap that's folded behind. The cards are now secured and perfectly hidden so you can go about doing anything else you'd like from there.
OTHER IDEAS Obviously, you don't always have to use three spectators. You can use more or you can less. I think three is ideal. This can also be used by readers. Querent(s) writes down their question and drops it face down on the stack. You secretly steal the card and read the question in your lap. Also you don't necessarily have to have the stack cut afterwards every time. I recently incorporated this into my "Ripper" séance. A participant writes down a question that a spirit can answer with a simple "yes" or "no" answer using a spirit bell and leaves it face down on the stack. At the end of the séance, the spirit is told that there is a woman in attendance who has a personal question she'd like to ask. To the woman's shock, the spirit answers her secret question correctly! When she turns over the top card of the stack now, her writing is gone! Instead, she find scrawled on the card the words "I am here…" (Naturally, that card was the one UNDER the shim card.) This routine has large 5"x7" photo cards that are stored in an envelope, and of course the magnet is hidden in that storage envelope as described in the original routine. As you can see, writing can be mad to appear, disappear, or change using this idea. There are unlimited possibilities. With a little experimentation, you will find there are a great number of ways one can go about doing the "steal". It could be motivated by simply reaching forward with the other hand to grab a pen off of the table, letting the pad, book, (or
whatever)naturally pass over the stack in the process. Again, this will be dependent on your routine and presentation. The magnet can also be hidden in a variety of objects as well. It could be in a wallet, a book, the bottom of a recessed box – again the possibilities here are vast and open the doors to a great number of presentational ideas. HISTORY: Jan Forster informs me that the roots of this methodology of stealing cards goes back at least to an old Paul Rosini "Cards Across" plot. Rosini was using the idea to secretly steal three selections from one half of the deck and then secretly add them to the other. I first started playing around with this concept after purchasing Mike Pizolla's "Synchronicity III" from the Stars of Magic series in the 90's. Pizolla has fairly extensive credits and history in the back of his release, but no mention is made anywhere of Rosini. Being a release for the "Stars of Magic" series, I had assumed that the information would have been complete. Sadly, it wasn't. Thanks to Jan for bringing this to my attention. Two other effects have been published after the Pizolla routine using this idea. The first effect "Duo Tech", by Bob Strickland is a fabulous two-deck prediction effect. The second is "Zener Tech" by Mark Elsdon and is a matching effect. It is obvious from the title that Elsdon's routine is giving a nod to Strickland's.
All three of the above routines are simply excellent and I urge the reader to check them out for a further exploration in ways which this amazing idea can be utilized. To the best of my knowledge, I am the first to apply this to business or index cards for the sole purpose of secretly gaining information as opposed to using it for a switch etc. as it has been historically used. I think that once you start exploring the principle, you will find it to be devilishly fun to use. There's something just so satisfying about doing the dirty work right in front of the spectators without them seeing a thing. It's almost like you have a hidden hand that just picks them up and gives them to you! It's just so straight-forward. Unfortunately, the real "Hidden Hand" in this world is much more devious than the one being discussed in this manuscript….
