HOW TO EXPERIMENT WITH THE ZENER CARD DECK

Five Symbols of Zener Cards

Introduction (printable cards below)

Zener cards were developed through a collaboration of Dr. Karl Zener (at ) and J.B. Rhine (Harvard biologist) in the late 1920s, and have been used in experiments.

In the year 2000, the movie "The Gift" featured a reader using these cards with her clients, however this is a Hollywood thing, and not a common thing in real life. Although it is possible to use anything to do psychic readings, Zener cards are better suited to developing and experimenting with psychic skills. They are more like exercise equipment than a tool for reading.

There are five different symbols in a Zener Card Deck, and five cards of each symbol for a total of 25 cards per deck exactly as pictured above.

We have created a page with a full Zener deck for you to print. It is recommended that you use a heavy card stock of white (traditional), cream or yellow. Use your "print preview" option to see if everything looks the way you want it to before you print.

Traditionally, two people use a deck of Zener cards. One person shuffles the deck (the sender) and focuses on each card for a few moments. The second person (the receiver) says which symbol they sense the sender is focusing on. Usually the receiver is visually separated from the sender, perhaps in another room or building. I have found that it works well to sit on the floor on opposite sides of a closed door.

When two people use a Zener deck, it is an exercise in . Telepathy, otherwise known as "mind reading" literally translates to "distance feeling" or picking up on the thoughts of others. You may find that you are a good "sender" and your friend is a good "receiver" or vice versa. Knowing where your strengths are will help you customize any magical or workings you might wish to do.

If you are using a Zener deck alone, you are most likely exercising your precognitive skills. If there is no "sender" then you are technically "predicting" which card will appear next. This might also be considered because the order of the cards is set when you shuffle, and isn't necessarily in the future. Regardless of what term you use, Zener cards can be a useful tool for testing and exercising psychic skills.

Instructions

• Print the deck as instructed in the introduction, then cut out each card. • Sit in a quiet room out of direct view of your partner. • Have the sender shuffle the 25 card deck well. The sender then places the deck face down in front of him/her. • The sender selects a card off the top of the deck and focuses on it for about a minute. • The receiver calls out the name of the symbol they believe it is (your first impulse is usually the most accurate, don't "over think") • The sender records the actual card on a chart, and the 'guess' of the receiver on a chart. A sample record keeping chart is provided for you below. The next card is then selected, focused on by the sender, guessed by the receiver and recorded and so on. It can be helpful to have a third person (a recorder) doing all recording instead of the sender doing the recording if you have three people. The sender should not speak, only the receiver, you don't want to inadvertently give clues in your vocal fluctuations, etc. • When all 25 cards have been viewed and guessed, the score is calculated. A 20% score is average (5 correct) and would be the score attributable to chance (1 in 5 random chance.) Anything above a 20% (more than 5 correct) may show potential psychic skills. Anything below 20% (less than 5 correct) may also show potential psychic skills. Some people may guess the incorrect answer more often than is attributable to chance. This "Reverse Psychicism" is an unusual phenomena that should be identified and controlled whenever it is detected to improve your psychic and magical workings. • Keep practicing and try the experiment with other people. You might find that you work better with different people and you may find that you work better at different times of the day. Finding your peak times is also helpful for timing your other magical and ritual workings. If you are alone, make sure that all your cards look identical on the backs and act as your own recorder. • To make these experiments the most accurate, we recommend that you calculate an overall score after doing many tests, say 100 or more. This overall score is more objective, but does not necessarily make a high score less valid. Make notes of the time, date, weather conditions, experimenters' names, or anything else so that when you do have a high score, you can find out what helped it to become so.

Record Keeping

Good record keeping will help you accurately determine your progress.

Zener Cards Memory test at http://www.paginar.net/matias/misc/zener/ http://www.salemtarot.com/cgi-bin/rhine.pl another zener test list of ESP tests http://www.paranormality.com/esp_tests_list.shtml continuing online ESP test http://www.ibiblio.org/ais/epsi.htm

INS tests http://www.gotpsi.org/bi/gotpsi.htm

Card test http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/2788/psi1.html

A number of psi researchers have summarized some of the factors believed to consistently favor the production of psychic phenomena under controlled laboratory conditions. Taking their various suggestions into account, here's a short recipe for learning to harness your own psychic potentials: Reduction of sensory input [quiet your senses] A good dose of relaxation A pinch of enthusiasm and confidence Shifting of awareness toward internal processes [pay attention to what's going on between your ears] Non-analytic, intuitive "right-brain" mode of functioning [try to pay attention to images, feelings and emotions] An orientation toward creative spontaneity rather than habit A feeling of relatedness with the world [If in an experiment] A positive and warm subject-experimenter relationship Feedback about your psi performance

Investigating ESP And PSI

Courtesy: The UPI Association

The following 12 tests are used within the investigation of ESP and PSI phenomena:

Test 1 : Zener Cards.Named after a researcher at the American where pioneering experiments were carried out by Dr. Joseph Rhine in the late 1920s. The Zener cards are designed to assess the ESP or mind-reading ability of a volunteer subject.To carry out the experiment, first shuffle the cards thoroughly and lay the pack face down. Lift the first card and, while keeping its face from sight place it next to the pack, face down and allow your volunteer up to 30 seconds to name the symbol on the card. Make a note of what the subject has stated and move onto the next card. Repeat this procedure until all cards have been done. Now check your notes to see if they were right on any of the cards. Add the number of correct guesses up. A score of five is in this case the chance factor. If the subject scores more than five, this may indicate an Extra Sensory Perception. If in any doubt, complete the test again, checking the subjects’ remarks. If the subject scores less than five, then there should be no reason to continue the test.

Test 2 : Hidden Pictures.The subject is asked to handle five sealed envelopes, which conceal five cards with pictures on them. When the subject is ready, ask them to state what the pictures are on each card, in each envelope. Note down their statements and complete all five. Make sure the pictures cannot be seen through the envelopes. When finished, reveal the results. This experiment is only conducted once. Chance factor is one in five. If the subject gets more than one correct, it may be necessary to conduct the experiment again in the near future.

Test 3 : Semi PK.There are numerous ways to test for (PK). When you first try to use the power of your mind to move a physical object, it is probably that this power, if any, is only weak (an obvious exception would be people associated with phenomena, who seem to have a powerful, though poorly controlled, PK ability). It seems sensible to try and develop PK by attempting to move the lightest possible objects before trying more ambitious feats. Smoke is just about the lightest material with which you can test PK ability. If you blow out a mouthful of cigarette smoke, very gently, through a long straw which extends into a tall glass, you can produce a ‘puddle’ of smoke in the bottom of the glass which will persist for several minutes, particularly if the glass is upside down and then placed on a saucer to eliminate draughts. Now ask the subject to concentrate on the smoke. Envisage the smoke bubbling up in the middle, or collecting any one side of the glass. The subject may be lucky enough to produce distinct movement in this lightest of all targets. This experiment should only be done the once, and investigators should try to eliminate any drafts.

Test 4 : Pendulum PK.The subject is asked to try their skills on something a little more tangible, a piece of cotton with a small ball of Blue Tack (or similar substance) on the end which is fastened to the bottom of the inside of a tall glass, placed upside down on a working surface will act as a pendulum which also has eliminated the chance of movements by drafts. If the pendulum moves, try the experiment again with the glass on another working surface or a concrete floor, so to eliminate the possibility of movement by vibrations. Monitor the glass and pendulum carefully and note any result. This experiment should on be conducted the once, however, if you obtain a result, then it may be required to be sat again in the near future.

Test 5 : Menicus PK.By pouring water very carefully into a clean tall glass you can actually get the water surface to stand above the rim of the glass, retained by the skin on top of the water, (which is known as the Menicus). If you float your PK target on this invisible film, it can revolve freely on the water surface, under the influence of Psychokinesis. A match with the end cut off is usually the ideal target. It will float, supported by the Menicus, or even float itself, due to it composition. Ask the subject to try to manipulate the target object (in this case the match), such as rotation etc. Make sure to eliminate the possibility of drafts or vibrations. Magnetic targets can also be used. A needle can be balanced on the Menicus, thus showing any probable magnetic influence, which is produced by the subjects ability. Again make sure that they take off any watches etc that might influence the needle. Conduct experiment just the once, noting the results.

Test 6 : Electro Magnetism.Place a compass that is in good working order on a working surface. Turn the compass until the pointer or needle points towards magnetic North. Try to be as precise as you can. Wait for the compass to settle. Make sure that the subject removes any rings or watches that may contaminate the magnetic field, by causing Stray Magnetic Influences (SMI), which would adversely affect the compass. Ask the subject to try to manipulate the movement of the pointer or needle, ie, fluctuations or movement. The subject cannot be in physical contact with the compass, and should not touch it. Trying to eliminate (SMI) and vibrations can be difficult. If you are in any doubt, move the compass to a different working surface and conduct the experiment again. Remember to double-check the compass that it is actually pointing towards magnetic North. This experiment may require the use of more than one compass. This experiment should only be conducted the one or less the investigators are in doubt, regarding influences or true North.

Test 7 : Transmission / Receiver.Ask another individual (hopefully someone who claims to possess an ESP ability) to leave the room and to look at a card or picture in an attempt to transmit the image to the receiver who should be located in a different room. The reason for splitting the two participants is to eliminate the chance of obtaining the information in any other way. Attempt this experiment for five minutes, no longer and then check the results from the receiver. The second part of this test is to simply rotate the participants, so that the transmitter becomes the receiver and the vice versa. Again conduct the test using different cards or pictures. Check the results after five minutes and note any unusual remarks. This experiment should only be conducted the once.

Test 8 : Random Number Generator.By use of a computer, ask the subject to write down five numbers from 1-100, which they think are about to pick picked. The random generator program on the computer will pick out the five numbers.

Test 9 : Geomancy.Most people think of dice as an obvious PK target, although they have the disadvantage that would be needed to know where the target face would be as the dice rolled, and they are comparatively heavy objects to move via PK. Shaking the dice in a cup means that you eliminate any bias in rolling the dice. The subject must decide in advance on the number they wish to throw, and concentrate on that number. The first part of this experiment is conducted using one dice rolled six times. That means that the subject has a one in six chance of rolling their suggested number. If the subject is correct more than once, conduct the experiment again with different dice. Try not to use dice with drilled markings as this means that there is a better chance of the number six turning up, obviously because its the lightest of all sides. Make sure that the dice are not being physically influenced in any way. The second part of the experiment is conducted with three dice. Again, using the same procedure, with one of six chances on each dice. This experiment can either test for clairvoyance, ie, the subject knows what number is going to be shown, or PK, that the subject can influence the rolling of the dice by means of ESP.

Test 10 : Dowsing / Divining.The ancient art of dowsing or divining is the most practical of all forms of ESP. It also produces the most consistent results. Professional dowsers are employed by farmers, water authorities, and civil engineers in order to locate underground water. In Vietnam and elsewhere, dowsers were used to find mines and hidden dug outs (Divining), and occasionally police forces have called upon the services of a diviner to help them locate a body. The techniques of dowsing or divining are basically very simple and the dowsers, unlike many other exponents of ability, does not have to cultivate any special mental state when exercising these powers. The Fork twig is the simplest tool for dowsing, but its use demands a certain amount of practice, particularly in grasping it correctly. It is important to select twigs, which can be cut so that the two branches are of equal thickness. Plastic strips, like that used for drawing instruments can also be made into dowsing devices. Simplest of all to use are the rods made from a pair of coat hangers. Wooden or plastic grips can be added to make them more sensitive such as empty Bic pens. Other materials can be used for the rods, such as welding rod or heavy gauge piano wire. Pendulums can be improvised from any small weight, but some people like to use hollow types, in which specimen samples can be placed. For this experiment we usually use the coat hanger and bic pens to create dowsing rods. The subject should be taken to a specially designed location where a water pipe runs trough, underneath the ground. Also there are four silver coins buried in different locations. This controlled environment should not be larger than 20 feet by 20 feet. Investigators should monitor the subject as he or she first tries to locate the path of the water pipe and then the second part of the experiment should be to see if the subject could locate the four silver coins. Marking areas selected by the subject is important. Also, only reveal their findings after the experiment is over. Remember to note all results and to conduct this experiment only once.

Test 11 : .The subject is given a ring or pendent that belongs to someone all the investigators know well and that the subject doesn’t. Ask the subject to handle the personal metallic item. The investigators present should not use their own items. After a short time, ask the subject if they could tell you anything about the items owner, such as description, attitude, occupation, sex, character, belongings etc. The subject may handle the item for at least 10 minutes. Give the subject time to respond. Investigators should note every remark and check the results after the experiment time has passed. You may wish to conduct the experiment again using a different item, which should be owned by a different person than the last one used, in order to note what is worthy of statistical research. Use methods of group analysis to decide the overall response to experiment.

Test 12 : Preliminary Questions / further experiments.Tests 1-11 are carried out again whilst using specialized equipment to measure chemical, biological, physical and environmental changes. Further questions are behavioural, so to establish if the subject thinks he or she is an Unstable / Stable Extrovert or Unstable / Stable Introvert.