This book is dedicated to the memory of Ron Martin, Larry’s departed friend.   IMPORTANT:  See Bottom of Product Page for MORE reviews and testimonials.

What If: You already own Larry Baukin’s “Cold Reading: The Classic Book of Techniques” and want to know if Larry’s “Magic Speak” is still worth buying for owners of the other?

Larry’s Answer:   I took this into consideration  when writing the introduction to Magic Speak. Basically, my other books dealing with cold reading, The Unholy Grail and Cold Reading: The Classic Book of Techniques, were books offering a plethora of reading ‘systems’.  Everything from systems of tea leaf divination to bone reading. Systems detailing the powerful use of marked cards were also shared. In a number of ways Magic Speak is much different. For example, nothing in the book is an extension or yet another version of the earlier works. The reader will discover that I’m presenting readings in ways that heretofore have not been examined in any other books of cold reading. In Magic Speak I present realistic, experience based scripts. These scripts are detailed, client centered, and aimed at creating empathy and rapport with the sitter. Specific types of clients and situations are focused upon. Such as people interested in career options. Or people admitting or claiming to have had contact with otherworldly entities. The use of hypnotic techniques is also offered in a series of scripts. Each chapter is fresh, detailed and practical. It is a stand alone volume.  There is something for the magician, mentalist, advanced or beginner within these pages.

Larry Baukin is one of the most successful authors on the subject of cold reading and mentalism. His previous books, also available at Stevens Magic, are some of the most prestigious and respected in the art. In Magic Speak, Larry has been successful in accomplishing a difficult objective – creating a book that provides significant mental nourishment to beginners and accomplished readers alike.  I was cataloging a small sampling of about 5oo books from my father’s collection where I came across a large 3-ply binder which contained the original inserts from Magick – Bascon Jones.   I grabbed one of the 150 plus pages, somewhere in the middle, just as if I was picking a card from a deck, and upon turning the page who’s name did I see as a contributor – Larry Baukin.  For those that know of Larry’s work, no further ad copy is required.  “ If there was a college or university for mentalism and magic – Larry Baukin would be the distinguished professor. He raises the bar  most notably in the content he provides but equally in more subtle yet important ways vis-à-vis his referrals to other sources, style, elegance and culture.  Larry is that rare talent that understands and masterfully  incorporates a sort of ecosystem of interdependent symbiotic resources that when coalesce – display the attainment of perfection.” – Richard Webster 

INTRODUCTION: Larry Baukin

“There is more gold to be gotten from men than from rivers.” – Bertolt Brecht

This book is a compilation of cold reading techniques. These techniques and approaches to giving readings represent many years of trial and error. In addition, the volume is designed to be a practical manual for both the beginner as well as the more advanced practitioner. I also invite both mentalists and magicians to take advantage of the variety offered herein. I suggest that the reader commence his or her journey at the beginning of the book taking each chapter in sequential order. However, this advice is by no means the last word. In fact, if the reader prefers, the volume may be utilized as a kind of reference tool enabling the reader to skip around in the chapters.

This is not a treatise that presents yet another variation of material that has been floating around the trade forever. Included, for example, is a script that assists the psychic when confronted by an individual who reports that they have experienced an alien abduction, or have been contacted by some manner of supernatural being. Such sitters are not all nuts! And to my knowledge, as of this writing, little or nothing is available on how to read for such people who have had these alleged encounters. I first became aware of such clients at private readings that I gave under the auspices of new age shops and psychic fairs.

The book will contain scripts for readings derived from select mainstream psychology texts that I have found useful and often powerful in dealing with issues that are current in a client’s life. Often these texts, when presented with partial stacked deck principles, come across as quite metaphysical in their expression. In using the wealth of material that is sometimes buried within a non-magic book I have striven to include only those bits and pieces that have worked for me as a professional reader. For example, in applying the very basic structure of Robert Greene’s mammoth work Mastery, I soon found myself with the reputation of a metaphysical, intuitive career guide.

Still, I was the psychic that people wanted to have interpreting their cards. I framed such consultations as being a kind of brainstorming with the cards. I always offered the disclaimer that I was not a career counselor of any sort, but a mere intuitive, pointing out data that the clients might want to delve a little deeper into before making their own decisions. Very little in the cold reading literature deals with corporate career situations and issues that real people have to face in their daily lives and jobs. Not everything is about love! There is much – much more – naturally. Also included are a few minor, but effective trance techniques.

Finally, the volume will afford a quick and simple way to offer a number of future forecasts that will not only enrich your message, but be genuinely helpful to your client. And I won’t even begin to describe a completely new way to present your knowledge of the eight Myers-Briggs indicators in a style that is purely metaphysical.

There is something waiting for you to use successfully within these pages, hence, the book’s title, Magic Speak. The deceptively simple choice of these two words is the book’s not so hidden message. For magic, a sense of real, genuine magic is what your client or sitter wants you to provide them. Allow me to quote the poet, Edna St. Vincent Millay: “Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies.” In the final analysis magic speak is the language of the kingdom.

FOREWORD – By Barry Wood

I’ve discovered Atlantis! According to my GPS, it’s located in a nondescript strip mall in the city of Alexandria, Virginia. Okay, okay, so it’s not the lost mythical civilization people have been searching for, but instead, the name of an Italian Family Restaurant that Larry and I meet for lunch on numerous occasions. Still, it’s quite a magical place, with a strange time anomaly that I’ll explain more about in a minute. First a formality in the form of a question. Does Larry Baukin need an introduction? Readers of Cold Reading, The Classic Book of Techniques he co-wrote with his friend, the irrepressible Ron Martin know the quality their body of work represents. I’ve known of Larry for years through magic circles, but it’s only been in the last few years that I’ve gotten together with him to discuss things of a psychic nature. I’m reminded of the phrase, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” Although our reading styles may differ, we do agree that there are two concepts we both keep in the back of our minds. First, we are constantly searching for non- cold reading books for insights, and wisdom concerning the different life stages people go through. Understanding where the person is coming from and the possible challenges they are facing or will face soon creates rapport and trust, forming a deeper connection.

The clue has been there all along; Look at the bibliography or suggested reading list of any good cold reading book from the past and you’ll find what was considered the most important references and non-cold reading book of the time, within these pages. Second, we are also looking for solutions that we can provide as practical guidance or possible paths to be taken by the client. After all, that’s what they’re paying us for. Ah…now, where was I? Oh right, Atlantis. In the past. As I step into the restaurant for the first time, I feel like I’m crossing over a threshold to another dimension. Except for the way most people are dressed or that many are looking at their phones or iPads, you would be hard-pressed to identify the current decade. I could just as easily be in the 60’s or 70’s. It’s dark; the waitresses are all over 50 and there doesn’t seem to be an air of urgency most restaurants have during the lunch hour.

I greet Larry and we sit in a booth. I can see why Larry likes this place; good food, generous portions, and they have homemade apple pie. Not the flavor of the month, no, apple pie made from scratch, through trial and error, using just the right ingredients, in the right amounts to create something delicious that patrons will come back for time and again. Now let us speed forward. During our latest lunch, Larry has a little sparkle in his eye as he mentions he just finished writing his new book, Magic Speak. As he’s describing some of the content, my mouth begins to salivate like it did when the apple pie arrived. From his discovery of gold nuggets in non-cold reading books and how he incorporates them into his readings to his ingenious use of the Myers-Briggs personality types in his past-lives scripts, I knew this wasn’t going to be the typical cold reading book.

I love how he uses real-life examples of clients he’s read for to illustrate the concepts he’s presenting. Read what happens when Larry encounters the lady who had an alien visitation. More importantly, you’ll read how he found a source later for being better prepared the next time something like that happens, and now you will be too. As I step out of the restaurant and say goodbye to Larry, I glance at my watch, “It can’t be.” What seemed like minutes, were in fact hours. There’s that weird time anomaly thing again. Excuse me while I sit in my car and write down some notes of our meeting. Fortunately, you don’t have to do that; it’s all right here waiting for you. So dig into the apple pie. Oh, and welcome to Atlantis – Barry Wood.