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Effect: The performer removes from his pocket an intriguing packet, and removes its contents. The packet contains a number of old playing cards, reportedly one owned by Aliester Crowley, "The Most Wicked Man in the World," and reportedly utilized as part of an initiation ritual into his cult, the Ordo Templi Orentis.
Half of the cards are given to a spectator to hold, half are retained by the performer. Both packets of cards are spread; the packets differ completely with respect to the value and suites contained. After the spectator turns their packet face down, they are asked to gaze upon the performers cards, and to merely think of one card contained. The performer's cards are gathered, and the spectator's cards is announced.
The performer reveals that this card contains the life essence of the spectator, or as Crowley would say, "The soul card of the initiate." Legend has it that when Crowley performed this ritual, he would now possess the very soul, contained in the chosen card, of the novice to his cult. However, since the performer is not as malevolent or sinister as Crowley, he has no desire to possess the spectator's soul.
The performer's packet of cards are spread...the spectator's chosen card is nowhere to be found. The performer asks the spectator to spread out the packet he/she has been holding the whole time....the spectator's "soul card" is now in its rightful place, in the hands of the spectator!!
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