HomeSkepticismThe Lighter Side of Darkness

February, 2003
For some time I’ve been researching mediums and looking over their transcripts for evidence of After Death Communication. However, I’ve always been stymied by the lack of overt cold reading examples to compare the "genuine" mediums to. To this end, I devised a way of automating the process.

This is a method for getting a basic mediumistic reading using only a simple random number generator (a die) and a fixed script. If you decide to try, then feel free to email me the results – good or bad! The best and worst might make it in a follow-up article on SkepticReport.

If you have no dice handy, then go to The Digits of Pi and pick a point at random and write out a list of numbers 1 - 6 (ignoring numbers 0, 7, 8, 9). You'll need around thirty to complete the reading.

Okay, here goes...

Okay, first I'm going to use my psychic die to bring through someone from the other side. Please roll the die...

	I’m getting a father figure. A father, step father, father in law, grandfather, someone like a father to you.
	I'm getting an older male, not a father. Uncle, older brother, grandfather.
	I'm getting a male to the side. Someone of the same generation. A cousin, nephew, friend, brother.
	I'm getting a mother figure. A mother, step mother, mother in law, grandmother, someone like a mother to you.
	I'm getting an older female, not a mother. Aunt, older sister, grandmother?
	I'm getting a female to the side, of the same generation. A cousin, niece, friend, sister.

And they’re telling me a name. I don’t know if it’s their name or they’re telling me about someone. Roll again and tell me, who is…

	Mark (M-k sounding name. Michael? Malcolm?)
	James (J-a name. Jack?)
	Robert or Bob (an R-name. Richard?)
	Bill or William (a W name)
	Anthony (An A-n sounding name. Andrew?)
	Steven (Stefan? Stan? An S-t name.)

If the first name doesn’t mean anything, try the second guess in brackets.

Now, if that didn't strike a chord with you, don't worry. They have someone with them. Roll again (using only the first options above, i.e. father figure, older male etc) to see who the second energy is. If you roll the same number as before, then please roll again...

Hopefully, though, at least one thing I've said will have connected to you.

Let's see what comes through next. Roll the die again.

There's someone on the other side who says they had...

	A heart attack or heart disease.
	Pneumonia.
	Alcohol or addiction problems.
	Bronchitis or emphysema, problems with the throat or lungs.
	Cerebrovascular problems, with the blood, maybe a disease or blood supply problems.
	A bad or missing leg, they had trouble walking.

And now I’m being drawn towards a female energy on the other side. I don’t know if this person has been mentioned before, it’s quite vague. I’m getting a name, but I don’t know if it’s hers or someone she’s connected to… it’s something like…

	Mary, Marie, an M-a-r name
	Anne, Anna, Angela, an A-n name
	An E-l name. Elizabeth, Elaine, Ellen, maybe Helen
	Susan, Sharon. An s or sh name.
	A C or K name. Catherine, Katy, Carolyn…
	A B name, Betty, Becky, Barbara…

This woman on the other side was very…

	...loving. She was a safe haven in a storm. Very trusting. Very honest.
	...funny. I’m hearing a lot of laughter. This woman was very funny. Dry, but not catty.
	...old. But wise, with it. Not grumpy, but graceful. A wise old bird, if you like.
	...tidy. Wanted things in just the right place, to do things in the right way.
	...vain. Always wanting to look her best. Never left the house unless she was “presentable”.
	...happy. I’m getting such a happy energy coming through me. It’s great, you know?

I hope that this means something to you. If there’s something you’re not sure about, just write it down, and maybe it’ll become clear later on.

Now I’m being shown a place.

A house. I don’t know where this is, or the connection. Let me describe it to you. Go through the front door and almost the first thing you see is…

	...a picture or painting
	...some fruit
	...a telephone
	...a hat stand or coat rack
	...a photograph or several photographs
	...some steps or stairs

and there’s a door to the left. This leads to…

	...the kitchen
	...the living room
	...the dining room

The dominant feature of this room on the left is…

	...it’s cosy. Maybe not small, but homey
	...there’s a lot of earth tones, browns, beiges
	...books on a shelf or shelves
	...photographs or postcards on the wall
	...I’m getting a water feeling. Maybe the walls are blue, or maybe I’ve just walked into the bathroom [laughs] but there’s a water theme here.
	...the view from the window. It has a nice view. One you’re especially fond of.

I’m being drawn away from the house. Because now there’s a strong presence on the other side. Very strong, and determined. This person must have been quite a person to know! I’m sensing a…

	Grandfather
	Grandmother
	Aunt
	Uncle
	Older male who was very close
	Older female who was very close

I just want you to know that they’re coming through for you. The spirits are communicating two more names to me. Roll twice to see who these people are. Don’t worry if you roll the same number twice ­ that just means two people have the same or similar names…

	John, Joan, a J-o name
	A V name, Vicky, Victor, Vinnie, Vivian…
	Daniel, Diane, a D-a name, Daniella, David
	Jason, Janet, Jessica, a J name
	Charles, Chloe, Christine, a CH name
	Mary, Martin, and M-a-r name. Margaret, perhaps.

I hope you can connect with those names. Now, can you tell me: Is there a joke or story about…

	...the water from the bathroom sink tasting nicer than the water from the kitchen sink?
	...having two or more birthdays close to each other or similar to each other in the family?
	...learning to drive, or driving the car at an early age?
	...always going to the same place on holiday, or at Christmas?
	...going to the supermarket and always coming back with a lot more stuff than you needed?
	...wearing special clothes, like an ugly uniform or something?

Roll the die twice, and add the two numbers. They’re telling me that this number, either as a date or as the month, is important for some reason. A birthday or anniversary.

Now, they’re telling me that you’re…

	...moving house, thinking of moving or just moved. I’m seeing boxes, and that’s what it usually means.
	...thinking of changing jobs. You’re kind of restless and you want some new challenges.
	...worried about money. There’s always something new to pay for, and you worry about if next month’s pay will cover it.
	...concerned about a relationship. Maybe it’s yours, maybe not, but there’s a couple who are going through a bad patch, and it’s worrying you.
	...concerned about health problems. Maybe yours, maybe not. They’re showing me a hospital, so you were there or visited or someone needs some medical attention.
	...concerned about a dependant. I don’t know if it’s a child or a pet, but there’s someone that depends on you for support and right now they’re causing you some worry.

Now, they’re showing me…

	...a badge. Was or is someone you know a policeman? Or had a badge on their uniform?
	...some paintbrushes. Who’s the creative one in the family? An artist or writer?
	...a lot of paperwork. I get the feeling there’s someone who worked or works in a busy office.
	...someone in a white coat. Who’s the doctor, or someone who works in health care?
	...a money sign. Somebody works in banking or finance.
	...a blackboard. Someone is a teacher or works in the teaching industry.

Now they’re talking about somebody, I don’t know if this person is still with us or has passed to the other side, but this image is coming through quite strongly. Who…

	...laughed a lot?
	...smoked a lot?
	...drank a lot?
	...talked a lot?
	...knew a lot?
	...traveled a lot?

Don’t worry if you can’t think of anyone in particular now. Just mull it over and I’m sure it’ll come to you in a day or two.

Roll the die four times and add the totals. Look in the book by your bed or the book you’re reading now, and on this page given by the die there’s a sentence, something important or that resonates particularly with you.

And now for something completely different

Now I’m getting something a little peculiar, Not the run-of-the mill type of communication. They’re trying to tell me something quite specific.

First, roll the die and see if the result is odd or even. This will decide which of the two lists below you will use. Then roll the die three more times. Look on the list and match up the first roll with the word in the first column, the second roll with the corresponding word in the second column, and the last roll with the word in the last column. Make a short question up using those words in that order beginning with "Who...?" It'll probably be nonsensical, but I can only tell you what they’re telling me.

Odd List

	had	missing	party
	lost	old	cigarettes
	hid	bad	cat
	found	young	food
	broke	tired	photo
	made	happy	leg

Even List

	forgot	wrong	hat
	got	small	money
	kept	family	pain
	knew	funny	tree
	had	awful	pain
	saw	large	secret

They’re becoming fainter now. The messages seem harder to make out.

Time to withdraw

They’re showing me a younger energy. Again, I don’t know if this person is alive or has passed. Who is…

	...the girl…
	...the boy…

	...with the dirty dishwater hair?
	...who’s always on the bicycle?
	...who liked horses or cars?
	...that was in a play or film?
	...with the brace or retainer on their teeth?
	...with the imaginary friend?

I think that’s all I can get for now. The signal is lost, so to speak. I hope you got something out of this. Until next time, goodbye.

The psychic dice method is in the public domain, and under no copyright control. If you wish to put this on your site you may do so, without crediting me or putting my email on it, that’s fine. You may tweak it for different cultures, invent new categories for guesses, or use it as a basis for an Eliza-type AI program without my or anybody’s permission.