FINE

SCRIpTURE

THE

FINE

SCRIpTURE

THE

FINE

SCRIpTURE

w w w .

d a n i e l m a d i s o n

. c o . u k

AN ESSENTIAL CARD EFFECT FOR THE SERIOUS pERFORMER

This effect will jump right into your repertoire and stay there forever

“…THIS HAS BECOME MY FAVOURITE CARD-REVELATION EVER…”

R3MAN – MAGICIAN

“…I TAKE THIS EFFECT EVERYWHERE I GO, IT’S BY FAR THE BEST IMPROMPTU EFFECT IN

MY REPERTOIRE AND ONE OF THE BEST MIND-BLOWER TOO!”

RYAN LATHAM – STREET MAGICIAN

“…A BEAUTIFUL, SIMPLE AND REPUTATION MAKING EFFECT, NOBODY WILL EVER SEE

THIS COMING…”

DAVID COX – PSYCHOLOGICAL ILLUSIONIST

“…THIS IS MY NEW FAVOURITE TOY, IT FLAWS ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY I PERFORM IT

FOR, INCLUDING MAGICIANS…”

JOHNNY LUCAS – CLOSE-UP MAGICIAN

d e v i l s

A D V O C A T E p r o d u c t i o n s

T H E F I N E S C R I p T U R E E F F E C T S

theFINESCRIPTURE

:

CORNERED

A spectator freely selects a playing card form the deck, a corner is torn from the card and given to the spectator
to hold, they are given the torn card and asked to write their name on the back of it, upon doing so, they find that

the marker pen does not work. They are then asked to turn over the playing card and try writing on that side,

upon doing so they see that the torn card is actually a JOKER! They are then asked to open the pen up to see if

the ink inside it has run out, inside the pen they discover a rolled up playing card… Theirs!

The deck is searched to prove that the card inside is not a duplicate

theFINESCRIPTURE

:

OUT OF MIND

The spectator is asked to think of any playing card and to write this playing card on a pad of paper…upon doing so,

they find that the marker pen does not work. They are then asked to open the pen up to see if the ink inside it has

run out, inside the pen they discover a rolled up playing card… Their merely thought of playing card!

theFINESCRIPTURE

:

OUT OF FACE

A spectator freely selects a playing card form the deck before returning and shuffling. They are handed a pad of

paper and a marker pen and asked to write down their chosen playing card, upon doing so, they find that the

marker pen does not work. They are then asked to open the pen up to see if the ink inside it has run out, inside

the pen they discover a rolled up playing card… Theirs!

The deck is searched to prove that the card inside is not a duplicate

theFINESCRIPTURE

:

5 CARD DRAW

A spectator selects 5 playing card form the deck and is asked to think of only one of them, (the performer doesn’t

see these cards) the cards are returned to the deck and the deck is placed aside, the performer does not touch

the deck again… After naming the playing card, the spectator is asked to spread the playing cards, upon doing so

they discover that their card has vanished. They are asked to open the marker pen that has been on the table the

entire time, upon doing so they discover a rolled up playing card inside… Theirs!

theFINESCRIPTURE

:

MIND FORCE

The deck is spread and a marker pen is passed to the spectator, they are asked to merely think of one of the

playing cards from the deck. The deck is closed. The spectator is asked to write down their through of playing

card. The deck is spread to reveal that their though of card is gone. They are then asked to open the pen up to

see if the ink inside it has run out, inside the pen they discover a rolled up playing card… Theirs!

I N T R O D U C T I O N

The ‘Sharpie’ has become the magic wand for the modern magician, we all have one and carry one with us always
for those great “I need you to sign the card” effects. In my mentalism years, I used an effect since published in
ONE; Deception, Subterfuge and a deck of cards named SCRIPTURE, in which a thought of or selected playing card
would appear inside a biro held by the spectator at all times. Although this is a very rewarding effect, I did get
some criticism and losers who would snap the pen open to see if it was in fact a real playing card upon which the
revelation of a half and split playing card was found. With this remixed version, the playing card can be retrieved
fully from the marker pen thus suggesting that it did actually come from the deck.
Some further effect suggestions have been published at the end of this document that you may find interesting.
For now, here’s how to get the FINE SCRIPTURE into your repertoire…

M A K ING T H E p E N

Obviously you’ll need a sharpie marker pen or similar. Open the Sharpie by bending it at the connection, the plastic
will give and then pull apart. Remove the sponge-ink-cartridge and dispose of before washing out the grey barrel of
the pen. Take a duplicate playing card of your chosen force card (for this document the force card will be the
7ofDiamonds). Roll the card up [so that the face is inside the roll] and insert into the pen. When closing the pen,
it is vital that you do not close the pen fully, it’s important that a millimetre is left exposed, this will allow for an
easy open of the pen-barrel. When putting the lid back on the pen do not push the lid down full, again, leave at
least a millimetre exposed so that the lid stays on but does not pull the pen apart upon removal. Image 02 shows
how the pen should look when ready.

As there is no ink cartridge in the pen, the ink in the tip will eventually dry up, this will add to the effects when it
happens and will be explained in more detail throughout this document.

IMAGE 01

IMAGE 02

theFINESCRIPTURE

:

CORNERED

A spectator freely selects a playing card form the deck, a corner is torn from the card and given to the spectator
to hold, they are given the torn card and asked to write their name on the back of it, upon doing so, they find that

the marker pen does not work. They are then asked to turn over the playing card and try writing on that side,

upon doing so they see that the torn card is actually a JOKER! They are then asked to open the pen up to see if

the ink inside it has run out, inside the pen they discover a rolled up playing card… Theirs!

The deck is searched to prove that the card inside is not a duplicate

THE SETUP:
Okay, you need two dupes, so 2 x 7D, and one Joker. Hold them
all together tightly and tear the corner of all three of them at
the same time. Only tear the cards to the edge leaving them
attached by a millimetre or so. Tear the corner off of the joker
and leave one of the 7’s in tact… Tear the corner off of the 2

nd

7 and leave the corner aside (IMAGE 03) for use later as
explained in the afterthoughts section. Roll up the completely
torn 7 (face inward) and insert into the pen (torn-corner
inwards.) Place the torn joker on top of the deck, place the
semi-torn 7 on top of that and then any other card on top of
that to conceal the tears. Place the 7D from the deck in your
favourite forcing position.

THE PLAY:
Start by giving the marker pen to the spectator before forcing
the deck-7D on them. As they look at the card, slip cut the top card into the middle of the deck so that the top
two setup cards are exposed, tilt the deck so that the top cards cannot be seen. Take the forced 7D from the
spectator and place it on top of the deck hence covering the torn cards…

IT DOESN’T MATTER THAT I KNOW WHICH CARD IT IS…

Whilst saying this slip the 2

nd

card down out in the manner of a top-change or 2

nd

deal (the semi-torn 7D) making

sure that you cover up the pre-torn corner. The deck can now be put down as the torn joker is concealed.
Pretend to tear the corner off of the card leaving the final stitch attached, invite the spectator to tear off the
final attached corner, they will keep hold of this corner throughout the effect. Give them the card to check that
the corner is a perfect match. At this point, pick up the deck and pass the top card (full 7D) to the bottom of the
deck. Take back the torn 7D placing it on top of the deck (face-down) pointing to it…

I WANT YOU TO WRITE YOUR NAME ON THE BACK OF THIS PLAYING CARD…

As they remove the lid from the pen, take out the 2

nd

card down (torn Joker) in the manner of a top-change or 2

nd

deal and hand it to them. Tilt the deck away so that the top torn card cannot be seen. As they attempt to write
their name on the back of the card, pass the torn 7D to the bottom of the deck. The spectator will state that the
pen doesn’t work, invite them to try writing on the other side of the card, the Joker will be revealed.

IMAGE 03

When the reactions set in…

YOU KNOW WHY THE PEN DOESN’T WORK? LOOK INSIDE IT…

Invite the spectator to completely open the pen where they will find the 7D that matches the torn corner. As they
do this you are left free to palm off the bottom two cards and ditch in your pocket. The deck can then be checked
for possible subterfuge.

AFTERTHOUGHTS:
If you keep the unnecessary corner of the 1

st

7D, you can perform a switch with it afoot the card switches so that

it is in fact the very corner of the in-pen card.

It can be quite a subtle yet effective take to plant the spare corner before the effect, either on the person, or
behind the glass of a nearby picture frame or window. Once the effect is complete, take the corner off of the
spectator and make it vanish and appear wherever you planted it. This way, the new corner will be the actual
corner from the card from inside the pen. In a pub or drink consuming environment, you can plant the corner under
your spectators drink.

theFINESCRIPTURE

:

OUT of MIND

The spectator is asked to think of any playing card and to write this playing card on a pad of paper…upon doing so,

they find that the marker pen does not work. They are then asked to open the pen up to see if the ink inside it has

run out, inside the pen they discover a rolled up playing card… Their merely thought of playing card!

THE SETUP:
Okay, this one is tough. You will need to psychologically suggest the force card to your spectator. Of the best
cards for this act we shall use the 7ofHearts. (this card needs to be inside the pen.) It’s always good to have a
backup for this, the INVISIBLE deck, MEMNTO or IRREVERSIBLE are perfect outs should the force fail.

THE PLAY:
Start by giving the marker pen and a pad of paper to the spectator.

I’VE TRIED THIS EFFECT ON MANY PEOPLE AND IT’S NEVER WORKED, I PUT MY HEART AND SOUL INTO
HITTING IT ABSOLUTELY RIGHT AND I GUESS IT’S EVENTUALLY GOING TO WORK. ARE YOU READY?

When speaking the above sentence, add depth to the word

heart

. When you say

it’s eventually going to work,

practice the pronunciation of saying

it SEVEN tually going to work.

When asking

are you ready?

Ad depth to the

word

ready

, as in

RED - y.

WE NEED TO SETTLE ON A PLAYING CARD, SO THINK OF A NUMBER FROM BETWEEN ONE AND TEN. AND
NOW THINK OF A SUITE… SPADES, DIAMONDS, CLUBS OR HEARTS.

If they land the 7H you’re all done. If they name another card, simply divert to the invisible deck of memento and
try on somebody with less intelligence.

AFTERTHOUGHTS:

I know this effect may not be much pleasure to read is it is not a guaranteed effect, but for those who have never attempted
a psychological force, I implore you to get in practice, you’ll be astounded how well they work.

Through my dismissal of magic for full focus on mentalism, a powerful technique I brought back to street magic was rather
than have a card freely selected, have one freely named. The named card would then be mysteriously found by means of clod-
shot-cut or any revelation of that matter… a subtle shocker before the effect even begins. This opens so many doors for
certain outs you may carry with you, such as the Fine Scripture pen, a QH kept in an envelope in your jacket pocket, a KS
engraved on a lighter etc. At the regular spots where I perform I have many cards planted, such as a 6D stuck to the ceiling
of the local restaurant or a corner torn 4H inside a display case at the local pub, and the obvious AS tattooed on my arm. The
point being, if one of these cards were to be named, you’d be given the ultimate miracle opportunity to perform the easiest
and fairest effect of them all.
This technique also opens up the learning curve of the most commonly named cards, we already know that 7s and Qs are the
most common (Aces are way to obvious these days) but it’s quite surprising to find that such cards at 3C and 5D are in fact
quite common cards.
And all of the above can be ignored by those who have 52 outs in 26 different pockets and compartments within the sad effort
of a tux that looks more like a drive-by-wedding suite such as he who works his interpretation of magic at the local casino
claiming he used to be a cheat yet has a wooden box, linking rings, pathetic red silks, 3 orange cups and 4 different decks sat
on the table not thinking that his spectators may be more intelligent enough to realise that a real ex-cheat would need but
one deck and a better dress sense and more sense full stop……………… You know who you are Derrick the Mystifyer. Twat.

theFINESCRIPTURE

:

OUT of FACE

A spectator freely selects a playing card form the deck before returning and shuffling. They are handed a pad of

paper and a marker pen and asked to write down their chosen playing card, upon doing so, they find that the

marker pen does not work. They are then asked to open the pen up to see if the ink inside it has run out, inside

the pen they discover a rolled up playing card… Theirs!

The deck is searched to prove that the card inside is not a duplicate

THE SETUP:
Force card in favourite forcing position…

THE PLAY:
Possible the easiest to perform…
Hand the spectator a pad of paper and the marker pen. Force the card on the spectator and have them return it
to the deck (without you seeing.) Shuffle the cards controlling the card to the bottom as you ask them to write
down their chosen card. As they do this, prepare to cop | palm away the bottom (selected) playing card.
As they discover that the pen doesn’t write, ask them to pull it open to see if it’s run out of ink. As they do this,
cop | palm away the selected card and ditch in your pocket as you place the deck down.

All done, if the spectator wishes to do so, they can search the deck for possible subterfuge as you stand empty
handed.

AFTERTHOUGHTS: 

This was step one in the development of SCRIPTURE (initially printed in ONE.)  The simplest of card effects yet one of the most astonishing. 
It is quite important that the deck is checked for duplicates.  Some will instinctively take the deck and refuse to believe that the very card 
from the deck could have vanished and appeared within the pen, and the intelligent ones would just accept this as clever; as in, how did 
you  get  rid  of  the  other  card,  which  does  diminish  the  effect  and  somewhat  make  it  pointless,  but  I  always  say  to  performers  that  the 
number one seller, or for use of Greg Wilsons’ word ‘Convincer’ is your showmanship as a magician.  I always hold back on patter within my 
publications  as  on  a  personal  level  I  just  hate  to  read  things  such  as…

  As  your  guest  turns over  the 5 

th 

card,  say ‘And  this  card  is  the 

window­cleaner; he loves to travel especially 5­cards up­hill where the gardener used to grow his flowers but vanished at the click of the 
fortune­tellers hand who now ran away with a king only to appear 12 cards down in the deck in between the butcher and the whore’ etc. 
It’s so important to make up your own patter and performance, like packet tricks, I have about 2 in my entire repertoire, I have indulged in 
plenty  but  I  usually  rip  them  apart  and  put  them  back  together  in  a  different  way  making  something  completely  new.  Nothing  is  more 
depressing as a performer to finish your favourite personal effect only to hear ‘Another magician performed this trick for me only a week 
ago.’   Hearing this after such a personal performance as Heirloom can destroy a performer.

theFINESCRIPTURE

:

5 CARD DRAW

A spectator selects 5 playing card form the deck and is asked to think of only one of them, (the performer doesn’t see these

cards) the cards are returned to the deck and the deck is placed aside, the performer does not touch the deck again… After

naming the playing card, the spectator is asked to spread the playing cards, upon doing so they discover that their card has

vanished. They are asked to open the marker pen that has been on the table the entire time, upon doing so they discover a

rolled up playing card inside… Theirs!

THE SETUP:
This is something of a mind-power deck for the desperate. I personally didn’t want to print this one but was
convinced after seeing a friend perform it with sheer confidence, control and absolute achievement.
You will need to make somewhat of a trick-deck for this performance as well as 4 different scripture pens. You will
also need 4 different double sided playing cards… I hope this isn’t asking too much.

For the deck I made (and never used) I used 4 double faced cards
7D 4S JH 3S. On the back of these are 4C AH 10S 2H
You will need to make a stop card, for this I cut a few mm off of the long edge of one card and taped this to the
front of another card. When in the deck, you can riffle down the side of the deck with your thumb and the stop
card will allow the riffle to stop on the card directly below the stop card. Card stop stop card. Stop.
I got rid of the backer cards ( 4C AH 10S 2H )
I used the deck duplicates - 7D 4S JH 3S to place inside 3 different sharpies – one held by the spectator, and the
other three each in a different pocket.
Place the double faced cards on top of the deck ( pen cards face down ) place the Ace of Spades on top of them,
then the stop card on top of that, then cut the deck so that all these cards are together in the middle of the
deck. Ready? Need to read that again?

THE PLAY:
Riffle down the side of the deck asking your spectator to call stop. Regardless of when they say stop, just stop at
the stop card, cut the deck here placing the stop card to the bottom and the setup cards to the top. Tilt the
deck towards you and spread off the top 5 cards, the backs of these cards will not be seen by the spectator. Ask
them to think of one of these cards, the AS will go un-thought off but will be covered later.

As you gather the 5 cards and bring them back to the deck, tilt the deck toward you and turn all of the cards face-
up, instantly cut the deck so that these cards are now in the middle of the deck.

If the deck is now spread you will see one card face down, this is the Ace, the other cards will seem to have all
vanished. Don’t spread the deck yet.

Have the spectator write down their thought of card, done correctly, the pen won’t work… Ask them to name the
card. If the card they name is in the pen they hold, spread the deck, notice the face down card and turn it face
up… THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AMAZING IF THAT WAS YOUR CARD… Note that the card has vanished, have the
pen opened etc. If the card is in a pen in one of your pockets, taker the pen f4rom them then spread the deck, as
you invite them to turn over the face down card, switch the pen and reveal. Should they think of the Ace, simple
spread to reveal.

AFTERTHOUGHTS: Bemusement | Mortification | Discomfiture

theFINESCRIPTURE

:

5 CARD DRAW

The deck is spread and a marker pen is passed to the spectator, they are asked to merely think of one of the

playing cards from the deck. The deck is closed. The spectator is asked to write down their through of playing

card. The deck is spread to reveal that their though of card is gone. They are then asked to open the pen up to

see if the ink inside it has run out, inside the pen they discover a rolled up playing card… Theirs!

THE SETUP:
This effect works in conjunction with john Kennedy’s Mind Power deck, if you are unaware of this deck, you can
purchase one from pretty much any magic shop or directly from Johns website www.JohnKennedy.com. You will
need to make 3 different scripture pens for the effect… One with the KD, another with the 8D and another with
the 10H. The KD scripture pen will be on the table with the Mind Power deck, the 8D will be free inside your inner
jacket pocket, and the 10H pen will be hooked over the top of the same inner jacket pocket. The pad of paper will
also be in the same pocket.

THE PLAY:

I’M GOING TO SPREAD THE CARDS AND ASK THAT YOU TO LOOK THROUGH THEM AND CHOSE ONE…
KEEP THIS CARD TO YOURSELF AND DON’T SAY IT OUT LOUD. I NEED YOU TO DRAW THIS CARD NICE
AND BIG IN YOUR MIND AS IF ON A CANVAS… SO IF YOU SAW, FOR EXAMPLE THE 3H, DRAW A BIG 3
AND A BIG HEART. PLEASE DON’T NOW PICK THE 3H.

Spread the deck momentarily and close.

YOU GOT ONE? NOW, JUST REPEAT THIS CARD IN YOUR MIND… KING OF DIAMONDS, KING OF
DIAMONDS…

If they react to this being their card, speak the following…

YOU THOUGHT OF THE KING OF DIAMONDS? WHAT YOU DIDN’T NOTICE, IS THAT I REMOVED THE CARD
YOU WERE THINKING OF FROM THE DECK…

Spread the deck the other way to show that the KD is not there.

DO THIS FOR ME; TAKE THE LID OFF OF THE PEN, THEN OPEN THE PEN UP COMPLETELY…

Close the deck as they find the KD inside.

If they do not react to the King of Diamonds, ask if their card was a Diamond. If they say yes, casually take the
marker to your pocket and switch it for the lose marker inside your pocket (8D) and retrieve it along with the pad
of paper. Hand both items to the spectator.

CAN YOU WRITE DOWN YOUR PLAYING CARD ON THE PAPER PLEASE?

Once done, spread the deck the other way to show that the 8D has gone.

WHAT’S STRANGE IS HOW YOU CAN SOMETIMES SEE THINGS THAT AREN’T REALLY THERE… CAN YOU
SEE YOUR CARD?

As they become baffled, invite them to look inside the pen.

If they answer

NO

to the question

is your card a Diamond?

Casually take the marker to your pocket and switch it

for the marker hooked on your pocket (10H) and retrieve it along with the pad of paper. Hand both items to the
spectator.

CAN YOU WRITE DOWN YOUR PLAYING CARD ON THE PAPER PLEASE?

Once done, spread the deck the other way to show that the 8D has gone.

WHAT’S STRANGE IS HOW YOU CAN SOMETIMES SEE THINGS THAT AREN’T REALLY THERE… CAN YOU
SEE YOUR CARD?

As they become baffled, invite them to look inside the pen.

AFTERTHOUGHTS:
At first I had a lot of trouble using this deck, I didn’t like all the outs and fumbling through the mistakes and
inaccurate guesses to get their card. Asking them to think of a certain colour does somewhat dampen the point
of the deck but does make the accuracy more durable. This effect rids all cards other than the three in use, this
theory makes the deck an amazement and one that will live forever in my repertoire. I wasn’t happy with the design
of the deck, and although it’s now available in Bike format, I have the old one yet have placed a Tally Ace of Spades
at the face of the deck and one at the back to leave the impression that it is in fact a genuine Tally deck.

theFINESCRIPTURE

:

OVERALL AFTERTHOUGHTS

There were 11 effects for Fine Scripture in total, but were all quite similar and quite redundant in consecution so I
only printed the best of. There are so many variations of the effect and at first it was recommended by retailers
that I actually make the pen and sell it, but one of the reasons I’m reluctant to buy anything from a magic shop is
that when you open the package you realise it’s something you could have made yourself and saved a lot of dosh,
this is the same for over 90% of marketed effects, and the reason why this effect was so cheap for the buyer to
buy, and then email to all his friends and maybe even more of a better deal for he whom duplicates this and sells it
at the same price… I’ll catch you eventually.
As long as the idea is on the market, I’m happy

I love performing this at conventions; I’d borrow a sharpie from a magician for whatever, then switch it giving them
the Fine Scripture pen. If they are using the same deck as mine, even better... Of course you exchange pens
again at the end of the effect but it’s worth the entire effect.

Through the duration of my pens use, it has since cracked making a loose connection; this has but enhanced the
handling of the pen making it much easier for the spectator to get into.

© Daniel Madison 2006 for Devils Advocate productions – All rights reserved