by James Randi
Faustus, Dr. Johannes
(also, Faust) A possibly mythical German sorcerer of medieval times, pictured by Rembrandt in a famous etching. Faustus had the reputation of being a powerful magus and the author of many books on magic. One book was Magia Naturalis et Innaturalis, subtitled The Three-Fold Harrowing of Hell.
Faust is mentioned by name in a letter written in 1507, and from that and other references he appears to have been a wandering charlatan who made his living by professing magical powers and performing various such services for paying customers. The character may also be a composite of several such actual persons.
Seen here on the title page of Christopher Marlowe's 1636 play, The Tragicall History of Dr. Faustus, the sorcerer is shown in regalia within his protective magic circle.
The persistent legend of Faust and his interesting pact with Mephistopheles/Satan, in which he exchanged his soul for a guaranteed life of riches, pleasure, and debauchery, along with magical devices such as a cloak that would fly him anywhere he chose to be, has been perpetuated by such writers as Christopher Marlowe in his play The Tragicall History of Dr. Faustus and by Goethe, who introduced the idea of Faust's eventual salvation, or escape from the frightful contract, mostly due to the inferior quality of the demon Mephistopheles and the legally shaky contract itself.
Musicians Berlioz, Gounod, and Schumann added to the Faust myth with full-length operas on the subject.
Fay, Anna Eva
(Anna Eva Heathman, 1851 -1927) A spiritualist faker who was very popular in vaudeville in the late 1800s, where she was billed as, “The Indescribable Phenomenon.”
She attracted the very favorable interest of Sir William Crookes in 1874, but Washington Irving Bishop, who had worked with her as an assistant, chose to expose her methods to a newspaper. She was also investigated by conjuror Harry Houdini, to whom she eventually admitted many of her tricks, after her retirement. The Magic Circle of London, a very prominent organization of conjurors, made her an honorary member, carefully designating her an Honorary Lady Associate, since women at that time were not eligible to be regular members.
Her son, John Truesdale Fay (1877 -?) also had an act with his wife, called simply, “The Fays.” The William H. Fay who worked with the Davenport brothers act was not related to this family of Fays.
Filipino Psychic Surgery
See psychic surgery.
Finger Writer
See thumb writer.
G
Ganzfeld Experiment
From the German words ganz and Feld, meaning “entire field,” this system attempts to use sensory deprivation of the subject as a “noise” reduction method, so that any psi input may more easily be detected. The subject may be equipped with headphones delivering “white noise,” halved Ping-Pong balls placed over the eyes to diffuse light, and a comfortable, relaxing environment, thus deemphasizing any regular sensory input.
Charles Honorton and many other parapsychologists from 1972 through 1981 performed extensive ganzfeld tests. The work came under fire for alleged discrepancies, particularly from Dr. Ray Hyman, a psychologist who has been a persistent, skeptical critic of psi, and also from Dr. Susan Blackmore. As with all such tests, there are a great number of possibilities for errors in actual implementation of the conditions, data recording, and interpretation and statistical considerations. Previous ganzfeld tests had been found faulted, though at first it appeared, as it often does, that the long-sought breakthrough in parapsychology had been made.
Ganzfeld techniques continue to hold promise for parapsychology, and much more labor and money will be dedicated to that promise.
Garlic
This herb is said to defend homes from witches and demons when placed at the door, and when worn on the person, to repel attacks by vampires and to protect the wearer from the evil eye. It is absolutely effective for those purposes and is also known to impart a delicious flavor to certain foods. It is occasionally used in this minor role.
Geley, Dr. Gustav
(1868-1924) A French researcher who was best known for his investigation and endorsement of the medium known as Eva C., the stage name for Marthe Béraud / Eva Carrière. However, in 1954, biographers discovered among his papers the evidence in the form of photographs, showing that he had actually exposed the cheating of Carrière, but had suppressed the facts. Charles Richet and baron Schrenck-Notzing, both co-investigators with Geley, along with Jean Meyer, the wealthy sponsor of the investigation, insisted that the evidence be suppressed.
Though it might be difficult to believe that serious researchers would do such a thing, the field is full of such events. Perhaps Geley's own words, expressing his philosophy in 1919, can best express his own very strong need for belief in the hereafter:
Robbed of its illusions, individual existence seems a real misfortune if it endures only from birth to death.
To accompany this sadly shallow outlook, Geley said that he also believed in reincarnation, for which he coined the term “palingenesis.”
Geller, Uri
(1946 - ) Undoubtedly the “psychic superstar” of the century, whose name has become known in every language in every country. He has asserted that his powers are absolutely real, that he has never used cheating to achieve his results, and that in any case he is incapable of using sleight of hand to do conjuring effects.
Mr. Geller's major claim to fame is his ability to bend spoons using, according to him, only the power of his mind. He has also demonstrated, countless times, that he is able to ascertain the contents of sealed envelopes and to “see” while blindfolded. These are also part of the repertoires of many mentalists, and though Geller denies he uses their methods, it is interesting to know that he has attended conventions of magicians.
Reaching back as far as the sixteenth century, the handsome young Israeli, a former fashion model, borrowed and improved upon such basic demonstrations as Blindfold Driving and the Obedient Compass (see compass trick), though he claims that his performances are genuine, not using any trickery. Along with these numbers was a relatively current novelty in which a scrap of metal foil held by a spectator becomes too hot to hold, seemingly through the mental powers of the performer. Again, Mr. Geller says that his version of this demonstration is not a trick. (For the conjurors' method, see hot foil trick.)
In Israel, where the public was not quite as susceptible as in America, Geller was accused by a complaintant of doing tricks when he had promised to do genuine psychic feats. The Israeli court assessed him costs, and the price of the plaintiff's ticket was refunded to him.
But it was the newest marvel that he later performed — seeming to bend and break metal objects by mind power — that made all the news. That, it seemed, was original with him, unlike the other rather standard routines. However, in 1968 a conjuring magazine available in Israel published the instructions for a spoon trick that was indistinguishable from the Geller demonstration.
Insisting that his demonstrations were the real thing, in 1974 Uri Geller traveled the world with his story of having been given his powers through a distant planet called Hoova in another star system, and a UFO called “IS” or “Intelligence in the Sky.” The unsteadier portion of the public ate up all this stuff, which sounded very much like bad science fiction, flocking to his performances and making him unquestionably the most charismatic and successful mentalist in history.
The magicians, with very few exceptions, were quick to offer solutions to Mr. Geller's numbers. In 1985, Australian conjuror Ben Harris published a definitive book on metal-bending methods, and in Norway, magician/author Jan Crosby amplified that to include a method of doing the “watch trick” (in which a watch advances time by apparently supernatural means) and an analysis of the bent spoons records. In Sweden, Trollare och Andra Underhållare (“Magicians and Other Entertainers”), a book on the history of magic by author Christer Nilsson, expressed no doubts about the nature of Geller's performances. Writing on the requisites for an effective approach to conjuring, N
ilsson said:
Certainly the first and last point to be made is that the quality of a performance is what decides whether it is good or bad. No one nowadays takes a magic trick as a fact; no one believes in black magic. Even though some commercial texts state the opposite, we know that Uri Geller is just another illusionist, nothing more.
But there was more to Uri Geller than just his unquestioned skill; he had the charm and charisma to convert admirers into worshipers. The portion of the public who believed him to be a real wizard were so fervent in their belief that they would defend their convictions even when confronted with incontrovertible evidence that he used conjuring methods. Scientist and science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, who was at one time said by Geller supporters to have been convinced by his demonstrations, said of that aspect:
One thing, however, remains to be explained — the Geller effect. By this I mean the ability of one able though perhaps not outstanding magician (though only his peers can judge that) to make such an extraordinary impact on the world, and to convince thousands of otherwise level-headed people that he is genuine, or at any rate, worthy of serious consideration.
Dr. Clarke's observation is well drawn. Even the U.S. scientists who first encountered Mr. Geller were aware of his conjuring tendencies. Parapsychologists Hal Puthoff and Russell Targ, who studied Mr. Geller at the Stanford Research Institute (now known as Stanford Research International) were aware, in one instance at least, that they were being shown a magician's trick by Geller. They described it in their book Mind Reach, where they said that they
had every confidence that Uri could do that trick [the blindfold drive] as well as any of the dozens of other magicians who do it.
Targ and Puthoff issued a lengthy and quite positive scientific paper extolling the psychic abilities of Geller. Their protocols for this “serious” investigation of the powers claimed by Geller were described by Dr. Ray Hyman, who investigated the project on behalf of a U.S. funding agency, as “sloppy and inadequate.” In response to this criticism, Dr. Targ retorted, “Bullshit!” This is a technical term often encountered in parapsychology.
Geller has claimed that he is paid large sums of money ($1 million, nonrefundable, just to try) by mining companies to use his dowsing abilities for finding gold and oil, sometimes just waving his hands over a map to do so. He celebrates his claim that he has become a multimillionaire just from finding oil this way, though he declines to identify his clients. “It's nice to have money, because you don't have to worry about paying bills and mortgages,” he says.
Some of the other claims made by and for Mr. Geller are even more difficult to accept. In 1989, he says, he contacted the USSR Central Administration of Space Technology Development and Use for National Economics and Science and offered to repair, by his psychic powers, their ailing Phobos satellites. The project never took place. He also said he was contacted by NASA in the United States and asked to help unstick an antenna on the Galileo space probe by means of his powers; NASA's public relations office denied knowing anything about him. He offered to recover from the Moon, by psychokinesis, a camera left there by NASA astronauts; the camera is still there. In articles and books written about Mr. Geller, it has been said that he has created gold from base metals by alchemy, has discovered the location of the lost Ark of the Covenant, and has many times materialized and dematerialized objects.
A decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals on December 9, 1994, in a libel suit brought by Geller against James Randi and the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, said that “[James] Randi has set about attempting to expose various Geller feats as the fraudulent tricks of a confidence man.” The lawsuit was subsequently dismissed.
Uri Geller may have psychic powers by means of which he can bend spoons; if so, he appears to be doing it the hard way.
Gematria
See kabala and numerology.
Genii
See djinn.
Ghost
From the German geist, for “spirit.” A specter, phantom, apparition, shade, or wraith. A figure, often described as semitransparent, believed to be the remaining trace of a deceased person. Ghosts are the favorite subjects of scary tales designed to impress children and some adults.
Ghost Photography
See spirit photography.
Ghost Portraits
See spirit portraits.
Ghoul
Originating in Arab demonology, this is a one-eyed fiend with wings and an animal shape with the reputation of devouring dead bodies. The term has come to refer to any person who deals with the dead in an obscene or diabolical fashion. Grave robbers or “resurrectionists” who unearth bodies for the illegal use of medical experimenters are also known by this name.
Glossolalia
Many Christian evangelists encourage their audiences to engage in “speaking in tongues.” While engaged in this practice, performers (both preachers and worshipers) mumble gibberish which is believed by the faithful to be a secret prayer language understood only by God. The fact that each person mumbles differently matters not a whit. God, angels, and anointed ministers, we are told, are able to understand.
Technically, this psychological phenomenon is known as glossolalia. Early Methodists, Quakers, Shakers, and Mormons adopted it, then de-emphasized it. It fell into disuse until about 1830, when it reappeared in England among “females of excitable temperament,” Until recently, there was not much emphasis on it in Christianity but now the Pentecostal sects have revived it.
Scripturally, glossolalia is traced back to the Bible in Acts 2:4, and a meeting of the apostles, wherein
they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to talk in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them power of utterance.
Non-Christian glossolalia predates the modern version considerably, being described in very ancient religions and known in primitive societies untouched by Christianity. It was known to Plato, who described it in use in his day: Greek and Roman oracles spoke in tongues. Virgil wrote, in the Aenead, Book Six, about a Roman Sibyl who babbled that way. Moslems embraced the idea, too. Non-Pentecostal fundamentalists believe that their Pentecostal brothers might be inspired to glossolalia by Satan.
It says in 1 Corinthians 14:2 that
when a man is using the language of ecstasy he is talking with God, not with men, for no man understands him.
This is an exact use of magical spells and incantations, an intrinsic part of magical methodology, and is indistinguishable from it, though it is called “religion” by today's priests.
Gnome
(from the Greek gnoma, meaning “knowledge”) An elemental spirit of the earth, delighting in mischief.
Gnostics
(from the Greek word for “to know”) A mixture of astrology, kabala, Christianity and Egyptian mysticism formed the philosophies of a number of Gnostic sects. They attempted to reconcile Christianity and the philosophy of Pythagoras. A preoccupation with rather heavy orgiastic rituals alienated them from some of the Christian churches.
These sects were inordinately fond of magic talismans of various kinds, usually carved on gems.
Among the various Gnostic sects were the Albigensis, Carbonari, Carpocratians, Cathari, Lollards, and Paulicans. All were looked upon by the Christians as heretics and sorcerers. The magicians Simon Magus and Apollonius of Tyana are said to have been Gnostics.
See also charms and Secret Gospel.
Golden Dawn
See Order of the Golden Dawn.
Golem
In Hebraic mysticism, a monstrous automaton given life through magic. Many such robots have appeared in Hebrew mythology. The sixteenth-century kabalist Elijah of Chelm wrote a mystical, divine name on the forehead of his android to bring it to life. Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague made a Golem to protect the welfare of the Jews, but in order to prevent the creature from working on the Sabbath, he removed the secret life-principle from it on the Sabbath eve. Rules are rules.
Grand Cathol
icon
See philosopher's stone.
Grandier, Father Urbain
See Loudun, Devils of.
Graphology
(also, graphiology, a spelling invented by the practitioners) Graphology is not to be confused with graphoanalysis, the art of identifying samples and classifying styles of handwriting for legal and forensic purposes.
