Tauromancy is a fraudulent system for performing 'psychic' readings. Like Tarot, Astrology, Numerology and Palm Reading, the reader is able to make a large number of statements about the client which appear to give information the reader could not know without special powers. The technique is called Cold Reading and is described in The Skeptic's Guide to the Paranormal.

Using Tauromancy, I have given hundreds of readings using cold reading techniques. Despite this honesty, there have been a number of sitters who are convinced I could not have known the things I claimed to know without psychic insights. I failed to convince them otherwise. Such is the human need to believe.

The complete set of tools for Tauromancy:

1. The Book - handwritten and illustrated 'during my training in China' as is the tradition with Tauromancy. I get to set all the traditions being the only practitioner in the world. Every page gives plenty of information  in new-age-speak which sort-of makes sense.


2. The mat - clients place the masks and essences on the mat themselves once they have held them and then relaxed and placed them as they feel most exactly represents themselves. They may reject any they feel do not resonate with their lives.

3. Beneath mat: the masks and essences.

4. Above them (horizontal) my special Pointer. Very spiritual.

5. Top right, the staves (brown ones, hard to see) and rods and blockers.

4. While the sitter has placed the masks and essences, there is lots of space for them to 'build an image of their world' with the staves and rods after we have talked through whatever they have done with the masks.

So by the end, the client has the masks all arranged, some rejected. They have chosen rods and stave and built some kind of structure in the space. They usually chatter while they do this - some taking positively ages!

 
This is what the stage looks like after the client has done both sections. The masks and essences are arranged on the mat, enabling me to talk about 'willing to break the boundaries for ...' and 'central to your focus ...' and so on. The few up the top have been rejected, which can be interpreted in numerous ways. Either -' rejected because you do not allow yourself to feel hatred - well done' - or 'rejected because you have not yet acknowledged the full extent of ....' .

On the right are the selected staves and rods. Each has a meaning. They are 'at cross purposes' or 'pointing towards your ...' or 'aligned with' or anything else I like. The unselected rods and staves are interpreted as suits my purpose as well.