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The Effect

The Numbers Racket is a system for giving numerological (or arithmantic) readings. The full title is actually The Numbers Racket: Experiments in Arithmancy, but I couldn't get that, and the author's name, in the title to this post! It is written by our very own MatCult.

It is available as a .pdf from Mat's site here: http://numbersracket.blogspot.co.uk

Cost

£7.50 - an absolute bargain.

Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

This rating system is really only appropriate for tricks. Learning the basic system is quite easy, but becoming really good at readings may take a little longer.

Review

The first thing I will say about this .pdf is that it is very well written. Some magic publications are painful to read, especially where no formal editor has been involved, or the proofreading was done by a mate who wasn't really up to the job. The Numbers Racket is a pleasure to read.

That means nothing if the content is poor, but in fact, this .pdf contains a very interesting take on numerology. It is a cross between what I think of as traditional numerology and the "Chinese numerology" that uses the Lo Shu square. The clever thing about Mat's approach is that it gives you a lot more to say than either of the other systems.

For those who have no idea what numerology is, I would describe it as a method of interpreting a person's significant numbers, found in things such as their birthdate or by converting their name into numbers.

Mat's system is fairly easy to learn, although getting it completely smooth will take a little practice. There's no real reason to rush, though! It would be a very good system to use at things like corporate events (from what I understand of them, having no intention of working them myself).

Once you have the numbers laid out in the format Mat suggests, you must interpret them. The .pdf offers some brief summaries of what the numbers mean. These explanations are short, but there's actually a lot of relevant information in them. Best of all for beginners, Mat offers a simple mnemonic system for remembering the meanings.

In short, if you want to give numerology a try (including if you have tried either of the more common systems and found them slightly lacking or hard to use), I think this is a great product.

There is more, though. The Numbers Racket also includes a prediction ending that can be used to finish a reading. This is very clever, but is to be used sparingly. Please do not think that you will end every reading with a spot-on prediction; this is something to be saved for special occasions. Some purists will decry this as being too much like a magic trick and totally unnecessary for a reading system. If that is your position (and I have sympathies with it for a couple of reasons), then just don't use it; the prediction is not an essential part of the system.

Overall

9/10

For the price, this is excellent. It is a good introduction to numerology and provides a neat system for relatively quick readings. I think a skilled reader could get even more out of this and, because Mat has devised his own system, I think that this also has something to offer people who already know about traditional numerology.

The only thing that this work lacks is a lot of detailed information on interpreting the numbers. I think that this is the right decision, because there are many books explaining this side of things and there is little point in rehashing them. What you get is the system and some short (but sweet) pointers that will be more than enough to get you started.