Comments on: Palmistry?

By: ken meaux

ken meaux — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:32:48 +0000

Is mr. Shiels still living? I was listening again to an audio tape made by him in 1985, I ama magician in the same vein as doc, ye-mage, and others from invocation.

By: Nita

Nita — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 05:18:59 +0000

It was very interesting to read this post! I wasn’t even sure whether you were talking tongue in cheek or whether you were serious! :) And that book certainly sounds interesting.
What I want to say is that it’s not palmistry that you should condemn as much as palmists themselves. Palmistry has a lot of merit in it, if only palmists stopped promising the moon. Its quite impossible to tell the future by palmistry, unless the person who the hand belongs to never changes one bit. Which is quite impossible.
And if so many people are craving to get their hands read, it means that they do need some information to help them get on with their life.

By: Lucy

Lucy — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:21:37 +0000

Fantastic article, the human race is very naive. I used to be a believer until finding out more, now I have turned to more the psychologist route of skeptism, and thoroughly enjoying my research!

By: Phillip

Phillip — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:31:22 +0000

I really enjoyed this article, I too read palms, at the local weekly flea market, and I have the same attitude to “psychic powers”.
I did it for my own amusement for many years, but people believe better when they are charged a fee. I’ve put the fee up to increase the value of what they’re getting, they still come back for more.

By: BB Wolfe

BB Wolfe — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 01:19:23 +0000

Thanks for the info, Sir. Good news. Originally – as I said – “Doc” was to have had his autobiography out by his 70th birthday this year (as reported by The Kingdom newspaper last year) . . . I asked his son (via MySpace) about it, who replied, “last I heard, he’d burnt it!” Well, I hope it was just a nnidnid-bblip. Er… I’ve heard about “The Case” (via Jon Downes) but it never occurred to me to ask for the details. Being a Scots/Irish (born in England) surrealchemist myself, maybe I should try and acquaint myself further with this conspiracy. The thing is, I know “Doc” wants, as a good surrealist, to re-enchant the landscape and all, but he (and, I presume you too) knows enough about The World to know that sorcery, magic and marvels genuinely occur sometimes. Having never met “Doc”, nor corresponded with him at length, I’m not in a position to know how to what extent he uses his knowledge of magic merely to confound the gullible, rather than as part of a genuine pursuit of the Marvellous. Either way, I’m sure he finds fundamentalist skepticism (a la James Randi) tiresome.

By: Mark Edward

Mark Edward — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:40:38 +0000

I recently received a letter from Doc. He’s working with a publisher on a book about his life, but it’s so far mostly about his painting and art career. He hasn’t mentioned any burnings yet – but it’s certainly possible or at least a good rumor. He says this book is planned as a sort of “coffee table” deal. I have kept up a correspondence with him since the late 80′s when we worked on a hoax together and were published in FATE MAGAZINE. We are still in active conpirracy mode with a continuing long range plan: THE CASE. If you don’t know about THE CASE, it’s better not to ask. People in Scotland had their computers comfiscated and things did indeed get a little “hot” for awhile. Or was that part of the hoax? I’m not telling…. I’m still hoping that this new book will focus a bit more on Nessie and Doc’s other “activities.” He’s the one who started the whole “bizarre” movementt in magic and a true subversive one of a kind genius. THE SKEPTOLOGISTS would do well to honor him with a segment or two.

By: BB Wolfe

BB Wolfe — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:11:56 +0000

I wonder whether your “friend in bizarreness” Tony “Doc” Shiels, has written his autobiography; he was due to publish it in August to coincide with his 70th birthday (it was even mentioned in an Irish newspaper), but rumour has it that he burnt the thing. A pity if this is so, as it would be a pleasure to read a warts n’ all tale of Doc’s life and thoughts.

By: Art

Art — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 11:10:16 +0000

When I met my wife-to-be I learned that she read palms. I used it as an excuse to hold hands, and the rest is history. She is very good at it, always amazing people at parties. I wish I could get her to charge a fee for it so I could retire, but she refuses. Seems like easy money to me….

By: Mark Edward

Mark Edward — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:06:54 +0000

Max, the “reading between the lines” line is brilliant! So true I may use it myself when I go through the inevitable re-writes of my book!

By: Shahar Lubin

Shahar Lubin — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:51:36 +0000

As a kid I read a book about palmistry and of course promptly offered readings to school friends and parents. I became a fast skeptic because of my surprisingly succesful results. I mean I only read one chapter and I’m already a prophet, come on.