Dr Octavius Rookwood's Bespoke Tools of Divination

Lebanon Circle presents a unique set of Bibliomancy cards from the lost collection of Dr Octavius Rookwood (August 16, 1853 – July 17, 1936), American British pharmaceutical entrepreneur, explorer and occult researcher.

Based on the Lebanon Circle bestseller 'Oculus' and inspired by the word force methods of U.F. Grant and Banachek, Dr Rookwood's Bibliomancy cards take the concept to new level of devious design and versatility.

Whether you are a beginner or expert, the ability to force multiple words or numbers seamlessly right under the spectator's nose is a common feat magicians often need to perform.

Dr Rookwood's cards allows for a smooth and seamless force of any word from any book while the gimmick hides in plain sight, completely undetectable. Imagine performing impromptu book tests anywhere! Whether in the street or on stage your spectators will marvel as you demonstrate the powers of Bibliomancy.

•     Your choice of force word appears in the Oculus (glass window) and is under your control at all times
•     The forced word matches the book font and page colour flawlessly blending with the page

Each Bibliomancy card is hand crafted and aged by Dan Baines in the Lebanon Circle Studio. The self contained mechanism can be customized by the user. Select your own choice of words from any book such as occult tomes, the bible, popular novels like Harry Potter for younger audiences or even Fifty Shades of Grey for a more adult performance. Dr Rookwood's cards are a versatile magic tool that can be used in any genre of magic where you need to force either one or multiple words with ease.

Created as a standalone effect or as an accompaniment to Doppelgänger or any other book based routine, these cards require little or no magic skills to perform. Any book can be used, it is self working, can be examined and is fully customizable - what more could you want?

•     Force up to 2 different words with one card or 4 with two cards for larger audiences
•     Fully customizable - use your own choice of words
•     Suitable for any written language, not just English!
•     Can be examined and used as a normal bookmark
•     Can be used as a real divination tool (see below)
•     Crafted from  700gsm card and hand aged

You will receive

•     A handcrafted Bibliomancy card with glass cabochon
•     Gimmick
•     Spare mechanism
•     Instructional video (available as instant download on checkout)
•     An aged storage box

What is Bibliomancy?

Bibliomancy is a form of divination in which you seek spiritual insight by randomly selecting a word or passage from a book. It is very easy to do: ask a question, pick up a book and riffle though stopping at a randomly chosen page. Without looking at the page, place your finger anywhere on it. Read where your finger landed and there's your answer.

During the mid 1800’s bibliomancy became an increasingly popular form of divination. As standards in education increased books became a more accessible form of entertainment for rich and poor alike. Combined with an developing interest in the Occult and supernatural, long neglected practices such as bibliomancy experienced a revival. Various bibliomancy practitioners started to spring up all over London. Some would use sacred texts for divination ranging from the Bible to ancient occult tomes. Some would try to divine insight from whole sentences or paragraphs however, the most popular was the one-word reading. Like the tarot where readings could be interpreted from a multi-card spread or simply a single card, the one-word bibliomancy reading became as fashionable as the daily horoscope is today.

Bibliomancy paraphernalia started to appear in the form of pendants, rings and bookmarks. The bookmark was the most popular bibliomancy device as most people used a bookmark when reading and they were very popular Victorian gifts. They were available in all shapes and sizes and in different materials like gold, brass, bronze, copper, celluloid, pewter, mother of pearl, leather even ivory and were produced after the 1850s by specialized companies like Gorham, S. Kirk & Sons and Tiffany.

A bibliomancy bookmark would be like any other apart from a small hole known as the 'oculus' in the center. This was either a plain hole although more opulent bookmarks used glass or crystal through which to view the word. Taken from the Latin word for 'eye' the use of a hole or window for divination and Magick can be traced back as far as Neolithic times. The power of the oculus or eye is represented in many beliefs from the 'All Seeing Eye' portrayed on the dollar bill, the Egyptian Eye of Horus and the representation in ancient architecture such as in the Pantheon to signify a window to the heavens. 

To seek guidance the bookmark would be randomly placed inside a book and the user would place the book under their pillow. In the morning the book would be opened at the bookmarked page and the word visible inside the oculus would be used to provide guidance for the coming day.

Dr Octavius Rookwood's Bibliomancy cards can still be used in the traditional way to give one-word spiritual guidance as part of any reading.