Edgar Cayce - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Edgar_Cayce

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Edgar Cayce (/ˈkeɪsiː/; March 18, 1877 – January 3, 1945)

was an American psychic who allegedly possessed the ability Edgar Cayce
to answer questions on subjects such as healing and wars, and
even had visions of the world ending.[citation needed] He also
gave a reading about Atlantis while in a hypnotic trance.
Cayce founded a nonprofit organization, the Association for
Research and Enlightenment.[1] Though Cayce himself was a
devout member of the Disciples of Christ and lived before the
emergence of the New Age Movement, some believe he was
actually the founder of the movement and influenced its
teachings.[2]

Cayce became a celebrity toward the end of his life and he

believed the publicity given to his prophecies overshadowed
the more important parts of his work, such as healing the sick
and studying religion. Skeptics[3] challenge Cayce's alleged
Circa October 1910
psychic abilities and traditional Christians also question his
unorthodox answers on religious matters such as Born Edgar Cayce
reincarnation and Akashic records. However others accept March 18, 1877
his abilities as "God-given". Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Died January 3, 1945 (aged 67)
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Resting Riverside Cemetery, Hopkinsville,
place Kentucky
1 Biography
1.1 Early life Nationality American
1.2 Marriage and family Occupation Psychic
1.3 1877 to 1920: Kentucky period Clairvoyant
1.4 1920 to 1923: Texas period
Known for Founder of Association for Research
1.5 1925 to 1945: Virginia Beach period
2 Purported psychic abilities and Enlightenment
3 Supporters Religion Disciples of Christ
4 Controversy and criticism
Children Hugh Lynn (b. 1907)
4.1 Criticism
5 See also Milton Porter (b. 1911)
6 References Edgar Evans (b. 1918)
7 Further reading Parents Leslie B. Cayce
8 External links Carrie Cayce
Website
www.edgarcayce.org (http://www.edgarcayce.org)

Early life

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Edgar Cayce was born on March 18, 1877, near Beverly, Hopkinsville, Kentucky. He was one of six children of
farmers Leslie B. Cayce and Carrie Cayce.[4]

Marriage and family

Cayce became engaged to Gertrude Evans on March 14, 1897 and they married on June 17, 1903. They had
three children: Hugh Lynn Cayce (March 16, 1907 – July 4, 1982), Milton Porter Cayce (March 28, 1911 – May
17, 1911), and Edgar Evans Cayce (b. February 9, 1918).[4]

1877 to 1920: Kentucky period

In December 1893 the Cayce family moved to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and occupied 705 West Seventh on the
south-east corner of Seventh and Young Street. During this time Cayce received an eighth-grade education,
discovered his spiritual vocation and[5] left the family farm to pursue various forms of employment. Cayce's
education stopped in the ninth grade because his family could not afford the costs involved.[6] A ninth-grade
education was often considered more than sufficient for working-class children. Much of the remainder of
Cayce's younger years would be characterized by a search for both employment and money.

Throughout his life, Cayce was drawn to church as a member of the Disciples of Christ. He read the Bible once
a year for every year of his life, taught at Sunday school,[7] and recruited missionaries. He is said to have
agonized over whether his psychic abilities and the resulting teachings were spiritually legitimate.

In 1900, Cayce formed a business partnership with his father to sell Woodmen of the World Insurance, however,
he was struck by severe laryngitis in March that resulted in a complete loss of speech.[6] Unable to work, he
lived at home with his parents for almost a year. He then decided to take up the trade of photography, an
occupation that would exert less strain on his voice. He began an apprenticeship at the photography studio of
W.R. Bowles in Hopkinsville.

In 1901, a traveling stage hypnotist and entertainer named Hart, who referred to himself as "The Laugh Man",
was performing at the Hopkinsville Opera House. Hart heard about Cayce's condition and offered to attempt a
cure. Cayce accepted his offer and the experiment took place on stage in front of an audience. Cayce's voice
allegedly returned while in a hypnotic trance but disappeared on awakening. Hart tried a posthypnotic
suggestion that the voice would continue to function after the trance, but this proved unsuccessful.[8]

Since Hart had appointments at other cities, he could not continue his hypnotic treatment of Cayce. However, a
local hypnotist, Al Layne, offered to help Cayce in restoring his voice. Layne suggested that Cayce describe the
nature of his condition and cure while in a hypnotic trance.[8] Cayce described his own ailment from a first
person plural point of view "we" instead of the singular "I".[8] In subsequent readings he would generally start
off with "We have the body". According to the reading, his voice loss was due to psychological paralysis and
could be corrected by increasing the blood flow to the voice box. Layne suggested that the blood flow be
increased and Cayce's face supposedly became flushed with blood and both his chest and throat turned bright
red.[8] After 20 minutes Cayce, still in a trance, declared the treatment over. On awakening his voice was
alleged to have remained normal. Apparently, relapses occurred but were said to have been corrected by Layne
in the same way and eventually the cure was said to be permanent.

Layne had read of similar hypnotic cures by the Marquis de Puységur, a follower of Franz Mesmer, and was
keen to explore the limits of the healing knowledge involved with the trance voice.[9] He asked Cayce to
describe Layne's own ailments and suggest cures and reportedly found the results both accurate and effective.

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Layne suggested that Cayce offer his trance healing to the public. Cayce was reluctant, however, he finally
agreed on the condition that readings would be free. He began, with Layne's help, to offer free treatments to the
townspeople. Reports of Cayce's work appeared in the newspapers, which inspired many postal inquiries.[9]
Cayce was able to work just as effectively using a letter from the individual as with having the person present.
Given the person's name and location, he said he could diagnose the physical and mental conditions and provide
a remedy. Cayce soon became famous and people from around the world sought his advice through
correspondence.

Cayce's work grew in volume as his fame grew. He asked for voluntary donations to support himself and his
family so that he could practice full-time. To help raise money he invented 'Pit', a card game based on the
commodities trading at the Chicago Board of Trade and the game is still sold today. He continued to work in an
apparent trance state with a hypnotist all his life. His wife and eldest son later replaced Layne in his role. A
secretary, Gladys Davis, recorded his readings in shorthand.[9]

1920 to 1923: Texas period

The growing fame of Cayce along with the popularity he received from
newspapers attracted several eager commercially-minded men who
wanted to seek a fortune by using Cayce's clairvoyant abilities. Even
though Cayce was reluctant to help them, he was persuaded to give his
readings, which left him dissatisfied with himself and unsuccessful. A
cotton merchant offered Cayce a hundred dollars a day for his readings
about the daily outcomes in the cotton market; however, despite his poor
finances, Cayce refused the merchant's offer.[10] Some wanted to know
where to hunt for treasures while others wanted to know the outcome of
horse races.[11] Several times he was persuaded to give the readings as
an experiment. However,when he used his ability for such purposes, he
did no better than chances alone would dictate. These experiments
allegedly left him depleted of energy, distraught, and unsatisfied with
himself. Finally, he came to the conclusion that he would use his gift
only to help the distressed and sick.[9]

In 1923, Arthur Lammers, a wealthy printer and student of metaphysics,

persuaded Cayce to give readings on philosophical subjects.[12] Cayce
Historic marker in downtown Selma,
was told by Lammers that, while in his supposed trance state, he spoke
Alabama, in front of the building in
of Lammers' past lives and of reincarnation, something Lammers
which Cayce lived and worked.
believed in. Reincarnation was a popular subject of the day but not an
accepted part of Christian doctrine. Because of this, Cayce questioned
his stenographer about what he said in his trance state and remained unconvinced. Cayce himself challenged
Lammers' charge that he had validated astrology and reincarnation in the following dialogue:

Cayce: I said all that?... I couldn't have said all that in one reading.
Lammers: No. But you confirmed it. You see, I have been studying metaphysics for years, and I was able
by a few questions, by the facts you gave, to check what is right and what is wrong with a whole lot of the
stuff I've been reading. The important thing is that the basic system which runs through all the mystery
religions, whether they come from Tibet or the pyramids of Egypt, is backed up by you. It's actually the
right system.[13]

Cayce's stenographer recorded the following:

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In this we see the plan of development of those individuals set upon this plane, meaning the ability to
enter again into the presence of the Creator and become a full part of that creation.
Insofar as this entity is concerned, this is the third appearance on this plane, and before this one, as the
monk. We see glimpses in the life of the entity now as were shown in the monk, in this mode of living.
The body is only the vehicle ever of that spirit and soul that waft through all times and ever remain the
same.

Cayce was quite unconvinced that he had been referring to the doctrine of reincarnation and the best Lammers
could offer was that the reading "opens up the door" and went on to share his beliefs and knowledge of the
"truth" with Cayce.[14] It appeared Cayce's instincts were telling him this was no ordinary reading. This client
who came for a reading came with quite a bit of information of his own to share with Cayce and seemed intent
upon convincing Cayce now that he felt the reading had confirmed his strongly-held beliefs.[15] It should be
noted, however, that 12 years earlier Cayce had briefly alluded to reincarnation. In reading 4841-1, given April
22, 1911, Cayce referred to the soul being "transmigrated". Because nobody systematically recorded Cayce's
readings up until 1923, it is possible that he may have mentioned reincarnation in other earlier readings.

Cayce reported that his conscience bothered him severely over this conflict. Lammers argued with,
overwhelmed, manipulated, confused, Cayce. Ultimately his trance voice, the "we" of the readings, also
supposedly dialogued with Cayce and finally persuaded him to continue with these kinds of readings.[16] In
1925 Cayce reported that his voice had instructed him to move to Virginia Beach, Virginia.[17]

1925 to 1945: Virginia Beach period

Cayce's mature period, in which he created the several institutions that

would survive, can be considered to have started in 1925. By this time
he was a professional psychic with a small staff of employees and
volunteers.[18] The readings increasingly came to involve occult or
esoteric themes.[19]

In 1929 the Cayce hospital was established in Virginia Beach, sponsored

by a wealthy recipient of the trance readings, Morton Blumenthal. The Cayce Hospital 2006

Cayce gained national prominence in 1943 through a high-profile article

in Coronet titled "Miracle Man of Virginia Beach".[18] He said he couldn't refuse people who felt they needed
his help, and he increased the frequency of his readings to eight per day to try to make an impression on the
ever-growing pile of requests. He said this took a toll on his health as it was emotionally draining and often
fatigued him. He even went so far as to say that the readings themselves scolded him for attempting too much
and that he should limit his workload to just two readings a day or else they would kill him.[20]

Edgar Cayce suffered a stroke and died on January 3, 1945.[21] He is buried in Riverside Cemetery[22] in
Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

Cayce has variously been referred to as a "prophet" (cf. Jess Stearn's book, The Sleeping Prophet), a "mystic"
and a "seer". While giving a reading for a seeker he at times referred to consulting the Akashic Record (the
etheric imprint) of that soul's experience.

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Cayce's methods involved lying down and entering into a sleep state, usually at the request of a subject who was
seeking help with health or other personal problems (subjects were not usually present). The subject's questions
would then be given to Cayce, and Cayce would proceed with a reading. At first these readings dealt primarily
with the physical health of the individual; later readings on past lives, business advice, dream interpretation, and
mental or spiritual health were also given.

Until September 1923, his readings were not systematically preserved. However, an October 10, 1922,
Birmingham Post-Herald article quotes Cayce as saying that he had given 8,056 readings as of that date and it
is known that he gave approximately 13,000–14,000 readings after that date. Today, only about 14,000 are
available at Cayce headquarters and online. Thus, it appears that about 7,000–8,000 Cayce readings are missing.

When out of the trance he entered, Cayce said he generally did not remember what he had said during the
reading. The unconscious mind, according to Cayce, has access to information that the conscious mind does
not—a common assumption about hypnosis in Cayce's time. After Gladys Davis became Cayce's secretary on
September 10, 1923, all readings were preserved and his wife, Gertrude Evans Cayce, generally guided the
readings.

Cayce said that his trance statements should be taken into account only to the extent that they led to a better life
for the recipient. Moreover, he invited his audience to test his suggestions rather than accept them on faith.

Other abilities that have been attributed to Cayce include astral projection, prophesying, mediumship, viewing
the Akashic Records or "Book of Life", and seeing auras. Cayce said he became interested in learning more
about these subjects after he was informed about the content of his readings, which he reported that he never
actually heard himself.[23]

Cayce's clients included a number of famous people such as Woodrow Wilson, Thomas Edison, Irving Berlin,
and George Gershwin.[24]

Gina Cerminara published books such as Many Mansions and The World Within. Brian Weiss published a
bestseller regarding clinical recollection of past lives, Many Lives, Many Masters. These books provide broad
support for spiritualism and reincarnation. Many Mansions elaborates on Cayce's work and supports his stated
abilities with real life examples.

This is an example from Gina Cerminara:[25]

Cayce once gave a reading on a blind man, a musician by profession, who regained part of his
vision in one eye through following the physical suggestions given by Cayce. This man happened to
have a passion for railroads and a tremendous interest in the Civil War. In the life reading Cayce
gave, he said that the man had been a soldier in the South, in the army of Lee, and that he had been
a railroad man by profession in that incarnation. Then he proceeded to tell him that his name in that
life was Barnett Seay, and that the records of Seay could still be found in the state of Virginia. The
man took the trouble to hunt for the records and found them in the state capitol at Richmond: that is
to say he found the record of one Barnett Seay, standard-bearer in Lee's army who had entered and
been discharged from the service in such and such a year.

The Dictionary of American Religious Biography writes about Cayce:[7]

As a humble individual full of self-doubts, Cayce never profited from his mystic gift. He read the

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Bible every day, taught Sunday School, and helped others only when asked. Many did ask, and over
the years he produced readings that diagnosed health problems, prescribed dietary regimens, dealt
with psychic disorders, and predicted future events such as wars, earthquakes, and changes in
governments. He spoke, moreover, of reincarnations, the early history of Israel, and the lost
civilization of Atlantis. Enough of his diagnoses and predictions proved true to silence many
skeptics and to develop a wide following.

Cayce had advocated some controversial and eccentric ideas from his trance readings. In many of Cayce's
trance sessions he had reinterpreted the history of life on earth. One of Cayce's controversial claims was that of
polygenism. According to Cayce, five human races (white, black, red, brown and yellow), had been created
separately but simultaneously on different parts of the earth. Cayce also accepted the existence of Atlantis and
had claimed that "the red race developed in Atlantis and its development was rapid". Another claim by Cayce
was that "soul-entities" on earth had intercourse with animals to produce giants that were as much as twelve feet
tall.[26][27]

Olav Hammer wrote that many of Cayce's readings discussed race and skin color and that the explanation for
this is that Cayce was not a racist but was influenced by the occult ideas of Madame Blavatsky.[28] Robert Todd
Carroll, in his book The Skeptic's Dictionary wrote, "Cayce is one of the main people responsible for some of
the sillier notions about Atlantis." Carroll mentioned some of Cayce's notions, which included his belief in a
giant crystal ball used to power energy on Atlantis and his prediction that in 1958 the United States would
discover a death ray that had been used on Atlantis.[29]

Criticism

Skeptics of Cayce say that the evidence for his powers comes from contemporaneous newspaper articles,
affidavits, anecdotes, testimonials, and books. Martin Gardner, for example, wrote that while the trances of
Cayce did happen, the information from his trances occurred because Cayce had been reading other books from
authors such as Carl Jung, Ouspensky and Blavatsky. Gardner's hypothesis was that the trance readings of
Cayce contain "little bits of information gleaned from here and there in the occult literature, spiced with
occasional novelties from Cayce's unconscious".[30]

Skeptics are also critical of Cayce's support for various forms of alternative medicine, which they regard to as
quackery.[31] Michael Shermer writes in Why People Believe Weird Things, "Uneducated beyond the ninth
grade, Cayce acquired his broad knowledge through voracious reading and from this he wove elaborate
tales."[32] Shermer wrote that, "Cayce was fantasy-prone from his youth, often talking with angels and receiving
visions of his dead grandfather." Shermer further cites James Randi as saying "Cayce was fond of expressions
like 'I feel that' and 'perhaps'—qualifying words used to avoid positive declarations."

Atlantic University
New Age Spirituality

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1. ^ "About A.R.E. and Our Mission" (http://www.edgarcayce.org/are/edgarcayce.aspx?id=1036) . Association for

Research and Enlightenment. http://www.edgarcayce.org/are/edgarcayce.aspx?id=1036. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
2. ^ York, Michael (1995). The Emerging Network: A Sociology of the New Age and Neo-Pagan Movements.
Rowman & Littlefield. p. 60. ISBN 0-8476-8001-0.
3. ^ Gardner, Martin (1957). Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science. Dover Publications. pp. 216–219.
ISBN 0-486-20394-8.
4. ^ a b "Chronology" (http://www.edgarcayce.org/are/edgarcayce.aspx?id=1971) . Association for Research and
Enlightenment. http://www.edgarcayce.org/are/edgarcayce.aspx?id=1971. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
5. ^ "About Edgar Cayce" (http://www.edgarcayce.org/are/edgarcayce.aspx) . Association for Research and
Enlightenment. http://www.edgarcayce.org/are/edgarcayce.aspx. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
6. ^ a b Cerminara, Dr. Gina (1999). "The Medical Clairvoyance of Edgar Cayce". Many Mansions. p. 13.
7. ^ a b Bowden, Henry Warner (1993). Dictionary of American Religious Biography (Second Edition, Revised and
Enlarged ed.). Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-313-27825-9.
8. ^ a b c d Cerminara, Gina (1999). "The Medical Clairvoyance of Edgar Cayce". Many Mansions. p. 14.
9. ^ a b c d Cerminara, Dr.Gina (1999). "The Medical Clairvoyance of Edgar Cayce". Many Mansions. p. 15.
10. ^ Smith, A. Robert. My Life as a Seer: The Lost Memoirs. p. 403.
11. ^ Cayce, Hugh Lynn (2004). The Outer Limits of Edgar Cayce's Power. p. 71.
12. ^ Sugrue, There Is a River p. 238
13. ^ Sugrue, There Is a River pp. 237–238
14. ^ Sugrue, There Is a River p. 240
15. ^ Sugrue, There Is a River p. 241
16. ^ Cerminara, Dr.Gina (1999). "An answer to the Riddles of Life". Many Mansions. pp. 25–28.
17. ^ Auken, John Van (2005). Edgar Cayce on the Revelation. "Eventually Edgar Cayce, following advice from his
own readings, moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia, and set up a hospital,"
18. ^ a b Miller, Timothy (1995). America's Alternative Religions. SUNY Press. p. 354.
19. ^ Sugrue, T. There Is a River Ch. 20 '
20. ^ Callahan, Kathy L. (2004). In The Image Of God And The Shadow Of Demons: A Metaphysical Study Of Good
And Evil. Trafford Publishing. p. 162.
21. ^ Browne, Sylvia; Lindsay Harrison. Prophecy: What the Future Holds for You. p. 67.
22. ^ "Grave of Famous Prophet Edgar Cayce" (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/12606) .
RoadsideAmerica.com. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/12606. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
23. ^ Bro, Harmon Hartzell. Edgar Cayce: A Seer out of Season, Aquarian Press, London, 1990.
24. ^ Edgar Cayce: an American prophet, Sidney Kirkpatrick, 2000
25. ^ Cerminara, Gina. Many Lives, Many Loves, Chapter 2—Clear Seeing People, William Sloane Associates, 1963
26. ^ Charles E. Orser Race and practice in archaeological interpretation 2004, p. 68
27. ^ The Edgar Cayce Readings, Readings Extract—The Races of Man at the Time (http://www.was-this-atlantis.info
/cayce/10.html)
28. ^ Olav Hammer Claiming knowledge: strategies of epistemology from theosophy to the new age 2001, see p. 114
and the footnote at the bottom of the page
29. ^ Robert Todd Carroll The skeptic's dictionary 2003, p. 69
30. ^ K. Paul Johnson Edgar Cayce in context: the Readings, truth and fiction 1998, p. 23
31. ^ Skepdic.com article on Edgar Cayce. (http://www.skepdic.com/cayce.html)
32. ^ Michael Shermer. Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our
Time, 2002, ISBN 0-8050-7089-3

Cayce, Edgar Evans. Edgar Cayce on Atlantis, New York: Hawthorn, 1968, ISBN 0-312-96153-7
Cerminara, Gina. Many Mansions: The Edgar Cayce Story on Reincarnation. orig. 1950, Signet Book,
reissue edition 1990, ISBN 0-451-16817-8
Kirkpatrick, Sidney D. An American Prophet, Riverhead Books, 2000, ISBN 1-57322-139-2
Kittler, Glenn D. Edgar Cayce on the Dead Sea Scrolls, Warner Books, 1970, ISBN 0-446-90035-4
Puryear, Herbert B. The Edgar Cayce Primer: Discovering The Path to Self-Transformation, Bantam

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Books, New York, Toronto, Copyright © September 1982 by Association for Research and
Enlightenment, Inc. ISBN 0-553-25278-X
Stearn, Jess. The Sleeping Prophet, Bantam Books, 1967, ISBN 0-553-26085-5
Sugrue, Thomas. There Is a River, A.R.E. Press, 1997, ISBN 0-87604-375-9
Todeschi, Kevin, Edgar Cayce on the Akashic Records, 1998, ISBN 978-0-87604-401-8

Edgar Cayce's Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) (http://www.edgarcayce.org/)

Edgar Cayce Canada (E.C.C.) (http://www.edgarcaycecanada.com/)
An American Prophet (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/WhosCounting/story?id=98538&page=1) from
ABC News

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edgar_Cayce&oldid=528543028"

Categories: 1877 births 1945 deaths American Disciples of Christ Apocalypticists Atlantis
New Age writers People from Christian County, Kentucky People from Hopkinsville, Kentucky
People from Virginia Beach, Virginia American psychics Reincarnation Mystics Clairvoyants
Christian mystics

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