EDGAR CAYCE (1877-1945)

(Investigator 43, 1995 July)

The life and times of Edgar Cayce (pronounced Casey), otherwise known as the Sleeping Prophet or the Man of Miracles, is well documented, posterity having access to his legacy of miracle cures and prognostications the details of which are held by The Association for Research and Enlightenment at Virginia Beach, USA, run by his surviving family and supporters.

While in a sleeping state or trance, Cayce would prescribe treatment for various ailments and make prophecies for the future. He claimed the information was the product of a Universal Mind. His wife or an assistant would take down his dictation, and on waking, Cayce would claim to have no knowledge of what he had said.

Analyses carried out by two of Cayce's biographers using a random selection of case histories taken from the files of the Association's library, showed that in eighty-five per cent of cases, reports from patients verified cures. There seemed to be no limit to what he could diagnose, and gout, leukemia, kidney infections and chronic back conditions were among those conditions he treated. His prescriptions were unorthodox, mainly concoctions of herbs of the type popular in the "home remedies" medical encyclopaedia of the day, and exercise. Some were particularly bizarre; applying mashed potatoes to the eyes for blindness, or taking three almonds a day to prevent cancer. Hot broths and vile-sounding concoctions made from roots and bark were also popular recommendations.

In addition to "on the spot" diagnoses, the psychic was also able to diagnose illnesses for patients unable to attend in person, and frequently just from a name supplied to him or coming via the mail.

Many of Cayce's prophecies were concerned with geophysical catastrophies, particularly earthquakes which, he alleged, would destroy large areas of North America and parts of Northern Europe. He believed that one of these would cause the re-emergence of the lost continent of Atlantis, a subject which occupied much of Cayce's thoughts, indeed, he once claimed to have been an heir to the throne of Atlantis in a past life.

Reincarnation was also a preoccupation of the Sleeping Prophet who, in life readings, would tell his patients of their previous lives. One, suffering from an acute kidney infection, who sought out the psychic healer, was forty-two year old Eula Allen. Cayce convinced her of his subconscious link to the universal mind and took her back to several previous lives in diverse periods and areas of the world. The treatment lasted six months during which her condition improved. Cayce himself expects to be reincarnated in Nebraska in 2023 AD.

Cayce, like so many prophets, was a religious man given to bibliolatry and who conducted Bible classes. He was a devout and orthodox Protestant who, it is claimed, had read the bible forty-six times, once for each year of his life up until 1923. His education was limited to a literal interpretation of the Bible, he accepted it verbatim, and taught it verbatim. As a youth, he worked in a bookshop and was an avid reader, which may well have contributed to a philosophy which combined elements of Theosophy, Christianity and Pyramidology. The manifestation of this credo vividly coloured his prophecies.

Cayce became famous on several accounts, as a psychic, a clairvoyant, mental telepathist, faith healer, prophet, as a believer in reincarnation and in the former existence of Atlantis. As each of these subjects have been treated individually elsewhere, in this chapter I propose only to look at Cayce's prophecies which, incidently, are often inextricably interwoven or based on his beliefs in reincarnation and Atlantis. As could be expected, given Cayce's background, his prophecies were often apocalyptic and with religious overtones. He was particularly preoccupied with geophysical catastrophies with a high probability factor, many of them reiterating and speculating on existing geological and seismographical theses.

Most of his prophecies were couched in imprecise and peculiar expressions, which in the manner of Nostradamus's quatrains, allowed considerable latitude for interpretation. They were also predominantly long term – between 20 and 100 years.

At the time of writing over fifty years have passed since his death, and we are now only two years away from his most dire prediction, a favourite among the prophets of doom – World War III which will finish off civilization. As if that's not enough, this will be preceded by a series of catastrophies which will see Northern Europe disappear beneath the ocean, Japan destroyed by earthquakes, and Alabama, Georgia and California submerge beneath the sea. However, for peace of mind, recall his prediction for an earlier catastrophy due in 1969 – California will fall into the sea!

In July 1932, Cayce suggested that the Great Pyramid of Gizeh was built, "by the use of those forces in nature as makes for iron to swim, and stone float in air in the same manner, this will be discovered in 1958." In 1995, we still await the discovery of this magic force. The re-emergence of Atlantis in 1968-69 was forecast by Cayce in 1940; and in 1943, he told the world to expect more upheavals within the next generation revealing more of the lost continent. Even allowing a maximum of thirty-three years as a generation, the re-appearance of the "Lost Continent" is already well behind schedule. Like the perennial forecasts of a second coming, Cayce's fantasizing can only be afforded the same degree of credibility.

Bibliography:

Agee, D. 1974. Edgar Cayce on ESP. Warner Paperbacks. NY.
Gauld, A. 1983. Mediumship and Survival. Paladin Books. London.
Hintze, N.A. & Pratt. J. 1975. The Psychic Realm, What can you Believe. Random House. NY,
House, B. 1963. Strange Powers of Unusual People. Ace Books. Inc.
Kurtz, P (Ed.) 1985. A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology. Prometheus Books. Buffalo. NY.
Langley, N. 1967. Edgar Cayce on Reincarnation. Paperback Library.
Millard, J. 1967. Edgar Cayce, Mystery Man of Miracles. Fawcet Gold Medal Books. NY.
Randi, J. 1980. The Slipping Prophet. Skeptical Inquirer. 4(l):50-57.
______  1985. FlimFlam. Prometheus Books, Buffalo, New York.
Steam, J. 1967. Edgar Cayce - The Sleeping Prophet. Bantam Books. NY.
Trench, B. 1973. The Eternal Subject. Souvenir Press. London.
Wilson, C. 1971. The Occult. Mayflower Books. UK.
 

[From: A Skeptic’s Guide to the New Age, Harry Edwards.]

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