READING FIDH LAN STICKS 2 dvd set $75 from http://www.leapinglizardsmagic.com/forbi......nDVD.htm .

This is a dvd set only…you can buy or easily make sticks (or do the readings the original way by just making marks on a paper or poking holes in the earth...I like the sticks). The sticks are in a set of four and have a single dot (or stone) on one side and two on the other. When you throw the sticks and square them up they make one of sixteen designs.

What follows are my thoughts on this product from Dean Montalbano. First I would like to make some general observations about this reading system in particular.

The Fidh Lan sticks are a way of doing geomancy readings. This reading system is also known as geomancy, druid sticks, fairy sticks, and witch sticks. While geomancy originally was done by poking holes in the earth in four rows, counting the holes in each row (even or odd), then forming figures the sticks are more charming and faster. Fidh Lan translates as faithful always…a nice name for a set of divining sticks.

I have missed out on this type of reading a few times in the past. I used to have a work, “Q & A The Bob Tripp Way”. This had instructions, a set of sticks, and a cd of Bob Tripp doing readings. I don’t remember if he laid it down as geomancy. He seemed to have great results with this type of reading but I just didn’t realize how good this system was. I wish I still had his work on this. This was the work of a practical, experienced reader being openly shared and I was just too thick at the time to get it.

Then over the last few years Dean has mentioned many times these wonderful sticks and the great readings you can get with them. I still didn’t move on them, though someone I trust was telling me people love this kind of reading.

Finally I got these dvd’s and after watching them the light finally turned on…this is a very charismatic way to do readings. It has charm, zip, and doesn’t have any of the negative associations that sometimes pop up with palm or tarot.

I have felt over time that there are palm readings, tarot readings, and then everything else. If it wasn’t palm or tarot it needed something very special for me to consider doing that type of reading. While I had dalliances with Runes and a few other systems I always considered if my sitter would just be happier with a palm or tarot reading. The answer was almost always palm or tarot. Richard Webster published his short work on Chinese Numerology…that made it. It wasn’t palm or tarot but still played very strong.

Now this comes along and I will use it regularly. This reading system has “it”. You can do a single throw for a minute or so quickie reading or use it for a full length reading that could easily be an hour or more.

As in Dean’s tarot and palm works this is presented the same as if you were taking a class, with a few extra things for mentalists that would not make it in to a class for the general public.

DVD 1 (about an hour and six minutes long) is divided in to the following sections…
Who is this for?
Get excited
You become the expert
The basic tools
How it works
Using a spread
The 16 figures
Basic readings
Proper questions
More about spreads
Cascading readings
12 house spread
More complex
Even more complex

Who is this for?
If you are reading this review this is probably for you. Dean discusses the different levels of belief and how you can make it work for you.

Get excited
This is what I call a practical pep talk. He talks about how this system can go from very simple to very complex and many of the advantages. Among these are the system is simple to learn (only 16 symbols) and fast to do.

You become the expert
A big, big advantage of this system is few know it. You won’t have anyone arguing about the meaning of a card or line in the hand…they will listen to you.
From this idea comes other advantages Dean mentions. Example…Cauda Draconis (the dragon’s tail) is similar in meaning to the tarot Death card. The difference is everyone would like a dragon in their reading. The meaning is the same but the symbols have magickal names that people really like.

Basic tools
This is a discussion of the sticks and other optional equipment you can use for this reading. As mentioned before you can just poke holes in the sand if you wished but in most situations the sticks are a more theatrical, faster, and more practical method of doing this divination system.

How it works
This section is the mechanics of doing a Fidh Lan reading (not the meanings of the symbols). What do you do and when do you do it?

Using a spread
Here the concept of spreads is introduced. These are spreads that work as do tarot spreads…each position has a meaning.

The 16 figures
A very nice section with easy memory devices for the sixteen possible outcomes of casting the sticks. Here is an example…
You cast the four sticks and you get this:
. .
. .
.
.

Edit...the Café will not let me move the bottom two dots...move the bottom two dots over one space in your mind...it is a cup with a handle.

Look at it…this is Fortuna Major. Can you see how this looks like a cup with a stem? The memory device for Fortuna Major is the cup runneth over with plenty and joy. Dean builds on this meaning but you have the basics (and have already learned one of the sixteen symbols).

Basic reading
In this section Dean casts the sticks and does a basic reading.

Proper questions
Here Dean discusses how to (and how not too) ask questions for readings. The way questions are framed can go a long way toward a successful reading. Some questions you shouldn’t talk about and Dean discusses this also.

More about spreads
Here the 12 house spread is discussed as well as how to handle repeat symbols in a reading.

Cascading readings
How to use multiple sets of sticks to make a longer reading flow.

12 House spread
This is a deeper discussion of using the 12 house spread…for a longer reading this is a very good spread to understand.

Getting more complex
Using multiple colored sticks (the stones are different colors from stick to stick) and how to use them to integrate the elements of earth, air, fire, and water into the reading.

Still more complex
When you throw sticks they will form a figure from the four sticks…each stick is a different level and each level means something. Each element (from the colors) adds something different to a reading depending on what level it is on.
This concludes my brief outline of what is covered in DVD 1.

DVD 2 (about an hour long) is divided in to these sections…
3 sample readings
Making money
Reader as counselor
A peculiar subject
Readings as entertainment

3 sample reading
I am big on sample readings…it lets me know if the author knows what they are doing or is just trying to schlep a product. You also can see how it plays out…just reading or studying a reading system doesn’t do that.

Dean gives three sample readings. The first is a quickie, single throw concerning a job question and just takes a minute or so. The second is a slightly longer reading that uses the first three houses of a twelve house spread and runs a few minutes. The last sample is a twelve house spread with a three month projection. That reading takes about fifteen minutes.

These are real readings, not magic tricks. They demonstrated to me how well this system works. I am happy this section is in the dvd set.

Making money
Dean touches on using quick readings as promo pieces. He also talks about house parties, both basic and some concepts that are new (it isn’t always a good idea to go to someone’s house). He examines BOR sales and extra ways to increase income from these parties. He also discusses using an extra person at parties. All of these discussions ring of real world experience. There is also discussion of 900 lines (he isn’t excited about them) and psychic fairs.

Readers as counselors
A good common sense discussion of being a counselor. If you do full length readings you are a counselor, not an entertainer. These are different types of readings and Dean shares his views based on his experience.

A peculiar subject
Curses. What do you do when someone comes to you and believes they are cursed? Telling them they aren’t cursed won’t do a thing (I hope as a reader you understand that). You have to enter their world.

Dean proposes removing the curse and not charging them for it. I like this approach and in fact have used a similar method to his second suggestion.

His first suggestion is a witch’s bottle. He describes how to make them and how to use them to remove the curse.

His second method, candle burning, is similar to what I have suggested people do. In fact, his method is better than what I have used and I will use his from now on.

One thing I need to add that is not on the dvd…while Dean suggests they be careful with candles I go further. I talk about three similar experiences that all came from the same concept…when a person thinks their curse has been lifted they are usually exhausted, relax and fall asleep. At that point the candles can burn down while they sleep.

I am aware of three times this has happened. My mother did a candle burning ritual in the early 1960’s and fell asleep when she finally relaxed after what she felt was a successful ritual. We lost a piano and part of the house. Had my sister not woke up to the burning room it probably would have been tragic as it was night and all others were sleeping.

I have also had two people over the years in private readings tell me of similar experiences with removing candles with curses…they fell asleep and the candles burned down and set things on fire.

I will still use Dean’s suggestion of using candles for curse removal but warn people strongly about falling asleep.

Readings as entertainment
Dean briefly goes over doing readings in restaurants and bars. He discussed this more extensively in his tarot and palm dvd’s. On this dvd he gives the basics (I imagine so not as to have too much repetition).

Now this section does a delightful bit of wandering into two fields that aren’t specifically Fidh Lan but have big money potential with readings.

He talks about doing auras and how people love their aura photos or drawings. Thing about photos though is those systems cost $12,000-$15,000. Dean mentions he is coming out with a practical aura system. This doesn’t sound so much as a plug as a ramble…the information presented works well with drawings.

I have heard rumblings about Dean’s aura system and am very, very curious. Flat out, I think this has major income potential…but now I ramble. For now, stick to the aura drawings.

Remember the Tom Hank’s movie “BIG”? Remember Zoltan, the mechanical fortune teller? Dean talks about a very interesting concept…a human Zoltan. The set up as described looks like the Zoltan booth but you have a human (made to look mechanical) in the booth. Dean did this…it is not a pipe dream. He also talks about what venue he worked with it…it is a venue that pays very well. Someone could take this concept and make very good money with it.

Finally, there are supplements you access on your computer. They are a Fidh Lan mini-guide…two pages with the symbols and brief memory aids and descriptions. There is a parchment pdf that can be used to draw the reading on. The third item is a pitch book, ten pages folded and stapled that would make a twenty page pitch book.

I haven’t been to the support page yet so I can not comment on that.

So, what is going on here? This is a reading system that while not palm or tarot is very practical in the real world. People like these readings. For quickie readings these will replace Chinese Numerology for me. At this point it is too early to tell if I will use them for longer readings…I just haven’t had the set that long.

I hope in this review that the reader can see what is presented and can decide for themselves if it is good for them.

It already has been very good for me and I am happy I got this set. Solid, practical, honest information from a person who has done readings for decades.