Layne complied with Edgar’s request. The entranced Cayce detailed a circulation problem in his throat area and asked Layne to suggest that the blood flow to Edgar’s throat area be increased. When the suggestion was given, Cayce’s throat quickly turned bright red. Then, while still under hypnosis, Cayce recommended specific medication and manipulative therapy, which eventually aided in restoring his voice completely.
Layne was astonished by the results. Realizing the potential of Edgar’s ability, Layne suggested that Edgar try the same hypnotic method to help others. Layne’s own stomach problems were the focus of Edgar’s first health reading for others. Following the suggestions outlined in this reading, Layne’s decade-long stomach problems disappeared. Doctors around Hopkinsville and Bowling Green, Kentucky, quickly took notice of Cayce and began testing him by having the entranced Cayce diagnose their own patients. They soon discovered that all Cayce needed was the name and address of a patient to “tune in” telepathically to that individual’s mind and body. The patient didn’t have to be near Cayce, he could tune-in to them wherever they were. The physicians were stunned to find that Cayce’s ability to accurately diagnose physical problems and recommend a treatment was remarkably effective.
When one of the young doctors working with Cayce submitted a report on his strange abilities to a clinical research society in Boston, the reactions were amazing. On October 9, 1910, The New York Times carried two pages of headlines and pictures. From then on, people from all over the country sought out the “Sleeping Prophet,” as he was to become known.
Cayce established a set routine for entering his hypnotic state. He would first loosen his tie and collar and then untie his shoes. Next, he would recline on his back on his couch and fold his hands on his solar plexus. After a few moments of deep breathing, his eyelids would flutter and his breathing would become deep and rhythmical. This was a signal to the conductor of the session (usually his wife, Gertrude) to make contact with his subconscious by giving a suggestion. Unless this procedure was timed to synchronize with his breathing, Cayce would move beyond the trance state and simply fall asleep. However, once the suggestion was made, Cayce would proceed to describe the patient as though he or she was sitting right next to him.
Cayce usually began by locating the individual, stating, “Yes, we have the body.” Then he would scan the patient’s body, similar to an x-ray scanner, seeing into every organ. He verbally described the results of this scan emphasizing the problems that were seen. When he was finished, he would say, “Ready for questions.” However, in many cases his mind anticipated the patient’s questions, answering them during the main session. Eventually, he would say, “We are through for the present,” whereupon the conductor would give the suggestion to return to normal consciousness.
If this procedure were in any way violated, Cayce would be in serious personal danger. On one occasion, he remained in a trance state for three days and had actually been given up for dead by the attending doctors. In addition, Cayce had no recollection of what had transpired during the hypnotic session after he wakened. This fact necessitated that everything he stated during the trance state be written down. At each session, a stenographer (usually Gladys Davis Turner, his personal secretary) would record—word for word—everything Cayce said. Oddly, during a trance session, Cayce would even occasionally correct the stenographer’s spelling. It was as though his mind were in touch with everything around him and beyond.
All individuals who had a reading were identified with a number to keep their names private. For example, the hypnotic material for Edgar Cayce himself is filed under the number 294. His first “reading,” as they were called, would be numbered 294-1, and each subsequent reading would increase the dash number (294-2, 294-3, and so on). Some numbers refer to groups of people, such as the Study Group, 262; and some numbers refer to specific research or guidance readings, such as the 254 series, containing the Work readings dealing with the overall work of the organization that grew up around him. Because of the great interest in Cayce’s story of Atlantis, a series of special readings were conducted on the topic. These were assigned the numbers 364 and 996.
Cayce gave health readings to literally thousands of individuals, from famous people to ordinary citizens, even including President Woodrow Wilson. Cayce was secretly taken to the White House for this reading not too long before Wilson’s death, and it has only been in recent years that Wilson’s library released that fact.
When he died on January 3, 1945, in Virginia Beach, Cayce left 14,306 documented stenographic records of the telepathic-clairvoyant readings he had given for more than 6,000 different people over a period of forty-three years. The readings consist of 49,135 typewritten pages. The readings constitute one of the largest and most impressive records of psychic perception ever compiled. Together with their relevant records, correspondence and reports, they have been cross-indexed under thousands of subject headings and placed at the disposal of doctors, psychologists, students, writers, and investigators who still come to the A.R.E. to examine them. Of course, they are also available to the general public in books or complete volumes of the readings, as well as on CDROM.
While many people believe that Cayce’s income came from the readings, the truth is that Edgar was a professional photographer for the majority of his adult life. He won several national awards for his photographic work and never charged for a reading. His hobbies reflected the things he most loved in life. He was an avid gardener, loved to fish with family members, and enjoyed carpentry. He also taught Sunday school throughout his life.
Accuracy of Cayce’s Health Readings
Edgar Cayce is widely acknowledged as the “father of the holistic health movement,” because of the accuracy of his health readings and the effectiveness of the remedies he suggested. As such, Cayce’s health suggestions are given a great deal of credibility by medical science, and this recognition has actually been increasing in recent years. For example in 2005, a popular physician who writes a syndicated daily newspaper column, Dr. Peter Gott, began recommending the use of castor oil for arthritis in the manner Cayce outlined.
Substantial anecdotal reports and follow-up letters from individuals given health readings by Cayce have indicated that the majority of those receiving health readings endorsed his accuracy. In a biography of Cayce, Sidney Kirkpatrick reviewed research that assessed Cayce’s health advice. Kirkpatrick reported that 14 of the 15 physicians who had treated patients who received readings (as surveyed by journalist Sherwood Eddy) gave Cayce a near perfect score. Even the one physician who was cautious had to acknowledge that the psychic’s powers were “extraordinary.” A 1971 study of Cayce’s health readings published by Hugh Lynn Cayce and Edgar Evans Cayce found an overall 86 percent accuracy rate.
1923—The Atlantis Material Unexpectedly Emerges
It could be rightfully argued that the emergence of Atlantis in the Cayce readings came as a complete surprise. In 1923, a wealthy businessman in Dayton, Ohio, Arthur Lammers, convinced Cayce to come to Dayton to conduct readings. Cayce gave numerous readings in a Dayton hotel with most of them health readings for several individuals. Lammers was deeply interested in psychic phenomena and he reportedly had discussions with Cayce on a host of psychic topics between the health readings. On October 8, 1923, Lammers decided to ask the sleeping Cayce a list of questions regarding the source of his information as well as on psychic phenomena in general (reading 3744-2). This was the first time that anyone thought to pose questions to Cayce in areas outside of health issues. The first definite reference to reincarnation in the Cayce readings emerged on October 11, 1923 (5717-1). The first reference to Atlantis came on November 20, 1923 (288-1). In that reading, Cayce related that a particular female had a past incarnation “in that fair country of Alta, or Poseidia proper …”
The emergence of reincarnation in the readings shocked and challenged Cayce and his family. They were deeply religious people, doing this work to help others because that’s what their Christian faith taught. As a child, Cayce began to read the Bible from front to back, and did
