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Edgar Cayce: An American Prophet
With unprecedented access to Edgar Cayce's private letters and trance readings, Sidney Kirkpatrick delivers the definitive biography of the renowned psychic, religious seeker, and father of alternative medicine.
Born in rural Kentucky in 1877, Edgar Cayce became known as "the sleeping prophet," and went on to lead an extraordinary life, helping and healing thousands. This is Cayce's fascinating story as it's never been told before.
Born in rural Kentucky in 1877, Edgar Cayce became known as "the sleeping prophet," and went on to lead an extraordinary life, helping and healing thousands. This is Cayce's fascinating story as it's never been told before.
584 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2001
28 people are currently reading
440 people want to read
About the author
Sidney D. Kirkpatrick
12 books15 followersBooks and book publishing have long been an important part of life in the Kirkpatrick family. My grandfather and namesake was a senior editor at McGraw-Hill for thirty-five years. My mother, Audrey Kirkpatrick, was a short story writer, and studied under Vladimir Nabokov at Cornell University. Katherine Kirkpatrick, my younger sister, is a former book editor at Macmillan and the author of five historical novels. My older sister, Jennifer Kirkpatrick was a writer and researcher for National Geographic.
I was born in Glen Cove, New York, on October 4, 1955, and grew up in Stony Brook, on the north shore of Long Island. While attending the Kent School, in Kent, Connecticut, I won writing awards for poetry and journalism. Throughout my high-school years, and during college, I wrote several hundred articles for Long Island newspapers and became a stringer for Associated Press.
At Hampshire College, in Amherst, Massachusetts, I majored in Chinese language and history. After graduation in 1978, I lived in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan, where I taught ESL, directed and produced a short television documentary, and acted in two low-budget action films.
I completed my education in 1982 with an MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where I worked on several short films with classmates Spike Lee and Ang Lee, and optioned my first screenplay. While attending NYU, I wrote and directed "My Father The President" which won the 1982 American Film Festival and a CINE Golden Eagle. This film has since become a perennial favorite at over 1000 schools, libraries and museums across the country, and can be seen daily at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace at 28 East 20th Street, in New York City, and a the Sagamore Hill National Historical Site in Oyster Bay, New York.
The success of "My Father The President" caught the attention of film director Harrison Engle, who hired me to associate-produce a two hour television special, "The Indomitable Theodore Roosevelt," which starred George C. Scott. This film premiered on CBS in 1984, won a prestigious CINE Golden Eagle, and was nominated for an Emmy.
I moved to Los Angeles in 1982 and continued working with Harrison Engle, with whom I produced several short films for the Television Academy Hall of Fame, which included film biographies of Milton Berle, Norman Lear, Edward R. Murrow, and Lucille Ball.
The inspiration for my first book came in 1983, while I was collecting material at the Directors Guild of America for a film tribute to King Vidor, the legendary director of over seventy-six motion pictures. In the midst of organizing Vidor’s papers, I came across a locked strong-box containing the details of Vidor’s investigation of the 1922 murder of director William Desmond Taylor. Biographers A. Scott Berg and Edmund Morris were instrumental in helping me to obtain a publishing contract with E.P. Dutton. "A Cast of Killers," released in 1986, was on the best-sellers list for sixteen weeks, and was hailed as “mesmerizing” by author Anne Rice in a featured review for the New York Times Book Review.
After writing “A Cast of Killers,” I worked at Paramount Studios with screenwriter Robert Towne. Another screenwriter I worked with was Larry Ferguson, with whom I developed an action and adventure screenplay, “One Deadly Summer.” This film project, based on the true story of marine scientist Richard Novak’s one man war against Medellin drug lord Carlos Lehder, was optioned for actor Harrison Ford by Cinergi Films. Later retitled “Turning The Tide,” and co-written with author Peter Abrahams, it was published by Dutton in 1991 and excerpted by Readers Digest in 1992.
Research on my third book, "Lords of Sipán," was begun in 1991 in a small village on the north coast of Peru where I traced the contents of a looted pre-Inca tomb as it entered the black market in stolen antiquities. From Peru I traced the artifacts to London, New York, Beverly Hills, and
I was born in Glen Cove, New York, on October 4, 1955, and grew up in Stony Brook, on the north shore of Long Island. While attending the Kent School, in Kent, Connecticut, I won writing awards for poetry and journalism. Throughout my high-school years, and during college, I wrote several hundred articles for Long Island newspapers and became a stringer for Associated Press.
At Hampshire College, in Amherst, Massachusetts, I majored in Chinese language and history. After graduation in 1978, I lived in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan, where I taught ESL, directed and produced a short television documentary, and acted in two low-budget action films.
I completed my education in 1982 with an MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where I worked on several short films with classmates Spike Lee and Ang Lee, and optioned my first screenplay. While attending NYU, I wrote and directed "My Father The President" which won the 1982 American Film Festival and a CINE Golden Eagle. This film has since become a perennial favorite at over 1000 schools, libraries and museums across the country, and can be seen daily at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace at 28 East 20th Street, in New York City, and a the Sagamore Hill National Historical Site in Oyster Bay, New York.
The success of "My Father The President" caught the attention of film director Harrison Engle, who hired me to associate-produce a two hour television special, "The Indomitable Theodore Roosevelt," which starred George C. Scott. This film premiered on CBS in 1984, won a prestigious CINE Golden Eagle, and was nominated for an Emmy.
I moved to Los Angeles in 1982 and continued working with Harrison Engle, with whom I produced several short films for the Television Academy Hall of Fame, which included film biographies of Milton Berle, Norman Lear, Edward R. Murrow, and Lucille Ball.
The inspiration for my first book came in 1983, while I was collecting material at the Directors Guild of America for a film tribute to King Vidor, the legendary director of over seventy-six motion pictures. In the midst of organizing Vidor’s papers, I came across a locked strong-box containing the details of Vidor’s investigation of the 1922 murder of director William Desmond Taylor. Biographers A. Scott Berg and Edmund Morris were instrumental in helping me to obtain a publishing contract with E.P. Dutton. "A Cast of Killers," released in 1986, was on the best-sellers list for sixteen weeks, and was hailed as “mesmerizing” by author Anne Rice in a featured review for the New York Times Book Review.
After writing “A Cast of Killers,” I worked at Paramount Studios with screenwriter Robert Towne. Another screenwriter I worked with was Larry Ferguson, with whom I developed an action and adventure screenplay, “One Deadly Summer.” This film project, based on the true story of marine scientist Richard Novak’s one man war against Medellin drug lord Carlos Lehder, was optioned for actor Harrison Ford by Cinergi Films. Later retitled “Turning The Tide,” and co-written with author Peter Abrahams, it was published by Dutton in 1991 and excerpted by Readers Digest in 1992.
Research on my third book, "Lords of Sipán," was begun in 1991 in a small village on the north coast of Peru where I traced the contents of a looted pre-Inca tomb as it entered the black market in stolen antiquities. From Peru I traced the artifacts to London, New York, Beverly Hills, and
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
May 4, 2010
Mr. Kirkpatrick has done a masterful job with this, the latest and best biography of Edgar Cayce. As I read through the comments posted here, I noticed one that implies this book is 'pointless' -- How sad that the writer felt compelled to comment, in spite of the fact that he has not obviously bothered to read the book, and knows nothing about Edgar Cayce's work.
A previous president of the American Medical Association once said that "the work of Edgar Cayce is the foundation of holistic health." The work of Edgar Cayce is also the foundation of a worldwide in-home spiritual study group program which touches hundreds of thousands of lives every day.
Those two details alone, make Reading about Mr. Cayce, his work, and the far-reaching affect it has on this world, clearly inspirational.
I love the fact that the author gained access to the closely guarded 'readings vault', and to material that no other biographer could access... It is intriguing, for example, that so many well-known scientists consulted Mr. Cayce, and that at least one president of the USA had someone living with the Cayce family, and getting readings throughout some of the darkest days of a major war.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an inquiring mind and an open heart.
A previous president of the American Medical Association once said that "the work of Edgar Cayce is the foundation of holistic health." The work of Edgar Cayce is also the foundation of a worldwide in-home spiritual study group program which touches hundreds of thousands of lives every day.
Those two details alone, make Reading about Mr. Cayce, his work, and the far-reaching affect it has on this world, clearly inspirational.
I love the fact that the author gained access to the closely guarded 'readings vault', and to material that no other biographer could access... It is intriguing, for example, that so many well-known scientists consulted Mr. Cayce, and that at least one president of the USA had someone living with the Cayce family, and getting readings throughout some of the darkest days of a major war.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an inquiring mind and an open heart.
September 29, 2010
I'm not sure why I checked this book out from the local library, but I'm sure glad that I did. Although a religious person, I never had a strong opinion about psychics and mediums. This book opened my eyes. Edgar Cayce was the real deal, and his "readings" are important documents. This book should be read by anyone who values religion and/or spirituality. The contents are, at times, controversial. Even if you don't believe everything that Cayce revealed, you'll still find it fascinating. The thing I liked most about this biography is that it was spiritually uplifting and strongly pro-Christian. A lot of times psychics and mediums are not associated with Christianity, but Cayce and his readings are very Christian and highly inspirational.
October 7, 2013
Wonderful comprehensive look at the life of a true prophet. I had read a previous biography about Edgar Cayce many years ago, written while he was still alive, but Sidney Kirkpatrick's work far surpasses that one, which, if I remember correctly, is called There is a River. One thing I found very intriguing was the mention of Dr. William Sadler of Chicago who was the man behind the Urantia Book. He evidently was involved with trying to debunk psychic frauds, but came away unable to rationally explain how Edgar Cayce was able to do what he did. Around the same time (1906) he began his own voyage into the unknown, which in 1955 was published as the Urantia Book. I would love to find the missing pieces to this puzzling connection.
August 14, 2014
Anything written by Sidney Kirkpatrick has to be good. His work on Edgar Cayce is a classic. It is by far the best documented and most objective biography on Cayce I have ever read. He was such a unique, almost otherworldly figure. I'm sure this book presented some difficulty to document. Kirkpatrick tone is perfect. He does not deride Cayce, nor is he overly worshipful. He just tells the story of a one of a kind American who was something of a mystery even to himself.
November 9, 2007
A timely addition to the biographies of Edgar Cayce, the foremost American psychic. The older books were written without the sharp research and unflinching look at even some of the less appealing aspects of character and history. Sidney Kirkpatrick does a great job of helping us to see into the life, motivation and experiences of Edgar Cayce.
August 10, 2010
Very intense. Should be read with an open mind. Cayce's life was certainly fascinating and unique. There is a lot of questioning the reader will do when reading this book.
November 1, 2010
I had never heard of Edgar Cayce before I read his biography. I'm not sure how I ended up reading this book but I'm glad I did. What an interesting life this man had.
March 30, 2015
If you've ever wondered how someone becomes psychic, the author of this book, Sidney D. Kirkpatrick, delves into Edgar Cayce's life story, and unearths details that, when viewed all together, provide the answers to this and many other questions.
Humble Beginnings
In his book, Sidney D. Kirkpatrick starts right at the beginning, citing Edgar Cayce's birth time as the equivalent of 3:20 pm on Sunday, March 18, 1877. Checking my Kepler 7.0 program, he is listed at 3:03 pm local time, so that is the time I used for his birth chart.
Edgar's paternal grandfather, Tom Cayce, had the gift of 'second sight'. "The talent that Tom had as a 'water witch,' or dowser, has never been disputed. He would cut a forked limb from a peach tree, grasp a branch in each hand, and, holding the limb in front of his chest, walk back and forth over a parcel of land until he felt the 'vibrations' that told him where a well a well should be dug."
"Beyond being a good dowser, however, Tom is alleged to have had psychokinetic powers -- the ability to move objects without touching them. Edgar said that his grandfather could make a broom appear to 'dance' by merely holding his hand over it, or move a table without touching it. According to Sarah, Tom's wife, he rarely used the 'energy' in his hands to move inanimate objects, choosing instead to channel his energy to make plants grow, 'as God intended,' and to make animals behave. A deeply religious man, he believed it was evil to use it in any other way, and that the Lord would take the power away from him if he used it to do tricks for entertainment purposes."
This standard of behaviour is important for us to understand how Edgar became the man he was.
The Accident
Something happened to Edgar is his early childhood which may have contributed to his becoming psychic.
"A far more serious accident occurred on May 27, 1880, when Edgar, now three years old, fell headfirst off a fence post onto a board with a nail protruding out of it. The nail went so deeply into his head that it reportedly punctured his cranium and entered his brain cavity. Leslie (his father), who had seen the accident happen, immediately ran to him and removed the nail. Carrie (his mother) was following close behind. After the initial trauma of the fall, Edgar appeared to be perfectly fine. Turpentine was poured onto the open wound, the head was bandaged, and the child eventually resumed his normal play."
"The degree to which this injury may have left lasting physiological damage or altered Edgar's normal brain development is not known. It must be pointed out, however, that other psychics, among them Dutch born Peter Hurkos, attributed the development of their psychic abilities to similar blows they suffered to the head, which they believe stimulated their pineal or pituitary glands. Little or nothing is said about this incident by those who knew or wrote about Edgar in his later years, perhaps because Cayce himself believed that his gifts were given him from God and were not of physiological origin."
Whatever the reason, his abilities began shortly after this incident.
Baby Psychic Steps
As is common with young children the world over, Edgar had 'imaginary' playmates.
"In a trance reading conducted forty years later, Edgar suggested that he had indeed been visited by spirit 'entities,' who at the time appears in a form that would not frighten or threaten him. Their purpose, according to this reading, was to prepare him for the trials and tribulations to come, and many of these entities, if not all, were alleged to have been later reincarnated as people who became closely associated with the work."
Edgar also had plenty of contact with his 'psychic' grandfather, Tom.
"Edgar's baby-sitter was no longer needed at the new house since Tom Cayce was pleased to watch over his grandson. Carrie was relieved to have the extra help, as was Leslie. Besides, Tom and Edgar took to one another instantly. They didn't just spend an hour or two together at a time, but three or four days in a row. They were, as old family friends would later contend, 'cut from the same tree.' And although no one came out and said as much, the suggestion has always been that old Tom Cayce's talent for handling his grandson was much like his talent for handling the forked limb from the peach tree he kept by the family hearth, which he used to locate water wells. 'That boy literally came alive in his hands,' one of Leslie's brothers once remarked."
But then, one day, Tom had a riding accident and died.
"Despite the close relationship that had developed between Edgar and his grandfather, Edgar seemed less perturbed by the tragedy than might have been expected. This could be attributed to his youth. But it was also true that even as a young child, Edgar's perception of his grandfather's death wasn't the same as it was for other family member. Not long after the funeral, Edgar's parents found him standing in the tobacco barn 'conversing' with his deceased grandfather."
A Visitation
Like Uri Geller in his early years, Edgar Cayce had an angel visit him.
"Edgar spent many hours in his new retreat. His primary activities were reading from the Bible, praying to God, and watching the squirrels, birds, and other animals that came to drink out of the spring. Many accounts of Edgar's childhood state that it was here, under the willow tree, that an angel appeared, causing Edgar to have the revelation that was the inspiration for his later career. Edgar himself, said that the angel appeared to him in his bedroom, after he had spent a long day reading his Bible in the woods and asking himself how he could be of service to the Lord. He had eaten dinner and, as usual, went to bed after helping his mother with the chores. His sisters were fast asleep in beds adjacent to his own when he suddenly awoke in the night and perceived what he described as a powerful light coming through the door way.
"'I felt as if I were being lifted up,' Edgar later wrote. 'A glorious light as of the rising morning sun seemed to fill the whole room, and a figure appeared at the foot of my bed. I was sure it was my mother and called (out), but she didn't answer. For the moment I was frightened, climbed out of bed, and went to my mother's room. No, she hadn't called. Almost immediately, after I returned to my couch, the figure came again. Then it seemed all gloriously bright -- an angel, or what, I knew not, but gently, patiently, it said: Thy prayers are heard. You will have your wish. Remain faithful. Be true to yourself. Help the sick, the afflicted.'"
The Start
Edgar used to daydream in school (didn't we all?) and his uncle Lucian (who was the teacher) ordered him to write the word 'cabin' five hundred times on the chalkboard, after he failed to spell it.
That night, Leslie decided to teach his son to spell. "Edgar read the words in his McGuffy's Reader and then spelled them out loud. But when the book was taken from him he was still unable to get the spelling right. Leslie became increasingly annoyed at his son's failure to learn such a simple lesson. Furious, he slapped Edgar two or three times with the back of his hand, then knocked him out of his chair. It was almost eleven o'clock at night. Edgar was tired. He wanted to cry. He told his father that if he had a few minutes to rest he knew he could do better. Leslie, tired himself by the struggle, agreed to a five-minute recess.
"Edgar put the book down on the desk and laid his head down on it while his father went into the kitchen. When Leslie returned, Edgar told him he felt refreshed. Leslie put the first word to him, and Edgar spelled it correctly. He also correctly spelled the second word, then the third, and the fourth.
"Initially, his father was pleased that all his work had apparently paid off. But as Edgar proceeded to spell the entire lesson correctly without so much as pausing, Leslie could only conclude that Edgar had cheated, or imagined that his son had pulled a practical joke at his expense -- that he had known the lesson the entire time and had merely feigned ignorance."
Whatever it was that happened, Edgar now had the ability to place a book against his forehead and know its contents perfectly.
The Final Decision
Edgar was advised by his dying grandmother to follow his dreams But where to start?
"In June 1894, Edgar Cayce, now seventeen, did in fact, act upon what he believed to be a message from above. He had just returned from lunch to a field where he had been mending a broken plow. As he knelt to continue to make repairs, he heard a humming. A sense of pleasantness or well-being came over him. Edgar recognized it. He was going to hear again the voice of the angel he had heard years ago in his bedroom. 'Leave the farm,' the voice said. 'Go to your mother. Everything will be all right.'"
The voice had told him to go to Hopkinsville. It didn't tell him what to do when he got there.
Synopsis
David Siegfried, from Booklist, is quoted on the back cover. "Cayce, humble son of Kentucky tobacco farmers, single-handedly fathered the New Age movement, although he never intended to. Best known for his abilities as a psychic diagnostician, Cayce, with no medical background, would go to sleep and accurately describe illnesses, then prescribe holistic treatments, which, if followed, yielded cures. Gleaning his knowledge from channeling, what he called the 'Source,' Cayce, the 'sleeping prophet,' also predicted both world wars; spoke on metaphysical topics such as reincarnation, Atlantis, and the life of Christ; and expounded ideas that proved to be years ahead of their time, Kirkpatrick, the only person allowed unrestricted access to all of Cayce's personal writings, presents what every Cayce fan hungers for: a detailed and complete biography that reveals family secrets that were deemed too sensitive to include in earlier works, as well as the long-suppressed identities of the many famous people, from Woodrow Wilson to Thomas Edison, who benefited from Cayce's readings. Kirkpatrick has lovingly renewed the Cayce legacy, bringing forth his spiritual messages of admonishment and hope, which are as significant today as they were in his lifetime."
And, as a lifelong fan of Edgar Cayce, I can whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone with the thirst for knowledge about what it must have been like for a person with psychic abilities in the last part of the 19th Century and the first half of the 20th.
Humble Beginnings
In his book, Sidney D. Kirkpatrick starts right at the beginning, citing Edgar Cayce's birth time as the equivalent of 3:20 pm on Sunday, March 18, 1877. Checking my Kepler 7.0 program, he is listed at 3:03 pm local time, so that is the time I used for his birth chart.
Edgar's paternal grandfather, Tom Cayce, had the gift of 'second sight'. "The talent that Tom had as a 'water witch,' or dowser, has never been disputed. He would cut a forked limb from a peach tree, grasp a branch in each hand, and, holding the limb in front of his chest, walk back and forth over a parcel of land until he felt the 'vibrations' that told him where a well a well should be dug."
"Beyond being a good dowser, however, Tom is alleged to have had psychokinetic powers -- the ability to move objects without touching them. Edgar said that his grandfather could make a broom appear to 'dance' by merely holding his hand over it, or move a table without touching it. According to Sarah, Tom's wife, he rarely used the 'energy' in his hands to move inanimate objects, choosing instead to channel his energy to make plants grow, 'as God intended,' and to make animals behave. A deeply religious man, he believed it was evil to use it in any other way, and that the Lord would take the power away from him if he used it to do tricks for entertainment purposes."
This standard of behaviour is important for us to understand how Edgar became the man he was.
The Accident
Something happened to Edgar is his early childhood which may have contributed to his becoming psychic.
"A far more serious accident occurred on May 27, 1880, when Edgar, now three years old, fell headfirst off a fence post onto a board with a nail protruding out of it. The nail went so deeply into his head that it reportedly punctured his cranium and entered his brain cavity. Leslie (his father), who had seen the accident happen, immediately ran to him and removed the nail. Carrie (his mother) was following close behind. After the initial trauma of the fall, Edgar appeared to be perfectly fine. Turpentine was poured onto the open wound, the head was bandaged, and the child eventually resumed his normal play."
"The degree to which this injury may have left lasting physiological damage or altered Edgar's normal brain development is not known. It must be pointed out, however, that other psychics, among them Dutch born Peter Hurkos, attributed the development of their psychic abilities to similar blows they suffered to the head, which they believe stimulated their pineal or pituitary glands. Little or nothing is said about this incident by those who knew or wrote about Edgar in his later years, perhaps because Cayce himself believed that his gifts were given him from God and were not of physiological origin."
Whatever the reason, his abilities began shortly after this incident.
Baby Psychic Steps
As is common with young children the world over, Edgar had 'imaginary' playmates.
"In a trance reading conducted forty years later, Edgar suggested that he had indeed been visited by spirit 'entities,' who at the time appears in a form that would not frighten or threaten him. Their purpose, according to this reading, was to prepare him for the trials and tribulations to come, and many of these entities, if not all, were alleged to have been later reincarnated as people who became closely associated with the work."
Edgar also had plenty of contact with his 'psychic' grandfather, Tom.
"Edgar's baby-sitter was no longer needed at the new house since Tom Cayce was pleased to watch over his grandson. Carrie was relieved to have the extra help, as was Leslie. Besides, Tom and Edgar took to one another instantly. They didn't just spend an hour or two together at a time, but three or four days in a row. They were, as old family friends would later contend, 'cut from the same tree.' And although no one came out and said as much, the suggestion has always been that old Tom Cayce's talent for handling his grandson was much like his talent for handling the forked limb from the peach tree he kept by the family hearth, which he used to locate water wells. 'That boy literally came alive in his hands,' one of Leslie's brothers once remarked."
But then, one day, Tom had a riding accident and died.
"Despite the close relationship that had developed between Edgar and his grandfather, Edgar seemed less perturbed by the tragedy than might have been expected. This could be attributed to his youth. But it was also true that even as a young child, Edgar's perception of his grandfather's death wasn't the same as it was for other family member. Not long after the funeral, Edgar's parents found him standing in the tobacco barn 'conversing' with his deceased grandfather."
A Visitation
Like Uri Geller in his early years, Edgar Cayce had an angel visit him.
"Edgar spent many hours in his new retreat. His primary activities were reading from the Bible, praying to God, and watching the squirrels, birds, and other animals that came to drink out of the spring. Many accounts of Edgar's childhood state that it was here, under the willow tree, that an angel appeared, causing Edgar to have the revelation that was the inspiration for his later career. Edgar himself, said that the angel appeared to him in his bedroom, after he had spent a long day reading his Bible in the woods and asking himself how he could be of service to the Lord. He had eaten dinner and, as usual, went to bed after helping his mother with the chores. His sisters were fast asleep in beds adjacent to his own when he suddenly awoke in the night and perceived what he described as a powerful light coming through the door way.
"'I felt as if I were being lifted up,' Edgar later wrote. 'A glorious light as of the rising morning sun seemed to fill the whole room, and a figure appeared at the foot of my bed. I was sure it was my mother and called (out), but she didn't answer. For the moment I was frightened, climbed out of bed, and went to my mother's room. No, she hadn't called. Almost immediately, after I returned to my couch, the figure came again. Then it seemed all gloriously bright -- an angel, or what, I knew not, but gently, patiently, it said: Thy prayers are heard. You will have your wish. Remain faithful. Be true to yourself. Help the sick, the afflicted.'"
The Start
Edgar used to daydream in school (didn't we all?) and his uncle Lucian (who was the teacher) ordered him to write the word 'cabin' five hundred times on the chalkboard, after he failed to spell it.
That night, Leslie decided to teach his son to spell. "Edgar read the words in his McGuffy's Reader and then spelled them out loud. But when the book was taken from him he was still unable to get the spelling right. Leslie became increasingly annoyed at his son's failure to learn such a simple lesson. Furious, he slapped Edgar two or three times with the back of his hand, then knocked him out of his chair. It was almost eleven o'clock at night. Edgar was tired. He wanted to cry. He told his father that if he had a few minutes to rest he knew he could do better. Leslie, tired himself by the struggle, agreed to a five-minute recess.
"Edgar put the book down on the desk and laid his head down on it while his father went into the kitchen. When Leslie returned, Edgar told him he felt refreshed. Leslie put the first word to him, and Edgar spelled it correctly. He also correctly spelled the second word, then the third, and the fourth.
"Initially, his father was pleased that all his work had apparently paid off. But as Edgar proceeded to spell the entire lesson correctly without so much as pausing, Leslie could only conclude that Edgar had cheated, or imagined that his son had pulled a practical joke at his expense -- that he had known the lesson the entire time and had merely feigned ignorance."
Whatever it was that happened, Edgar now had the ability to place a book against his forehead and know its contents perfectly.
The Final Decision
Edgar was advised by his dying grandmother to follow his dreams But where to start?
"In June 1894, Edgar Cayce, now seventeen, did in fact, act upon what he believed to be a message from above. He had just returned from lunch to a field where he had been mending a broken plow. As he knelt to continue to make repairs, he heard a humming. A sense of pleasantness or well-being came over him. Edgar recognized it. He was going to hear again the voice of the angel he had heard years ago in his bedroom. 'Leave the farm,' the voice said. 'Go to your mother. Everything will be all right.'"
The voice had told him to go to Hopkinsville. It didn't tell him what to do when he got there.
Synopsis
David Siegfried, from Booklist, is quoted on the back cover. "Cayce, humble son of Kentucky tobacco farmers, single-handedly fathered the New Age movement, although he never intended to. Best known for his abilities as a psychic diagnostician, Cayce, with no medical background, would go to sleep and accurately describe illnesses, then prescribe holistic treatments, which, if followed, yielded cures. Gleaning his knowledge from channeling, what he called the 'Source,' Cayce, the 'sleeping prophet,' also predicted both world wars; spoke on metaphysical topics such as reincarnation, Atlantis, and the life of Christ; and expounded ideas that proved to be years ahead of their time, Kirkpatrick, the only person allowed unrestricted access to all of Cayce's personal writings, presents what every Cayce fan hungers for: a detailed and complete biography that reveals family secrets that were deemed too sensitive to include in earlier works, as well as the long-suppressed identities of the many famous people, from Woodrow Wilson to Thomas Edison, who benefited from Cayce's readings. Kirkpatrick has lovingly renewed the Cayce legacy, bringing forth his spiritual messages of admonishment and hope, which are as significant today as they were in his lifetime."
And, as a lifelong fan of Edgar Cayce, I can whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone with the thirst for knowledge about what it must have been like for a person with psychic abilities in the last part of the 19th Century and the first half of the 20th.
November 30, 2025
Great book that convinced me Cayce was the real thing.
July 2, 2012
I had never heard of Edgar Cayce before I started reading, nor had I ever given much thought/credit to "psychic" readings or holistic medicine. Edgar's work has really opened my eyes to the concept of holistic medicine as well as the idea of reincarnation within the Christian faith. I also found his readings on Atlantis fascinating. Would definitely recommend this biography to anyone who is willing to have an open mind while reading. Only negative comment I have- while I did appreciate the clearly extensive research the author put in, I might have enjoyed a slightly abridged version - leaving out some of the readings that didn't really add anything to the conversation in my opinion, so to speak.
January 29, 2018
An excellent book about a truly gifted psychic. His abilities were nothing less than mind blowing. In an age where spiritualism and mediums were all the rage this unassuming Christian farmer from Kentucky was the real deal. While in a trance he could diagnose medical issues, remotely view people/places in real time, locate missing items, and communicate with the dead among other abilities. Even more he was a Christian whose gifts though controversial at the time were totally compatible with his faith. Fascinating and compelling.
October 10, 2012
I am amazed so few people know about this man who only passed away in 1945. He was a psychic medium who, when in trance, had spirits speak through him to diagnose and prescribe treatment for people that doctors could not help. He even had angels speak through him to confirm that he was doing work for God. This was a simple man who lived on the edge of poverty getting God's message out to everyone he could. Incredible story.
November 23, 2013
Most people view Cayce as a prophet of earth changes. Of the 14,000 readings he did, very few had anything to do with this subject. Most of his readings concerned health matters and readings for spiritual growth.
My history of working with traditional medicine (in a medical office) and with alternative medicine has led me to a great appreciation for the information that Cayce gave in readings that are just now being confirmed by medical studies.
My history of working with traditional medicine (in a medical office) and with alternative medicine has led me to a great appreciation for the information that Cayce gave in readings that are just now being confirmed by medical studies.
October 21, 2009
A very intriguing person to say the least. Through Edgar we all can unlock powers within.
September 13, 2010
This man was truly amazing. Very very interesting biography and written very well, not dry.
January 31, 2011
Although this book is very detailed and lengthy, the author still makes it very readable and enjoyable. Highly recommend.
September 15, 2013
This book is a trip!!
August 4, 2024
Perhaps the most extraordinary thing I’ve ever read.
May 23, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this biography. It was all around excellent. Mr. Cayce's life was utterly fascinating from start to finish and this account of it was spellbinding. I have so many thoughts to share about the man that I will just hold back here. Instead, I will simply offer a final few comments on this book. It is worth experiencing by any interested party. It's wonderfully written and plotted and is objective. The reader gets to make up their own mind and conclusions about this average man with above average abilities and outcomes. The wonder of the unknown and mysterious is on full display here.
January 14, 2018
This book was well-written, especially given the voluminous material that the author had at his disposal. I can’t imagine wandering through the labyrinth of readings to pull this story together. I did notice in the appendix that Mr Kirkpatrick is listed where it describes the coding systems for the life readings. If this is so, it would have been interesting to hear of his own reading and life experiences for comparison.
September 1, 2020
I can’t believe how interesting this man was it really does make me think how real the Akasha feel truly is and forgive me but DMT is the pathway there.
March 4, 2021
This is the 4th biography about Edgar Cayce I have read and this is my favorite. Provided new insights to this man's amazing life yet presented Cayce as real (flaws and all), relatable, very human.
May 30, 2021
I loved this book. I’ve struggled with Christianity and faith for the majority of my life. Reading this book gave me hope.
June 21, 2022
Not bad but I appreciated Thomas Sugrue's book more.
May 2, 2023
What a thought-provoking biography!
August 31, 2022
audio book
February 17, 2016
I loved loved reading this biography. It opened my eyes to so many new insights and thoughts concerning the deeper spiritual realities that exist. Even though I didn't always agree with what the "source/Edgar" was saying, I found all of the readings thought provoking and game changing in my life. I will come back to this book for many years.
July 21, 2011
Excellent book!! Very indepth book about his life. I never knew who he was and this book told it all beginning from his childhood to all his challenges as an adult. A lot about his work going into trances and helping other people. I will read it again and again.
October 8, 2013
Very thorough biography, definitely an absorbing read, and, as with all of the books that make my favorites list, promotes thoughts of possibilities beyond what's accepted as ordinary in the status quo of what to think of the world around us.
March 29, 2009
it is a great book to read, I live in Japan and just received this book yesterday, now enjoying reading it so much
maria lin
maria lin
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