“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(The 50th envelope experiment was held during the session. The object was a black and white photo of Jane’s father and his deceased second wife, Maxine, taken sometime prior to 1954. Jane hadn’t seen the photo in recent months. I placed it between the usual two pieces of Bristol and sealed it in the double envelopes.

We shall tie these two subjects together. The book should make one point plain: Identity, despite all appearances to the contrary, does not reside primarily in the ego. Social identity may possibly there reside, but the basic identity does not.

The two are connected.

(“Suitable. A connection with something suitable for an occasion.” In the photo Maxine is dressed up, including white hat and gloves, and wears a large corsage on the left lapel of her dark-colored suit. The corsage could be something suitable for an occasion. There could also be a play on words here, in that Maxine is wearing one of the old-fashioned square-shouldered two-piece suits in style then: Suitable, suit. Seth elaborates a little in answer to a question.

(“A grillwork.” In plain view in the photo are picket fences to the right and left of Maxine and Del, plus two large curving trellises bare of flowers or greenery. One of the trellises is in back of the couple. See the tracing on page 124.

(“Something in rows.” The uprights in the two picket fences.

(“An image, not clearly seen.” To the left of Del and Maxine in the photo can be seen the window of a building a lot or two distant. Only part of a window and a wall can be glimpsed through nearby trees. I have indicated the window heavily on the tracing on page 124. The outlines of the building, etc., are hidden.

(“A child, and seven.” I wasn’t sure these two impressions were connected, although Jane gave them together. I tried to clear up the child and number reference later in the questions.

(My first two questions asked for elaboration on “something suitable” and “something surprising.” Seth agreed they were connected. Our interpretation connects them through Maxine; something suitable being Maxine’s corsage, something surprising being her early death.

(“Also the impression of a string or series. A miscellany of shapes in one corner.” Apparently the picket fence, seen in two places on the photo—to their right and in back of Del and Maxine, and their left foreground. In the photo the tree branches in their left background form an interesting pattern also, with the building mentioned at the top of this page seen behind them; usually when Jane uses the word miscellany to denote irregular shapes the data is too general.