“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(The 56th envelope experiment was held during the session. The object was a pencil drawing I made of Jane this afternoon, without her knowledge. I looked down on her as she sunned herself, my viewpoint being the back row of the studio windows on the second story. The sketch took but a few minutes because she moved so frequently, and I was much amused at her restlessness; this mirth plays a part in the experimental results. The drawing is on porous paper with a slight yellowish cast. I placed it between the usual two pieces of Bristol, then sealed it in double envelopes.

The object he has chosen has a strong connection with a place. (Jane began to rub her eyes strongly.) The object is not utilitarian, that is, you cannot do anything with it, but it represents something else.

A thin border on the object, and horizontal lettering. Reaching in the center out toward the margins. A card, such as the kind sent out by organizations for invitations.

(“Can you give me some initials connected to the object?”)

(“Do you want to name the object?”)

(“Mirth.” As stated earlier, I felt pronounced amusement while making the drawing used as the object. Jane moved almost constantly while posing unwittingly, and I had to work very rapidly while at the same time being careful she didn’t look up at the studio windows on the second floor and see what I was doing.

(“A rectangular card, with printed matter.” The object is on a rectangular piece of heavy, porous-type paper, similar to card stock. Jane said she had an image of the correct size and proportion of the object, and that Seth was trying to get this data across to her. She had no image of a drawing, or herself.

(“Some larger lettering, and then some small.” Jane feels this is a distortion of my writing or lettering on the object. I would say lettering is a closer description than printed matter, being more specific.

(“A pattern of wavy lines, or of wavering lines.” The drawing used as object contains many lines, few of them straight. Jane said that in particular this data referred to the serape upon which she sat, and the tasseled edge or fringe beneath her lower legs. The drawing is organized into a pattern.

(“A thin border on the object”, The border might be called thin on the bottom and left edge of the object, since the drawing runs out almost to the edge here. There is plenty of room however on the top and right sides.

(“and horizontal lettering.” My writing on the object follows the horizontal or long dimension of the object. There is a possibility this could also refer to the organization data, to be discussed shortly. Or—could this refer to the book Jane had with her, or the manuscript of her dream book, also with her?

(“Reaching in the center out toward the margins.” In the drawing Jane’s left arm and both legs reach out toward the bottom and left edges of the object.

(“A card, such as the kind sent out by organizations for invitations.” Jane had an image here, of a rectangular card of the kind that used to be sent out by an art gallery where she worked up until a year of so ago. This image card was the same size and proportion, she said, as the rectangular paper the envelope object is drawn on; she believes Seth gave her this data to reinforce that idea.

(“Give us a moment… B and L and G.” My first question asked for initials connected to the object. Jane said that when giving this data she knew the initials referred to different things, not just one. So we speculated that B referred to Butts, L to lawn, and G to glass. Seth confirms this after break. Note that I didn’t indicate lawn, actually, in the sketch, although Jane’s cast shadow falls partly on the lawn.

(“The sort of lines for example that a map would have to indicate small roads, or the lines like cracks in a dry ground.” My second question asked for more on the wavering lines impression discussed on page 185. See the copy of the object on page 178. The drawing is composed of thin pencil lines in part at least, and these could in the abstract represent small roads on a map, or lines like cracks in dry ground.

(We don’t particularly know why Seth called my writing on the object large. It does consist of five lines. Once again, Jane paused noticeably before continuing.

(“Perhaps 24, referring to a day of the month.” The envelope object bears the date on which I made the sketch—May 23,1966. Seth is one day off.

(“I have done as much to name it as I can.” Here I asked Seth if he wanted to name the object.

(Tracing of the two poinsettia leaves used as objects in the 57th envelope experiment, in the 262nd session for May 25,1966.)