“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(The object for the 71st envelope experiment was the first draft of a poem Jane and I wrote for Bill Gallagher’s birthday, which fell on Friday, July 1st. We wrote it first aloud in the car as we drove about. Jane then typed up what we could remember; we corrected it as shown on page 51, then Jane copied it over to give Bill, along with a cake. This first draft was typed on yellow paper; I folded it as shown to insert it in the usual double envelope, after sandwiching it between two pieces of Bristol. More details later.

(“The impression of something swirling about, as leaves in a wind.” Our interpretation here was that the swirling and leaves data referred to the mention of a garden in the poem used as object. See page 51. This may be correct. Also according to Seth after break however, the swirling was to have led Jane to frosting. The birthday cake we gave Bill Gallagher on July 1st was frosted. The poem used as object was written for this occasion.

(“A missionary connection.” We think this very good data. Bill Gallagher’s facetious term for the local newspaper office, where he also works, is the Garden of Gethsemane—hence such religious connections in the poem used as object. Also, Seth’s longstanding term of affection for Bill is “The Jesuit,” and he so calls Bill in the session tonight. See page 54.

(“Six plus one.” Bill Gallagher’s birthday is on July 1—six plus one for a total of seven. The poem used as object was written by Jane and me for the birthday occasion which occurred on July 1.

(“Small wavering blue lines. Something written by an old hand perhaps, with thin wavering lines.” Jane’s corrections on the object were made with a blue pen, which appears quite dark on the yellow paper upon which the poem was typed. Her corrections are small, but not wavering. The old and wavering data puzzled us, and we missed out here because we did not interpret the emotional charges involved, as Seth did.

(“A note.” We think this a close-enough description of the object, in that the briefness of the poem could resemble a note to Seth’s method of perception.

(“A description, perhaps of a house or a building.” This is very good. As explained on the last page, Bill Gallagher calls his place of employment, the newspaper office, the “Garden of Gethsemane.” As referred to in the poem used as object. See page 51.

(“The impression of something scribbled.” We think this a reference to the corrections made on the poem used as object.

(“I have a stable or horse connection.” This is another instance where Seth verifies our own interpretation. Jane very nearly did not mention her idea here, thinking at first it was too “far-out.” She finally told me that when she first looked at the envelope object during break, she read my penciled word “Man-a-me,” to the right of the poem used as object, as “Man-O-War,” which is the name of a very famous race horse. It is incidentally the only horse’s name that Jane knows, she said.

(“A circumstance involving a policeman.” This refers to a long and involved story told us by Peggy Gallagher during the evening of the birthday party, for which Jane and I wrote the poem used as object. Peg’s news made an impression and Jane and I still remember it. Very briefly, it concerns the behavior of a local psychiatrist and his wife—one of those continuing affairs that have been well known locally for some time, yet never getting into the newspaper.

(“Four three eight.” We think this a close reference to our address, 458 W. Water Street. The birthday party was held at this address and the poem used as object was given to Bill here also.

(“A letter written by an older person.” This ties in with the earlier old and wavering data, interpreted at the top of page 57. As Seth tells us after break, the old reference concerns Bill Gallagher’s subjective feelings on his birthday last July 1. The letter reference here stems from the resemblance of the typed poem used as object to a letter, and echoes the note data, also discussed on page 57.

(“A connection with woods.” Our own interpretation here is that woods refers to the literal Biblical Garden of Gethsemane, which is spoofed in the poem used as object. Jane says the actual garden was not a formal garden, a cultivated type, but rather contained olive trees, etc., and much growth of this kind. Seth’s blanket endorsement after break implies, again, that this is the correct interpretation.

(“And a strict accounting.” This is an excellent reference to the third line of the poem used as object. Penny is mentioned therein and accounting for such would be strict accounting.

(“Connection with a leaf or autumn.” See the data on page 55. As then, we think the leaf data here refers to the garden mentioned in the poem used as object. But also we think the autumn data here grows out of the swirling data on page 55, and Seth’s attempt to get Jane to give voice to frosting. The autumn data here could have grown out of the interpretation on Jane’s part of Seth’s frosting impression.

(“With a 1964 or ‘65 event.” We are not sure. Jane thinks this refers to her writing some poems for Peg’s birthday also. She believes she did this in January of 1966 however. Jane thinks the idea of this data is correct, in that she wrote the poems for Peg before she wrote the one for Bill’s birthday six months later.