“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(The note was from Billie, Jerry’s stepmother, who had died in 1965. Neither Jerry nor her father had seen the note before, and it had a strong emotional effect on both of them. A further puzzle was due to the fact that for some time before her death Billie could not write, so Jerry was curious as to just when the note had been written.

(Billie was the third wife of Jerry’s father, and she herself had been married once before. Jerry added many italic notes after I’d typed the session.

(Jane put herself in a light trance state while sitting at the table. Most of the time her eyes were closed, if not all. Her manner was active, and more will be said of this as the notes progress. Roman type is used to show Jane’s words in trance.)

This was written in 1964. (Possible. Couldn’t write approximately 2 months before death.) A connection with Billie and apples. I see a parlor, with a table with an old-fashioned beaded type lamp, with a globe, on the table. With a deeply colored scarf, with fringes (collected antiques, house full of old stuff).

(While giving much of this data, Jane did not speak as smoothly as the notes might indicate. The Seth voice did not show at all, nor were we aware of his presence. Jane’s manner of delivery was quite usual as far as stopping, pausing, repeating, etc., was concerned—the usual manner of speaking.

(Most of the time it was Jane herself relaying the data; but on a few occasions something else occurred, as will be explained.)

Now. This note was in a closet… An inside pocket (pause), a pocket up high like a breast pocket, rather than down low. I don’t know that much about (male) clothes. Written in the month of November (that could be), shortly before or after medical examination. (Was having lots of exams that November.)

Connection with initials M S, and a long car ride. The father went with Billie on a long car trip. That is, not terribly long, but perhaps 20 miles. (Orlando, FL, 20 mile trip approximately, to hospital, often.) He wore the jacket that day and the note was in the jacket, and she put it there and he didn’t know it was there.

I feel that Billie is pretty close about. There is something about a… I seem to sense Billie at this time wearing dark-colored dress, not black, that Jerry might remember, of violet or purple color. Some kind of velvet material… A kind of soft material to the touch. It looks like velvet. At one time it had a white collar that could be detached. (Pause. Jerry doesn’t remember. She was dressy. Very.

She says she knew, you see, when she wrote this, but it was no coincidence that it was found now. Also she seems to have a quick… at least now she seems to have a quick, sputtering voice. (Yes. Exact voice description.) She says, and this is my impression: that’s no lie, as if that was an expression of hers. And that she and Jerry have guts and gumption. Like “that’s no lie” are parts of her own speech patterns. (All phrases of hers—and swearing.)

I have no idea what this means. Something about 9 o’clock. I don’t know if nine o’clock every night, or if it was a habit, so that there was a phrase used, that said something like “nine o’clock is…” I haven’t got the word yet… “time”.

There seems to be a Tony with her now. (Pause. ? Unless lost child was named Tony. Jerry and aunt have heard of a Tony.) Jerry tried too hard, consciously, making any contact difficult.

The name Polly? (A long pause, eyes closed.) She tried to come through in a vision sort of thing to Jerry one night—this isn’t Jerry’s dream—two months ago. (Yes. Jerry felt she was there, right behind her.)

(Now Jane suddenly pounded her left fist on the table so hard that the cups and saucers and other objects jumped violently. The gesture was so rapid and violent that I too jumped. I was instantly concerned lest Jane physically injure her hand, so hard were the blows, several now in succession. It is here that Jane was someone else, at least briefly; Jerry later said she had the same feeling, and that Jane’s gestures and voice and manner, including head shaking and language, were those of Billie.

(Even in trance Jane felt the effects of these blows, for as she continued to talk she rubbed her left hand. I spoke to her rather sharply, and would have interrupted the session had the physical violence continued. This ended, but now Jane had taken off, evidently wrapped up in the role briefly, for she shouted at a fast and furious pace, shaking her head violently, eyes closed. I was not able to get all she said on paper, but got the gist of it and key phrases. There were many swear words, and the fact that Jane halted at most of them, leaving them implied instead of spoken, reassured me that she was trying for control in the situation.)

Now it’s later and he’s just sort of sitting there and he’s drinking and they’re in the kitchen and she threw something—and she says now she’d rather he (pause) was really full of life again like he was… Rather than like an old man…

(At times there was a hint of crying, of deep feeling, in Jane’s voice.)

It would be better if he was really mad rather than sad. There’s something about paper flowers. She thinks the world of him but they fought.

(True, Jerry said. Jane was shaking her head here again; she seemed to be trying to explain Billie’s attitude. The pace was so fast I didn’t get it down verbatim.

(The effect of the data here was that Billie seemed most concerned that we understand her true attitude toward Jerry’s father.)

And she watches him, and she tries to push him like she used to. (She did push him and rule the roost.) She wants him to get up and do something instead of just sitting there. She’s laughing as if she’s got a good joke… (Jane too was acting out the hilarious dialogue, in a manner that was not ordinarily her own.) She says I’m dead. What are you yelling about? She says she’s here… And she wants him to get up and act like a man.

She wants him to be his old self. (Pause, head down.) I seem to see a distant connection with Wisconsin (? Will ask aunt), on Billie’s part, I think… A wedding anniversary and a string of beads. (She wore beads a lot.) She was trying to get through Jerry to get to the father because she wanted him to know that she was with him as much as ever, and then she sort of laughs and says more so, probably more so.

(3:50. This proved to be the end of the session. Jerry now said that most of the data was correct, except that since she herself was born in 1937 she wasn’t sure about the 1936 and 1932 dates, but would try to check. Jerry agreed to go over a copy of this material and to write in wherever she thought Jane’s data applied.

(Jerry said that the data echoed Billie’s fiery, hot-tempered disposition very well, and that the phrases Jane cited like “guts and gumption”, etc., were the exact ones used by Billie. Billie swore often and talked very fast, as noted in the data. Billie was dominant over her father, Jerry said; she was very insistent and wouldn’t back down in an argument.

(Jerry said that emotionally Jane acted much like Billie, that there was good contact here, and that in the fight scene she thought that Jane was Billie. Billie died at age 47. Jane rubbed her right hip as she talked, and Jerry said that Billie had a bad hip in the same area, and rubbed it also as Jane had done.

(Jerry said she didn’t see how Billie could have written the note when Jane said she did, in November 1964, since Billie died in 1965 [just two months into the year] and had been unable to write for some time before her death. As we talked however now, Jane said Billie was “still there” and that she now insisted this was the correct time re the note-writing.

(Billie was the third wife of Jerry’s father, and she had been married once before herself. She caught the father “running around,” Jerry said, and raised hell. Jerry remembered that in connection with the Tony data, the name of Billie’s first husband was Anthony. Jerry said that as far as she knew Anthony wasn’t dead, but that she would check; perhaps death had occurred.

(All the while we talked, Jane said Billie was still with us, and that she could have resumed at any time. Jerry verified other data I did not make notes on, including the Vermont and Wisconsin names. Supper time was approaching, and so the experimental session ended.

(Jane said that previous experience was a great help in guiding her over the rough emotional involvements like the fight scene—that she “got through” these quite well and wasn’t alarmed. She went over the session with Jerry on 1/16.)