Mayan - Full pre-review

[y2john]

Hey...

Full pre-release review:



Product: MAYAN

Creator/performer: Yves Doumergue

Website: http://www.magicby.com

Format: Special something with accompanying instructions/explanations

Price: TBA

Available: TBA


MAYAN:

A sure-fire divination of someone's 'Mayan' zodiac sign... this is accomplished with no pumping or fishing, nothing written down, and no questions asked.


What you receive:

A special little plastic card containing all of the Mayan's zodialogical signs, and a 2 page open up card explanation/instructional sheet.


The instructions/explanation:

Though only 2 pages in length, the explanations give you all the information you need to know in regards to the workings of this piece, aswell as additional info on the Mayan zodialogical signs, and some basic cold reading lines for those who have no experience with cold reading, allowing them to begin taking advantage of, and putting CR into practice.
The actual explanations leave no questions when it comes to the workings, and you'll know exactly how everything is achieved upon completion of your first read through.
The design of the instructional sheet/booklet is great, with a very nice looking cover and background detail, giving the feeling of quality.
Overall in it's current form, I feel that this part of the product has been done well and looks nice, though their are some things I'll be mentioning to Yves that I feel could be improved upon... one being how small the text is, which though was fine for me, I can imagine some having difficulty focusing on print of such a size.
Good.


The card:

The little plastic card which contains the Mayan zodialogical signs is great, it really has the feel of something that you would see in a gift shop that has products with Mayan themes, this just feels right as far as how a card such as this would be for tourists etc.
It does not look gimmicky at all, and the colours and designs used really work in this pieces favour.
The card is about the same size as a credit card, and so will fit nicely in your wallet/purse.
Everything needed is on the card, you can have this on you and be able to easily divine anyone's sign without any prior knowledge of that person.
I love the look and style of the card, great stuff.


My first moments with 'MAYAN':

To be honest I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this other than what Yves had described, and it sounded like something I would love to be able to take advantage of, with the possibility of being a very nice take on the zodiac divination.

I was really looking forward to receiving and delving into 'MAYAN', and a few days ago it arrived. The envelope it had arrived in was very slim, I was definitely expecting something larger lol, and this was a very intriguing moment as I really could not imagine what needed to be sent that took up such a small amount of space, and so I made my way to my room and eagerly tore my way to the contents... I say 'eagerly tore my way', but in fact I was making an extra effort to be very careful as I was not sure what would be meeting me, and did not want to damage anything.
What greeted me was a cool looking little card, and accompanying instructional 2 page booklet. I was surprised by how little instructions their were, well how seemingly little, as upon first looking you'd think their was barely anything their, though it doesn't take long to realize that what is their is all that is needed, and that it covers everything well.
I was immediately impressed with the design on the outside of the instructions, it has a nice look and feel.
The card also immediately impressed me with it's look and style, and it was actually the first thing I closely looked over... of which left me with no clue/idea of how this would work, which was a good thing. Also it had a bunch of weird symbols that definitely weren't what I knew as zodiac signs, which was interesting.

I began reading over the explanation and saw that we were not dealing with the usual signs of the zodiac, but with signs from the Mayan zodiac... I was unsure what to think at this time, I was expecting something different that's for sure, but was very interested in learning more and so before reading any further into the instructions, I booted up the comp and began to look into the Mayan zodiac.
I had never come across the Mayan zodiac before, and I ended up spending the next couple of hours reading through various websites detailing all sorts of info about the Mayan zodiac, and by the time I had finished I could not wait to make use of this, and went back to the instructions to learn of the workings.

Well that's the first moments with 'MAYAN'... it's safe to say that at first I was unsure and though interested, I guess was a bit deflated after learning that it was not dealing with what I was hoping for. This feeling did not last long at all, and now I am so happy that this is different, and wouldn't want it any other way.


Im not sure why I decided to share the above info on my beginning moments/thoughts with 'MAYAN' from receiving... oh well... on with the review.

Continued...

 

[y2john]

My thoughts and feelings on utilizing the Mayan zodiac:

I have really grown to love that this uses the Mayan zodiac over others, and feel that this is all the better for it.
I have yet to come across anyone that knows anything about the Mayan zodiac whilst performing this, and have found that due to how unusual and unknown this is to many, that others find it incredibly interesting and can't help but want to know more about what their sign is and what it says about them. Others seem genuinely interested in what I am presenting to them, they're intrigued by it, it's something different, something unique.
I was definitely unsure as to how others would take to the Mayan zodiac, though knew that it would work for me as I would make it work and create the interest etc... it went down really well.


My thoughts on The method/workings:

The method is very simple and involves some minor calculations which most will have no problems with what so ever. Now their is the possibility of running into someone who is dyslexic or has some form of condition/problem that makes reading/working out difficult, and that is ok... it is not a problem and you'll understand why upon looking over the instructions.
Though simple, the method is very deceptive and works like a charm. It seems so fair, and they really never need to tell you anything until after you have given the reading and divined the sign.
I like the method, it's easy to do and without any real work you are able to tell them their sign.

Now the divining of the sign is only one part of this piece, with the real work being what happens in between them finding their sign and you divining it, which is when you'll be giving them a reading. Now it is possible to do this without a reading, but to do so would be an injustice to this piece and to those who are a part of this with you.


The reading:

I feel this is a very important part of this piece, and one that you should definitely not do this without as that would not be giving the person with you the full experience.
Now for those who are already comfortable with cold reading and the like, this will be simple, but what of those who think cold reading is something to do with the temperature... well theirs both good and bad news. The bad news is that you will not learn much about cold reading and the like from the instructions to this, other than a list of some very basic lines. The good news is that with this you will be able to put cold reading to practice without the fear of failure as you will always be able to end with the divination of their sign... of course, also realizing that their is no failure with readings will also go some way to building your confidence etc.
So with 'MAYAN' you have a way of being able to practice your readings without any worry as you know that you will always end strong.


Additional thoughts on other areas of this piece:

This is a section for anything I feel I should mention that I have yet to do so, but that is important to know.

This is best performed 1-on-1, though a small group is fine, but you would only want to perform this for one person within a group, no repeating this piece on their friends etc. This is not really a problem, but their were times when others also wanted to be apart of this... I have come up with a couple of things I can do in this situation, of which I'll share with Yves and see what he thinks, but in it's current form you would only want to do this for one, so it'd be a good idea to be prepared for others wanting to be involved.
Of course you could simply not perform to groups, but I am not worried and won't limit myself.

You can happily allow the person to hold and look over the card, they will not see anything odd or strange, it really does look so fair and normal... well as normal as a card containing all the Mayan signs of the zodiac can lol.
Nothing to worry about or fear, it's all cool in this regard.


My thoughts and opinion of this after having put it to use countless times over the last few days:

I got my sister to get her boyfriends mate to let me do walk around at his bar/club specifically so I could put this to the test lol, and so every evening have been going over and performing, and 'MAYAN' has been getting a LOT of use.
During these evenings I have used nothing but this along with some of Jerome Finley's material, and it has been an absolute blast the whole time.
Within Jerome's 'Random Acts of Kindness' is a great little conversation starter that builds immediate interest, and using those ideas to begin, and then going into 'MAYAN' has been extremely beneficial to me, and has helped in allowing me to perform this as much as possible.
I can safely say that 'MAYAN' is a fully workable and usable piece, and during those evenings I had received nothing but great responses from everyone who experienced it.
Now of course I am a big part of that, as it is me who is giving the reading and interacting with them, but 'MAYAN' gives you the freedom to take some risks with your readings without worry, and you know that no matter what, you will divine their zodiac sign.
Now not one person I came across knew anything about the Mayan zodiac, but all showed a great interest in what I had to offer, and were genuinely amazed and intrigued by what I had to say about them and their sign.
Sure the same can be said of many other pieces that achieve similar to this, but what I think makes this stand out is that it is a generally unknown subject to the masses, or so it appears, and allows not only for a great reading and divination, but for them to learn something new about themselves.


Difficulty:

Not difficult to do at all, almost no work on your part what so ever to learn of their sign... what will need work and will require confidence and practice is the reading, but then this is also ideal in that it allows for you to practice just that without any worry.


Pros:

Very easy in it's workings.

Allows for worry free practice of cold readings and the like.

Card examinable and not gimmicky etc.

Something unique, allows others to learn something new about themselves.

Takes up very little space, and so is something you can easily carry with you.

You will always be able to get their sign.

No questions asked, no pumping or fishing... they find their sign and you know it.


Cons:

Cannot be repeated amongst friends, so if you perform to someone amongst friends, you will not be able to do it to their friends also.

Though highly unlikely, though seeing as I want to be completely honest I will say, their is a chance that the participant could at a later point realize something that could take away from what they experienced... now as I have said, this is extremely unlikely, and their are quite a few reasons why the chances are slim, but it could happen.


Final thoughts:

I love this, it's simple, direct, deceptive, interesting, different, allows for a great little reading with a powerful finish, and you need nothing more than the little card, yourself, and people to experience this with.

I have some ideas to share with Yves, as well as some constructive criticism that will hopefully help to make this a great release.
As it is I would thoroughly recommend it and believe many will get a lot of mileage from this... and if all of us who have the pre-release share our true thoughts, feelings and ideas with Yves, then what is already a great piece could become even better.


To Yves Doumergue:

Thanks for sharing and allowing me to have the opportunity to put this to use and provide a full review... I feel you have something great here, and hope that we can help in anyway we can so that this is as best as it can be.
Great stuff.

Cheers.

 

[praetoritevong]

Is it just me or does no-one else know their Mayan zodiac sign? If it is not, doesn't that kinda diminish the point of divining it? "Yeah check out your sign on this chart... It's this one isn't it?" That's an exaggeration of course but I'm sure you get my gist, unless I totally misunderstand Mayan zodiac signs? I liked the above info actually

EDIT: I only posted this after your first post, it's interesting to read about your experiences and good to know people were genuinely intrigued! It sounds like it didn't take away from the effect at all

 

[y2john]

Yeah I was not really too confident in the premise at first, but it didn't take long for it to grow on me.