Conditions Governing Use

The collection is open for research use according to the guidelines stipulated in the E.C.F. Reference Policy. Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce must be obtained from the Edgar Cayce Foundation. For specific information about reading recipient identity release, also refer to the E.C.F. Reference Policy.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item,] [date (if known)], The Edgar Cayce Readings, Coll. 9, box_, folder_, The Edgar Cayce Foundation, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

For in-text citation information see E.C.F. Reference Policy.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of original copies of Edgar Cayce's readings, accompanying case files, correspondence, and supplementary research.

As Edgar Cayce gave a reading in trance, his wife Gertrude would serve as the conductor. She guided the reading and offered the questions posed by the reading recipient. Cayce's stenographer Gladys Davis Turner would record the reading in shorthand, then transcribe her notes into two typewritten copies. One would be given to the reading recipient, while the other was retained in a case file.

Turner maintained the readings and accompanying material from 1923 until her death in 1986. She arranged the records and consistently updated the case files with new information she collected about reading recipients. Her diligence created an extensive record of how readings may or may not have affected recipient's lives, and a collection of data to study the veracity of the readings over time.

From 1959 to 1971, Turner led the Readings Indexing Project to create a Master Index for study. The readings were also microfilmed, and later converted to CD-ROM and online formats.

Reading recipients were given numbers to maintain their anonymity and Turner took the responsibility seriously to maintain confidentiality while making the information accessible. She wrote in the November 1940 A.R.E. Bulletin that "It is important for members of the Association to realize how impersonally this work is done. All readings bear a file number. The cards and extracted material bear only the file number and can in no way be related to any particular individual."

These records form the foundation of the Association for Research and Enlightenment's activities and make Edgar Cayce one of the most documented psychics of the twentieth century.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in boxes according to Gladys Davis Turner's original numbering system. Each number represents a reading recipient, and the readings for each number are arranged in chronological order. For example, the first reading for 262 is denoted by 262-1. Accompanying material is also arranged chronologically by day, month and year.

The collection is further arranged into 5 series:

1. Readings and correspondence:

Transcriptions of the readings and background information, reports, and correspondence.

2. Gladys Davis work files:

Primary source materials relating to Edgar Cayce's work collected by secretary and stenographer Gladys Davis Turner.

3. Original readings and correspondence:

Readings and correspondence sent at time of reading then later donated to the E.C.F. by reading recipients and/or their families.

4. Reports addition:

Reports from reading recipients found in Gladys Davis Turner's files.

5. Source file:

Secondary sources on particular readings created by Gladys Davis, Charles Sinex and the E.C.F. staff in the mid-1970s.