Edgar Cayce
March 18, 1877 – January 5, 1945
Edgar Cayce was an American psychic. Cayce gave answers to questions on topics such as health, astrology, reincarnation and Atlantis while he was in a trance. He became known as the "sleeping prophet" at the end of his life. He initially worked as a bookseller and photographer. His publications in English comprise 300 volumes. Today, there are Edgar Cayce Centers in the USA and 25 other countries. The headquarters of this movement is the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE) in Virginia Beach.
Edgar Cayce was one of seven children of farmer Leslie B. Cayce and his wife Carrie. His customers told him the name, place and date of birth of a sick person and Cayce then lay down on a sofa, put himself in a trance and began with statements that are said to have presented the disease and its causes surprisingly often exactly and then indicated possibilities for healing. An assistant noted down everything he said in a trance. If the person seeking help died during the trance session, Cayce is said to have said the following at the moment of his death: "I don't see him anymore, he's gone".
Cayce was a very religious person from his youth. His messages under trance partly contradicted his religious convictions. Pointed out to such discrepancies, he reacted irritated.
Cayce was described as a "prophet", mystic, seer and clairvoyant during his lifetime. On his business card was the term psychic diagnostician (meaning: "parapsychological diagnostician"). In order to "channel", i.e. to receive messages from a "higher level", he went into a trance state lying down. He was asked questions by people seeking advice who were usually not in the room. At the beginning of Cayce's career as a medium, it was all about questions about health and illness. Later, he included answers to questions about past lives and karma. Cayce said he wanted to use his answers to help those seeking advice to lead a "better life". He also called for his statements to be examined instead of being regarded as irrefutable truth. Cayce was also credited by his followers with the skills of fortune-telling, making contact with the deceased and seeing aura.
Cayce was married to Gertrude Evans from 1903. They had two children: Hugh Lynn Cayce (1907–1982), Milton Porter Cayce (*/† 1911) and Edgar Evans (1918–2013).