History

The Edgar Cayce Experience

For about 80 years, seekers have sought answers to questions big and small at the Association for Research and Enlightenment in Virginia Beach. Founded by reputed clairvoyant Edgar Cayce, A.R.E. is a place where one can get a reflexology or hypnotherapy treatment, grab some advice on healthy eating or take in a seminar on the “transformation of consciousness.” Was Cayce a quack or a mystic? It’s hard to say—but A.R.E. devotees say his ideas and theories (he had thousands) have improved their lives. By Peggy Sijswerda • Illustrations by Shawn Yu

7/1/09 10:50 AM

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Illustrations by Shawn Yu

Lying on a table in a dimly lit room, I wonder if a castor oil pack applied to my abdomen truly will help “detoxify” my liver and ascending colon, as the brochure from the Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) Health Center and Spa promises. It may not matter: I don’t think my liver and ascending colon actually need detoxification—and to be honest, I’m trying this treatment (with accompanying “reflexology” massage) only out of curiosity. Edgar Cayce, the reputed medical clairvoyant who founded A.R.E. in Virginia Beach in 1931, was a big proponent of castor oil packs and alternative health treatments of all kinds—classic “cure-alls” for whatever ails you.

Whether castor oil has any genuine medical benefits—there are indications that it can help relieve everything from rheumatism and constipation to menstrual disorders and dry skin—I can’t say. I do know that when my A.R.E. therapist, Tawnia, applies the warm oil pack to my tummy, the sensation is very pleasant—comforting, even. It reminds me of my grandmother, who used to place a hot water bottle in my bed to keep me warm. As a ceiling fan whirs overhead and ambient music plays in the background, the oil drips down my sides. Meanwhile, Tawnia skillfully massages my feet, which she says will “gently stimulate my organs.” What? According to ancient Chinese medicine, pressure points in our soles correspond with various body systems, and massaging those areas, a practice known as reflexology, helps resolve health issues.

I soon stop thinking about all health claims and drift off into a dreamlike state for an hour or so. When the session ends and Tawnia has cleaned off the oil, a sense of well-being suffuses my body.

In the crowded waiting room, people of all ages patiently wait for their own A.R.E. experience—for treatments ranging from acupuncture and massage to Reiki and hypnotherapy, all done in the four-story white house on 67th Street that Cayce built in 1928 as the country’s first (and only) psychic hospital.

Known as the father of holistic medicine, as well as “the sleeping prophet” and “miracle man of Virginia Beach,” Edgar Cayce (1877-1945) was best known for the some 14,000 mystical “readings” that family members claim he delivered during his life—all while in an apparent sleep-induced, or hypnotic, state. It is a welter of material on a vast array of heady topics—astrology, reincarnation, Atlantis, the biblical history of Egypt and dream interpretation, as well as health and life issues, spiritual matters and ancient mysteries. Nearly every day for 40 years, he’d lie down on a couch, put his arms across his chest and hold forth, often diagnosing the health concerns of individuals who’d written him asking for help, and then prescribing treatments. His wife, Gertrude, would “guide” the readings—he’d sometimes do several a day—and a stenographer took copious notes.