ABCDEFGHIJKLM
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Lance Tschirhart's "Shadow System"
HELPFUL PREREQUISITES:
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https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/a-new-2-card-system/28633/88
Understaning of Major System phonetics and the
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(Worksheets based on BradenExplosion's document)
"Memory Palace" or "Method Of Loci" technique
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The Shadow System is a technique for compressing the Suit and Value information of a pair of cards (4 pieces of info) down to a single word to generate a simple single mental image.
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Once mastered, a deck of cards can be memorized incredibly fast, using only a handful of "scenes."
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Shadow is more of a time commitment to learn than traditional PAO approach, but reportedly gives consistently better results in competition.
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An additional benefit in learning Shadow, is that it is based on the Major System and provides a nearly complete built-in 3-digit number system.
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CARD VALUE PHONETICS:
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(Based on Major System)
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NUMBER CARDS:
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10S/Z
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AT/D
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2N
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3M
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4R
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5L
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6J/SH/CH/ZH
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7K/G
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8F/V
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9B/P
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PICTURE CARDS:
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J (in [J][x] or [J][J])
F/V (when in the 1ST pair position, or, when in BOTH pair positions)
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J (in [x][J])
T/D (when in the 2ND pair position)
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QR
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K (in [K][x])
H (when in the 1ST pair position) *exception to traditional Major System rules.
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K (in [x][K])
SILENT (when in the 2ND pair position)
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The sounds that JACKS and KINGS make depend on their position within certain pair combinations.
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JACKS and QUEENS share sounds with "10/A" and "4" cards respectively. This is accounted for by altering the suit-pair sound.
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Detailed rules for exceptions and alterations are outlined in the "card pair phonetic construction" section.
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SUIT PHONETICS:
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(Based on Major System)
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There are 16 possible combinations of suit pairs.
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Each suit pair shares phonetics with one other "shadow pair," so only 8 phonetic values are assigned to cover all 16.
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Primary Suit-PairShadow Suit-PairSuit-Pair Phonetic
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♠♠♥♥S/Z
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♠♥♥♠T/D
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♣♠♦♥N
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♠♦♦♠M
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♣♥♥♣L
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♠♣♥♦J/CH/SH/ZH
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♣♣♦♦K/G
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♣♦♦♣P/B
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TO FIND THE ALTERNATE PAIRS THAT SHARE THE PHONETIC:
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If the two suits are different colors:
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swap the suits to get the pair that the image should be shared with
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example: [2♠][3♦] becomes [2♦][3♠]
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If the two suits are the same color:
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replace the suits with the "opposite" suits.
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SPADES becomes HEARTS. CLUBS becomes DIAMONDS
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example: [2♣][3♠] becomes [2♦][3♥]
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CARD PAIR PHONETIC CONSTRUCTION:
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PAIRS CONTAINING ONLY NUMBER CARDS:
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The pair's word/image is constructed logically via [SUIT] [#1] [#2] phonetic.
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EXAMPLE:
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[2♣] [3♥]
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Spades / Hearts = "L."
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2 = "N."
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3 = "M."
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So, this pair generates L-N-M, maybe giving an image of "LiN Manuel" or "LawNMower"
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*NOTE: When constructing words for each of the card pairs in the "[#♠] [#♠]" category (words generated via 000-099 phonetics):
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It is important that the leading S/Z "0" suit value sound NOT be blended with the second consonant. It needs to stand alone with a vowel separation from the second consonant sound.
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If it is blended, there can be a conflict with the "[#] [JACK]" and "[#] [QUEEN]" combinations which add a leading "S" blend to the suit phonetic. (more info on that in the next section)
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EXAMPLE:
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[A♠] [2♠] translates to "[S/Z(suit)] [T/D] [N]," and could be something like "SaTaN," not "STaN."
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[2♠] [J♥] translates to "[S][T(suit)] [N] [T/D]," which could be "STuNT."
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If both "STaN" and "STuNT" are used as keywords, they could be confused on recall, especially if you're used to translating 3-digit numbers into words that have extra unused consonants at the end.
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PAIRS CONTAINING PICTURE CARDS:
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if the pair is "[PICTURE] [#]"
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the suit phonetic is placed in the second position.
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if the pair is "[PICTURE] [PICTURE]"
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the suit phonetic is placed in the final position
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If the pair is "[#] [PICTURE]"
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the picture card's phonetic is placed last (Kings are silent)
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the suit-pair sound will stay in the first position within the phonetic.
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the suit-pair sound MAY be augmented with an "S" (see below)
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If the pair is "[#] [QUEEN]"
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An extra “S” is read before the suit combination