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Cayce was born in a small rural town in Kentucky to a farmer and his wife.  Even as a young child, Cayce was a devout Christian and read his bible everyday and taught Sunday School.  He and his father formed a partnership to sell insurance but was struck with laryngitis.  He later decided to shift to photography as this profession was not as straining to his voice.

He later met a traveling hypnotist who offered to attempt cure Cayce.  The session worked and Cayce was able to use his voice again.  The hypnotist had asked Cayce to describe his condition while under a trance.   Cayce’s fame grew and his cure was offered to other people while in hypnotic trance as reports of his “miracle cure” was reported in news papers in town.

As his fame grew Cayce became referred to as the “prophet” or the “clairvoyant.  Although he often hesitated when people asked him for “readings” he felt that he could not turn them down especially if he felt that they needed his help.

His methods included lying down with his hands clasped to his chest while entering a dreamlike or trance-like state.  He would then be given questions but with the seekers asking for help on health, business-related or personal problems.  Cayce would then proceed to answer the questions.

Some of the more common themes of Cayce’s readings were health related.  These often pertained to asking for cures, alternative forms of treatment and other health concepts and practices.

Among Cayce’s “prophecies” that reportedly came true include the Great Depression of 1929.  During one of his readings, Cayce reportedly mentioned a “great disturbance” in the financial world.  Another disturbing foresight that came true was the Tsunami that struck the Indian Ocean, an event that Cayce predicted in 1941.

Perhaps Cayce’s greatest legacy is the A.R.E or the Association for Research and Enlightenment, with its headquarters in Virginia Beach, USA.  The center founded in 1931 aims “to research and explore transpersonal subjects such as holistic health, ancient mysteries, personal spirituality, dreams and dream interpretation, intuition, and philosophy and reincarnation”.   Simply stated, the institution is dedicated to finding enlightenment and help with the use of Cayce’s readings as foundations.  To this day, research and studies dedicated to Cayce’s legacy are still being carried on at the A.R.E.

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Cayce discovered his gift when he was struck by laryngitis while selling insurance.  His inability to speak resulted in him having to live with his parents for over a year.  During this time, he decided to study photography as this occupation allowed him to conserve his voice.

A traveling hypnotist named “Hart – The Laugh Man” came to Hopkinsville and offered to help Cayce cure his ailment.  While on stage he put Cayce in a hypnotic state and while in this state Cayce’s voice apparently returned but disappeared when awake. Since Hart was constantly traveling, another hypnotist by the name of Al Layne decided to cure Cayce.  Layne put Cayce in a hypnotic state and asked him to describe his ailment.  Cayce proceeded to describe his condition while under a trance using the plural first person point of view.  It was later discovered that his laryngitis was due to “psychological paralysis” which could be cured by increasing the blood flow to his voice box.  When Layne suggested this to Cayce his chest reportedly became flushed with blood and when the treatment was over Cayce declared that he was cured.  Relapses reportedly occurred but were eventually corrected.

Cayce is well known for his psychic abilities and using these abilities to cure illnesses.  His methods include lying down on a couch while under trance or sleep state and would answer questions regarding health, illnesses and other personal problems.  During these trances, it was reported that Cayce could not remember what he had said after waking.  He said that the unconscious mind has access to information that the conscious mind cannot access.

Cayce was a dream interpreter who did not support Freud’s theories on dream interpretation.  He stated that dreams have many levels and can be interpreted in different ways depending on the person who has dreamed it.  He also states that interpretation of the dream can only come from the dreamer himself since these dreams hold significant information known only to the dreamer.  Dreams he said can only be interpreted correctly if it makes sense to the dreamer.

Today, more than fifty years after his death, The Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research and Enlightenment continue with his work exploring spirituality, dreams, dream interpretation, ancient mysteries, holistic health and other transpersonal subjects.  Their headquarters is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia where Cayce spent the last years of his life.

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