Shadow System details and document

[TheHumanTim]

I recently found some posts about the Shadow System here on the forum. I was fascinated by it, and knowing that a lot of you top mem folks use it, I wanted to check it out. Like many others have found, it was a lot to take in.

I tried to synthesize and break down the info in @LociInTheSky’s original post and reword it to where it made sense to me. I wanted to share it here and get some feedback on it. It lives in an excel / google sheets doc for me, link here:

Shadow System Cards Info.xlsx

Below is a copy/paste of the main info page of the doc. The formatting doesn’t perfectly translate to this forum, so for an easier read, feel free to check out the source doc, but I think it’s understandable this way for a casual read. Huge thanks to @BradenExplosion for his worksheet, which I based a lot of the formatting on for the “All Pairs” tab within my doc.

I do NOT currently use this system, but it is one of my goals for the upcoming year to push myself a little more with memory techniques, so this is my first try at understanding one of the best systems ever devised!

Let me know what you all think, if I got anything massively incorrect, or just your general thoughts on the system!

-Tim

Lance Tschirhart’s Shadow System					HELPFUL PREREQUISITES:
A New 2-Card System (Shadow System) - #88 by BradenExplosion					Major System phonetics
					Memory Palace or Method Of Loci method
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.
Once mastered, a deck of cards can be memorized incredibly fast, using only a handful of scenes.
Shadow is more of a time commitment to learn than traditional PAO approach, but reportedly gives consistently better results in competition.
CARD VALUE PHONETICS:
(Based on Major System)
NUMBER CARDS:	SOUND:
10	S/Z
A	T/D
2	N
3	M
4	R
5	L
6	J/SH/CH/ZH
7	K/G
8	F/V
9	B/P
PICTURE CARDS:	SOUND:
J (in [J] or [J][J])	F/V (when in the 1ST pair position, or, when in BOTH pair positions)
J (in [J])	T/D (when in the 2ND pair position)
Q	R
K (in [K])	H (when in the 1ST pair position) *exception to traditional Major System rules.
K (in [K])	SILENT (when in the 2ND pair position)
The sounds that JACKS and KINGS make depend on their position within certain pair combinations.
JACKS and QUEENS share sounds with 10/A and 4 cards respectively. This is accounted for by altering the suit-pair sound.
Detailed rules for exceptions and alterations are outlined in the card pair phonetic construction section.
SUIT PHONETICS:
(Based on Major System)
There are 16 possible combinations of suit pairs.
Each suit pair shares phonetics with one other shadow pair, so only 8 phonetic values are assigned to cover all 16.
Primary Suit-Pair	Shadow Suit-Pair	Suit-Pair Phonetic
		S/Z
		T/D
		N
		M
		L
		J/CH/SH/ZH
		K/G
		P/B
TO FIND THE ALTERNATE PAIRS THAT SHARE THE PHONETIC:
If the two suits are different colors:
	swap the suits to get the pair that the image should be shared with
	example: [2​][3​] becomes [2​][3​]
If the two suits are the same color:
	replace the suits with the opposite suits.
	SPADES becomes HEARTS. CLUBS becomes DIAMONDS
	example: [2​][3​] becomes [2​][3​]
CARD PAIR PHONETIC CONSTRUCTION:
PAIRS CONTAINING ONLY NUMBER CARDS:
The pair’s word/image is constructed logically via [SUIT] [#1] [#2] phonetic.
	EXAMPLE:
	[2​] [3​]
	Spades / Hearts = L.
	2 = N.
	3 = M.
	So, this pair generates L-N-M, maybe giving an image of LiN Manuel or LawNMower
*NOTE: When constructing words for each of the card pairs in the [#] [#] category (words generated via 000-099 phonetics):
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.
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)
	EXAMPLE:
	[A​] [2​] translates to [S/Z(suit)] [T/D] [N], and could be something like SaTaN, not STaN.
	[2​] [J​] translates to [S][T(suit)] [N] [T/D], which could be STuNT.
	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.
PAIRS CONTAINING PICTURE CARDS:
if the pair is [PICTURE] [#]
	the suit phonetic is placed in the second position.
if the pair is [PICTURE] [PICTURE]
	the suit phonetic is placed in the final position
If the pair is [#] [PICTURE]
	the picture card’s phonetic is placed last (Kings are silent)
	the suit-pair sound will stay in the first position within the phonetic.
	the suit-pair sound MAY be augmented with an S (see below)
If the pair is [#] [QUEEN]
	An extra “S” is read before the suit combination
	*In the case of [#] [QUEEN​], the base suit sound changes to W, to make SW blend prefix instead of SS prefix
	*In the case of [#] [QUEEN​], the base suit sound changes to TR, to make STR blend prefix instead of SJ prefix
A [QUEEN] card alway makes the “R” sound, regardless of pair position.
If the pair is [#] [JACK]
	The Jack’s sound becomes T/D
	An extra “S” is read before the suit combination
		*In the case of [#] [JACK​], the base suit sound changes to W, to make SW blend prefix instead of SS prefix
		*In the case of [#] [JACK​], the base suit sound changes to TR, to make STR blend prefix instead of SJ prefix
If the pair is [JACK]
	The Jack’s sound is “F/V”
If the pair is [JACK] [JACK]
	Both Jacks F/V sounds
If a pair is [KING]
	The King’s sound is H
If the pair is [KING]
	The second King is always silent.
*NOTE: kings in second postion will generate 2-digit/sound words.
WHEN MEMORIZING, USE A SPECIAL MEMORY PALACE / LOCI TECHNIQUE:
Use loci image stacking to designate primary or shadow pair:
Place the first pair’s image in your first loci.
	if first pair image starts with a black card, add the second pair’s image to that same loci, with typical interaction to maintain order.
	if first pair image starts with a red card, it will be the only image at that loci. Move on and place the next pair’s image in your second loci
As soon as a pair starts with a red card, it is the trigger to end that loci. That pair will be the final image at that loci. The next pair’s image will be the first one at the next loci.
By organizing your image stacking within loci this way, your recall process will follow a simple rule:
	If a loci only has a single pair’s image on it, that pair starts with a red card.
	If a loci has a stack of pair images on it, all of them will represent pairs that start with BLACK cards, except for the LAST image.
	The LAST image of a loci stack will always represent a pair that starts with a RED card.
In an ideal luck-of-the-draw situation, there will be around 3 images per loci, which would allow for a full deck to be memorized using only 9 loci.
On the one unlucky extreme, there is the possibility of having every single pair start with BLACK cards. This would cause a single loci with 26 images stacked there.
	Clear organization of image order/interaction will be key in this situation.
	It’s also possible to commit to move on to a new loci after a set number of black-first pairs and use some kind of marker image to indicate the stack has been split before hitting a red-first pair.
On the other unlucky extreme, there is a possibility of hitting an unlucky run of pairs that all start with RED cards. This will cause a long string of loci with single images on each.
	Having strong familiarity with your loci and strong interaction of pair image with the loci itself will be key in this situation.
*NOTE: If it is more intuitive to have your primary suits begin with RED cards, that’s fine! All suit pairs and their shadow pairs are swappable.

[fred2 (fred)]

What is the advantage of the Shadow System over the Ben System in a nutshell for the uninitiated?

You’ve put a lot of work into synthesizing the Shadow System. I hope you can get good results from its use

[TheHumanTim]

Not as familiar with Ben System. I looked at it briefly a while back and felt it would be tough to use as the basis for my 3-digit system. (I still don’t have a 3-digit, so a lot of this is hypothetical for me as I explore options and look to set some progression goals for the coming year.) The reason Ben didn’t really appeal to me was simply because I really clicked with Major System phonetics for my 2-digit extended PAO. Shadow is appealing me because it adheres very strictly to Major, so it could theoretically kill two birds with one stone in giving a killer card system, plus laying the foundation for a 3-digit system that seamlessly integrates with what I’m already used to and happy with in my basic Major PAO. I didn’t want to have to relearn a bunch of new number sounds specifically for a 3-digit, so I passed on Ben. I know many use it to awesome effect, so I think it’s less about it being “better” and more about it being a cleaner personal fit. What I’m starting to see is that specific system matters less than fluency and consistency for the individual.

[bjoern.gumboldt (Бьёрн Гумбольдт / ब्योर्न गम्बोल्ट / 龚博 / 龔博宇)]

@fred2

I understand what you are saying about the Shadow Systems use of the Major System exclusively, so there is not anything further to learn other than additional words for each two-card pairing if I understand it correctly?

Except for the face cards… obviously a 3-digit major system can only cover 000-999 and you got slightly more cards than that… that’s where the “H”, etc comes in. So, not exclusive Major System. I know it’s nitpicking but so many people have issues understanding the shadow system that it’s better to be precise.

@fred2

If that is the case though won’t you still have 2704 images to remember or is there something I’m clearly missing here if that is not the case??

No, because you use a block system. 2/7 with spades is the same as 2/7 with hearts; either way, the image is Snake. But if snake is not the last image in a location it’s spades; otherwise, it’s hearts.

[fred2 (fred)]

Are you using this system too Bjoern? Do you consider it a superior system to the Ben System?

[bjoern.gumboldt (Бьёрн Гумбольдт / ब्योर्न गम्बोल्ट / 龚博 / 龔博宇)]

@fred2

Are you using this system too Bjoern?

Have a look here…

Shadow system meets prime numbers

There is an easy way of converting the prime numbers into a (multi-)deck of cards, that can be memorized using any 2-card system (e.g., shadow-system or ben-system) of your liking. Below, I will use the shadow system to illustrate this method. Excluding the single digit primes (2, 3, 5, and 7) all primes end in 1, 3, 7, or 9. A number ending in any of these digits either exists in a decade or it does not, so we have 2^4=16 combinations (just like we do suit pairs in 2-card systems.) To convert…

@fred2

Do you consider it a superior system to the Ben System?

In what sense? They’re both 2-card systems. What’s better knife and fork or a spoon? Probably depends on whether you want to eat a steak or soup.

That said, McDonalds is finger food and most people will do just fine with PAO. so it really depends on your goals.

Also, do you mean the actual Shadow System that it was; with ketchup/mustard or do you mean a block system that let’s you work with half the images?

I started with a 2-digit PAO using the Major System, so I don’t mind using a 3-digit Major System. Do I use “shadows”? No. Does it make sense to still call it Shadow System? Isn’t it just a 3-digit Major block system?

[TheHumanTim]

So I’ve kinda altered how I perceive the term “shadow.” I know the initial intent of the term was to refer to the “ketchup/mustard” technique, but I found that thinking of the complementary suit-pairs as a “primary” suit-pair and a “shadow” suit-pair helped me grasp the idea of swapping depending on loci order. Maybe not the most profound revelation but it sorta clarified that part for me. Many times terms and labels can get in the way of clear communicating so breaking it down to what’s actually happening in an if/then kind of way helped me. Now it’s really just the daunting task of coming up with the images that has me hesitating. The system makes sense to me it’s just the volume of images that has me a little intimidated.

[bjoern.gumboldt (Бьёрн Гумбольдт / ब्योर्न गम्बोल्ट / 龚博 / 龔博宇)]

@TheHumanTim

Many times terms and labels can get in the way of clear communicating so breaking it down to what’s actually happening in an if/then kind of way helped me.

Also an excellent reason to not repurpose the word “shadow” in such a manner. You should use either primary/secondary or primary/alternate to describe what you’re talking about.

The idea of cutting the number of images in half by using images and their shadows didn’t work out for Lance. The way it’s being used now is more a block system than a shadow system.

I hope it’s obvious that you can have what you consider a shadow system with your existing system; so 26 instead of 52 images. Just use spades and hearts together and clubs and diamonds together.

That way you can get used to the logic of having an unknown number of images per loci. Changing loci every time you get a heart or diamond card.

[TheHumanTim]

Good point. Thanks for the insight @bjoern.gumboldt!