Magic In A Glass Card Trick The magician takes a long-stemmed glass and announces that he's going to perform a card trick. The amazing thing about this card trick is that he wont be able to touch the cards, because they'll be inside the glass the whole time! Placing the pack, face out in the glass, the magician states that he's going to find all four aces using special " Locator Cards ". He reaches into the glass and pulls out a red number card ( we'll use the Ten of Hearts for the example ) and puts it in front of the rest of the cards in the deck so that the ten of hearts is the card the spectator now sees looking at them through the glass. The magician then states that he will let that red 10 find a red ace . Holding the glass by the stem, the magician passes a cloth napkin over the glass, quickly. When the napkin has completed it's quick pass, the red 10 has been replaced by a red ace ! The magician then takes the red ace and puts it in back of the deck and passes the napkin again. This time, the red 10 is replaced by the other red ace ! Now the magician gets a black number card (say, 6 of spades) for the " Locator " and puts it in front of the red 10. A quick napkin pass, and there's a black ace! The magician takes the ace and puts it in back of the deck. Another pass, and there's the last black ace! Now pull out the pack and put it back in the case, smiling as you take your bow. All of this magic occurs in the glass, so there's apparently no way that you could've manipulated the cards! People will fall down at your feet and worship your incredible abilities. Method: A slight amount of preparation work is required, but this is worth it. First, find a wine or any other long-stemmed glass that will allow you to set at least half a deck of cards in it. There can be no design on the glass or stem!!! Next, take the two red aces and glue them back to back. Make sure you make them look as much like one card as possible! Do the same with the two black aces. Now get two identical number cards - one black and one red - from an identical deck. Glue one red and one black back to back. Don't do this with the other ones. Finally, get a cloth napkin that is big enough and dark enough to completely cover the glass. With this prep, you're set! Set up the deck like this: The black 6 card face up on top of the face-down deck. Now, set the double-sided black ace on top of it. Now place the double-sided " red 10 /black 6" card with the red 10 face-up. Next, comes the double-sided red aces. And finally, the last red 10 FACE DOWN on the face-down deck. The rest is showmanship. Place the deck in the glass with the bottom card facing your spectator. Announce that you're going to do the trick using a red locator card. Pull the red 10 off the top of the deck and put it on the bottom, facing the spectator. You should now be looking at a red ace . Holding the glass by the stem, you pass the napkin over the glass and spin it around so that the ace is now facing the spectator. It helps if you hold the glass with you fingers rigid and the stem in the first bend of your finger. When you spin the glass, your thumb does the work and your fingers look pretty much the same. Now take the ace and put it on top of the deck. You should now be looking at the other red ace . Perform the pass/spin again, and your spectator sees the other red ace . Now say that you need a black locator card. Take the red/black card off the top with the 6 facing. When you get to the black aces, if you stick the Ace of Spades on top so that it's the first ace you'll show, you can ask the spectator to name a black ace. Nine out of ten times, they'll say the Ace of Spades! You then make it appear for them. If they happen to mention the Ace of Clubs, just say "So that leaves the Ace of Spades," and make it appear.

Cut And Restored Bill Magic Trick Amazing dollar bill trick An entertaining money magic trick with an incredible finish !!! This is one of the most baffling dollar bill tricks ever! This cool illusion has been performed on a television magic special. The trick had an amazing effect on the audience and was a real crowd winner. Read the secret of this great illusion, here. Amazing dollar bill trickThe Effect: The magician displays two bank notes and shows them openly back and front for all the audience to see. The magician places them back to back, he/she then cuts through the center of both notes with a pair of scissors - the notes are clearly seen to be cut into four halves. No mistaking that! Without any suspicious moves, the magician instantly open both halves to show the notes, restored to their original condition, Incredible !!!! # One of the coolest dollar bill tricks # You can let a spectator cut the notes! # Amazing magic that is EASY to perform! # No tricky sleight of hand needed # Can be viewed from any angle # Can be performed surrounded by an audience The Secret: This is one of the greatest dollar bill tricks, it's an excellent "cut and restored" illusion that is really effective when performed with real money. You can use play money, fake money, blank cheques or any form of printed paper about the size of regular currency. So what's the secret ??? If you feel you really want to know, read on:-) First you need some secret preparation. Diagram of set up for money note magic trick. Place two nearly new bills face down on a table. Apply a thin layer of rubber cement, about half an inch wide, down the centre of the back of each note. When this is dry, add a second coat of rubber cement and allow that to dry also. (Pic 1) What's rubber cement? Its a type of craft glue that dries to a rubbery finish and can normally be purchased from a hardware store or perhaps on Ebay. Next, sprinkle a little talcum powder (baby powder) on the cement covered area on each bill. Spread the talcum powder over the entire surface of the cement with your finger or a soft brush. You will notice that the treated areas of both dollar bills will not stick to each other because of the powdered surface. Put the bills in your wallet or purse or on the table and you are ready to perform this very well thought out close up effect! The Method: Begin by removing the two prepared notes from your wallet/purse and casually show both sides of the notes. Place them back to back as shown in(Pic 2 & 3). money trick explanation showing handling of note. We will call the note nearest you Note A and the one nearest the spectators Note B Square up both notes. Be sure that the cemented areas are touching each other. Clever money bill illusion. Hold both notes with the thumb and finger of your left hand as shown in (Pic 4). With your right hand holding the scissors, carefully cut through the center of both notes. Make sure that you cut within the areas covered by the cement stripes. Done openly and deliberately, there will be no doubt in the audiences mind that both bills have been cut in half - which they have!( Pic 5). Place the scissors aside. Grip the halves on the right sides of the cut in your right hand (one half of Note A and one half of Note B) and the left side's two halves (the other two halves of Note A and Note B) in your left hand. With the thumb and fingers of both hands, separate the halves of the notes (Pic 6), and shake them open (Pic 7). Finishing moves for amazing money trick Because of the rubber cement, the halves in each hand will stick together at the cut edges giving the illusion that the four half notes have melted together to form two complete notes once again! The reason this is one of the most convincing dollar bill tricks in my mind is because the spectators see and hear the notes being cut, so it is that much more believable when they are 'restored' people freak out with astonishment!!! Here are a few tips to assist you with this illusion TIP 1: Done well, this is a real show stopper! First practice with stage money or with newspaper cut to the size of bank notes. This way you can experiment as to what is the best amount of rubber cement and talcum powder to apply. You can then try it with real bills.. TIP 2: The real notes should be new and crisp (maybe from a cash machine) and fit snugly together for pics 3 and 4. TIP 3: Don't worry about losing money when using real notes, as the halves can be stuck together with clear Scotch tape, just as with any torn notes. TIP 4: The higher the currency value the bigger the effect becomes be really brave and use $ 20 notes! (or equivalent). TIP 5: As an alternative method you could let an audience member cut the notes just make sure you hold the notes tightly together and get them to cut in the centre (where the rubber cement is!) Practice your hand position while holding the notes so that it will seem a natural and unforced choice for them to cut over the part of the notes that you want. This is one of the easiest dollar bill tricks to perform but remember to practice lots and feel confident to perform it in front of a spectator, smoothly. The trick is lots of fun an frequently gets an amazing reaction.

The first thing you need is a set of cards. I prefer for the two losing cards to be identical, for example, both the four of clubs.
This prevents an astute spectator from noticing that you are showing him the same card twice at a certain point in the routine.

Next, you need to bend the cards. They are bent lengthwise, so that the backs are convex. When resting on the table, the long edges should rest flat against the table, and the middle of the short edges are about half an inch above the table. You also want to prebend the outer right and inner left hand corners of all three cards.. During the routine, you will bend the winning card in order to make it seem easier to follow. You later remove the bend from the winner and bend a loser. Having the corners prebent makes the bending easier and insures that the bends will look exactly the same in all three cards. I prefer to put both bends in while all three cards are still in a packet.

	Putting in the lengthwise bend.
	Prebending the corners.
	The cards face up.
	The cards face down.

The basic idea behind the throw is that you hold two cards in your right hand and one card in your left. You toss the lower right hand card onto the table, then the left hand card, and then the remaining right hand card. The thing is, when you are ready to spring the trap, instead of tossing the lower card, you toss the upper card first.


To do the fair throw, pick up a loser between your right thumb and second finger, at the ends. Then pick up the winner, right below the loser, with the thumb and third finger. Make sure the left long edges of the two cards are touching. Pick up the other loser with your left hand between the thumb and second finger. Turn both hands palm up to show the cards. Turn the right hand palm down, as you move it to the left, and then stop it suddenly as you release the lower card with your right third finger. Now toss the left hand card far to the right of the winner that you just tossed down, and finally toss the remaining card in the right hand between the two cards on the table.
To do the fake throw, pick the cards up as before, but when you make the first toss, let go with your right second finger, and immediately grab the lower card with the second finger, straightening out the third finger. This should look exactly like the real throw.
A few points: Do NOT pull the right hand back to the right as you toss the card. It should stop, like it would normally if you were to toss something onto the table. For both the fair and the fake throw, the toss should be part of the same motion as turning your hand palm downward. Some magicians prefer to use cards with an all over back pattern, such as Bee cards, in order to hide the move even further.
So much for the throw. Now, for the bent corner move. Start by bending the corner on the winner. Pick up a loser in the right hand, and show its face. Turn the right hand palm down, and pick up the other loser in the left hand. As you show its face, the right little finger pulls up on the corner of the loser the right hand is holding, while the right third finger pushes down on the back of the card. This puts a duplicate bend in the loser.


Pick up the winner with the right hand and show it. Do a fair toss. Pick up the winner with the left hand, show it, and toss it back on the table fairly again. This lets the spectators get a good look at the bent corner, both from the face and the back of the card. Now, pick the winner up with the right hand again, show it, and make the fake toss to the left.
There is now a loser on the table with a bent corner, and a winner in your right hand with a bent corner. Toss the left hand card to the right, and as you do so, straighten out the corner of the winner by pulling up on the edge of the card with the right third finger while you push down on the corner with the right little finger.


...and finally, drop the winner in the middle.
And at last, on to the trick.
Phase one : Begin by showing the cards and explaining the game. Do a fair throw, mix the cards on the table slowly, and then turn over the winner. Do this a few times. Without any warning or any change in your pace or handling, do a fake throw and mix the cards slowly on the table. Point to the actual winner, and say something like "You saw it end up over here, right?" They will, of course, disagree with you. Turn it up.
Phase two : Immediately say something like "That's okay! You see, most people, if they see the card go over here," Pick up a loser and the winner in your right hand, and fake throw to the left as you say "here". "figure that as long as they don't bet on either of these cards," pick up the other loser under the winner you are now holding in your right hand. Apparently the winner is to the left and you are holding the two losers. As you say "either of these cards" turn over your right hand to show the lower card (the loser), fake throw to the middle, and then turn your right hand over again to show the same loser again, and drop it to the right.
You have, apparently, tossed the winner to the left, and then shown the two losers to be in the middle and to the right. "The thing is" pick up the middle card, the winner, with the right hand, and then the one to the left, which they think is the winner. "when they bet on this card, they lose." Turn over the right hand to show the loser. Fake throw to the left. "It's only when you bet on this card" flip the card in your right hand face up "or this one" use the card you're holding to flip over the loser on the table to the right "that this one's ever going to be the winner." Drop the card you're holding face up, and then turn over the winner.
Phase three : Pick up the winner in your right hand. Use it to point to the two losers which are face up on the table, saying something like "You don't want either of these two cards, you want this one." As you point to the losers, press the corner of the winner down against them, bending it.


As you say "this", hold the winner up so that the spectators see the bend edge on. Make sure they see it! Drop the winner face down, turn down the losers, and do the bend corner switch described above. After doing this, you have a loser to your left with a bent corner, which they think is the winner, the winner in the middle, and another loser to the right.
Now, pick up the loser on the right with your right hand, and the one with the bent corner on the left with your left hand. Hold your right hand still as you sweep your left hand over and drop the card with the bent corner to the right. As you make this sweep, glance up at your audience and you should see everyone's head move as they follow the card they think is the money card.
Any magicians or just really smart people who are staring at the center card will not move their head. Pick someone who is following the card with the bent corner during this brief upward glance. After you drop the bent card to the right, pick up the middle card and drop it to the left with your left hand, and finally drop the card in your right hand in the middle. The winner is now on the left, the loser with the bent corner is on your right, and you have an audience member in mind who is following the card with the bent corner.
Address this audience member and ask them which card appears to be the winner. When they point to the one with the bent corner, say "That's absolutely correct, and that's the one most people would bet on." Turn it over.
There are several fine points in the routine above which I think are worth discussing in detail. The moves for phase two are entirely Vernon's, but the patter is mine, and I carefully constructed it to imply that the monte dealer, and by extension, the magician, can cause the card you point to to simply be a loser, without any funny business. The stated message of "If you pick this one, it won't be the winner, but if you pick one of the other ones, it will be." implies that I have some supernatural power to make their card be a loser just because they pointed to it.
The idea of watching the spectators to see which card they are following is not one I have ever seen described before, but it seems simple enough that it can't be new. When I was a kid and tossed three card monte for my friends I would keep doing fake and real throws until I knew they were following the wrong card (my fake throw wasn't very good... sometimes I went for a minute or two before asking them which one was the winner...). Many magicians simply point to the card with the bent corner and say something like "most people would bet here", in order to eliminate the risk that an audience member might point to the wrong card and mess you up. Personally, I think it is more effective if a spectator points out the card, but I still don't want to take any chances.
Watching their heads gives me the best of both worlds. Of course, if you have practiced enough, you should have every head turning to follow the bent corner. If you regularly have people in your audience who don't, you need to practice more. When you ask the spectator to point out the card, asking them to tell you which one appears to be the winner gives them permission to select a loser, and causes them not to take the selection as seriously as they might if you asked them to point out the winner.
They know that they won't look stupid if they choose a loser, and so they aren't so worried about it. Immediately telling them "That's correct." tells them that they pointed to the correct card, and did their job correctly. That way they don't feel "tricked in a bad way" when you show that they got fooled. Three card monte is one of the great card tricks you can learn.

Fundamental Topics of Magic

Fundamental Topics in the Study of Magic Because the study of magic is such a vast area of study, we break it down into seven separate areas of study for your convenience. Each of these areas is discussed in further detail in later sections. The Four Elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth Hand Magic and Self Defense Basic Magical Tools: Firebowl, Wand, Athame, Chalice and Plate Divination Tarot Sonics Spellwork Return to main article "How to Study Magic" The Four Elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth There are many paths to developing magical and shamanic abilities. At the foundation of all these paths, though, is an understanding of the four elements of magic: air, fire, water and earth. One of the basic tenets of magical studies is that everything in this Universe is made up of some combination of these four elements, and if you understand and know how to work with these elements, you can understand (and create) anything you desire. That's why four element magic is the first area of study for our apprentices - it is at the heart of everything in the Universe, including magical powers and abilities. For instance, you can develop clairvoyance and telepathy, which is access to knowledge not available to the five senses, by developing and working with your water element. Water, being the language of Spirit, allows you to access almost any information (or emotions) at a Spiritual level. Another ability, levitation, is the result of increasing your air element and decreasing your earth element. And telekinesis is the ability to channel your fire energy toward a specific object. For instance, we teach our students to begin using their telekinetic ability by throwing firebolts at a candle flame. They know they have begun to develop that ability when they can make the flame jump and split by pointing their finger at it. Beyond the development of these psychic or magical abilities, however, the four elements help us develop and follow our birth visions, listen to our Spirit guidance, and generally live more creative and peaceful lives. By understanding the basic "makeup" and laws that drive our Universe, we can learn to go with the flow rather than swim upstream. This is the true benefit of four element magic. Is the development of magical abilities great fun? Absolutely! It's useful, too, for self-defense, personal power and more. But it's also the beginning of a deep understanding of the driving forces of life. It's a strong first step onto the path of direct knowledge and spiritual scientism. When the shamans were kicked out of the tribe centuries ago, the world lost access to such direct knowledge. Now we need the shamans more than ever, and we invite you to step on this path by studying the four elements of magic! To study the four elements, Click HERE for the Four Element Courses. Click here to study more about the Element Air. Click HERE to study more about the Element Fire. Click HERE to study more about the Element Water. Click HERE to study more about the Element Earth. Back to the Top of the Page Hand Magic and Self Defense As magicians, it's important to study the area of self-defense carefully since we have considerable power and force. The inappropriate use of that power and force can cause Universal backlash. We must be especially careful to control our tempers and not use our abilities reactively. According to Western magical practice, "You have a right to be here and follow your own path so long as you hinder no one else in doing likewise." This foundational principle asserts our right to exist and follow our own path and by extension, our right to defend ourselves against those who might seek to prevent us from walking our path. As you grow in magical ability, you will inevitably attract beings on different levels that seek to interfere with your path in some way. Writer Clarissa Estes, author of Women Who Run With the Wolves, so accurately states, "If you have beauty in your life, know that it will attract the dark as well as the light. Don't be surprised. Be prepared." Here's a good rule of thumb to use when it comes to self-defense: "In cases of direct and violent personal harm you are entitled to defend yourself by any means available, provided you did nothing to encourage or provoke the attack." To study magical self defense, check out the Magical Self Defense Course. Back to the Top of the Page Basic Magical Tools Firebowl, Wand, Athame, Chalice and Plate Firebowl Throughout history almost every spiritual, magical and religious system on earth has used the Firebowl (sometimes called a "thurible"). While it has primarily been used for cleansing and purification of areas, people and objects, the Firebowl can also be used as an aid to meditation or divination. To find out more about the how the Firebowl is used for magical purposes... Learn more about the Firebowl Learn more about our Firebowl ebook Order our Firebowl ebook Wand As Magicians, we use the Wand as an extension of our own energies. Contrary to much of the popular literature, the Wand is an Air tool and not a Fire tool, meaning it can handle only Air energies. Like the tools for the other three elements, the Wand magnifies our "reach" since it can handle more air energies than we can with our hands. The Wand is a great tool to start with since it can't do as much damage as other tools, such as the Athame (magical knife). The Wand allows beginners to practice many techniques that more advanced magicians would do barehanded, or with an Athame. Magicians and shamans use the Wand for communication, healing and shielding. Unlike what is portrayed in Harry Potter movies, the Wand is only one of many magical tools, and can only handle air energies. Throwing lightning bolts or other types of fire energy through your Wand will cause it catch fire! To find out more about the Wand, how to make a Wand, how to store and protect your Wand, how to personalize your Wand so only you can use it, and how to use a Wand for magical and shamanic purposes. Learn more about the Wand Learn more about our Wand ebook Order our Wand ebook Athame Like the other magical tools, we use the Athame to extend our own energies and magnify power. The Athame is the magical tool of the Fire element. Many of the magical procedures performed with the Wand in Harry Potter movies should actually be performed with the Athame, which easily handles all color bands of Fire energy. The Athame is commonly used by magicians for firebolts, lightning bolts, shielding, healing, banishments and self defense. It is also used to create sacred space and full cast circles for ritual. Like other tools, your Athame should be "keyed" or personalized to your own energies, so that only you can use it. To find out how to select, key, store, protect and use your Athame for magical and shamanic purposes. Learn more about the Athame Learn more about our Athame ebook Order our Athame ebook Chalice The Chalice is the tool of the Water element, and Water is the language of Spirit, so the Chalice could properly be said to be the tool of communication with Spirit. Magicians and shamans use the Chalice for scrying, divination, psychic communication, healing, creating sacred space, purification, ceremony, ritual and blessing.Unknown to most, the Chalice is also effective for self-defense against certain kinds of entities, and can be used with the Plate (the Earth element tool) for shielding and protection. Like the other magical tools, your Chalice should be properly selected and keyed to your own energies. To find out how to select, key, store, protect and use your Chalice for magical and shamanic purposes. Learn more about the Chalice Learn more about our Chalice ebook Order our Chalice ebook Plate The tool of the Earth element, the Plate is a magical tool commonly used for shielding, healing, protection and self-defense. Also known as the "pantacle," the Plate is a powerful healing tool, capable of knitting and healing broken bones in a matter of hours. The Plate is often used in conjunction with other magical tools for protection and shielding, such as during Tarot readings, divination or scrying. The Plate can also protect and shield magical tools, such as Tarot decks and pendulums, when they are not in use. To find out how to select, key, protect and use your Plate magically.

Learning magic

See also: List of magic publications

Dedication to magic can teach confidence and creativity, as well as the work ethic associated with regular practice and the responsibility that comes with devotion to an art.^[12] The teaching of performance magic was once a secretive practice.^{[citation needed]} Professional magicians were unwilling to share knowledge with anyone outside the profession^{[citation needed]} to prevent the laity from learning their secrets. This often made it difficult for an interested apprentice to learn anything but the basics of magic. Some had strict rules against members discussing magic secrets with anyone but established magicians.
From the 1584 publication of Reginald Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft until the end of the 19th century, only a few books were available for magicians to learn the craft, whereas today mass-market books offer a myriad titles. Videos and DVDs are a newer medium of tuition, but many of the methods found in this format are readily found in previously published books. However, they can serve as a visual demonstration.
Persons interested in learning to perform magic can join magic clubs. Here magicians, both seasoned and novitiate, can work together and help one another for mutual improvement, to learn new techniques, to discuss all aspects of magic, to perform for each other—sharing advice, encouragement, and criticism. Before a magician can join one of these clubs, they usually have to audition. The purpose is to show to the membership they are a magician and not just someone off the street wanting to discover magical secrets.
The world's largest magic organization is the International Brotherhood of Magicians; it publishes a monthly journal, The Linking Ring. The oldest organization is the Society of American Magicians, of which Houdini was a member and president for several years. In London, England, there is The Magic Circle which houses the largest magic library in Europe. Also PSYCRETS – The British Society of Mystery Entertainers,^[13] which caters specifically to mentalists, bizarrists, storytellers, readers, spiritualist performers, and other mystery entertainers. The Magic Castle in Hollywood is home to the Academy of Magical Arts.
Magic performances tend to fall into a few specialties or genres.

A mentalist on stage in a mind-reading performance, 1900

Amateur magician performing "children's magic" for a birthday party audience

Misuse of magic

Some modern illusionists believe that it is unethical to give a performance that claims to be anything other than a clever and skillful deception. Most of these performers therefore eschew the term "magician" (which they view as making a claim to supernatural power) in favor of "illusionist" and similar descriptions; for example, the performer Jamy Ian Swiss makes these points by billing himself as an "honest liar."^[19] On the other side of the coin, many performers say that magical acts, as a form of theater, need no more of a disclaimer than any play or film; this viewpoint is reflected in the words of magician and mentalist Joseph Dunninger, "For those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who do not believe, no explanation will suffice."^[20]
These apparently irreconcilable differences of opinion have led to some conflicts among performers. For example, more than thirty years after the hugely successful illusionist Uri Geller made his first appearances on television in the 1970s to exhibit his self-proclaimed psychic ability to bend spoons, his actions still provoke controversy among some magical performers, because of his claim that he was not using conjuring techniques. On the other hand, because Geller bent—and continues to bend—spoons within a performance context, the Dunninger quote may be said to apply.
Less fraught with controversy, however, may be the use of deceptive practices by those who employ conjuring techniques for personal gain outside the venue of a magical performance.
Fraudulent mediums have long capitalized on the popular belief in paranormal phenomena to prey on the bereaved for financial gain. From the 1840s to the 1920s, during the greatest popularity of the Spiritualism religious movement as well as public interest in séances, a number of fraudulent mediums used conjuring methods to perform illusions such as table-knocking, slate-writing, and telekinetic effects, which they attributed to the actions of ghosts or other spirits. The great escapologist and illusionist Harry Houdini devoted much of his time to exposing such fraudulent operators.^[21] Magician James Randi, magic duo Penn & Teller, and the mentalist Derren Brown have also devoted much time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims.^[22][23]
Fraudulent faith healers have also been shown to employ sleight of hand to give the appearance of removing chicken-giblet "tumors" from patients' abdomens.^[24]
Con men and grifters too may use techniques of conjuring for fraudulent goals. Cheating at card games is an obvious example, and not a surprising one: one of the most respected textbooks of card techniques for magicians, The Expert at the Card Table by Erdnase, was primarily written as an instruction manual for card sharps. The card trick known as "Find the Lady" or "Three-card Monte" is an old favourite of street hustlers, who lure the victim into betting on what seems like a simple proposition: to identify, after a seemingly easy-to-track mixing sequence, which one of three face-down cards is the Queen. Another example is the shell game, in which a pea is hidden under one of three walnut shells, then shuffled around the table (or sidewalk) so slowly as to make the pea's position seemingly obvious. Although these are well known as frauds, people still lose money on them; a shell-game ring was broken up in Los Angeles as recently as December 2009.^[25]
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Magic (sometimes referred to as stage magic to distinguish it from paranormal or ritual magic) is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible^[1] or supernatural^[2] feats using natural means. These feats are called magic tricks, effects, or illusions.
A professional who performs such illusions is called a magician or an illusionist. Some performers may also be referred to by names reflecting the type of magical effects they present, such as prestidigitators, conjurors, hypnotists, mentalists, or escape artists.

History

The term "magic" is etymologically derived from the Greek word mageia (μαγεία). Greeks and Persians had been at war for centuries and the Persian priests, called magosh in Persian, came to be known as magoi in Greek; that which a Persian priest did come to be known as mageia and then magika, a term which eventually referred to any foreign, unorthodox or illegitimate ritual practice.
Performances which modern observers would recognize as conjuring have probably been practiced throughout history.^[3] For many recorded centuries, magicians were associated with the devil and the occult. During the 19th and 20th centuries, many stage magicians even capitalized on this notion in their advertisements.^[4] The same level of ingenuity that was used to produce famous ancient deceptions such as the Trojan Horse would also have been used for entertainment, or at least for cheating in money games. They were also used by the practitioners of various religions and cults from ancient times onwards to frighten uneducated people into obedience or turn them into adherents. However, the profession of the illusionist gained strength only in the 18th century, and has enjoyed several popular vogues since.

Magic tricks

An early copy of The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), the first known book of magic tricks, written by Reginald Scot

The first book of magic tricks appeared in 1584. Englishman Reginald Scot, published The Discoverie of Witchcraft, which was devoted to debunking the claims of magicians and showing how their 'magic tricks' were in reality accomplished. Among the tricks discussed were 'sleight-of-hand' manipulations with rope, paper and coins. At the time, fear and belief in witchcraft was widespread and the book tried to demonstrate that these fears were misplaced.^[5] All obtainable copies were burned on the accession of James I in 1603 and those remaining are now rare. It began to reappear in print in 1651.
During the 17th century, many similar books were published that described in detail the methods of a number of magic tricks, including The Art of Conjuring (1614) and The Anatomy of Legedermain: The Art of Jugling (c.1675).

Advertisement for Isaac Fawkes' show from 1724 in which he boasts of the success of his performances for the King and Prince George

Until the 18th century magic shows were a common source of entertainment at fairs, where itinerant performers would entertain the public with magic tricks, as well as the more traditional spectacles of sword swallowing, juggling and fire breathing. In the early 18th century, as belief in witchcraft was waning, the art became increasingly respectable and shows would be put on for rich private patrons. A notable figure in this transition was the English showman, Isaac Fawkes, who began to promote his act in advertisements from the 1720s - he even claimed to have performed for King George II. One of Fawkes' advertisements described his routine in some detail:

He takes an empty bag, lays it on the Table and turns it several times inside out, then commands 100 Eggs out of it and several showers of real Gold and silver, then the Bag beginning to swell several sorts of wild fowl run out of it upon the Table. He throws up a Pack of Cards, and causes them to be living birds flying about the room. He causes living Beasts, Birds, and other Creatures to appear upon the Table. He blows the spots of the Cards off and on, and changes them to any pictures.^[6]

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A Story About ‘Magic'

Some years ago, I (GLS) was snooping around in the cabinets that housed the MIT AI Lab's PDP-10, and noticed a little switch glued to the frame of one cabinet. It was obviously a homebrew job, added by one of the lab's hardware hackers (no one knows who).
You don't touch an unknown switch on a computer without knowing what it does, because you might crash the computer. The switch was labeled in a most unhelpful way. It had two positions, and scrawled in pencil on the metal switch body were the words ‘magic' and ‘more magic'. The switch was in the ‘more magic' position.
I called another hacker over to look at it. He had never seen the switch before either. Closer examination revealed that the switch had only one wire running to it! The other end of the wire did disappear into the maze of wires inside the computer, but it's a basic fact of electricity that a switch can't do anything unless there are two wires connected to it. This switch had a wire connected on one side and no wire on its other side.
It was clear that this switch was someone's idea of a silly joke. Convinced by our reasoning that the switch was inoperative, we flipped it. The computer instantly crashed.
Imagine our utter astonishment. We wrote it off as coincidence, but nevertheless restored the switch to the ‘more magic’ position before reviving the computer.
A year later, I told this story to yet another hacker, David Moon as I recall. He clearly doubted my sanity, or suspected me of a supernatural belief in the power of this switch, or perhaps thought I was fooling him with a bogus saga. To prove it to him, I showed him the very switch, still glued to the cabinet frame with only one wire connected to it, still in the ‘more magic’ position. We scrutinized the switch and its lone connection, and found that the other end of the wire, though connected to the computer wiring, was connected to a ground pin. That clearly made the switch doubly useless: not only was it electrically nonoperative, but it was connected to a place that couldn't affect anything anyway. So we flipped the switch.
The computer promptly crashed.
This time we ran for Richard Greenblatt, a long-time MIT hacker, who was close at hand. He had never noticed the switch before, either. He inspected it, concluded it was useless, got some diagonal cutters and diked it out. We then revived the computer and it has run fine ever since.
We still don't know how the switch crashed the machine. There is a theory that some circuit near the ground pin was marginal, and flipping the switch changed the electrical capacitance enough to upset the circuit as millionth-of-a-second pulses went through it. But we'll never know for sure; all we can really say is that the switch was magic.
I still have that switch in my basement. Maybe I'm silly, but I usually keep it set on ‘more magic’.
1994: Another explanation of this story has since been offered. Note that the switch body was metal. Suppose that the non-connected side of the switch was connected to the switch body (usually the body is connected to a separate earth lug, but there are exceptions). The body is connected to the computer case, which is, presumably, grounded. Now the circuit ground within the machine isn't necessarily at the same potential as the case ground, so flipping the switch connected the circuit ground to the case ground, causing a voltage drop/jump which reset the machine. This was probably discovered by someone who found out the hard way that there was a potential difference between the two, and who then wired in the switch as a joke.