The Draw to Magic

Magic is not always meant to bewilder and confuse its audience. Not every magic trick is meant to be a trick. In fact, sometimes the best magic tricks are the ones where the audience knows the secret but still leaves them in awe because of how it all still fell together in a way invisible to the eye and too quick for the mind.

There are hours and hours spent mastering simple maneuvers and gestures. There is an immense amount of skill required for so many of the magic tricks preformed today that the secret part of the trick is barely half the battle to being able to preform it. Anyone can watch and understand how a bird flies, but can anyone do it? Magic is about making the impossible possible by merging time and effort with knowledge.

I have loved magic tricks ever since I was a kid. I remember going to Disney World when I was about nine years old or so, and I went with my mom into the section of Disney World with a bunch of shops and such to buy souvenirs and other fun things. In my case it was magic tricks. We found a small magic shop with a gentle older man who performed tricks for us as we looked around. Every magic shop in the world has one of these men in them by the way. Anyways, long story short I came home with a suitcase full of magic tricks. Most of them were simple tricks with a secret such as a finger guillotine that I would stick my finger in, and pretend to cut off my finger when in fact the blade would just fold into the side when going down. Magic! Still, it was never and still never is the trick itself that makes magic so great, it is showing others the trick and seeing their expressions.

With the audience being the main draw for magicians and what keeps them going, there are at least four different types of spectators every magician will encounter:

1. Mr. Nosey

- This is the spectator that keeps their eyes on the magicians hands the whole entire time. This is also the spectator that asks to inspect every object involved in the trick and asks them to do it again.

2. Mr. Unimpressed

- This is the person who when the trick ends goes straight to the "how do you do it" question. They know it is not magic and try as hard as they possibly can to not smile or be surprised. Sometimes if really unimpressed they will say the magicians lines for them such as "is this your card" and "abracadabra" before the magician reveals anything.

3. Mr. Know it all

- These can be the worst of the group. These are the people who know the secret to the trick and call out any slight of hand or misdirection as the magician does it. It is every magicians dream to make these kinds of spectators disappear.

4. The Kid

- This is every magicians favorite. This does not have to be a kid, this is just someone who happily watches the trick and is amazed at the end. These people are just along for the ride and respect how much time and effort has been put into the act. They do not ask questions, they just let the magician do their job and impress them.

Magic is an art form that might benefit both parties more than any other form of art. It is both extremely amusing for the spectator and the magician. Magic is something that has been around for an extremely long time and in multiple different forms. It continues today to adapt to society and amaze people in ways that it has never been able to do before. Every now and then my interests fall away from magic, but every year it is able to catch my attention again and again because of all of the possibilities and potential whether it be through expressing creativity or socializing. If you are interested at all in learning some new tricks or anything then the best place to start is with a deck of cards. Cards are an amazing tool for magic and by far the best. From beginner to expert cards will always be a go to.

There are so many great videos and websites that teach magic that it makes a hobby well worth anyones time because there is such a large community that is willing to help everyone improve and it is so easy to get started. Below I will put a list of simple steps to learn that will push you into the world of magic.

How to magic 101:

1. Learn to force a card.

2. Develop a trick around that forced card.

3. Amaze others and yourself.