The Secret to Creating Magic With Anything

One of the greatest talents of top magicians is never taking anything for granted. Often, the best magicians in the world are meticulous, detail-oriented, and perfectionists. But this mindset also hides a powerful secret for creating magic.

Several great magicians of the past have said that the best deception happens when it’s hidden behind something the audience takes for granted. For example, if a magician pulls a coin from their pocket to begin an effect, someone in the audience might wonder if something else is hidden in the hand or the pocket; but it’s far less likely anyone will question what material the coin is made of.

Material, weight, texture, and similar traits are aspects we tend to take for granted in the objects around us—things we believe we know. The best magicians, when possible, insert their methods right there, within the things we assume we understand and therefore ignore.

Take, for instance, a Coin Through Bottle routine. The audience doesn’t expect the coin to bend to pass through the bottleneck. Or think of highly realistic replicas of sharp objects made from soft materials that allow magicians to safely perform dangerous-looking routines.

Another example: a blindfolded spectator is asked to perform Out of This World and is told they will feel the difference between red and black cards—when in reality, the reds are coated and the blacks are not, making them distinguishable by touch, even for a layperson.

This is the part where physical properties are used covertly—to create methods that exploit what we take for granted. Often, though, these methods are hard to access, requiring significant effort in terms of manufacturing and sourcing materials, and are only available with dedication.

Fortunately, there’s another way to apply this principle to improve everyone’s magic—by using the physical properties of objects not to hide methods, but as a strategy to discover and develop high-impact effects.

This is a reliable way to find strong material, as well as to create quick, visual, impromptu gags. But more than that: it’s a whole new way of looking at the objects we use and how we interact with them. Once unlocked, this approach can elevate all your magical ideas.

Subscribe to One Ahead to read the rest.