Natural Vanishes Magic Technique

Hobbyists need to acknowledge that a retention vanish has a significant flaw. Unless you've perfected the move, it isn't all that fooling to the critical audience. It certainly isn't that fooling in the context of a casual performance amongst friends.

Whenever I've made small objects vanish using sleights like this, my friends turn into New York City cops and stop and frisk me. And the times when they exercised self-restraint, they definitely still wanted to check my hands, sleeves and pockets.

In casual performances with friends, colleagues and family members, ending clean (with nothing in your hands) is a significant factor worth considering. The truth is that gigging magicians in gigging settings play by a different rule book filled with a unique set of social cues.

Our friends always hang out with us; they're much better at knowing when we're lying, it's much harder for us to slip into a rehearsed routine, and they can often tell when we're holding our hands slightly differently from normal.

So what are we to do?

Consider performing a natural vanish.

I adore this type of vanish, and it's not just for hobbyists—David Blaine, Dynamo, Justin Willman, and Carbonaro all use natural vanishes in their TV shows, too.

I learned about natural vanishes early on in my career consulting for magicians. The idea is straightforward and has been a mainstay in my work as a professional writer and casual performer.

As magicians, we usually plan to make an object reappear when we vanish it. The impact of these routines hinges heavily on the strength of the vanish. If the vanish isn't clean, people will always be suspicious of the reappearance.

Natural vanishes are so convincing because they feel so, well, natural.

If the goal is to eliminate the object in a way that makes it seem like there's no way to get it back, who says it needs to be magical? In fact, most of the time, making an object reappear is even more impressive if the vanish is not magical.

If you vanish something with a thumb tip, your friends will wonder, "Where did that go?" Choose instead to rely on a natural vanish, and your friends will ask why you made it disappear, not whether you really did. So, when it comes time to make the object reappear, you'll truly fool them.

So, how can we vanish objects without magic?

Well, it's pretty simple, and you might have already performed a natural vanish without realising. Let's look at four examples, including one David Blaine used in a TV special. So the next time you buy a magic trick with a vanish designed for gigging magicians, you'll know these practical solutions to vanish objects for your friends with no sleight-of-hand and no risk of getting caught.

Set it on fire.

This vanish works best with objects that can catch fire and quickly turn to ash. US banknotes and playing cards are fantastic for this. But the idea is that you have them select and sign a card. You set it ablaze. Across the room, their signed card is on the other side of the window.

Drop it into the water.

In one of David Blaine's specials, he has an effect where he borrows a phone and throws it into the river. Magically, the phone is found in the woman's purse.

If you live in more landlocked areas, you can get a similar effect by flushing an object down a toilet or dropping it into a lake or river. As a bonus - if the object reappears a bit wet, that is way more fooling.

Make it Fly.

Throw something off a cliff. Imagine going to the Grand Canyon, borrowing a friend's ring, and tossing it over the edge. Look at their face. As far as your friend is concerned, that ring is gone (and so is your friendship).

You can do the same by attaching an object you want to vanish to a helium balloon and letting it go outside. The object will float away, never to be seen again.

In either case, your friend will see their object fly away.

Give it Away.

Bill to Impossible Location is my favourite magic trick. The best natural vanish of the bill is to have your spectator spend that bill. They will feel there is no way to get that bill - especially if you have them spend it at a fast food restaurant and it reappears at their home.

Methods and Consideration.

While I see a lot of value in natural vanishes, they have some limitations.

Firstly, you have to consider the method. If a natural vanish truly destroys an object, there are two primary methods: a switch or the use of a duplicate object.

If the object is unique (like a credit card or a ring), you will usually need to switch it. Typically, I like to switch it a few moments before I presentationally get rid of the object. This structure allows me to ditch the real object under the natural misdirection created by the vanish.

So, if I borrow a silver ring, do a shuttle pass to switch it for a silver coin, and then toss the coin off a bridge, it would look like I threw their ring, and this dramatic moment gives me ample time to ditch the ring into my pocket.

Many methods exist to create a duplicate if the object is something like a banknote or playing card. If you're brave enough, you can even duplicate their signature.

Secondly, you will need to plan the trick's overarching narrative. Like with all casual magic, we want to consider the plot, and this is especially true with natural vanishes. Why are you burning the signed playing card? Shouldn't it reappear as wet if the object was just thrown into a lake? If not, why – did you turn back time to make it come back?

Thinking about the plot this much may seem like overkill, especially if it's just a trick for friends. But when you incorporate a natural vanish into your magic, you almost always create a more unique experience.

Vanishing and reappearing a signed card might not be as memorable as releasing it into the air tied to a helium balloon – so if you're going to do that, why not spend time deciding if the card should reappear with the balloon or without it?

Closing thoughts and a trick.

You offer to show your friend a trick you read in an old book. You warn them it is a strange effect, but you want to try it out.

You have them select a card and ensure you don't see it. You place the cards back into the box and hand them to your friend to put in their pocket. You then explain that you need them to follow a particular set of instructions.

They are to take their card into the bathroom, rip it into tiny pieces, and flush it. Only after the card is destroyed can they return. Once they return, you remind them they selected a card you could not know. They are holding onto the rest of the deck. It's important because you will do something strange for a card trick. You will call on Blue Baby's spirit to help you find the card.

You place your index fingers over your friend's eyes and then call on the spirit to fix the card and return it. You let out a scream and quickly remove your fingers from their eyes. On your friend's lap is a soaking creased seven of spades. To your spectator's shock, that is their card!

The Method:

This is super straightforward but has many fun elements. You are forcing the seven of spades. This is a case of choosing your favourite forcing method. The important part is that the selection seems free as if you could not know what they picked. Everything from here is about creating time misdirection. Once they go to the bathroom, you remove your duplicate seven and soak it in water.

Be sure to have a glass of water to hand while hanging out.

When you hear the toilet flush, remove the card from the water and hide it on your person. Where you hide it will largely depend on the environment you are performing in. But once they are back in the room, you recap what has happened so far in the effect.

You then explain the urban legend of the blue baby. This was an urban legend I grew up with, and I liked the idea of using that as the plot of the trick. You will now do the old gag where you condition your friend to close their eyes when your two index fingers get close to their eyes. Once they are conditioned, the moment their eyes are closed, you place the index and middle finger of your left hand on their eyes. This leaves your right hand free to do the sneaky work of taking out the duplicate seven and tossing it on their lap.

Now you have to scream and act like you saw a ghost baby. Simple

While this trick is odd, it is worth considering how different it feels from many other tricks. They pick a card. They destroy the card. The card reappears. If you aren't crazy about presenting an urban myth, consider changing the above effect into a time-traveling effect! If you don't like flushing the card, find a different way of using a natural vanish to get rid of it.