These days it can be tough to do a whole lot of research on Magic.  With the confidentiality that goes along with being a magician, there is so much information that just doesn’t get put out there.  Many resources are privately held, and even most libraries have a limited supply of magic resources.

So what is a budding magician to do?  Where can we go to learn everything we can about this art form?  Well, even though you may not learn all of the step by step instructions on how to perform certain illusions and tricks, there is information out there that can support you in getting going.  Here are some places that you can find some valuable information.

There are organizations out there that exist just to band together collectors, and writers of Magic history.  Organizations such as the Magic Collectors’ Association publish a quarterly newsletter, and they even hold an annual convention.  Another organization is the Conjuring Arts Research Center, who also publishes newsletters and magazines, and they even offer their clients a searchable database of rare periodicals and books.

There are actually a lot of books written each year about magic tricks.  In fact, magic is the most written about of all the performing arts.  The bulk of these books are not something that you can go to a bookstore and find on the shelves, but they are available through specialty magic stores, like your local favorite magic shop, and also online through magic websites, who sell most if not all of those products.

Another great way to research magic is through newspapers of that day.  There are many articles and submissions about particular magic shows and magicians written for as long as there have been newspapers.  Finding those old and current papers is not that hard to do.  These you can research at your local library.

If you have a magic business are you as successful as you would like to be?  If your answer is no, what’s stopping you?  For most people what’s stopping them is that they don’t know what they want.  It’s not a matter of not having what you want, as much as it is that we don’t know what that is.  Most of us don’t define that.

Your magic business is just like any other business.  It requires a plan of action.  But before we can even create a plan of action, we have to know what we are taking action towards.  We have to have a vision for what we want to create.  How do you create a vision, you might ask?

Well, it all starts with what your heart’s desire is.  And a good place to start is at the end!  Stephen Covey says “start with the end in mind”. Meaning, when you are at the end of your life looking backward, what do you want to have created in your life with your business?  What would make you really proud?  What would have you having no regrets and only a feeling of complete fulfillment and pride in what you have done?  If you have never thought about any of that, now is the time to start.  And not only thinking about it, but write it out as well.

Once you have defined that, then break that vision down into 5 year goals, 2 year goals, and monthly goals.  This will give you a game plan to follow.

The best reason to do this is that it gives you something to focus on.  Most people have no focus.  Or they focus on what they DON’T want to have vs. what they do.  And whatever we focus on expands.  So get focusing on the success you want to create in your business.  And before you know it, you’ll be there.

Escape artist magicians perform some of the most dazzling stunts.  Audiences hold their breath in anticipation of the magician escaping their death because of the predicament they are in.  It’s exciting when they escape at what seems to be the last possible second.  We love to watch it!  And if you have considered becoming an escapologist then it’s a good idea to study the greats in action:

Harry Houdini- perhaps one of the greatest magicians of all time, certainly the most well known.  Harry Houdini made escapism famous with his death defying stunts.  He proved that he could escape from anything, handcuffs, straightjackets, ropes, and prison cells.  There is no better role model for escapism.

Alan Alan- was a British performer who performed original stunts that later other artists tried to replicate.  He was best known for escaping from death in such risky stunts as hanging upside down in a straightjacket, tied to a rope that was on fire. Yikes!

Dean Alan Carnegie- is best known for performing in front of Presidents.  He also did a stunt where he was commissioned by the US Postal Service to escape from a mail bag.

Anthony Martin- has been performing escapism since the age of 12.  He took escapism up a notch by escaping from metal boxes thrown out of airplanes, and sky diving to safety. WOW.

Dorothy Deitrich- was a talented woman performing in a man’s world.  She followed right in Houdini’s footsteps with many of her escape stunts, and even performed tricks that Houdini refused such as catching  a bullet in her mouth with a metal cup. Impressive!

When I was a kid, I received a magic kit for Christmas.  There was a trick in there involving dice that disappeared.  The directions in the kit stated that I should drop the dice into my pocket “when no one is watching”.  Are you kidding me?  The whole point of doing magic is to have people watch, so how on earth was I supposed to get people to “not watch” me.

This sounds funny, but really some magicians have this notion that they somehow need to get their spectators to not watch certain things in order to perform their tricks.  So there is a better way to look at misdirection that if applied can make a real difference.  And that is to realize that misdirection is not about having your audience NOT see something.  It’s about guiding them and controlling them to see what you want them to be seeing.

This is quite possibly the most important skill in magic.  It requires a tremendous amount of practice.  But once mastered this is a skill that you will use your entire career.  So you may as well learn it right.  Below are some keys to keep in mind as you are learning to master misdirection.

Your eyes are the most powerful asset-   Never underestimate the power of your eyes.  If you want your spectator to look at something, go ahead and look at it yourself.  If you don’t want them looking as something, then definitely do not look there.  Your audience will follow your lead.  Lead them where you want them to go.

Your audience is curious.  Use that to your advantage.  What that means is by showing your audience something that haven’t seen before, they are naturally going to be curious and want to look at it. So wave that wand, wave that colorful handkerchief.  This will have them looking where you want them to, so that the magic can happen out of their site.  This also includes using an assistant to grab their attention.

And finally remember that big moves hide little moves.  Your audience will look toward the bigger movement.  They can’t help it.  It draws them to it like a magnet.  Keep that in mind as you are working on your misdirection.  And come up with some big moves that you can use to capture their attention.

Magic tricks aren’t all created equal.  They have different purposes and can be used in different ways throughout a routine.  It’s a great idea to learn magic tricks in each and every category.  This will give you a well rounded repertoire of magic, that way you can pull tricks out of your tool box for every opportunity that is presented to you.  Whether it’s a close-up opportunity or a large stage show, you’ll be prepared.  Here are the different categories of magic and a brief description of each.

Production Magic­- this is the art of making something appear out of nothing.  Pulling a rabbit out of a hat, producing a dove out of your jacket, a person appearing out of a puff of smoke are all examples of production magic.

Vanish Magic- this of course would be the opposite of the production trick.  This is making something disappear without explanation such as cards, coins, people, elephants, etc.

Transformation Magic- This is often seen as a combination of the two categories above.  This is the art of having something disappear, but reappear as something different.  Such as a color changing handkerchief, a person turns into a tiger, an egg changing into a dove.

Restoration Magic- This is destroying something, and then having it become restored before your eyes.  Such as a ripped up piece of paper coming back together, burning something then it coming back¸ a cut rope, etc. are all examples of restoration magic.

Teleportation Magic- This is where some object or person changes locations.  For instance, when the magician disappears and reappears in the back of the theatre, or when a borrowed object such as a dollar bill, or ring, shows up inside a box somewhere.  There is also a double teleportation, where two things switch places.  This is called transposition.

Escape Magic- This is where the magician or the assistant actually escapes from a harrowing situation, such as when the great Houdini would escape from a straight jacket, or when magician’s escape from a box underwater.  These are some of the most dangerous and exciting tricks and requires much practice.

Levitation Magic- these tricks happen when an article or person appears to defy gravity.  David Copperfield is one of the greatest levitation magician’s.  He can make things fly around the stage effortlessly.

Penetration Magic- this is where the magician makes a solid object penetrate another solid object, such as a pen through a dollar bill, linking rings, coin through a bottle, etc.

Prediction Magic- this is a form of mentalism where the magician predicts an event, a spectators response, a chosen card, etc.

Even the famous magicians had to start somewhere.  In this article we will look at the first tricks ever learned by some of the most well known magicians.  This is how they got their start and what inspired them to launch themselves into a life time of magic performance.  Hopefully it will inspire you to continue on your path.

David Copperfield, probably one the most famous all time magicians, got his start from his grandfather when he was very young.  His grandfather taught him the 4 Aces trick, and he still performs this trick in his shows today.  He says that every time he performs, it’s like a tribute to his grandfather.  Unfortunately, his grandfather never was able to see David perform this live before he passed on.  I am sure he is proud of his talented grandson.

David Blaine had a humble start on the streets of Brooklyn.  His mom bought him the “cigarette through card” trick when he was visiting his aunt on vacation in Florida.  That simple effect launched him into a love of magic, and an extremely successful career.

Another famous magician, Criss Angel, also got his start by way of his aunt.  She taught him a card trick at the age of 6 that most certainly grabbed his heart, and by the time he graduated from high school, he had already decided his life’s path of becoming a famous magician.

Lance Burton was also influenced by his family.  At the age of 6 he was taken to a party where the famous Harry Collins was performing.  At one point in his routine, Harry asked for a volunteer, to which Lance was the first to jump up.  Lance was in awe as Harry pulled coins out of his ears.  You never know the kind of impact you can have on a child!  Because for Lance, the rest is history!

As you can see, even the most famous started somewhere.  And if they could make it happen, so can you!

It’s a love hate relationship….coin and money magic.  Some magicians love it.  They are addicted to it. They can perform it anytime, anywhere.  Other magicians hate it.  They think it’s boring or uncreative.  Perhaps that is simply because they have seen some poorly executed tricks.

If you fall into the latter category, you may want to rethink this.  Coins magic is wildly successful and here are some reasons why you should be implementing it into your routines.

1. Coin magic has a psychological affect on an audience.  Maybe it’s people attachment to or love of money that has them be so crazy about those tricks.  Or maybe it’s the anxiety they feel when their money disappears and the relief they feel when it reappears.  This creates engagement! Who knows why, but people love it.  So if you have no other reason, do it for that.
2. Most of us will never know what it feels like to perform on the big stage, so at our level coins are really easy to carry around and bring out on the street, in a bar or restaurant, wherever!
3. Borrowing someone’s money to do a magic trick with will automatically capture their attention.
4. Card tricks really don’t seem “impromptu”, no matter how good the magician is.  I mean, who carries around a deck of cards in their coat pocket.  But everyone has a coin on them.  It makes the magic appear to be completely spontaneous, leading to the wow factor.
5. Learning coin magic is the absolute best way to work on sleight of hand.  All the different sizes of the coins, and different weights, contribute to the dexterity that is needed to properly execute millions of magic tricks.
6. The mechanics of coin tricks are so simple that it can have you really honing your misdirection skills.
7. And finally, coin tricks can be done for all ages, and in all venues.

If you have been a performer of any type, then you are probably familiar with the word “routine”.  A dancer is said to perform a routine…a gymnast has a routine.  But did you know that magicians also should have a routine?

What is a routine? Well, if you think that all a magician does is string together a bunch of his or her tricks to make a show, then it wouldn’t be very interesting.  HOW the tricks are strung together makes all the difference, and this putting together of the right tricks at the right time, with the right theme and patter is what makes a routine.  A strong routine is what will get you paid to perform, not how talented you are.  There are tons of talented people out there.  The ones who know how to best utilize their talent are the most successful ones.

What makes a good routine?  The best way is to tell your audience a story.  Not like a bedtime story, but take them on a journey throughout your show.  There should be a plot, a reason to go from one trick to another.  This creates a connectedness to you and your routine.  Your audience will go on the journey with you, just like with a good movie.  If you don’t have a theme, create one, and fit all of your tricks into this theme.  You’ll be amazed how fun it is.

How you do this is quite simple.  Every good writer knows that a great story has three things; a gripping, attention grabbing opener, a solid middle section, and finally a climactic ended that pulls everything together.  Applying these same principles to your magic show will make all the difference.  People will remember a theme or routine much more than individual tricks.

People just starting out in magic usually wonder how to jump start their magic career or hobby.  People are always asking, “where do I start?” and the answer may be simpler than you think.  Often these eager talents just want to go to a magic store and purchase a ton of gimmicks and get started.  This is not the best approach. Until you know what to do with all of those expensive tricks, they will never work for you.

I believe in working backwards from this type of thinking.  Actually developing some skills first will give you the best start.  And believe me, you’ll be so glad you did.

A good magician is able to perform magic anywhere, at anytime, with anything.  This can only happen with some vital skills that can be developed without spending much money at all.  Misdirection, slight of hand, and a little mentalism should be all you need to learn to get a great start.

First off, let me say that there are tons of videos, and books on how to perform all this stuff.  Go to the library, get on the internet, wherever you can to get some great coaching on these basics.  It’s out there so don’t feel that there is no one out there who will teach you.  Start researching and you’ll find all the coaching you need. Start practicing with a plain deck of cards and some coins.  That way, you’ll be able to borrow a coin or an object from anyone and be able to do a magic trick.

Once you are good at some basic skills, start to build up your skills of patter, performance and building rapport.  These are critical skills. In fact these are useful skills in whatever business you are in, but especially effective in magic.

It all comes down to you and your diligence to learn the fundamentals.  Practice makes perfect of course, so whatever you learn, make sure you practice it over and over again so that it becomes second nature.

Just like everything else, magic has evolved over the years.  Spectators no longer want to see bunnies out of hats and the like.  People really want to be awed and in this day and age it takes a lot to awe people.  That is why mentalism has had such a comeback recently.  Its power really grabs people at a depth that some other classic magic doesn’t anymore.

One thing to understand about mentalism is that it has nothing to do with being psychic.  Any magician that claims as such is lying. In fact mentalism simply requires practicing skills just like with coin magic, or card magic.  So what are the skills?  Following are some psychological techniques that are required to make mentalism successful.

1) Read Body Language- people’s inner most thoughts are not just expressed in what they say.  As a matter of fact someone can be saying one thing, but subconsciously saying another.  The truth is always in the subconscious communication.  This communication comes out in someone’s body language.  How they stand, shift, move, eye movements, facial expressions are all indications of what’s really going on for a person.  A good mentalist must study this and be good at readying the signs.

2) Power of Suggestion- Mentalism really came into popularity in the 40s when there were great advances in psychology.  One of the practices that became often used during this time was hypnotism.  Hypnotism is really another way of creating relaxation and rapport.  This same idea can be applied to mentalism.  When someone is relaxed with the magician, there is a rapport that gets created.  When that rapport is there, the spectator is a lot more likely to reveal information that they never would before.  And they become much more compliant, possibly due to a desire to not disappoint the magician, or peer pressure, or to not spoil the trick.  So really it has nothing to do with being in an altered state as much as creating a bond between magician and spectator.  Creating rapport is one of the single most important aspects of being a good performer and mentalist.

3) The Power of Perception- now if it’s starting to feel that you need a degree in psychologically to be successful at mentalism, never fear.  Just by practicing some useful skills you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.  Getting good at perception is also an important trait.  Knowing how the human brain makes decisions, recalls things, reads, and categorizes information is extremely important in misdirection and also in mentalism.  It doesn’t stand alone, but is extremely useful in making your mentalism appear more convincing.