I find myself somewhat amused my many threads on the Café of the "which should I do" variety: what gaff to buy, what cup or ring set, which book or DVD, etc. Rarely is the any concern over how to prepare oneself to be a magician (a communicator of astonishment). A current thread asks about the future of magic. This lead me to muse on "what must happen BEFORE the effect is performed in order for "might be magic" to bubble up in a spectator's mind.

I have also been reviewing dozens of half-documented magic effects and eBooks on magic theory and practice. I find that one reason they remain unfinished is that feedback shows that I don't know how to present these ideas in a way that younger folks can relate to. I make assumptions about 'a priori' knowledge and experience and am usually wrong. Yet, few seem prepared to ground themselves in what I consider to be be basic elements of communication, presence and permission essential to "magic" being the hero in a presentation.

No judgement here -- if I were trying to make a living entertaining today's fractious audiences I would forget "magic as art" and focus on astonishment and surprise (and pretty girls). But, I do believe that some out there are interested in "what must come before."

Maybe I just don't wish to expire with dozens of magic effects, sleights and concepts unshared with the world of potential magicians. How do I get motivated to document new effects when I am not sure anyone cares?

No one can provide an answer on an Internet forum, but I am open to ideas sent to gusarimagic@comcast.net

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to focus any responses, here is an excerpt from one of my "Sway Series" booklets.

In earliest times magical effects were performed with the hands and a small object, a river-smoothed stone perhaps – a nut or piece of bone or crab apple. Later on containers of another sort were added: baskets, cups, sacks and the hand of a spectator. New tricks came from handling these ‘Cups’ and ‘Stones’ in natural ways, finding patterns of movements that placed the hands in alignments that could conceal and manipulate the Stones in ways not observed by others. Often innovation can be by accident to balance with practiced skill. A hand full or empty. That is all there is!

Moon and Stone
Ung sat cross-legged beside the fire where the flickering tongues of eager flames cast prancing shadows onto the granite wall. His was the job of tending the fire. His was the curse to miss the hunt. His was the blessing to watch over the children. One shattered foot curled beneath his furs in shame, though innocent eyes watched only his fingers weaving dream patterns across the stones. Some of the children knew of their totem and stilled their hearts should that image appear and they betray a secret bond. Beyond the ring of playful glow Ung knew the men and women of the Clan we coupled in the huts and nearby woods. He smiled inwardly. It was for this he was allowed an Elder’s share of the found and gather, and a bit of heart from the hunt. All eyes watched his hands. It was enough.
Earlier that day he had found a curious rounded stone, one half white and the other black. He held it up high at his finger-tips with only part of the white showing and slowly raised his head towards the clouds. They parted to reveal the crescent moon as an echo to his stone. All eyes traveled from the cloud window to the stone and back. Laughter! Slowly Ung passed his right hand over the stone while secretly rotating the spheroid slightly. The children’s eyes stared at the stone alone. Again and again he hid the stone with his hand, then to drop it to reveal a new phase of the blessed moon. With a final pass he intended to turn the black side out completely but accidentally dropped it! He tried to catch it but it fell unnoticed to his lap, the fall completely masked by his arm. Gasps! As it happened the clouds closed at that moment to hide the passing moon, and Ung held his hands close to the fire to show that the stone was gone. The children whispered amongst themselves, not a little afraid at what had transpired.

Ung had an inspiration! With his left hand held high rotating in the mystical fire-light he claimed the errant stone in his right hand. Again he made a pass before his left fist, dropping the stone into its palm just before it closed. He waved his right hand as if to keep the children from coming to close, then pointed to the sky where the moon was being revealed once more – then to his left hand and the gleaming stone. Magic was born!

No! A magician was born.

Thousands of years of innovation and practice have come before, and a rational approach to learning to be a magician would have us study that which has worked before as foundation for our own accidents and innovation. There is little need to be ‘original’ in being ‘creative’, with the subtle addition of self enough to change a trick into and effect. Yet, performance magic has a unique logic forged of the bond between the magician and spectator that allows that each Effect performed is “of creation” that exceeds both reason and passion. A fiction is created, an illusion or “agreed suspension of physical laws” in which perceptions of reality can be shifted and molded. A balance is sought between Anticipation and Surprise. Patterns of movement are shown to produce a predictable result, then repeated with a different result – and a gasp of amazement.

The artistry of a magician does not come from the execution of a single sleight or performance of a package trick, but from the ability to sustain the illusion despite the spectator’s juggling of reason and yearning, of awe and doubt, of mirth and fear. But long or short performance, there are certain basic elements that must be mastered for any effect if a magical quality is to be appreciated:

• the spectator must know that you are a magician,
• he/she must be willing to focus on what is happening,
• he must know that you are doing magic ‘now’!

These elements might be called “Presence” “Engagement” and “Attention.” The interplay of these elements is unique to each performance. For a single spectator outside distractions must be minimized. For a larger audience the ‘group energy’ must be considered as it will sweep the individual along despite doubt and confusion. Either way, the magician essentially “makes a promise,” and then “delivers on expectations,” albeit in unexpected ways. Why does magic work with universal appeal? Because our lives are filled with those who promise and never deliver, of misplaced faith and shattered expectations and betrayed trust. A magician creates an illusion that times and space and objects can be controlled, be made predictable; and in so doing fuels hope and fires the imagination. Each spectator can say internally, “Even I can do more than what others allow … Even I can be more in control.” A psychologist does the same thing by dealing with a client’s perceptions of past events. A salesman does the same thing by discovering the balance between ‘wants’ and ‘needs’. A Seer does the same thing by discovering what a Seeker is actually willing to commit to, and then allowing each to believe it is his own revelation. These ‘professionals’ deal with perceptions of actual concepts, problems and situations. A magician deals with an allegorical representation of problems and situations without any threat to an individual’s comfort zone of habits and principles and beliefs. A spectator will trust a magician in ways they will not trust any other professional with whom they interact. This trust, like respect, is easily lost and difficult to regain. Thus, an earnest performer takes care in the ways that this trust is forged, sustained and appreciated. That is the ‘basics’ of magic.

At the core of this Appreciation is the ability to demonstrate that an object can be vanished from the fingers and made to reappear at will. All Conjuring Effects are variations on this theme. A mastery of several skills with the Hand and a Stone are essential to this endeavor:
• apparently take a Stone from one hand (Left) with the fingers of the other hand (Right), secretly keeping the Stone in the Left Hand while creating the fiction that the Stone is in the closed Right Hand,

• starting with the Stone in the right Fingers, to apparently place the Stone in the Left Hand, secretly retaining the Stone in the right Hand while creating the fiction that the Stone is in the closed Left Hand,

• while actually holding the Stone in the closed Left Hand, to secretly transfer the Stone to another place,

• after displaying the Left Hand to be “holding nothing,” to secretly acquire a Stone for a later reveal or manipulation.

You might recognize these skills by the general labels of: DROP, RETENTION, PASS and STEAL/LOAD. If you do not know how to achieve each of these results in several ways, then put down this booklet and acquire these basic skills.

Cool, thanks.

I like the idea of the light dark side of things from the moon.

Reminds me of Lewis Carroll's rose. Produce a moon rose perhaps.

http://www.alephbet.com/pictures/31446_1.JPG