MagicForAll

Most of us have a reasonable grasp of the ability to spell adequately. The exercise depicted in the video is not designed to illustrate any spelling skills, but to invite you to contemplate the working. After shuffling 13 playing cards, the magician proceeds to spell the values from Ace right up to King. One card is counted off for each letter announced, and the next card is revealed in sequence. The intriguing part is that the stack of 13 cards is reduced by one after each spelling, and yet the continuity is not disrupted. Only 13 cards are used, and may be examined in detail.

The simplicity of using only three playing cards instead of a complete deck is, I believe, quite appealing. I hope you enjoy the accompanying video, designed for viewing pleasure. It is a variation on a very old magic trick used by con-men called the "Three Card Monte", and even older as the "Shells and Pea". Three cards are placed face down on the table. The magician shifts them around, and a spectator is invited to choose the Ace. No matter how closely the spectator watches, he/she is wrong. This is repeated a couple of times, and every time the spectator chooses the wrong card.

There's no shortage of card tricks to be had, I think you'll agree. Every magician I know has at least a small array of card tricks in his/her repertoire. This particular trick makes use of the traditional deck of cards (borrowed if preferred). The magician hands the shuffled deck to a spectator who is requested to divide the deck into three roughly equal piles. Without touching the deck, the magician names the top card of one pile. This he picks up to verify his claim. The same is repeated for the other two piles. Each time the top card is named before it is picked up. At the conclusion, the audience is asked for the three cards that were predicted to appear. One by one, the cards named are shown to the audience. An impromptu effect that is performed with a standard unprepared deck of cards.

I guess we've all seen ghost movies where objects appear to pass through spectres in an eerie fashion. Camera tricks and creative technology of course. But when you witness a similar event in the same room, without any obvious trickery, it tends to make for a 'Say, what?' moment. In this video, a silk hankerchief is wrapped around a walking cane and held with one corner in either hand. Without any awkward moves, the silk simply melts through the cane in an astonishing manner. This is repeated in slow motion to give the spectator an even chance of discovering the mystery. I'm happy that this is the closest I've come to observing an actual ghost.

Reminding one of the Russian Babushka Nesting Dolls, here is a video of what you could call a Chinese equivalent. A coin is marked for future recognition, and placed under a cover. The magician reaches under a hankerchief and withdraws a red Chinese pill-box. Inside this pill-box is another, and another, and another. When the last pill-box is opened, the marked coin is found inside. The coin is, of course, missing from under the cover where it was originally placed. All items can be minutely examined by the audience.

Poker chips are synonymous with gambling, casinos and cheating. The video exhibits a good dose of cheating, using poker chips as a focus. There are three poker chips - two red and one black. Time and again, the magician causes the black chip to vanish. Each time it re-appears between the two red chips. Finally, the two red chips are taken, leaving the black one alone. It promptly disappears.

The most famous magician, Houdini, excelled at performing amazing escapes. In the same vein, this vide depicts a playing card being constrained in a seemingly inescapable manner. Ignoring all the principles that should apply, the card does in fact escape from its captivity, to be found free of any restriction.

For your viewing pleasure, I've presented this video. It's become one of favourite effects, so I hope you enjoy it as well. Three rings, red on both sides, change one by one to three multi-coloured rings on both sides. A colourful, intriguing event that causes delight with any audience.

This video showcases a magic trick that has been around for a good 20 years, probably longer. Although it has been performed extensively by professional magicians, it has also been made available in a smaller version for children to handle. A colouring book is shown to have all blank pages. Suddenly, there is a black and white drawing on each page. The magician then proceeds to bring colour to the drawings, decorating them in a bright array of many shades.

Smoke and mirrors have, in the past, been used by magicians (and perhaps politicians) to create an illusion of some event that isn't real. The video presented here is a small example of what can be achieved with the help of our average mercury-coated accessory. The magician displays a small vanity mirror and a coin. Placing the coin in front of mirror with his finger, a reflection is naturally produced presenting the illusion of two fingers and two coins. Withdrawing the coin from the effect of the mirror, it is seen that the magician has in fact two coins, one under each finger. The illusion is that the reflection has become a real object. Cloning the easy way.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were able to produce something from nothing? In this video, I'm demonstrating an exercise in fantasy, to represent our longing to materalise the things we desire. Two handsome flower boxes are produced from a paper bag, previously shown to be empty. Other items are also attained, as the magician desires. The paper bag can then be inspected by the audience.

Have you ever felt all tied up and craving relief? This ring is no exception. Having been securely tied to a length of cord, the ring is placed under the cover of a hankerchief. The two ends of the cord are visible at all times. With a little help from the magician, the ring is able to feel the blessed release of confines, akin I suspect to the relief experienced when one removes a tight garment or an ill-fitting pair of shoes. Enjoy, little ring. I feel for you.

Don't you just love a magic trick that is instant and seamless? Here is a display involving feather flowers that never leave the gaze of the audience. A stem of flowers is shown, with three red flowers adorning the bottom half and three green on the top half.With a pass of the hand, the flowers change colour to show that they now alternate - every second flower is red, every other is green. Just as smartly, the magician causes the order to revert to the original assortment, leaving the audience to ponder.

Ah, we see magicians do some strange things at times. Why would any-one want to push a drinking straw through their arm? I imagine some wizard in a moment of madness thought: "There's a straw - there's an arm. Why not?" For that matter, why would any-one want to pull a rabbit out of a hat? It's not their normal habitat, and then there's the extra mouth to feed. But do it we will. Go figure. Here, the magician takes a drinking straw, bares his arm, and proceeds to push the straw through his arm (don't ask). Sparing the audience the gruesome sight of extracting, he momentarily shields the scene from view. The straw is immediately offered for inspection, as is the arm, if demand is abundant. A handy feat, I guess, if you're thirsty and your arm is in the way.

We never like to see legal tender being destroyed, but in this video the result is quite acceptable. A magician pushes a playing card through a banknote in full view, leaving no damage. This differs somewhat from the traditional method of using a sleeve or cover to enclose the note before perforation. The note can be borrowed from the audience and returned intact.

It's one thing to perform magic with a deck of cards, but it's much harder to trick an audience using only three cards. In this display, three blank cards are shown, and with a slight circular rubbing motion, a red spot appears on one of the cards. The magician now causes all three cards to contain a red spot. Another rubbing motion removes the red spot from all three cards, leaving them all blank once again. Finally, the cards are named 1, 2 & 3. An audience member is asked to mentally choose one. Whichever card is chosen turns out to be the only one with a red spot. The other two a blank. All three cards can be examined.

Magic tricks often consist of an object escaping from captivity. Let's reverse that trend with an illustration of a break-in. A coin is freely shown to the audience, and placed in a small tray. A glass tumbler is then inverted and placed over the coin. At this point, a second coin is now displayed and at the appropriate time, the magician causes this second coin to pass through the bottom of the glass tumbler. The tumbler is removed, and sure enough, the second coin has joined the first, both on the tray.

Sometimes even the simple things are worth considering. Take for example a length of cord. If a knot is formed on one end of the cord, it stands to reason that the knot will remain in the position that it was set. Not so with this demonstration. The magician displays a length of cord and makes a knot at one end. Both ends of the cord are now gathered in the one hand. The knot is grasped firmly and is openly pulled down the entire length of cord. The knot can now be clearly seen tied at the base of the cord. The magician then unties the knot to show its authenticity. Very handy on those occasions where you find your tie needs adjusting.

Money from nowhere - if only. While you watch this video, join me in the fantasy of having a never-ending supply of loose change. A plastic paddle is shown both sides. At the magician's command, a coin appears sitting on the paddle. This can be repeated as often as required, resulting in a veritable windfall. Coins can also be made to disappear, re-appear or even change in value.

Here's a video I prepared for your viewing enjoyment. I hope you like it. A magician shows three cards depicting empty wine glasses, all facing the same way. Inexplicably, the centre card inverts itself to face the other way. This can be repeated, but on the second occasion, the centre card shows a glass filled with yellow liquid!

A magic trick with a twist at the end is always met with audience acceptance. The video shown opposite is of such classification. The audience freely chooses 3 suits from the 4 available in a deck of cards. From the 4 cards in the magician's hat, the three chosen suits are removed one by one. The one remaining card is then drawn out, and amazingly it appears as completely BLANK! It may be examined closely by any of the audience.

We've all witnessed a magic trick where a chosen card disappears from the deck. Here's one with a difference. The magician freely displays a deck of cards encased in its packet. One card is shown and placed in with the rest. The packet is now slid into a plastic case, and on the magician's command the whole DECK of cards disappears! The card displayed earlier is found elsewhere.

There are, of course, many card tricks available for our enjoyment. Most involve the traditional playing cards of the four-suit variety. In the video presented here, I've chosen to use picture cards - particularly appealing to the younger followers of magic. Four green rabbits and four red rabbits are displayed in their two groups. The mysteriously mingle together in a magical way, now being found in the order of Red, Green, Red, Green, etc. Just as oddly, they re-form into their original groups of all-Red and all-Green. All of this happens with a minimum of movement from the magician's hands.

Predictions are a fascination. When a magician makes a prediction, we know there's a trick but it's not always easy to discover. Here's a demonstration of a prediction, with an unexpected ending. A card freely chosen by the audience, matches exactly the magician's prediction. As a bonus, it is disclosed that every other card not chosen, is faceless.

Card tricks can, I believe, become rather boring. So I like to present videos that get away from the "Choose a card - Lose a card - Find a card" category. I think you'll find this one a little more interesting. Sixteen cards are dealt into four piles of four. Each pile contains one court card and three 'pip' cards. ne by one, the piles are examined, to find that the court card in each of the first three piles have disappeared, and have been replaced by a pip card. On examining the remaining fourth pile, it is seen that it contains all four court cards.