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Magic (illusion)

2008-07-30T14:36:00.001+07:00

Magic (illusion)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Illusionist" redirects here. For the film, see The Illusionist.

Hieronymus Bosch: The Conjurer, 1475-1480 Note that the man in the back row is stealing another man's purse.

Magic is a performing art that entertains an audience by creating illusions of impossible^[1] or supernatural^[2] feats, using purely natural means. These feats are called magic tricks, effects or illusions.

An artist who performs illusions is called a magician. Some performers may also be referred to by names reflecting the type of magical effects they present, such as prestidigitators, conjurors, illusionists, mentalists, ventriloquists, and escape artists.

A group of magicians, is referred to as a misdirection of magicians. This is according to Charles Harrington Elster's book There's a Word for it, published by Scribner.^[3]

Learning magic

The teaching of performance magic was once a secretive art. Professional magicians were unwilling to share knowledge with anyone outside the profession to prevent the laity from learning their secrets. This made it difficult for an interested apprentice to learn magic beyond the basics. Some had strict rules against members discussing magic secrets with anyone but established magicians.

From the 1584 publication of Reginald Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft until the end of the 19th century, only a few books were available for magicians to learn the craft. Books remain extremely useful today, and are still considered the best way for a student to learn magic. Videos and DVDs are a newer medium of tuition, which many inexperienced magicians rely on as a primary source of information; in reality, many of the methods found in this format are readily found in previously published books. However, they can serve useful as a visual demonstration.

Nowadays, magicians can join magic clubs. Here magicians, both seasoned and novitiate, can work together and help one another for mutual improvement, to learn new techniques, to discuss all aspects of magic, to perform for each other — sharing advice, encouragement and criticism. Before a magician can join one of these clubs, they usually have to perform an audition. The purpose is to show to the membership that they are a magician and not just someone off the street wanting to discover magical secrets.

The world's largest magic organization is the International Brotherhood of Magicians; it publishes a monthly journal, The Linking Ring. The oldest organization is the Society of American Magicians, of which Houdini was a member. In London, England, there is The Magic Circle which houses the largest magic library in Europe. Also PSYCRETS - The British Society of Mystery Entertainers, which caters specifically to mentalists, bizarrists, storytellers, readers, spiritualist performers, and other mystery entertainers. The Magic Castle in Hollywood is home to the Academy of Magical Arts.

Magic performances tend to fall into a few specialities or genres.

Types of magic performance

Magic performances tend to fall into a few specialities or genres.

A mentalist on stage in a mind-reading performance, 1900

Stage illusions are performed for large audiences, typically within an auditorium. This type of magic is distinguished by large-scale props, the use of assistants and often, exotic animals such as elephants and tigers. Some famous stage illusionists, past and present, include Harry Blackstone, Sr., Howard Thurston, Chung Ling Soo, David Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy, and Harry Blackstone, Jr.
Platform magic (also known as Cabaret magic or Stand-up magic) are terms used to describe magic performed for a medium to large audience. Night club magic and comedy club magic are also examples of this form. The use of illusionettes (small table top illusions) is common. The term Parlor magic is sometimes used but is considered pejorative. This genre includes the skilled manipulation of props such as billiard balls, card fans, doves, rabbits, silks, and rope. Examples of such magicians include Jeff McBride, Penn & Teller, David Abbott, Channing Pollock, Black Herman, and Fred Kaps.
Micromagic (also known as Close-up magic or Table Magic) is performed with the audience close to the magician, sometimes even one-on-one. It usually makes use of everyday items as props, such as cards and coins (see Coin magic) and seemingly 'impromptu' effects. This is also called "table magic" particularly when performed as dinner entertainment. Ricky Jay and Lee Asher, following in the traditions of Dai Vernon, Slydini and Max Malini, are considered among the foremost practitioners of close-up magic.
Escapology is the branch of magic that deals with escapes from confinment or restraints. Harry Houdini is a well-known example of an escape artist or escapologist.
Mentalism creates the impression in the minds of the audience that the performer possesses special powers to read thoughts, predict events, control other minds, and similar feats. It can be presented on a stage, in a cabaret setting, before small close-up groups, or even for one spectator. Magicians in this field include Alexander, Theodore Annemann, Banachek, David Berglas, Derren Brown, Kuda Bux, Bob Cassidy, Chan Canasta, Corinda, Joseph Dunninger, Uri Geller, Luke Jermay, Kreskin, Al Koran, Max Maven, Richard Osterlind, The Piddingtons, Ehud Segev, The Zancigs.

Amateur magician performing "children's magic" for a birthday party audience.

Theatrical Séances is that aspect of magic that simulates spiritualistic or mediumistic effects. This is meant purely as theatre and not meant to "conjure up spirits." This is an aspect of stage magic that is often misused by charlatans who pretend to actually be in contact with spirits.
Children's magic is performed for an audience primarily composed of children. It is typically performed at birthday parties, preschools, elementary schools, Sunday Schools or libraries. This type of magic is usually comedic in nature and involves audience interaction as well as volunteer assistants.
Online magic tricks were designed to function on a computer screen. The computer essentially replaces the magician. Some online magic tricks recreate traditional card tricks and require user participation, while others, like Plato's Cursed Triangle are based on mathematical, geometrical and/or optical illusions. One such online magic trick, called Esmeralda's Crystal Ball, became a viral phenomenon that fooled so many computer users into believing that their computer had supernatural powers, that Snopes dedicated a page to debunking the trick.
Mathemagic is an aspect of stage magic that combines magic and mathematics. It is commonly used by children's magicians and mentalists.
Corporate Magic or Trade Show Magic uses magic as a communication and sales tool, as opposed to just straightforward entertainment. Corporate magicians may come from a business background and typically present at meetings, conferences and product launches. They run workshops and can sometimes be found at trade shows, where their patter and illusions enhance an entertaining presentation of the products offered by their corporate sponsors. The pioneer performer in this arena is Eddie Tullock.^[5]
Gospel Magic uses magic to catechize and evangelize. Gospel Magic was first used by St. Don Bosco to interest children in 19th century Turino, Italy to come back to school, accept assistance and to attend church.
Street magic is a form of street performing or busking that employs a hybrid of stage magic, platform and close-up magic, usually performed 'in the round' or surrounded. Notable modern street magic performers include Jeff Sheridan and Gazzo. The term "street magic" has recently (since the first David Blaine TV special "Street Magic" aired in 1997) come to be used to describe a style of "guerilla" performance where magicians approach and perform for unsuspecting members of the public on the street. Unlike traditional street magic, this style is almost purely designed for TV and gains its impact from the wild reactions of the public. Magicians of this type include David Blaine, Criss Angel and Cyril Takayama.
Bizarre magic uses mystical, horror, fantasy and other similar themes in performance. Bizarre magic is typically performed in a close-up venue, although some performers have effectively presented it in a stage setting. Charles Cameron has generally been credited as the "godfather of bizarre magic." Others, such as Tony Andruzzi, contributed significantly to its development.
Shock magic is a genre of magic that shocks the audience, hence the name. Sometimes referred to as "geek magic," it takes its roots from circus sideshows, in which "freakish" performances were shown to audiences. Common shock magic or geek magic effects include eating razor blades, needle-through-arm, string through neck and pen-through-tongue. Magicians known for performing shock magic include Criss Angel, Andrew Mayne, Sean Fields, and Brian Brushwood.

Magic (paranormal)

2008-07-30T14:32:00.002+07:00

Magic (paranormal)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events, objects, people, and physical phenomena) through mystical, paranormal or supernatural means. The term can also refer to the practices employed by a person asserting this influence, and to beliefs that explain various events and phenomena in such terms. In many cultures the concept of magic is under pressure from, and in competition with, scientific and religious conceptual systems. This is particularly the case in the Christian West and the Muslim Middle East where the practice of magic is generally regarded as blasphemous or forbidden by orthodox leadership.

History

Further information: History of astrology and History of religion

Classical antiquity

Main article: Magic in the Greco-Roman world

Hecate, the ancient Greek goddess of magic.

The prototypical "magicians" were a class of priests, the Magi of Zoroastrianism, and their reputation together with that of Ancient Egypt shaped the hermeticism of Hellenistic religion.^{[citation needed]} The Greek mystery religions had strongly magical components, and in Egypt, a large number of magical papyri, in Greek, Coptic, and Demotic, have been recovered. These sources contain early instances of much of the magical lore that later became part of Western cultural expectations about the practice of magic, especially ceremonial magic.^{[citation needed]} They contain early instances of:

the use of "magic words" said to have the power to command spirits;
the use of wands and other ritual tools;
the use of a magic circle to defend the magician against the spirits he is invoking or evoking; and
the use of mysterious symbols or sigils thought useful to invoke or evoke spirits.^[1]

The use of spirit mediums is also documented in these texts; many of the spells call for a child to be brought to the magic circle to act as a conduit for messages from the spirits.^{[citation needed]} The time of the Emperor Julian of Rome, marked by a reaction against the influence of Christianity, saw a revival of magical practices associated with neo-Platonism under the guise of theurgy.

Theories of magic

Anthropological and psychological origins

Further information: Myth and ritual

The belief that one can influence supernatural powers, by prayer, sacrifice or invocation goes back to prehistoric religion, and is consequently present from the earliest records of a cultic nature, including the Egyptian pyramid texts and the Indian Vedas, among which the Atharvaveda in particular addresses magic in the classical sense, and the position of the Vedic Brahmins, like that of any ancient priesthood, can be compared to that of magicians.^[8]

James George Frazer believed that magic was a fallacious system and asserted that magical observations are the result of an internal dysfunction: "Men mistook the order of their ideas for the order of nature, and hence imagined that the control which they have, or seem to have, over their thoughts, permitted them to exercise a corresponding control over things."^[9]

Others, such as N. W. Thomas^[10] and Sigmund Freud have rejected this explanation. Freud explains that "the associated theory of magic merely explains the paths along which magic proceeds; it does not explain its true essence, namely the misunderstanding which leads it to replace the laws of nature by psychological ones".^[11] Freud emphasizes that what led primitive men to come up with magic is the power of wishes: "His wishes are accompanied by a motor impulse, the will, which is later destined to alter the whole face of the earth in order to satisfy his wishes. This motor impulse is at first employed to give a representation of the satisfying situation in such a way that it becomes possible to experience the satisfaction by means of what might be described as motor hallucinations. This kind of representation of a satisfied wish is quite comparable to children's play, which succeeds their earlier purely sensory technique of satisfaction. [...] As time goes on, the psychological accent shifts from the motives for the magical act on to the measures by which it is carried out—that is, on to the act itself. [...] It thus comes to appear as though it is the magical act itself which, owing to its similarity with the desired result, alone determines the occurrence of that result."^[1

Magic

2008-07-30T14:29:00.001+07:00

Magic

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Look up magic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Magic may refer to:

Magic (paranormal) anything that is not naturally explainable by any laws of nature.
- Magical thinking
- Folk magic, traditional systems of magic
- Magick, the magical system of Aleister Crowley and Thelema
- Witchcraft, the use of certain kinds of supernatural or magical powers
Magic (illusion), the art of entertaining audiences by performing illusions and tricks
- Street magic, sleight of hand, etc.

In fantasy fiction:

Magic (fantasy), a general overview of magic in works of fantasy
Magic (Discworld), magic in the Discworld series
Magic (Middle-earth), magic in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien
Magik (comics), a character in Marvel Comics.
Magyk, a book by Angie Sage

In science and mathematics:

Magic (cryptography), the codename for U.S. intelligence obtained from cryptanalysis of Japanese diplomatic transmissions during World War II
Magic square, a square of numbers with identical row, column, and diagonal sums
MAGIC (telescope), the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov Telescope
R550 Magic, a French-built anti-aircraft missile
Multi Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside, a governmental website with a detailed mapping and layers of the United Kingdom
Magnetism-based interaction capture, a magnetic nanoprobe technology for detecting molecular interactions in living cells
Magnesium Injection Cycle, a design for a clean engine

In games:

Magic: The Gathering, a trading card game in which participants play as powerful wizards
Magic (gaming), paranormal magic as used in games
- Final Fantasy magic, magic as used in the Final Fantasy game series
Master of Magic a popular MS-DOS game.

In popular culture:

Magic (T-Connection album), a 1977 album by T-Connection
Magic (Gillan album), a 1982 album by Gillan
Magic (Jets album), a 1987 album by The Jets
Magic (Amii Stewart album), a 1992 album by Amii Stewart
Magic (Axel Rudi Pell album), a 1997 album by the German Guitar Wizard
Magic (Twins album), a 2004 album by Twins
Magic (Bruce Springsteen album), a 2007 album by Bruce Springsteen
Magic (novel), a novel by William Goldman made into a 1978 film starring Anthony Hopkins and Ann-Margret
Magic (film), thriller-movie from 1978 starring Anthony Hopkins.
Magic (rapper), a New Orleans-based rapper
Magic (magazine), a magazine for magicians
Magic (music magazine), a monthly music magazine in France
Magic (Pilot song), a 1974 hit song by Pilot
Magic (Olivia Newton-John song), a 1980 song by Olivia Newton-John
Magic (The Cars song), a 1984 song by The Cars
Magic (Robin Thicke song), a 2008 song by Robin Thicke
Magick (song), a 2006 song by the Klaxons
Magick Power, a 1987 song by the paisley underground band, Opal.

In computing programming:

Magic (programming), a general term for hiding complexity, as well as a UNIX command for "magically" determining unknown filetypes
- Deep magic, a term for completely unknown workings in the depths of a sofware
- Black magic (programming), a synonym for voodoo programming, techniques which seem to work but aren't fully understood as to why they work
Magic number (programming), an arbitrary number that has been assigned a special meaning
"Magic", a version of the MUMPS programming language developed by Meditech
Magic (software), a popular VLSI layout tool
Magic Software Enterprises, a software company which maintains eDeveloper
ImageMagick, a suite of imaging programs
MAJC, a multi-core, multi-threaded processor targeted at running Java code made by Sun Microsystems in the 1990s
Magic (object-oriented programming), A prototype-based, object-oriented, event-driven (mainly I/O events) interpreted programming language developed at the Experimental Computing Facility, University of California, Berkeley.

Among radio stations:

Magic Radio, a radio network and television channel based in the United Kingdom (disambiguation for affiliates)
WKLI (Magic 100), a radio station in Albany, New York
KZMG (Magic 93.1), a radio station in Boise, Idaho
WMJX (Magic 106.7), a radio station in Boston, Massachusetts
KKMG (98.9 Magic FM), a radio station in Colorado Springs, Colorado
WMGC (Magic 105.1), a radio station in Detroit, Michigan
WMGS (Magic 93), a radio station in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Magic 89.9, a radio station in Manila, Philippines
WLTB (Magic 101.7), a radio station in Binghamton, New York
Magic 1278, a radio station in Melbourne, Australia
Magic 107.7 FM, a radio station in Orlando, Florida
KMAJ (Majic 107.7 FM), a radio station in Topeka, Kansas
Magic 97.3 FM, a radio station in Panama City, Florida
Magic 96.5 FM, a radio station in Birmingham, Alabama
WMGQ Magic 98.3 FM, a radio station in New Brunswick, New Jersey
Magic 105.7 FM, a radio station in Cleveland, Ohio.
WTHZ (Magic 94.1), a radio station in Greensboro, North Carolina. Another station in the area, WMAG-FM, used the handle "Magic 99.5" for a period of time in the 1980s.
Magic 100.5 FM, A radio station in Cumberland, Maryland.
Majic 102.3 FM, the #1 R&B radio station in the Washington D.C. area.
Magic 95.5 FM a radio station in Reno, Nevada

Magic can also mean:

Orlando Magic, an NBA basketball team
Magic Johnson, a famous basketball player
Magic (trade show), the Men's Apparel Guild in California trade show