You may have heard of the TV programme "Breaking the Magician's Code". A lot of people (mainly magician's) didn't like that show because it was telling you how the tricks were done. When a magician becomes a magician officially - for example if they join a professional magic society - they take an oath which goes something like this:
"As a magician I promise never to reveal the secret of any illusion to a non-magician, unless that one swears to uphold the Magician's Oath in turn. I promise never to perform any illusion for any non-magician without first practising the effect until I can perform it well enough to maintain the illusion of magic."
I want to give my take on this, as an aspiring magician. Well I don't think it's evil for shows like Breaking the Magician's Code to be out (in fact I quite enjoyed it), I do think that there is some common sense in following this oath. Magic is only magic because the spectator doesn't know how it's done - it's that simple. It ceases to be magic once a person understands the trick.
For me, understanding how a trick is done is a good thing because it means that I can also learn how to do the trick and provide amazement for other people. However if you have no desire to get into magic then you have your experience of that trick ruined. There is nothing worse than looking into the glazed over eyes of a spectator who now knows the secret and loses interest.
That's why in the articles I write I make it a point not to reveal exactly how to do some of the more advanced tricks, but leave it for the seriously interested to do their own research. Magic is about the "wow" factor - it's about surprise and amazement - so just remember that what you learn should really be kept in your head until you can find someone who wants to get into the art themselves.
Keep learning, keep practising, keep getting better - and keep it inside.
By: David Bowley
If you want to learn magic then check out magic tricks revealed for more tips and tricks.
