A Note to New Readers

As usually happens, I got a bunch of emails over the holiday break from new readers. I’m not sure why it works out that way. Maybe people just have more free time which leads to them stumbling over this site. Or I know some people find the site through Joshua Jay’s, “How Magicians Think.” So people who get that book for Christmas or Hanukah often end up here. Whatever the reason is, new readers come to this site and there is just a mountain of content and they’re like-

So they write me an email and ask me where they should start, and I don’t really have anything to say besides, “Start at the beginning and read until you’re sick of it.”

But I decided maybe I could write a post about where this site is 7.5 years in that I could direct people to in order to see if taking the plunge into the site will be a worthwhile endeavor for them. I had one guy write to me once and tell me he spent 5 hours a day over the course of a few weeks working his way through the site. I wrote back to tell him that I hope it was a good investment of his time. Never heard back from him. Oh well!

For new readers, I would say the heart of this site is one person’s exploration of concepts related to Social Magic. There are, of course, many tangential topics covered here, but that’s the main thrust of it.

What is Social Magic?

You could say Social Magic is defined by the audience and the setting. Social Magic is an unpaid performance for friends, family, or people you’ve just met, done in casual environments.

You could say that, but it’s not really accurate. Lots of people perform for Aunt Becky at the dinner table and do so like they’re in the parlor at The Magic Castle.

What I’m talking about with Social Magic is an attitudinal approach where the magic is presented as part of an interaction (real or fictional) and not so much a PERFORMANCE.

I don’t think this social magic style is the “right” way to perform for friends and family. It’s just the way I’m comfortable with.

Is it right for you?

Consider these two scenarios:

Scenario One

We’re hanging out at my place. I say, “Hey, I want to show you a trick. These are three Morgan silver dollars. You know they say ‘Time is Money’ and also ‘Time Flies.’ So that must mean money flies as well. With just a click of my fingers, a coin goes from my left hand to my right.” And then I make the silver dollars jump back and forth between my hands.

Scenario Two

We’re hanging out at my place. Three Morgan silver dollars are sitting on my coffee table. “What are those?” you ask.

“Oh, they’re called Morgan silver dollars. They’re over 100 years old. I was testing out this concept I read about once in an old magic book. This guy I know let me take a look at it, but I couldn’t make any notes, so I don’t really have it down perfectly. It’s this coin trick, but it doesn’t work with pennies or quarters. Something about the weight of these coins and the composition of the metal…the way it reflects?…I don’t fully understand it. Actually, maybe you can help. Tell me if this looks unusual from your perspective.” And then I make the silver dollars jump back and forth between my hands.

Scenario One is a traditional type of close-up performance. Scenario Two ramps up to the trick in a way that feels more natural to me. And I find people tend to be more receptive to this sort of thing—at least the type of people I hang out with—than they would be if I were to tell them straight off, “I’m going to perform a magic trick,” and then I use a bunch of canned patter.

But the most important thing is your comfort level. If you’d feel more comfortable with a traditional performance style, then do that. For me, that sort of performance feels stilted and misplaced in casual situations. But if you feel more at east with that, I’d stick with it.

Scenario Two is a sort of rudimentary example of a few of the techniques I’ve shared on this site, somewhat clumsily jammed together. (Specifically those techniques are: Hooks, Peek Backstage, Cast, presenting yourself as someone with an interest in magic, and eliminating certainty). If something like Scenario Two feels right to you, then you might be interested in the concepts I have related to performing socially. If not, then you may still enjoy going through the site, but I don’t know if it’s worth the time investment just for the other goofball content.

Another thing I’m a big believer in is straddling the line between fiction and reality. This is something that seems to throw new readers off and lead to a lot of questions. When people perform magic in casual situations they usually fall into one of two camps. They take things very seriously and try to come off as if there’s something legitimately special about them or their abilities. Or they play it off like they’re just screwing around and this is all trivial. I think the former position is corny. And I think the latter position keeps people from really connecting to the experience.

I prefer an attitude that suggests, “Yeah, we’re just screwing around, but let’s still fully engage in this moment.”

Often readers don’t get this. Why put effort into something you don’t really want them to believe? Why would you seduce someone you don’t want to fuck?

It’s called “charm.” You’re creating a fantastical moment. Not so it can be believed. But so it can be enjoyed to the fullest. That’s the reason you’re putting the energy behind it.

If this approach to magic doesn’t speak to you, that’s perfectly fine. But if that’s the case, you don’t need to do a deep dive into this site. I would just check it out every now and again and see if you’re connecting with the particular topic being discussed.

However if you are on a similar wavelength, get reading, you have a lot to go through.