Categories of  Magic Effects

 

    Production

 The Magician produces something from nothing, a rabbit from a hat, a fan of cards, a shower of coins.

 All of these effects are productions.

 

    Vanish

The Magician makes something disappear, a coin, milk from a newspaper, an assistant from a cabinet.

A vanish, being the reverse of a production, may use

 a similar technique, in reverse.

 

    Transformation

 The Magician transforms something from one state into another—a silk handkerchief changes colour, a lady turns into a tiger. A transformation can be seen

 as a combination of a vanish and a production.

 

   Restoration

The Magician destroys an object & restores it back to its original state, a rope is cut, a newspaper is torn,

a woman is sawn in half, then they are all restored to their original state.

 

   Teleportation

The Magician causes something to move from one place to another, a borrowed ring is found inside a ball of wool,  an assistant from a cabinet to the back

of the theatre. When two objects exchange places,

it is  called a transposition or a simultaneous, double teleportation.

 

   Levitation

The Magician defies gravity, either by making something float in the air, or with the aid of another object (suspension)—a silver ball floats around a cloth, an assistant floats in mid-air, another is suspended from a broom, a scarf dances in a sealed bottle

 

  Penetration

The Magician makes a solid object pass through another—a set of steel rings link and unlink, a candle penetrates an arm, swords pass through an assistant

 in a basket, a saltshaker penetrates the table-top,

 

  Prediction

The Magician predicts the choice of a spectator, or

 the outcome of an event under seemingly impossible circumstances—a newspaper headline is predicted, the total amount of loose change in the spectator's pocket, a picture drawn on a slate.

 

Many magical routines use combinations of effects.

For example,  in "cups and balls" a Magician may use vanishes, productions, penetrations, teleportation and transformations as part of the one presentation.