Glossary of Magic Terms

Even if you don’t know "sleight of hand" from a "large scale illusion," we present a glossary of basic magic terms that you may use as a reference.

Act

An act is a series of magic routines that have been compiled into a show. Sometimes, an act can refer to the character of a magician who is performing, for example, "comedy act" or "con man act."

Ambitious Card

A card effect where a selected card continually rises to the top of the deck after being placed into the middle of the deck.

Angle

In magic, "angle" refers to the angle at which your audience or spectators are viewing your tricks. Since every trick has a secret, tricks are often discussed in terms of their angles. Usually as "good" or "limited."

Busking

Busking refers to the process of providing entertainment on the streets in urban areas and being paid by tips gathered from audiences.

Card Fountain

A card fountain is a device that shoots cards into the air in a continuous stream.

Card Revelation

A magic trick with playing cards where a card is freely selected by a spectator and the magician identifies or reveals the chosen card in an unusual or spectacular fashion.

Card Through Window

An effect where a chosen playing card seems to pass through the glass of a window or door.

Card to Wallet

An effect where a chosen playing card that's usually signed, is mysteriously found in the magician's wallet.

Chameleon Silks

Chameleon Silks, also known as color changing handerchiefs, is a magic effect with handkerchiefs. The magician places a handkerchief in his or her hand, for example, a red one, and when it's pushed out the other side, it emerges a different color.

Clean

A state at a trick's conclusion where there is no remnant of the secret for spectators to find. If there are props remaining, spectators may examine them and there will be no way for them to discover the secret. For example, if a magician has caused a handkerchief to disappear in a box, his spectators may examine the box at the trick's conclusion and they will discover no secrets. The secret lies elsewhere, or the box hides a secret that spectators will never find.

Close-Up Magic

Magic that is performed for small groups of people who are standing or sitting nearby. Close-up magic ypically using common household objects such as cards, coins, handkerchiefs and more.

Close-Up Magician

A magician who performs close-up magic.

Coin Bend

A coin bend is a routine where a coin is held in the magician's hand and it appears to mysteriously bend, almost as if the magician is somehow controlling it. These routines are often presented as feats of mental aptitude or telekinesis.

Coins Across

An effect where coins in one hand mysteriously travel, one by one, to the other hand.

Color Change

A color change is a move that's usually accomplished through sleight of hand that switches one card for another card. To spectators, it looks as if one card changes into another one. Popular color changes include the Erdnase and Paintbrush changes.

Cut and Restored

Cut and Restored refers to any effect where an object is cut-up and then made whole again. Usually performed with rope, string or thread.

Dirty

In magic, "dirty" means that you have just performed a trick and you're left with a method or secret that can potentially be discovered by spectators. For example, you may have "vanished" an object, but the object still resides in your hand or in a prop. Or you may have performed a trick but can't allow spectators to examine the props.

Disappearance

A magic trick where an object or person vanishes.

Do As I Do

"Do As I Do" is a well known card trick, a classic, where the magician and a spectator perform similar functions on decks of cards (cutting, mixing, etc...) and both somehow reveal the same freely selected playing cards.

Effect

The intended and perceived outcome of a magic trick or illusion. What the spectator thinks he or she sees happening.

Escape

A branch of magic where the performer appears to free him or herself from ropes, handcuffs, boxes and other constraints.

Exposure

The act of explaining a trick's secret with no intention of teaching someone how to perform the effect.

Flourishes

Flourishes are flashy, attention-getting moves that magicians often perform as part of a routine. Most flourishes are performed with playing cards.

Gaffed Card

A gaffed card is playing card that has been modified to accomplish an effect.

Gimmick

An object that appears natural but has been altered to create a magical effect. Can also be an object that’s never seen by the audience that creates the magical effect.

Gospel Magic

A branch of magic that uses magic effects to present and reinforce Christian concepts.

Gypsy Thread

An effect where a magician takes thread and breaks it into tiny pieces. At the end, the thread is completely restored.

Haunted Hank

An effect where a handkerchief begins to dance around, almost as if possessed by a spirit.

Illusion

Any magical effect that to the spectator looks impossible, but is accomplished through real-world means. Illusion is often applied to the large stage magic tricks-the kinds with boxes where people are made to disappear, sawed in half, levitated and more.

Illusionist

A performer who presents illusions. Usually refers to a magician who performs large stage tricks. Effects such as sawing a person in half are considered illusions.

Karate Coin

A coin effect where a magician appears to drive his fingers through the center of a coin. In some versions, the coin appears to be torn right through with a hole ripped through its center. In other versions, the finger appears to have somehow penetrated the center of the coin.

Knife Through Coat

In this effect, the magician appears to shove a knife through a spectator's borrowed jacket. Even though spectators hear the coat rip, the jacket is untorn at the routine's conclusion.

Levitation

The ability to float oneself, another person or an object, with no apparent means of support, as if the rules of gravity do not apply.

Linking Rings

A well known effect where a magician brings out a set of large rings that mysteriously link and unlink at the magician's command.

Magic

While "magic" has lots of meanings to different people, for our purposes here at Magic.about.com, "magic" refers to the art of illusion or the process of making something appear to be happening that actually isn't.

Magical

"Magical" refers to any seemingly extraordinary ability to accomplish a task, just as if by using magic. Magical can also apply to a person, event or experience.

Magician

A magician is anyone who performs magic, which encompasses professional magicians, as well as amateurs and kids.

Matrix

Matrix refers to a magic routine, usually with coins, where objects, usually four, are laid out on a table or on the ground. By placing cards or his hands over the objects, the objects appear to magically move from one place to another and ultimately gather in a single place.

Mentalism

Mentalism is a field of magic that involves feats of the mind-mind-reading, predictions and more.

Misdirection

Making an audience look elsewhere while you perform a secret move.

Miser's Dream

An effect where a magician continually produces coins and throws them into a waiting receptacle. Coins can apparently appear from out of the air and pretty much wherever the magician wishes.

Out of This World

Paul Curry’s Out of This World is a well known card trick that makes order out of seeming chaos. By seemingly using their intuition and dealing cards, spectators are able to sort out black cards from red ones without looking at them.

Packet Tricks

A set of playing cards that are used in a trick. A packet trick does not use an entire deck of playing cards but only some or a few of them. Most packet tricks are carried separate from a deck of cards.

Palming

Secretly hiding an object in your hand.

Patter

Your running commentary as you perform magic. For some tricks, the patter may be a story. With others, it may be jokes.

Production

The appearance of an object or person, as if by magic.

Pseudo Psychometry

Pseudo Psychometry is a type of mentalism routine where several spectators have items that are associated with them and the magician somehow identifies which item is owned by which person.

Reset

Setting up a trick after you’ve performed it so you can perform it again.

Restaurant Magic

Close-up magic that is performed in restaurants before and after diners have eaten. The magician performs at tables. This type of magic is also known as "table hopping."

Routine

A routine is a trick that's been dressed with a presentation that can include patter or music.

Self-Working Trick

A trick that works by itself that requires little technical skill or effort on behalf of the performer.

Silk - Definition

"Silk" is a term that magicians use to refer to a handkerchief - typically, made of silk.

Six Card Repeat

Six Card Repeat is a stand-up effect where a magician counts six cards in his hands, throws one or a few away, and continues to count six cards in his hand. The process is repeated.

Sleight of Hand

A branch of magic that mainly depends on skill and relies less on gimmicked objects to create magical effects.

Spirit Photography

In spirit photography, deceased people mysteriously appear in photographs. At the time the pictures are taken, supposedly, there's no evidence of the spirit. Many famous photographs appear to show spirits who reside in locations, usually homes. In other photos, spirits are shown to be looming around living people. Perhaps best known is a portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln who is seemingly sitting under the spirit of Abraham Lincoln.

Stacked Deck

A stacked deck is one that is in a particular order that allows you to perform a magic trick.

Stand-Up Magic

A branch of magic where the magician stands in front of a crowd and performs magic.

Street Magic

Street Magic is a branch of magic where performers entertain on the streets in urban areas. The performers are paid by collecting tips from their audience members.

Strolling

A branch of close-up magic where the magician roams a room or at an event and performs for groups of spectators.

Suspension

An illusion where an object or person appears to maintain their position in air without any means of support. Unlike a levitation, an object does not rise or fall on its own. The supports from under the subject are typically pulled away and then placed back at the conclusion of the effect.

Svengali Deck

A Svengali deck is a trick deck of cards that allows you to easily perform some seemingly amazing feats and it�s a great trick for beginners of almost any age.

Table Hopping

Close-up magic that’s performed while spectators are seated at tables, usually at restaurants and sit-down dinner events.

Three Fly

"Three Fly" is a coins across effect where three coins to mysteriously travel from the fingertips of one hand to the fingertips of the other hand.

Torn and Restored

Any effect where an object is torn-up and then made whole again. Usually performed with paper, napkins, cigarette papers, newpaper or playing cards.

Transposition

A magic effect where two objects somehow exchange places. Usually performed with coins or playing cards.

Trick

"Trick" refers to a magical effect that you perform. When a trick is presented with patter or music, it becomes a routine.

Triumph

An effect where a deck of cards is shuffled with one-half face-up and the other face-down. The magician somehow straightens out the deck so all of the cards are facing in the same direction, with the exception of a selected card.

Walkaround

A branch of close-up magic where the magician roams a room or at an event and performs for groups of spectators.

Wild Card

A card trick where a group of cards take on the characteristics of a single playing card. The routine typically starts with blank cards and by touching these cards to a single card, for example, an ace of clubs, each of the blanks turns into the ace. Commercial versions of this effect include: Cameron Francis' Out of Order, Daryl's Presto Printo and Dominique Duvivier's Printing.

XCM

XCM stands for Extreme Card Manipulation. It is a branch of magic with playing cards that is devoted to the performance of card flourishes.

Zombie Ball

Zombie Ball is a stand-up/stage effect where a metallic globe seemingly floats on its own under the cover of a foulard.

Definition of Spoon Bending

Spoon Bending is a popular magic effect where a magician holds a spoon and it slowly bends with no apparent means. The effect is an apparent demonstration of telekinesis - the ability to move objects with one's mind. Spoon bending is associated with the psychic entertainer, Uri Gellar.