The phrase, “a Magician Never Reveals His tricks” has become so well known that people in other professions frequently use it when they do not want to reveal how they carried out a task.
It has become part of the English language.
Magicians never reveal their secrets for the following reasons:
- The Sense of Wonder
- Secrets Are The Stock In Trade
- The Magic Circle Rules
In this article, I will look deeper into this statement and find out if it is really true, and the reasons why the phrase is used.
The Sense Of Wonder
Do you remember when you were a young child and you saw your first Magician?
Can you remember that sense of wonderment and awe when he performed his tricks?
You left the theater with a sense of “Magic.”
As children grow older, they begin to understand that it is not real Magic, but a clever trick, that they still do not understand.
>> 100 Best Magic Tricks Revealed! <<
There is still a sense of wonder as their mind struggles with how it was done.
Then comes the time when they want to know how it is done, and if they find out, then that sense of Magic is lost forever.
This is one reason that Magicians do not reveal the secret.
Secrets Are The Stock In Trade
The second reason that Magicians Never Reveal Secrets is rather more mundane.
It is out of courtesy to other Magicians.
If you, as a Magician, explain how it is done and the person then goes to another show and recognizes the same trick they will promptly tell all the people around exactly how it is done, thus spoiling the second magician’s act and the enjoyment of the audience.
The wonder will have been instantly removed.
Furthermore, some magic tricks might be copyrighted.
The Magic Circle Rules
The Magic Circle is a British organization that has spread worldwide and is the primary organization for professional magicians.
Membership is open to Magicians who have written a thesis on a particular type of magic or have passed a written exam.
Members may use the letters M.M.C. after their names.
They can progress within the organization and become an Associate of the Inner Magic Circle (M.I.M.C) or a Member of the Inner Magic Circle.
There are only 300 Inner members allowed.
The Magic Circle has a rule that does not allow members to reveal how tricks are done except in certain private situations where they are explained to other Magicians.
So, Magicians who are a member or aspiring member of the Magic Circle will not reveal Tricks.
Breaking Magicians Code
In the late 1990s, a TV series was launched called, “Breaking the Magicians Code.”
This show revealed many traditional magic tricks.
The show was presented by the “Masked Magician,” otherwise known as Val Valentino.
The Masked Magician revealed his identity in the finale to the season and was promptly hit by numerous lawsuits from Magicians who claimed he had lost them earnings and forced them to withdraw certain tricks from their acts.
Considering some of the tricks cost $50,000 a piece to buy, it is understandable that the Magic community was furious.
David Copperfield & Lucky Number 13 Trick
David Copperfield, perhaps the greatest Magician of today, also revealed a trick called the Number 13 trick.
However, this was not done willingly and was in response to a court order, after a volunteer in the trick to Copperfield to court, claiming he was injured while doing the trick with Copperfield.
Magic Clubs
In addition to the Magic Circle, there are numerous “Magic Clubs” around the world, where Magicians and enthusiasts meet to discuss tricks amongst themselves.
This is one of the ways that new Magicians learn tricks.
Magic Stores
In the USA there are many small Magic Shops where Magic Tricks can be purchased, and people taught to perform them.
There are also a couple of specialists who design and sell the really expensive tricks that the top Professional Magicians perform.
This is how new tricks are developed and part of the agreement that goes with these expensive tricks is the implied condition that the purchaser will not reveal the trick.
Books And The Internet
Finally, there are several books available that teach Magic Tricks.
You can search in Amazon Books for the term, “Magic Tricks” and over 40,000 books come up.
There are also specialized websites that are designed to teach magic tricks to ordinary people around the world.
You can also search on YouTube and there are hundreds of videos that come up if you search for “Learn Magic Tricks.”
Where You Can Learn Magic Tricks
Learning magic tricks was never so easy.
As mentioned in the paragraph above, there is a number of websites and YouTube channels that are teaching magic, even for free!
I did research and put together a list of the best websites and YouTube channels where you can learn magic tricks:
These are the best resources you can use when you’re looking for places where to learn magic.
Final Thoughts
We can see that although there is a stated desire by Magic Organizations to retain the secrecy, the reality is that the cat is out of the bag, and apart from the very exclusive expensive tricks, there is precious little secrecy left.
Nowadays, there is a number of resources where you can learn magic for free, or you can sign up for a paid structured course.