Holiday gift to Genii MENTAL MAGIC

[Spellbinder]

I first began writing articles for Genii magazine in the early 70's. My earliest articles were seasonal in nature; every December I would contribute a list of ways to incorporate Season's Greetings into the magic act. This post continues that tradition, as my annual gift to Genii and its readers. Fitting the gift to the Internet Forum format, it is in three parts this year; close-up; stage/platform; and mental magic.

Part 3 - Mental Magic

Christmas Card prediction. Instead of playing cards, use seasonal greeting cards, mix them up, have one chosen, and show that it matches your prediction. A good force for oversized and irregular shaped cards is the fan force.

Instead of dice, consider using dredles. Show how the dredle with its simple PUT and TAKE can become an intricate mystery if you have four of them and you interpret the PUT as a number 1 and the TAKE as a number zero. Now you can make a prediction in binary based on the result of four different dredle results (PUT,TAKE,TAKE,PUT = 1 0 0 1 = 9, for example).Sometimes mental magic makes you THINK! Candy-filled dredles also provide an instant reward for the winning spectator.

Make your pendulum from a jingle bell on a string. Now you have a new trick- it can swing back and forth, left to right, around in a circle, and jingle like crazy when it hits the jackpot! Think rattle bars.

A greeting card is placed in an envelope. A spectator chooses someone at random to be the "letter carrier." That person is given the envelope to hold. Now the first spectator is given a long list from Santa Claus, filled with large numbers of names and addresses. Alternatively, the list can be cut from a page in a phone book. The letter carrier chooses a number from 1 to 10. Based on the number, the spectator takes a pair of scissors and clips away portions of the list. The number remaining at the bottom of the list will be the name and address (phone number if from book) of the chosen recipient. Surprise! It turns out to be the letter carrier's name and address (and phone number). When the envelope is opened up, the same information is revealed inside the greeting card. How did he know? Only Santa's elves know for sure.

Others- please feel free to give of your magical gifts to help celebrate the season by adding to this thread.

[Guest]

1001 binary = 9 decimal. 10001 would be 17.

[Guest]

Jim, your posts are among the most valuable posts on the internet.....I just want to thank you and ask if we might have a link to Parts 1 and 2 of your very special gifts????

opie

[Spellbinder]

Thanks for the binary correction ecphora. Must be I wasn't THINKing when I proofread!

Parts 1 and 2 are in the other Tricks and Illusions threads, Opie - Close-up and Stage/Platform Magic.