Have you ever watched a TV magic special and wondered, "How is that possible?" have you ever been curious as to how the top magicians accomplish some of their most extraordinary feats? Soon you won't be wondering; you'll be trying them out for yourself! Let's start with one of the oldest tricks in the book, but one of the best and most vividly compelling - levitation! Levitation Since you're interested in magic and illusion I'm going to bet you've heard of levitation before. Perhaps you've even seen a magician perform this incredible trick and wondered, "How the heck is he doing that?!" Well, hold onto your hat, because you're about to learn how. First off, what is levitation? We all know what it looks like - the act of floating off or above the ground. It's sort of like flying. All the great magicians try to perfect this trick because it's one of the most simply visually arresting illusions in existence. And it's actually not that hard to do.... We practical magicians know that there is some trickery involved in levitation as a performance. However, there are those who believe in the real phenomenon of levitation as a form of psychokinesis, or the ability to move objects just with the power of the mind. The only people said to be able to perform levitation in reality are the spiritual elite, or those possessed by spiritual forces, like shamans, people in trances, or those possessed by a devil. Now I don't know anyone who's actually seen a REAL levitation outside a magic performance, so take this for what you will.... I mean, you can sit on the floor and meditate and wait to "lift off," but unless you're really in possession of some special supernatural forces I don't think you're going to have too much luck! What I am here to show you is how to perform the trick of levitation, to give your audience the impression that you are floating, or else causing some other object to float. Levitation as a magic illusion has recently been practiced in the public sphere by such magic superstars as David Blaine and David Copperfield. Copperfield even performed a spectacular stunt in which he appeared to float over the Grand Canyon!! All smoke and mirrors? TV special effects? Not exactly... |
