What kind of magician do you want to be? A hobbyist? The life of the party?
A mysterious wonder worker? Or perhaps a famous stage performer?
Hobbyist: You love the
riffle of cards in your hands, the idea of rolling a coin across the back
of your knuckles, and reading up on all the classic effects of magic, but
you are not so thrilled about the idea of putting on a show.
Life of the Party: You are ready with
a pocketful of tricks wherever you go. At a moments notice you can make a
saltshaker disappear, defy gravity with a borrowed ring, and entertain your
friends for a half-hour with card manipulations.
Mysterious Wonder Worker:
Your daily routine involves more than putting on your clothes and grabbing
your wallet and keys. Your personal space contains more secrets than Fort
Knox has gold. You are ready
to float a borrowed dollar bill, make a match dance in your hand—even
levitate off the ground!
Famous Stage Performer:
Yes, you can do card tricks. Yes, you can do impromptu magic. But you are
also a Performer; you have blocked your steps, rehearsed your moves to
music, written and rewritten your lines, built and bought large-scale
illusions and booked the show. When the curtain lifts, you are ready to
blow your audience away.
Deciding what kind of magician you want to be, at least in the beginning,
will help direct your learning. If you have no desire to be a stage performer,
there is no need to buy a book on how to saw a lady in half—certainly not as
you are just starting out. Likely you will fall somewhere in between two or
more of the different types. Since you are just getting started pick the one
you lean more heavily towards, and allow that to direct you.