The language
of magic.

A complete performance with an opening, development, and ending, containing one or several connected routines.

A plot in which a card repeatedly returns to the top of the deck after being placed elsewhere.

The viewing positions from which a technique or performance can be experienced as intended.

An effect in which an object or person seems to become present where none was apparent before.

An action, pause, or other signal that invites the audience to applaud.

A performer’s aim to express or explore something artistically; intention alone does not determine the audience’s interpretation or artistic achievement.

The practical choices that help an audience and participants follow and take part in a performance.

A concealment in which an object, commonly a card, is held behind the hand.

A sloping alignment of the edges of a deck or packet, rather than a squared alignment.

A small piece of paper used in mentalism, often carrying a written thought or piece of information.

Concealment using dark surfaces, backgrounds, and controlled lighting to make objects or people difficult to perceive.

The planned positions and movements of the performer, participants, and objects within the performance space.

A mentalism effect involving information apparently obtained from a book, such as a word a participant selects.

A dealing technique in which a card comes from the bottom while appearing to come from elsewhere, usually the top.

A small separation maintained between cards or packets to mark a position or assist a handling.

Performing in a public place for voluntary contributions from the audience.

A later reference to an earlier moment, line, or action that creates recognition or connection.

A plot in which a card is discovered at a location that appears inaccessible or incompatible with the preceding conditions.

The visual manipulation of playing cards as a display of movement and skill, without necessarily presenting a magical effect.

Also known as: XCM, extreme card manipulation

A dealing technique that secretly delivers a card from within the deck rather than its apparent source.

Also known as: centre deal

The person an audience encounters in performance, expressed through perspective, behavior, relationships, and reasons for acting.

A cup designed to control a small ball through a concealed magnetic arrangement.

A card force that uses the timing and handling of a spread as a participant takes a card.

A concealed holding position in the palm, used with objects such as coins or cards.

Actions that remove, conceal, or resolve remaining secret conditions after an effect.

A high point in a routine or act, often its strongest revelation or resolution.

Magic performed at close range, often for a small group with objects handled on a table or in the hands.

Also known as: close up

A padded working surface that supports handling and helps define a close-up performance area.

The piece chosen to end a set or act and leave the intended final impression.

An approach to giving apparently personal information through observation, general statements, and responses from the listener.

An effect in which an object’s color or visible identity changes, often used for a visual card transformation.

Also known as: colour change

The performance of apparently impossible events through theatrical and deceptive means; another term for performance magic.

Also known as: illusionism, prestidigitation

The arrangement of phases, information, and actions that gives an effect or routine its structure.

A technique or procedure used to bring or retain an object, often a card, at a desired position.

The audience’s confidence in a relevant condition, such as an object’s identity or an action’s apparent fairness.

The skills, knowledge, techniques, and creative decisions involved in making and performing magic.

The ideas, personality, perspective, and intentions a performer brings to the choices they make.

A small bend or deformation in a card that can help identify it or locate a position.

A planned signal for an action, line, music change, lighting change, or other performance event.

The concealed selection or gathering of particular cards from within a spread or sequence.

A family of routines in which balls appear, disappear, or travel in relation to cups, often ending with larger loads.

Dividing a deck into packets and changing their order, or the resulting rearrangement.

To secretly dispose of or transfer an object that is no longer needed in the visible action.

Handling two cards together so that they are perceived as a single card.

Also known as: double turnover

A card with a back design on both sides.

A card with a playing-card face on both sides, which may have different identities.

A substitute object that represents another, often sharing its visible appearance without its usual function or contents.

The apparent magical occurrence, described from the audience’s point of view rather than by its method.

A verbal procedure that interprets a participant’s choices to reach a desired outcome while preserving an impression of freedom.

Also known as: magician’s choice

Performance centered on escapes from restraints, confinement, or apparently inescapable situations.

A counting procedure that conceals or changes the apparent number, identity, or order of objects.

A cutting procedure that appears to alter a deck’s order while preserving some or all of it.

A procedure that appears to mix cards while preserving some or all of their arrangement.

An action that appears to move an object from one place or hand to another while secretly doing otherwise.

A shuffle in which two packets interlace with cards alternating one by one.

A concealed holding position near the curled fingers, commonly used with coins or small objects.

An unintended moment when a concealed object, action, or feature becomes visible to the audience.

Also known as: flashing

A specially prepared paper that burns rapidly with a brief flash; it is a theatrical consumable requiring appropriate fire precautions.

A visible display of dexterity, elegance, or movement that need not itself create a magical effect.

A procedure that leads to a predetermined selection while allowing it to seem freely made.

The context or interpretation offered to an audience for understanding what a performance means.

Holding an object in position through pressure or contact between surfaces.

An object specially made or altered for a magical effect; usage sometimes overlaps with “gimmick.”

Also known as: gaffed

A device or prepared feature that assists an effect, often concealed or incorporated into a prop.

A card technique that secretly shifts a card back to permit another card to be taken in its place.

A brief, concealed sight of information, often a card’s identity.

The particular sequence of actions used to execute a technique or present a piece of magic.

A switching wallet associated with Richard Himber, allowing different contents to be displayed at different moments.

A device used to retain, deliver, or retrieve an object away from its apparent location.

Using previously obtained information to create the impression of discovering it during a reading or performance.

In magic, often a large apparatus-based effect; more broadly, a perception or interpretation that differs from underlying events.

A device that captures a trace of writing or drawing so information can later be obtained.

Magic performed with little advance preparation, often using available objects; the term does not imply the performer has never rehearsed it.

A card or packet projecting toward the performer relative to the rest of the deck.

Very fine thread used to move or support objects while remaining difficult for the audience to see.

Also known as: IT

A card or packet left protruding relative to others to mark or preserve a position.

A card whose known identity or position helps locate or identify another card or arrangement.

Secretly moving an object into the lap, usually during seated performance.

An effect in which an object or person appears to rise or remain suspended without visible support.

An object secretly introduced into position, or the action of introducing it.

A deck with identifying marks that convey information not normally visible from the card backs or edges.

A deck whose complete order the performer knows by memory, allowing positions and identities to be associated.

Performance presenting apparent extraordinary mental abilities, such as thought reading, prediction, or unusual perception.

The means by which an effect is accomplished, including techniques, devices, procedures, and their combinations.

The shaping of attention and understanding so an audience notices and interprets events in ways that support the magical experience.

Also known as: attention management

The reason, apparent or actual, for an action, choice, or line within a performance.

Preparation of several possible endings so the performer can use the one that fits events or choices.

A moment of reduced expectation or relaxed attention, often following a reaction, that can affect when an action is noticed.

The piece chosen to begin a set or act and establish the initial relationship with the audience.

An alternative way to conclude, recover, or adapt a performance when events differ from expectations.

A card or packet projecting away from the performer relative to the rest of the deck.

A shuffle that transfers groups of cards from one held portion into the other hand in successive actions.

The changing rhythm and rate of a performance, including pauses, movement, information, and moments of emphasis.

A card effect performed with a small group of cards rather than an entire deck.

A concealed holding position for an object in or around the hand, or the action of placing it there.

Also known as: palming

Magic for an audience larger than a typical close-up group, usually in an intimate performance space. Also spelled “parlor magic.”

Also known as: parlor magic

A secret rearrangement of packets, commonly exchanging the positions of two portions of a deck.

The spoken material accompanying magic; the term may refer to scripted lines, conversation, or a traditional presentation style.

A concealed look used to obtain information that the performer apparently does not know.

An effect in which one solid object apparently passes through another.

The identity or version of oneself presented to an audience; sometimes used interchangeably with “character.”

A distinct part of a routine, often involving a separate effect, condition, or development.

The underlying sequence or idea of a magical occurrence, realizable through different methods and presentations.

The ongoing work of studying, rehearsing, performing, and reflecting; in narrower usage, repeated work on a particular skill.

An effect in which information apparently recorded in advance matches a later event or choice.

The way magic is communicated and experienced through words, actions, framing, and relationships with the audience.

An appearance of one or more objects, or the action and sequence used to present that appearance.

An object used in performance, whether ordinary, prepared, or specially constructed.

Deliberate preparation of a piece or performance by working through its actions, words, timing, and conditions.

The material a performer has developed and can draw upon for performance.

Returning props or arrangements to the condition needed to perform a piece again.

A vanish designed to leave a convincing visual impression that an object reached its apparent destination.

The moment when an outcome, identity, transformation, or piece of information is made apparent.

A shuffle that releases cards from two packets so they interlace.

Magic using ropes as central props, often involving changes of length, knots, cutting, or restoration.

Also known as: rope tricks

A structured piece of magical performance that may contain one effect or several connected effects.

A planned record of words, actions, or cues for a performance, which may allow room for spontaneous response.

A dealing technique that secretly delivers the second card while appearing to deliver the top card.

Magic relying mainly on a procedure or principle rather than demanding sleight of hand; presentation and execution still require preparation.

A concealed receiving surface or container, often attached behind a table, used to hold or dispose of objects.

A selection of material arranged for performance; in handling, the word can instead mean a prepared condition or arrangement.

A hollow cover shaped like an object, commonly a coin or ball, used in conjunction with another object.

A procedure for mixing the order of cards, whether genuinely or apparently.

Secretly moving an object into a sleeve or retrieving one from it.

A practiced physical action that secretly accomplishes something important to a magical effect.

Also known as: sleight of hand, legerdemain

An arrangement of cards or objects in which individual items can be seen or accessed in sequence.

A known or deliberately arranged order of cards or objects used to support an effect.

Magic designed for an audience watching a defined performance area, often with theatrical staging and larger viewing distances.

Secretly obtaining an object from a concealed or unsuspected location for later use.

A deck with specially shaped cards that facilitate locating or separating selected cards or groups.

Close-up performance in which the magician moves between groups, often without a fixed table or stage.

Also known as: walk-around magic, walkaround

An effect that encourages an apparent explanation or discovery before overturning it; presentation can affect whether this feels playful or antagonistic.

An effect in which a person or object appears supported in an impossible position, often without rising through the air.

A prepared deck using alternating card lengths and repeated identities to enable a range of apparent changes and selections.

A concealed exchange of one object or group of objects for another.

Performing short pieces for separate groups seated at different tables, often in restaurants or events.

A small hollow prop shaped like a thumb, used to conceal or transfer small objects.

Also known as: TT

Separating a secret action from an apparent effect so their relationship becomes less evident or less memorable.

The placement of an action, word, pause, or revelation in relation to other events and the audience’s response.

A secret exchange between a card held in the hand and a card on top of the deck.

A concealed fabric pocket or pouch in clothing used to receive objects during performance.

A plot in which an object apparently torn into pieces is made whole again.

Also known as: T&R

An effect in which an object apparently changes its identity, appearance, or properties.

The connection that carries a performance from one action, phase, or piece into the next.

An effect in which two or more objects apparently exchange places or identities.

A card plot in which apparently mixed face-up and face-down cards resolve into a common orientation, often excepting a selection.

A technique usable in several routines or contexts rather than tied to a single effect.

An effect in which an object or person apparently ceases to be present.

A handheld rod used as a theatrical symbol, a tool for actions, or a prop within a magical performance.

A response of curiosity, astonishment, or fascination when something challenges familiar expectations.