[MyMagic] Taroted

Meir’s Muses
MyMagic eNewsletter #1,050
October 15, 2022

Throughout my life I met several psychics and fortune tellers and what struck me was that there was a significant difference between them and mentalists or magicians doing mental magic.

You see, the “real” psychics believed that they had a special gift and that they could use that gift to help people with their lives and troubles while making a profit.

I could spend hours discussing and dissecting the differences between the real and the delusional skills, talents, and impact we all think we have on people and audiences, but I will spare you.

The above did remind me of events that often took place when I used to supply table hoppers on Thanksgiving to Windows On The World. I selected mostly magicians who were good but with little experience in front of live audiences. The one thing that always happened was the next time I saw them they thought they were great magicians, better than anyone else! Why?

What I realized was that they weren’t used to getting compliments for doing magic and when you have hundreds of people telling you how good you are in a matter of a few hours you begin to believe it… Which leads to…

Today I will introduce you to an excellent Rick Lax routine using Tarot cards. Please don’t use it to start a new religion or cult.

►Past Present Future:

You introduce the Major Arcana from a deck of tarot cards and show that on three of the cards, a single word is written. One card reads Past, another Present, and the third reads future. The cards are given a mix, and then the faces are shown, while you explain that the cards all represent something important in a person’s life.

You ask the spectator to choose one card to represent their past, another to represent their present, and the last card to represent their future. The spectators can freely name any card they want. Those cards are clearly laid out on the table, and you then turn over the selected cards to reveal that the spectator mysteriously managed to perfectly select the cards with the words, Past, Present, and Future written on the backs of their cards.

Watch and buy: HERE

I didn’t expect to sell-out of the collectible Astro Gem Flight as I did with the previous P. Cinimod items because I had more than 50 in stock. So, you can still get one. But I also realized that I priced it too low considering the recent spike in postage. Will likely raise the price a little next week.

►Astro Gem Flight:

This is an original, collectible, trick from 1977 that has been in storage for more than 40 years.

It is a simple and direct routine using a plastic die with different colored gems on all six sides that is handed for examination and then placed in your fist. You then introduce a plastic magic wand which you wave over your fist. All of a sudden, all six gems appear on the wand and when you open your fist the original die is now blank and is missing all the gems. Everything is examinable.

Watch and buy: HERE

►Kolossal Kolored Kards: Parlor Size:

This was likely Obie O’Brien’s favorite creation. He performed it every time he was booked at a magic convention and at all his paid parlor and close-up shows. It is a quick in-the-hands packet trick using large cards and a surprise ending.

The routine begins as an observation test using four Queens of Clubs. After turning over one of the Queens you ask how many are face down? When they answer one, you make a magical gesture and show they are all face down. After turning one face up you ask again, only this time they are all face up.

This is where the surprises begin: You ask if they remember what color were the backs? They answer blue. You say yes. But is this the blue you remember? You turn the card to show a completely different blue back with spirals! You then show the other cards with red spiral backs, green spiral backs, and yellow spiral backs.

Watch and buy: HERE

Wanted to let you know about a couple of live events that I will be participating in during the following week.

►On Tuesday October 18 at 3:15pm (New York time) I will present a special talk at the first Virtual Comedy Magic Convene. To find out more about the incredible lineup and to register for the two-day event go: HERE

►On Sunday October 23 at 4:00pm I will be opening for my friend Jim Spinnato in his Stand-Up Comedy Magic Show at Comix in the Mohegan Sun Casino. Tickets and info: HERE

►Upcoming Appearances:

Nov. 13: Comix @ Mohegan Sun Casino: HERE

Dec. 4: Comix @ Mohegan Sun Casino: HERE

Stay happy, Meir

PS: In between those two live appearances I will have a tooth implant procedure and will likely not be able to do a midweek newsletter. But by the end of the year, I will have a new $5,000 tooth in my mouth! Do you know how many card tricks I have to sell to pay for that?

“All moves feel weird and wrong until you are used to them. I no longer handle coins or anything else the way I did when I was a layman.”
…Geoff Latta (The Long Goodbye: Latta On Coins, 2017)